"India will definitely win this match": Rajkumar Sharma ahead of T20 WC Final

Speaking to ANI ahead of the final match, Rajkumar Sharma said, "Nothing can be said for sure in T20 cricket, but looking at our cricket team in the current scenario, it feels like this World Cup is ours. India will definitely win this match. I have high hopes from the batsmen... All players are such that their strike rate is not less than 150. India can put up a big score."

Echoing the same emotions, Ishan Kishan's childhood coach, Santosh Kumar, said, "The way Ishan Kishan has returned, he has been consistently performing well, and it is hoped that he will give his best performance today and win the World Cup for India. There is some pressure in the final match. Both teams are strong. Ishan Kishan has been a fighting player since childhood."

Ishan Kishan has made 263 runs in eight innings so far in the tournament, including a match-winning knock against Pakistan in the group stages.

Going into the final, India are chasing a few firsts - first to defend a T20 World Cup title, first host team to win the T20 World Cup and the first to three T20 World Cup championships. For New Zealand, the biggest challenges will be how to keep the star-studded Indian batting line-up relatively quiet and how to deal with Jasprit Bumrah's unerring line and length.

India and New Zealand took contrasting paths to the final; they entered the contest on the back of strong batting performances in the semi-final. New Zealand lost to South Africa in the group stage and to England in the Super Eights but were dominant in the final four. After restricting the Proteas to 169/8, New Zealand raced to a nine-wicket win in 12.5 overs, courtesy of a stunning 33-ball hundred by Finn Allen, the fastest in T20 World Cups.

Meanwhile, for India, who were perfect in the group stage, the only blip was the loss to South Africa in the opening Super Eight contest. The semi-final against England was a high-scoring thriller, with India piling on 253/7 and England falling just seven runs short.

In their head-to-head clashes, history may favour New Zealand, but form is with India. The Black Caps have not lost a match to India in the T20 World Cup, having scored victories in 2007, 2016 and 2021. However, the host nation was dominant in their recent T20I series in India, with a comfortable 4-1 win.

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)