Here is the full transcript of New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner’s pre-match press conference ahead of the T20 World Cup final against India in Ahmedabad.
Hi Mitch, packed press conference room, a lot of buzz, means you’re playing India. What’s your thoughts?
(Mitch Santner:)
Yeah, first thing, pretty excited. Yeah, I mean we played obviously India a little bit before this the tournament started and it was a good series for us obviously building up for the World Cup, so yeah I guess there’s no secrets to what is going to be out there tomorrow – but yeah now first thing boys are buzzing obviously World Cup final guys are excited and ready to go
(Reporter:)
How both the teams reach the final, does it matter because after all this is a last game and the day of the final how you perform matters?
(Mitch Santner:)
Yeah I think yeah, everyone’s goal is to get through each stage whether it’s this group stage, Super 8, into the semis. So I think, yeah, I mean, we’ve had different roads to get to where we are today. But at the end of the day, it’s a one-off game shootout against a very good team. We know that. And yeah, I mean, boys are excited. Yeah, I think momentum is obviously a massive part. We’ve taken a lot of confidence from our last game, and I think India will do the same
(Reporter:)
Just want to know what do you what do you make of the wicket, because last time around the finale held here there was a lot of chatter around that wicket. What’s your understanding and how much you are talking and in your conversations, Jasprit Bumrah is the part of your conversations, how much is that guy?
(Mitch Santner:)
Yeah, I mean I haven’t had a look at the wicket yet, it’s still under cover, but one can only assume it’s going to be pretty flat and high scoring. So I think, yeah, and in terms of Bumrah, I think he should be in everyone’s conversation, the way he’s been going. Yeah, I think England, yeah, looked pretty hard to hit And he was obviously the game changer for India the other night. But we knew that was going to be the case. He’s obviously a world-class bowler, but not just him. I think the way everyone’s been rolling in the Indian team, whether it was with bat or ball, everyone’s stepped up at different times. And as a team, that’s where you want to be.
(Reporter:)
When you look at New Zealand’s 4-1 loss unfortunately that you had prior to the bilateral series, What are the takeaways that you’ve taken from that bilateral series and does it apply even in an ICC final or are the dynamics totally different when it comes to the planning, the execution bit?
(Mitch Santner:)
I think in terms of the planning and the execution, it was a great series. We were challenged at times, well, a lot of times throughout that series. But again, you kind of build on what works, what doesn’t work, and you kind of take that information going forward. We obviously played on five pretty good surfaces throughout India. I guess, again, not sure what this is going to play like, but again, I assume it’s going to be pretty good. And, yeah, it’s all learnings, and I think guys will take, obviously good conversations from that series into this game already. And again, we learn from that and try to put India under pressure for a long time. I guess a World Cup final is a little bit different to a series.
(Reporter:)
A slightly longer and slightly philosophical question. So this will be New Zealand’s fifth final appearance at an ICC whiteball event in the last 11 years. On one hand, that is a testament to how impeccably consistent the team has been over the last decade. But then none of those previous four appearances culminated in a silverware. And when it doesn’t, the narrative that we have had is that New Zealand are a bunch of good guys who don’t win trophies but they win hearts. Clearly you must be fed up of that. Do you want to be tomorrow the bunch of bad guys who break a billion hearts as opposed to winning it or are you of the opinion that the journey outweighs trophies?
(Mitch Santner:)
I wouldn’t mind winning a trophy but yeah I think – you look at this group and the groups that have been in the past we are pretty consistent in these tournaments because we try not get overruled by the situation or opponents, we just go out there and do our thing as a unit. It’s been no different this time. And again, it’s going to be obviously a challenge. Everyone knows we’re probably not the favorites, But we don’t mind. 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. But yeah, I wouldn’t mind breaking a few hearts to lift the trophy for once.
(Reporter:)
Mitch, we talk so much about how important the power player is in T20s. You’ve got Finn and Tim on one side. You’ve got Matt, in particular, on the other side. Where do you see that balance lying when you compare it with India?
