Kedar Jadhav Predicts India's T20 WC Victory Over New Zealand

He also gave a shoutout to India's star batter in the ongoing T20 WC, Sanju Samson, calling him his "favourite player", believing that with the home crowd at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, India has a significant advantage.

Team India will be gunning for their third ICC T20 World Cup title, while on the other hand, the Kiwis, the 2021 World Test Champions, will be eyeing their first-ever world title in limited-overs cricket.

"The way the Indian team is maintaining its momentum in all three departments, batting, bowling and fielding. So I think it definitely helps compared to New Zealand... there is a home advantage, there will be crowd support... I think India will lift the trophy today. My favourite player is Sanju Samson," Kedar Jadhav told ANI.

Former Indian cricketer and Jammu & Kashmir head coach Ajay Sharma feels India's team is super strong, with match-winners across the board. He believes they are "consistent and play good cricket," making them favourites to win the World Cup final against New Zealand.

"India's team is very strong. No one can underestimate India. They are all match winners. The batsmen and the players are all match winners. I think the Indian team will win the World Cup this time. They play good cricket. They are all consistent. All the players are good. They are doing very well. We hope that we will win this World Cup," Sharma told ANI.

Former Indian player Nayan Mongia believes India has the upper hand in the T20 World Cup final against New Zealand, courtesy of their impressive performance and exceptional fielding.

However, he warns it won't be an easy win for India. Mongia also praised India's bowling, saying it's the best compared to both teams amd believes the toss won't matter much, and both teams will likely bat first, leading to a high-scoring match.

"The team's performance, the way they've been winning, and their exceptional fielding efforts are commendable. I think India will have the upper hand...but it won't be easy for India. Compared to both teams, our bowling is very good. Given India's performance, I don't think the toss will matter much. But both teams will try to bat first. We'll see a high-scoring match," Nayan Mongia said.

Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav's childhood coach, Ashok Aswalkar, expressed confidence in India amd feels thay will win the T20 World Cup final against New Zealand. He believes the team's collective effort and faith will drive them to victory.

Aswalkar also hopes Indian opener Abhishek Sharma will turn his form around and emphasised that Suryakumar Yadav handles captaincy pressure well. He further added that Yadav needs to score big in the final.

"We will win the final. I have faith, and the team has the same faith too. It's the game of the entire team; everyone will give their contribution. Abhishek Sharma hasn't been scoring runs in some matches. I hope he scores runs today. Suryakumar Yadav doesn't take the pressure of captaincy. Suryakumar Yadav will have to score well today," Ashok Aswalkar said.

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.

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