New Zealand will "not mind breaking a few hearts" in the T20 World Cup final against defending champions and hosts India, captain Mitchell Santner said on Saturday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Santner's side will face India on Sunday in Ahmedabad with over 100,000 home fans expected to fill the Narendra Modi Stadium.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
New Zealand reached the 2021 final, losing to Australia, and have never won a white-ball World Cup.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"I wouldn't mind winning a trophy," Santner said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
He added: "It's going to be obviously a challenge where everyone knows we're probably not the favourites.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"But yeah, I wouldn't mind breaking a few hearts to lift the trophy for once."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
New Zealand have blown hot and cold.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
They hammered South Africa -- unbeaten until then -- by nine wickets in the semi-finals after Finn Allen blasted the fastest-ever century at the tournament.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
But they also lost to South Africa and England earlier in the competition.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
They face an India side on a roll with three straight wins.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
In 2023, Australia led by Pat Cummins silenced the home crowd in Ahmedabad in the final of the ODI World Cup.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"I guess that's the goal, is to silence the crowd," said Santner.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"T20 cricket is fickle at times. We've seen South Africa playing very good cricket all the way through and then had a little hiccup against us and out.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"So I think for us, it's taking confidence from that and if we go about our business the same way, we can upset another big team."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Top-ranked India are attempting to become the first team to win back-to-back T20 World Cups and the first to lift the trophy on home soil.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
They would also be the first to win the title three times.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
But they will have to withstand the expectations of a packed house plus hundreds of millions more watching on TV.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Santner feels that level of expectation could weigh heavily on them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"So I think that comes with a lot of added pressure as well," said Santner. "So if we can go out there and try and put, I guess, that added pressure on them and see what happens."
\r\n <\/p>\r\n",
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