India will face New Zealand in the final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 on Sunday (March 8) in Ahmedabad. On the eve of the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav and his
New Zealand counterpart Mitchell Santner attended the pre-match press conferences. During his interaction with the reporters in Ahmedabad, Santner, who is leading New Zealand to its second straight ICC tournament final, stated that his team would like to silence the Indian crowd on Sunday in Ahmedabad by winning the final.
Santner acknowledged the challenge of playing in front of a largely pro-India crowd and when asked whether his side would like to “silence the crowd” the way Pat Cummins’s Australia did in 2023 ODI World Cup final, Santner said, “That’s the goal, to silence the crowd.”
“But there are a lot of challenges to cricket, and they are variable. I think there is a lot of pressure on India to win at home.”
“We’ve seen throughout the whole World Cup that many teams are on similar levels and games often come down to a few small moments that change the outcome. England came very close to chasing the total the other night. South Africa were playing very good cricket throughout and then had a hiccup against us and they were out. So, for us it’s taking confidence that if we go about our business the same way, we can upset another big team,” he added.
Hours after Santner’s presser, India’s T20I captain, Suryakumar, addressed the media persons, and when he was asked about Santner’s statement, he came up with a savage reaction.
“Arey sab same he line chipka rahe hai aa ke. Kuch naya toh bolne bolo kisi ko (everyone is saying the same thing. Please ask to say something new at least),” Surya said.
According to Surya, the mood in the Indian dressing room is very relaxed, and everyone is excited for the final.
“The mood in the camp is very relaxed, very happy; obviously it’s a special feeling. Leading such a wonderful side on home soil, and that too at such a wonderful stadium, it’s a special feeling, and everyone is very excited for it.”
