AHMEDABAD: New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner expressed his desire to calm the crowd at the Narendra Modi Stadium here on Sunday in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 final against home team India.
The iconic stadium, with a capacity of over 100,000 fans, hosted the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 final between India and Australia and the Blue Sea silenced the Blue Sea as Pat Cummins’ men won their sixth title by six wickets.
Meanwhile, Santner, who will be leading New Zealand for the second time in an International Cricket Council (ICC) event, having first suffered defeat in the men’s Champions Trophy 2025 final against India, is determined to take a leaf out of Cummins’ book and pull off a historic victory for the Blackcaps.
“I think the goal is to calm the crowd,” Santner told reporters during Saturday’s pre-match press conference at the aforementioned venue.
In the semi-final against South Africa, who were unbeaten in the tournament till then, New Zealand advanced to the final with a resounding nine-wicket win.
But the journey for the Blackcaps was bumpy as they suffered defeats against the same opposition in the group stage and against England in the Super Eights.
However, Santner insisted that the nature of the shortest format meant that in-form teams could falter, thus backing his team to create another “upset” against a bigger team.
“T20 cricket is fickle at times. We’ve seen South Africa play very good cricket all the way and then have a little hiccup against us and out,” Santner continued.
“So I think that gives us confidence and if we go about our business the same way, we can upset another big team,” he added.
Having played in five finals in the last 11 years and lost all of them, New Zealand have been one of the most consistent teams in recent ICC events.
Their only final appearance in a Men’s T20 World Cup final came in the 2021 edition, when they lost by eight wickets against Australia.
The upcoming match against India gives the Blackcaps a chance to end their World Cup drought and despite admitting they are not favourites, their skipper Santner is ready to break some hearts to achieve the long-desired glory.
“I wouldn’t mind winning a trophy,” Santner said.
“It’s obviously going to be a challenge where everyone knows we’re not the favourites.
“But yeah, I wouldn’t mind breaking a few hearts to lift the trophy once.”
On the contrary, a win in the upcoming tournament will help India to register several major firsts in the history of the tournament.
With two coveted titles already in their bag, the Men in Blue could become the first team to add a third to their trophy cabinet, leaving West Indies and England with two each.
Also, they could become the first team to successfully retain the T20 World Cup title and become the first team to lift the silverware on their home ground, and the level of expectations could weigh heavily on India, Santner asserted.
“So I think it comes with added pressure,” Santner said. “So if we go out there and try and try, it can put pressure on them and see what happens.”