Suryakumar Yadav's Special Feeling Leading India in T20 WC Final at Home

Suryakumar said he's excited, a bit nervous, but focused on keeping things simple and expressed pride in India's journey in the ongoing T20 WC and is grateful for the support.

India is looking to defend its title, while New Zealand aims to break its ICC title drought as they clash on Sunday in Ahmedabad at the Narendra Modi Stadium. Suryakumar was speaking to the reporters on the eve of India's T20 World Cup title defence against New Zealand in Ahmedabad on Saturday.

"It's obviously a special feeling that I'm going to lead tomorrow. Leading such a wonderful side into a final. That too on home soil. It's always a special feeling. Very excited. Of course, there are nerves. There will be butterflies in the stomach. But there's no pressure. There's no fun. I'm also very excited. And all the boys and support staff, everyone," he said.

"I'm sure the whole of India is excited for tomorrow. We just want to keep everything very, very simple. Not to complicate. We've been trying to do a lot of good things. Trying to continue the same things. I think it has been a very long journey for me. And as I said again, leading India, that too in such a big event, a big occasion. I am very happy. Very happy for my family, also everyone," he added.

Suryakumar also said that dew can be a factor, but you, India, should adapt to it and play accordingly. With experience in franchise and international games, he believes India's team is ready to handle it.

"Sometimes it [Dew] does play a big factor, but at the same time, you have to act on it. If there is a difficult situation, you can't be doing anything else. But if you have an option, obviously, if you are batting, it has an advantage where there is dew. But during bowling, there is no other option. You have been playing a lot of games, franchise cricket, and international games in heavy dew. So, you practised a lot. So, you have to do it for India," he added.

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 were 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