Ahead of India's T20 World Cup final against New Zealand, Harbhajan Singh advised the Men in Blue to 'play like champions'. India is aiming for a historic third title, while the Kiwis seek their first limited-overs cricket world championship.
Ahead of Team India's T20 World Cup final against New Zealand, former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh urged the Men in Blue to "play like champions", saying that if they play to their fullest potential, nothing can stop them from lifting the title. This is India's fourth T20WC final, the most by any team.
High Stakes as India, New Zealand Chase History
Team India will be aiming to create history in multiple ways: by becoming the first team to lift the T20 World Cup at home, the first team to defend the title and the first team to hold a record-breaking three titles when they take to the field for the final against New Zealand at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday evening. On the other hand, New Zealand will be wanting their first-ever limited-overs cricket world title, having won the World Test Championship back in 2021 after beating India.
'Go Out and Chak De Phatte': Harbhajan's Message
"From my side, a lot of wishes to Team India. You have to play like champions. If they play to their fullest potential, nothing can stop them from becoming champions. Just go out there and 'chakk de phatte'. Go, India," Harbhajan said in a video mesage ahead of the match,
Head-to-Head Analysis
Team India has a 2-3 head-to-head record against New Zealand in the ICC event knockout matches. They lost the 2000 ICC Knockout finals, the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup semifinal and the ICC World Test Championship final to the Kiwis, before getting some wins under their belt with wins in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 semifinal at Wankhede Stadium and the ICC Champions Trophy at Dubai last year. These past two wins will serve as a massive psychological advantage to Team India.
India's T20 World Cup Jinx Against Kiwis
But, a fact that makes this contest a dangerous one for Team India is that they have never beaten the Kiwis in the T20 World Cup: Losing to them by 10 runs in the 2007 edition held in South Africa, being outclassed by the Kiwis spinners in the 2016 edition of the tournament and later on in 2021, Kiwis sealed India's early group stage exit from the tournament in UAE.
Also, head-to-head, India leads NZ 18-11 in T20Is, including a tie.
Squads
New Zealand Squad: Tim Seifert(w), Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner(c), Cole McConchie, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Devon Conway, Kyle Jamieson, Ish Sodhi, Jacob Duffy
India Squad: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson(w), Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav. (ANI)
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