(Mitch Santner:)
Yeah, I think obviously with the… India kind of go hard, obviously, at the top, but all the way through, and I think the only way to slow any team down is wickets at the top, and then try, squeeze a few overs in the middle, I think it’s very hard if guys get away, to slow them down without taking wickets. So I think, whatever the plan looks like – but I think, if you’re not taking wickets what’s the best method or way to not get hit for a boundary? If you do, it’s how do you close overs out versus turning those ones into 15 – 20. And at the end of the day, if it’s going to be flat, it might be The other night trying to restrict India to 220 instead of 250 it might give you a good chance So again, it’s all dependent on the surface what that looks like out there tomorrow It’s still on the cover. So I don’t know what it looks like – but yeah, I think and then on the flip side with the bad, it’s , it’s the opposite it’s how do you put the guys under pressure for six overs. Not lose the wickets along the way. It’s easy to say don’t lose wickets, but also get runs, because that’s a pretty tough balance. But, yeah, I think we know how deep into their bat that they’re going to put us under pressure for, the first over to the seventh over to the twelfth over, all the way through. So I think what that looks like for us is trying to be very clear on what that looks like and try, I guess, if you can’t get wickets, get it for one.
(Reporter:)
It’s an extension to the previous one, where you mentioned you won’t mind breaking hearts tomorrow. But I want to know, is there some sort of change in the mindset in the dressing room to claim the maiden title? You guys have come quite close a few times in the past. But what about the mindset? What about some statical changes in the dressing room?
(Mitch Santner:)
I think the mindset’s the same. It’s easy to say it’s just another game but everyone knows it’s probably not. But I think the way you go about it has to be the same whether it’s your preparation, what that looks like on the day leading up to the game. And I think, it always comes down to a couple of moments, especially in T20 cricket, where if you can squeeze the opposition or take the advantage through there. I think we saw it the other night. I don’t know, it always comes down to fielding at some stage, but if you can be very consistent in the way you approach the game with bearing a couple of moments where you could potentially be a little bit more ruthless or what that looks like, but I think – I don’t think you have to reinvent the wheel. It’s just you’re making a final, you’re coming up against another team who’s also playing some pretty good cricket So it’s never that easy.
(Reporter:)
Both teams pretty terrifying batting performances to win their semifinals. What were you thought as India was scoring 250 odd against England? Do you feel fear at all, this fear of thing? And if so, do you think they’re more scared of you than you are of them?
(Mitch Santner:)
I guess you’ll have to ask them, but I think, when you know it’s going to be high scoring, I think – gone are the days of trying to roll a team on a flat one for 160, so it might be, especially Wankhede, we know it’s a great, great ground for cricket, it’s very high scoring and it was the other night. So I think it’s how do we turn that 250 into a 220 potentially even England were thinking – 230 they could have chase it and they got 240 so I think yeah, I know they obviously got a lot of runs with the bat, but they also, England came very close with a well-executed chase and I think it was pretty neck-and-neck until I think that Bumrah over. So I think either way if you know that you’re batting first and you can try get a good score and put some pressure on, or that if you can try to restrict team to – it might be 220 on a flat one, it puts you in a pretty good position.
(Reporter:)
Varun Chakravarthy has hit a bit of a form slump off late, especially the last game, considering 64 runs of his four overs. I mean, going into the final, and he might be a bit low on confidence as well, so going into the final, is that a psychological advantage for you?
(Mitch Santner:)
No, I don’t think so. I mean, he’s, we’ve all seen how good he is, and I think the challenges of any bowler is when it is flat, what does it look like when it’s spinning and when it’s seaming, it’s obviously a challenge for every batter but when it is flat what does that look like and I think everyone goes for 60 on their day. So I think it’s, again, for Varun, and I think he’s got to know that he’s still a very good bowler, and it’s only one game away from changing the tide. And it’s the same with any bowler or any batter. If they’re out of form, they’re only one game away from being back in form. So, I actually try to tell our group that throughout that India series it’s obviously a challenge but it’s it was a good learnings it was, it doesn’t get any harder than that so I think you can bank on experience from there going to a game like that tomorrow, if you’re in a similar situation, what does it look like? Can you do things slightly different? It might be the winning and losing of a game.
