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Blackcaps rue loss of composure with bat in T20 World Cup final
Savannah Lendich Jonkers •  March 9th, 2026 11:11 am
Mark Chapman in the T20 World Cup final | Photo: MB Media/Photosport
New Zealand’s performance in the T20 World Cup final on Monday (NZ time) fell short of the standard needed against world class opposition like India, according to Blackcaps assistant coach Luke Ronchi.
After conceding 255 runs, the Blackcaps folded for just 159 in 19 overs, as the hosts claimed a dominant 96-run victory.
Ronchi said the team needed to remain positive and ramp up the aggression, but it was a tactic that was ultimately undone by the regular loss of wickets.
“Once you're chasing a total like that, you have to be on the mark," Ronchi told Sport Nation post-match. "If you’re looking at all aspects of the game, we could have been a lot better.
“That's the nature of this sort of cricket - if you try too much or try to hit the ball too hard, then you lose shape of the way you'd normally hit a cricket ball.
“More often than not, if you're trying to score a strike rate of 200, you actually score worse.
“But when you're nice and relaxed and reacting to what a bowler's giving you, your outcomes are a lot better.”
India celebrate lifting the T20 World Cup trophy | Photo: MB Media/Photosport
Blackcaps captain Mitchell Santner had won the toss and elected to bowl first.
But with over 80,000 Indian supporters packing out Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium, Ronchi conceded that the atmosphere and noise made things extremely difficult.
“There's data and stats around batting first and chasing and in certain parts of the game and what an opposition likes to do and what we like to do as a unit as well," he explained.
“All those little factors come into it , and then you've got to sort of make a good judgement call on how you want to do it. Unfortunately, I guess the way it looks now, we made the wrong choice.”
The Blackcaps now return home ahead of the T20 double-header series against South Africa alongside the White Ferns, starting March 15 at Tauranga’s Bay Oval.
Sport Nation will have live and free ball-to-ball commentary of the T20 double-headers – download the app today on Google Play and the App Store.
