New Zealand captain Santner proud despite loss in final / Photo: © AFP
New Zealand captain Santner proud despite loss in final
New Zealand's Mitchell Santner said the loss to India in the Champions Trophy final on Sunday was a "bittersweet" ending to his first ICC tournament as captain.
New Zealand went down to India by four wickets in a hard-fought title clash that was decided in the penultimate over in Dubai.
Santner, a left-arm spinner and a gutsy batter, took over the white-ball job in December from Kane Williamson, who stepped down after the T20 World Cup last year.
The Black Caps lost two of their five matches and both the defeats came against India.
"It has been very enjoyable," said Santner after their defeat in the final.
"Made easy by the group. Different guys stepping up at different times makes it easy. We have had a few challenges but we have adapted. It has been a great tournament."
The 33-year-old Santner led New Zealand with aplomb as they were the first team to reach the semi-finals, taking India along with them after wins over hosts Pakistan and Bangladesh.
New Zealand beat South Africa in the semi-final in Lahore with centuries from Rachin Ravindra and Williamson.
In the final, New Zealand posted 251-7 after they elected to bat first on a sluggish pitch that aided the spinners.
The left-handed Ravindra helped New Zealand start strongly with his 37 but soon the Indian spinners hit back with wickets.
Daryl Mitchell top-scored with 63 and Michael Bracewell finished off with an unbeaten 53 off 40 balls, but it wasn't enough against an Indian batting line-up with depth.
"I guess it's kind of bittersweet at the end," Santner said.
"I think we came up against a good side in the final but yeah you know we challenged in there at times throughout this game, which was pleasing."
He added: "I think there was probably a couple of small moments where we let it get away from us, but yeah incredibly proud of this group the way we've kind of gone about it throughout this tournament."
Ravindra scored two centuries in the eight-nation tournament and amassed 263 runs to be named player of the series.
He also took three wickets with his left-arm spin after returning to the team following his recovery from a nasty hit to his forehead in a warm-up match in Pakistan.
"We've seen how he steps up in these major events and that's all you can ask for," Santner said of his 25-year-old all-rounder.
"He understands his game at such a young age already. He's got such a massive future ahead. He even took the ball in hand and put the pressure back on them today."
D.Cook--TNT
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