(Reporter:)
In the context of what’s going on in the world today, the escalations in West Asia, has the team spoken within the group or what do you think about it? And what would it really mean to the New Zealand team if they are within the World Cup in context of what’s happening in the world today?
(Mitch Santner:)
Yeah, I mean It’s a hard one to avoid or not see because it is everywhere and it’s obviously a pretty tough situation. I think obviously people at the World Cup have been affected as well, guys not being able to go home. I think for us It’s trying to just think about what it looks like tomorrow for the game. And then, yeah, it’s obviously a challenge to put that out of your mind. But I guess for us, it’s thinking on what does tomorrow look like for us against a very, very good Indian team?
(Reporter:)
I’m just curious to know how a team and how you are as the captain viewing, playing a side that comes into a final on the back of that kind of a game. A momentum is huge in T20 cricket, and when you see a team like India and the kind of game they had, a semi-final they had with the moments, How do you prepare to face that sort of a team mentally?
(Mitch Santner:)
Yeah, I mean, it’s, you want to kind of be consistent in your approach. Obviously a lot of different things can happen throughout any game of cricket. But I think the way you approach it has to be the same. We’ll approach it the same as we did for the semi-final against South Africa, as we did for game one against Afghanistan. You put in the work leading into the game and you get your process and your video and what that looks like, and then you go out there and just try and execute the best you can. I think India would be very, have a lot of momentum or a lot of confidence going into this game, I think, especially with the bat. I mean, they know with the ball, they could have been a little bit better, conceding 240 in a very high-scoring game. So I think, yeah, we know that both teams will be going to the game with confidence and where their games are at. And I think it’s whoever can do it for a long time tomorrow will put in a pretty good position.
(Reporter:)
So how is the rest of the squad taking Cole’s inclusion considering some of them are sitting out because – I’m asking this because there’s a culture of care in New Zealand cricket which makes taking these decisions a little bit easier.
(Mitch Santner:)
Yeah I think it’s always a challenging one for the guys who aren’t playing. you come to a World Cup and you obviously want to play every game, it’s not that easy. I think most teams, for us it was a very match-up based decision. Obviously losing Michael Bracewell, who could have done that role, obviously that Cole’s doing now and I think Cole coming straight in, it’s obviously a challenge. I think when you have the buy-in of the group, it’s not just the 11 out there, it’s the 15 in the squad, it’s the guys not playing – they get mentioned all the time, all their work off the ball, support staff as well, It’s all, we’re all on this journey together. Yeah, there’s 11 guys that go out and take the field, but it’s more than that. And I think that when you get the buy-in of the whole squad, I guess those decisions are taken way better when they know that, they’re part of something bigger and a bigger picture. I guess that comes down to the environment, how you can set the environment up for that.
(Reporter:)
In the Super 8s, South Africa showed that India are very much beatable. David Miller did say after the game that they probably showed how India are beatable. The last semi-final against England, England pushed them really close. When you build up to this final, do you think you have some sort of edge going into it because 1 lakh people, 99, 000 probably cheering for the host, give them that feeling of being overwhelmed by the crowd because not a very long time ago Pat Cummins showed how to silence that crowd, so are you up for that as well?
(Mitch Santner:)
Yeah I guess that’s the goal isn’t it, is to silence the crowd but I think that there is a lot of variables in T20 cricket and it is fickle at times. We’ve seen throughout the whole World Cup that a lot of teams are on similar pages and it comes down to some little moments in every game that changes the outcome. So I think England were very close to chasing that the other night We’ve seen South Africa playing very good cricket all the way through and then I guess had a little hiccup against us and you’re out So I think for us it’s taking confidence in that that we can If we go about our business the same way we can upset another big team and I think there’s obviously a lot of pressure on India to win this World Cup at home. I mean it would be, I guess if we don’t win it’d be pretty cool to win a home World Cup so I think that comes with a lot of added pressure as well. So if we can go out there and try to put, I guess, the added pressure on them and see what happens.
