New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner issued a warning to Suryakumar Yadav’s team just ahead of the much-awaited T20 World Cup 2026 final. The left-arm spinner said he would not mind breaking millions of hearts and winning the trophy at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday, March 8.
Indian cricket fans remember Australian captain Pat Cummins’ famous press conference ahead of the 2023 World Cup final in Ahmedabad. Cummins said he wanted to silence the huge lopsided crowd at the Narendra Modi Stadium and his team ultimately did just that to win the trophy.
Wouldn’t mind breaking a few hearts to lift the trophy – Mitchell Santner
During the press conference, Mitchell Santner said that his team would not shy away from being “the bad guys” to silence the home crowd. The captain said that they can definitely upset the big team and win their first T20 World Cup title.
“I wouldn’t mind winning a trophy. You look at this group and the groups we’ve had in the past, we’re quite consistent on these because we try not to get intimidated by the situation or the opponents. We go out there and do our job. And as a unit, this time too is no different. And again, it’s obviously going to be a challenge where everyone knows we’re probably not favourites. But we don’t mind,” Santner told reporters on Saturday.
He said, “We know that if we do our little things well and put in strong team performances, we can be in a pretty good position to hopefully lift the trophy. I wouldn’t mind breaking a few hearts to lift the trophy once.”
There is a lot of pressure on India to win this World Cup at home – Mitchell Santner
Mitchell Santner also told that the Blue Team faces a lot of problems due to playing on the home ground. He said that his team will try to put even more pressure on the Indian players.
“If we keep going like this, we can trouble another big team. And I think there’s obviously a lot of pressure on India to win this World Cup on home soil,” Santner said.
“I think if we don’t win, it would be great to win at home in the World Cup. So I think it comes with a lot of extra pressure. So if we can go out there and try, I think, there will be extra pressure on them and see what happens,” he said.
The guys are excited and ready to go – Mitchell Santner
Mitchell Santner expressed his excitement about the final. Santner believes there is no mystery about what is going to happen on the field tomorrow, adding that the boys are excited and ready for the title clash.
“I’m very excited. I mean we obviously played India a little bit before this tournament started, and it was a good series for us to prepare for the World Cup. So yeah, I think there’s no secret about what’s going to happen out there tomorrow. That’s the first thing the boys are discussing. Obviously, it’s the World Cup final, and guys are excited and ready to go.”
The experienced spinner said the main aim of each team is to take it one game at a time from the group stage to the Super Eights and semi-finals. He said that both the teams have taken different routes to reach the final, but this is a one-sided shootout.
“I think everyone’s goal is to get through each stage, whether it’s the group stage, the Super Eights, or the semi-finals. So yes, we’ve had different paths to get to where we are today, but at the end of the day, it’s a one-sided shootout game against a very good team. I think momentum is obviously a big part. We took a lot of confidence from our last game, and I think India will do the same.”
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