IND vs NZ: Mitchell Santner fires Pat Cummins-like warning to India ahead of T20 World Cup 2026 final

New Zealand will lock horns with India in T20 World Cup 2026 final on March 8.

Mitchell Santner has been spot on in leading New Zealand to T20 World Cup 2026 final. The Black Caps are set to clash with India in the summit clash on Sunday, March 8. Ahead of the encounter, Santner has made a massive statement that reminded many cricket fans of Australia captain Pat Cummins.

Notably, New Zealand will aim to win their first-ever trophy in T20 World Cup. They ended as runners-up in the 2021 edition, where they lose the final to Australia, which is their best show in the tournament’s history. Moreover, the Kiwis also look to win their first-ever World Cup in the white-ball formats.

India, being the defending champions and the hosts, are favourites to win the final against New Zealand. But they cannot take the Mitchell Santner & Co lightly as they stunned the entire cricket fraternity by crushing mighty South Africa in the semi-final.

I wouldn’t mind breaking a few hearts: Mitchell Santner ahead of T20 World Cup 2026 final

While responding to a reporter at the pre-match press conference of IND vs NZ clash, Santner said that he wouldn’t mind breaking a few hearts by winning the T20 World Cup 2026 final. He also added that their goal is to silence the crowd at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

“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,” he said.

“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. That’s the goal, to silence the crowd,” he added.

Notably, ahead of the ODI World Cup 2023 final, Australian captain Cummins made a similar statement of breaking a million hearts in the pre-match press conference. His words came out to be true as Australia outplayed India in the final by six wickets, which was the latter’s only defeat throughout the tournament.

Meanwhile, New Zealand outplayed South Africa by nine wickets in the semi-final 1 to book a berth in the final. The Suryakumar Yadav & Co. defeated England by seven runs in the other semi-final. Both the teams have clashed only three times in T20 World Cup in the past, all of which were won by New Zealand.

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