New Zealand all-rounder Glenn Phillips on Friday pointed out the contrast in scale between the two finalists ahead of Sunday’s T20 World Cup final against India, saying that for a country with a population of just over 5 million, competing against a cricket powerhouse like India is an achievement in itself.
Talking about the challenges New Zealand faces in the title race, Phillips said India, with a population of over 1.4 billion, has a large number of players to choose from and can even field multiple teams of similar strength.
“Obviously, we have a smaller pool of people to choose from in the country, which means our high-performance plans obviously have to be very specific and cater to the population that we have,” Phillips said during an interaction at the Narendra Modi Stadium ahead of New Zealand’s training, news agency PTI reported.
Phillips, considered one of the best fielders in international cricket, also drew attention to the expectations for India ahead of the final, which will be played in front of a large home crowd.
New Zealand’s population is approximately 5.36 million (5.36 million), which is approximately 4 million less than the estimated population of Ahmedabad city (approximately 9.3 million).
“But obviously, the talent coming out of India is amazing. And, you know, they’re probably going to pick three teams that are equally evenly matched in this World Cup.”
“So it’s great for us to go out and compete against teams from all over the world with such a small population,” Phillips said.
India will be targeting several milestones as they take on New Zealand in the final in Ahmedabad on Sunday. They hope to become the first host nation to win the T20 World Cup, the first team to defend the title and the first team to win three T20 World Cup trophies.
India defeated England in the semi-finals at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday to reach the final.
