INDIA will face New Zealand in the Twenty20 World Cup final on Sunday in Ahmedabad, with the hosts aiming to retain the title while New Zealand look to win their first white-ball World Cup.
The match will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in front of more than 100,000 spectators, with hundreds of millions more expected to watch on television.
Suryakumar Yadav’s India are attempting to become the first team to win back-to-back T20 World Cups and the first host nation to lift the trophy on home soil.
New Zealand, led by Mitchell Santner, reached the final after defeating previously unbeaten South Africa by nine wickets in the first semi-final and are seeking their first World Cup title in either white-ball format.
“There will definitely be pressure and nerves, especially playing in India and going for the title,” Suryakumar said after India’s semi-final win against England.
“But the boys and the whole support staff are excited as well.”
India beat England by seven runs in the semi-final after posting 253-7. England stayed in the chase through Jacob Bethell’s 105 before Jasprit Bumrah bowled the 18th over for six runs to turn the match.
“We all know what he's capable of and what he's done for India over the years. He did the same thing again today, raised his hand and showed character to pull the game away from them.
“It was a special bowling performance.”
India have reached the final after a mixed campaign. They lost their opening Super Eights match to South Africa but defeated Zimbabwe by 72 runs and chased down 196 against West Indies to reach the semi-final.
Sanju Samson has scored two match-winning knocks at the top of the order during the tournament.
With the ball, Bumrah has led the attack, while Hardik Pandya has contributed as a seam-bowling all-rounder.
India also have spin options through Axar Patel and Varun Chakravarthy, though Chakravarthy has taken only four wickets since the group phase and conceded 64 runs in four overs against England in the semi-final.
Opening batsman Abhishek Sharma has also struggled for runs, recording three ducks in the group stage and scoring a fifty against Zimbabwe.
India will also be mindful of their past results in global finals. New Zealand beat them in the World Test Championship final in 2021 in England, and Australia defeated them in the 50-over World Cup final in Ahmedabad two years later.
New Zealand reached the knockout stage after Pakistan failed to secure a large victory over Sri Lanka in their final group match.
They then defeated South Africa in the semi-final after Finn Allen scored a 33-ball century.
Allen and Tim Seifert put on 117 runs for the first wicket in 9.1 overs during the chase of 169.
“I just looked to play almost a support role to Tim,” Allen said after the semi-final.
“He's in incredible form, he's an incredible player and I think he's just showing the world what he can do.
“I think that makes it easy for me to sit back and have the best seat in the house.”
Allen added: “We've got a lot of momentum going into the weekend.
“I think if we play our best cricket we can beat anybody.”
Seifert has scored three fifties in the tournament and has provided starts for the middle order, which includes Glenn Phillips and Rachin Ravindra.
New Zealand also have a pace attack led by Matt Henry and spin options including Cole McConchie.
Phillips said the team are ready to face India’s bowling attack, including Bumrah.
“He's human as well,” Phillips told reporters. “He is allowed to have a bad day, as are the rest of us. So hopefully we have a good day against him.”
Bumrah returned figures of 1-33 from four overs in the semi-final against England, a match in which 499 runs were scored in 40 overs.
Phillips acknowledged Bumrah’s quality but said the approach would depend on the situation.
“Obviously we had a really good trip against him in the bilateral series as well but he's a class bowler,” he said.
“He's got so many variations. He hits the block hole at the death incredibly well.”
Phillips also dismissed the idea that New Zealand would simply try to see off Bumrah’s overs.
“As I said, a bowler is allowed to miss, and if he happens to miss, we do have to put it away.”
“That also means that if he does bowl well, we have to accommodate for other things and adapt.”
New Zealand, who were beaten by South Africa and England earlier in the tournament, say they are ready for the challenge of facing the hosts in front of a large crowd.
“For us, we just go out there and enjoy it,” Phillips said.
“We have a great time as a group of guys, we go out there and do our best for our country and yes, obviously a packed crowd is fantastic.
“We play to entertain the people and whether they're supporting us or whether they're supporting India, it's fantastic for cricket in general.”
Allen said New Zealand’s approach in key matches has been clear.
“It just shows that us as a team, we get up for the fight,” he said.
“Those important fixtures, we really get up for them as a team. We're prepared to fight till the end.”
(With inputs from agencies)
