New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner admitted that the Black Caps are the underdogs heading into the T20 World Cup 2026 final against India at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. However, the premier left-arm spinner also stated that his side wouldn’t shy away from being the “bad guys” and silence the home crowd, just like how Australia and Pat Cummins did in the 2023 50-over World Cup final. Ever since 2019, the Kiwis have reached the finals of ICC white-ball events three times – the 2019 50-over World Cup final, the 2021 T20 World Cup final, and the 2025 Champions Trophy – but New Zealand came up short in all three games.
During the pre-match press conference ahead of the all-important final, a reporter reminded Santner of how the Black Caps have failed to get the job done in the previous few finals, asking whether New Zealand would be ruthless enough to be the “bad guys” and silence the Indian crowd, at a venue which can host more than 1.3 lakh people.
“This will be New Zealand’s fifth final appearance at an ICC white ball event in the last 11 years. On one hand, that is a testament to how impeccably consistent the team has been over the last decade. But then none of those previous four appearances culminated in a silverware. Do you want to be, tomorrow, a bunch of bad guys who break a billion hearts, rather than win?” the reporter asked Santner.
Answering this question, Santner replied, saying he wouldn’t mind winning a trophy, and the aim will be to be the “bad guys” and spoil India’s party on home soil, taking the chance away from them to defend the title and become the first team to win the T20 World Cup on home soil.
“I wouldn’t mind winning a trophy. You look at this group and the groups that have been in the past, we are pretty consistent on these because we try not to get overawed by the situation or opponents. We go out there and do our thing. And as a unit, it’s been no different this time. And again, it’s going to be obviously a challenge where everyone knows we’re probably not the favourites. But we don’t mind,” Santner told reporters on Saturday.
“We know we can, if we do our little things well and put in a strong team performance, put us in a pretty good position to hopefully lift the trophy. I wouldn’t mind breaking a few hearts to lift the trophy for once,” he added.
‘Goal is to silence the crowd’
New Zealand entered the final after hammering favourites South Africa in the semi-final at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Finn Allen hit an unbeaten 100 off 33 balls as the Kiwis registered a comprehensive nine-wicket win.
Speaking to the media, Santner also stated that his side’s goal would be to silence the full-capacity crowd in Ahmedabad and play some good-quality cricket.
“That’s the goal, to silence the crowd. There are a lot of variables in T20 cricket, and it can be fickle at times, as we’ve seen throughout the World Cup. A lot of teams are on the same page, and it comes down to a few little moments in every game that change the outcome. So I think India were very close to chasing that the other night,” said Santner.
“If we go about our business the same way, we can upset another big team. And I think there is obviously a lot of pressure on India to win this World Cup at home. I guess if we don’t win, it’d be pretty cool to win a home at the World Cup. So I think that comes with a lot of added pressure as well. So if we can go out there and try and put, I guess, the added pressure on them and see what happens,” he added.
Recently, India and New Zealand faced off in a five-match T20I series in India, with the hosts coming out on top, winning 4-1. Santner said his side would not be surprised by anything India throws at them, since they played against them recently.
“We played obviously in India a little bit before the tournament started. It was a good series for us, obviously, as we built up for the World Cup. There are no secrets to what is going to be out there tomorrow. But yeah, first thing, boys are buzzing, obviously, World Cup final. The guys are excited, pretty good,” he said.
