New Zealand cricket team captain Mitchell Santner said he was proud of his team’s performance despite losing in the ICCT20 World Cup 2026 final.
New Zealand lost to India in the T20 World Cup final by 96 runs, before New Zealand defeated South Africa in the semi-final to reach the final.
After the final, Santner said that reaching the semifinals and finals is not easy as all teams play their best cricket at this stage. He said that the final against India is always tough and his team was clearly disadvantaged in the match.
He said that India failed successfully in the final while the loss of wickets in the power play was a major setback for the team in pursuit of the target of 250 runs.
According to Santner, the match was decided by the power play performance of both the teams as India scored around 90 runs without loss while New Zealand’s three wickets fell around 40 runs.
The Kiwi veteran said he received a lot of support from his home country fans. He said it was a memorable experience to play in a stadium filled with around 90,000 fans where majority of the fans were Indians.
Mitchell Santner said the team will now focus on upcoming major tournaments, including the World Cup, which will be played in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia next year.
The KV T20 team captain said that the upcoming T20 World Cup will be hosted by Australia and New Zealand where playing in home conditions can be beneficial for the team.
