The Black Caps played \u2060some fine cricket to get to Sunday\u2019s final only to lose a fourth short-format World Cup title-decider in 11 years, \u200cgoing down to India by a thumping 96 runs at Ahmedabad\u2019s Narendra Modi Stadium.<\/p>\n
Walter said \u200che was proud of his players and sensed \u200cthere \u2060was a real determination to finally land \u2060a short-format world title for New Zealand when it co-hosts the 2028 T20 World Cup with Australia.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think there\u2019s a real \u200bhunger in the group, \u200chaving sort of tasted the success here and fallen short,\u201d he told reporters by video call before leaving Ahmedabad on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think there\u2019s a real \u200chunger as a group to work their way \u200btowards the World Cup in 2028, especially seeing as it\u2019s a home World Cup.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d \u2060expect a large number, if not all, of that group to be pushing hard to be part of \u200cthe 2028 team, trying to go that one step further.\u201d<\/p>\n
The nine-wicket win over South Africa in the semifinals, featuring Finn Allen\u2019s record 33-ball century, was the highlight of the tournament, but Walter conceded that the final had left him with mixed feelings \u200cabout the month in India and Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re always pretty \u200bproud of making a World Cup final,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought we played well when we \u2060needed to, and then obviously pretty disappointed we didn\u2019t \u2060play our best cricket in the final.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I suppose it\u2019s a classic bittersweet moment. One, \u200cto play well to make the final, but then to just not be at our best \u200bon the last day of the tournament.\u201d<\/p>\n
Published on Mar 10, 2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n