Santner acknowledged the importance of familiarity with the Dubai conditions, especially as India has played all of their matches in the same venue
07 March, 2025
PHOTO: AFP
New Zealand's captain, Mitchell Santner, has shared his thoughts on India's home-like advantage of playing in Dubai during the ICC Champions Trophy. Santner acknowledged the importance of familiarity with the Dubai conditions, especially as India has played all of their matches in the same venue.
He also spoke about New Zealand's preparations ahead of their final clash against India.
Santner highlighted India's experience with the pitches in Dubai, saying, "India has played all its matches in Dubai, and they are familiar with the pitches and conditions here. Clearly, the pitches tell you how to play."
Commenting on the pitch conditions, Santner observed, "The pitch here could be slightly slower compared to Lahore. We are playing against a strong team, and we hope to score more runs than before."
Santner also spoke about New Zealand's consistent performance and the challenges posed by mixed results in the tournament, adding, "We have been scoring runs consistently, and we hope to continue that form. In this tournament, the general impression has been that teams have had mixed results. It's all part of the challenge. We've played in Pakistan and Dubai, and in my opinion, players understand the situation these days. As long as you are prepared for the match, everything is fine. "
Reflecting on the team's performance in the semi-final, Santner said, "The semi-final against South Africa in Lahore was a good contest. The players performed well in the knockout stage against a strong team."
Looking ahead to the final, he emphasized the unique nature of a final match, concluding, "The final is always a different game, and the players know that. We will try to perform better than we did in the group stage match against India."
New Zealand played their final group stage match against India in Dubai. After competing in the semi-final in Lahore, the New Zealand team arrived in Dubai, where they will face India in the final on Sunday.
It is worth noting that India has been based in Dubai for the Champions Trophy, playing all their matches at the same venue.
