The Narendra Modi Stadium, the world's largest cricket ground, will host Sunday's T20 World Cup final between India and New Zealand. For India, the venue evokes painful memories of their 50-over World Cup final loss to Australia in November 2023 on a pitch later rated average by the ICC.
India captain Suryakumar Yadav acknowledged the nerves but embraced the pressure: 'The circle has come to the same stadium that we left in 2023. Of course there are nerves. There will be butterflies in the stomach. But if there's no pressure there's no fun.' Only two players from that 2023 XI—Suryakumar and Jasprit Bumrah—are likely to feature in this final.
New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner aims to exploit India's burden of expectation. 'There's a lot of pressure on them to win this World Cup at home... We'll go out there and try to put some more pressure on them, and see what happens. I guess the goal is to silence the crowd.'
The final will be played on a pitch mixing black and red soil, similar to the one used in Mumbai where India scored 253 against England in the semi-final. India have won the T20 World Cup, Champions Trophy, and Asia Cup since 2023, while New Zealand have lost four global finals since 2015, earning a reputation as perennial bridesmaids.
Santner added: 'Everyone knows we're probably not the favourites but we don't mind... I wouldn't mind breaking a few hearts and lifting a trophy for once.'
