New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner praised Rohit Sharma‘s fearless approach, which he believes unsettles bowlers. Rohit’s quickfire 76 set the tone as India defeated New Zealand by 4 wickets in the Champions Trophy final on March 9.

“If you had asked Rohit before the tournament which match he’d like to score the most runs in, I’m sure he would’ve said the final. His approach is aggressive and puts a lot of pressure on bowlers. He’s the type of player who doesn’t hesitate to attack, and with Shubman, they complement each other well. Shubman waits for the right opportunity, while Rohit is more than happy to take on the bowlers and hit them off their lengths,” Santner explained.

“And that approach can sometimes lead to failures, but if he can give his team a strong start, especially on a slower pitch, it’s a huge advantage. Today, he did exactly that, putting his team ahead by taking the game to the opposition in the power play. Once he and the team were at 100 without losing a wicket, it was difficult for us to recover. Rohit’s style can be risky, but when it works, he can turn a game on its head, and he did that tonight,” Santner added.

Santner, proud of his team’s tournament performance, admitted New Zealand fell 20 runs short in the final, with Rohit’s innings proving decisive.

“It’s a bit of a bittersweet feeling at the end. We faced a really strong team in the final, but we did challenge them at various points during the game, which was encouraging. There were a few small moments where we could’ve done better, but overall, I’m incredibly proud of this group and how they’ve performed throughout the tournament. We had a good mix of experienced players and some younger talents, which made it easier to captain the team,” Santner shared.

“Different players stood up at various moments during the tournament, which was fantastic. We faced a tough opponent today, and while we were in the game for much of it, we probably left around 20 runs on the field. Rohit’s performance really shifted the momentum, and that’s where the game slipped away from us,” Santner concluded.