We pride ourselves in not giving up, and we didn't – Santner

New Zealand has been struggling to win white-ball ICC tournaments for the past 25 years. They have made it to five finals but haven't managed to win any of them. Captain Mitchell Santner admitted that his side needs to break this jinx sooner rather than later.

Santner was proud of the way his team fought in the recent final against India but acknowledged that they were beaten by a good team. He also mentioned that New Zealand's inability to come up trumps in the big games has been a pattern.

Reflecting on the 2021 T20 World Cup final, Santner wasn't able to point a finger at what could be the missing piece for his side. He mentioned that they keep coming up against India, which is always a challenge.

Santner had no regrets over the decision to bat first in the final, despite the absence of their spearhead Matt Henry due to a shoulder strain. He praised Henry for his dominance over India's top-order and confessed his absence as a key setback in such a big game.

Santner was also full of praise for India's captain Rohit Sharma, whose dazzling fifty at the top of the order won him the Player of the Match award. He felt that Rohit's assault at the top was a decisive phase in the game, particularly given that the Indian captain managed to bat a bit deeper than usual.

Despite Rohit's assault and a century opening stand, there was a brief phase where New Zealand really threatened to turn the game on its head. Santner was seen chatting animatedly during the drinks break and whatever he said back then surely did work a treat.