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Recent Zealand’s Glenn Phillips highlighted the achievement of competing against cricket superpower India, given Recent Zealand’s smaller population, ahead of the T20 World Cup final.
T20 World Cup: Recent Zealand all-rounder Glenn Phillips (AP)
For a rustic of just over five million people, standing toe-to-toe with a cricketing superpower like India is an achievement in itself, Recent Zealand all-rounder Glenn Phillips said on Friday. He offered a perspective on the contrasting scales of the 2 finalists ahead of the T20 World Cup title clash on Sunday.
India, with a population of greater than 1.4 billion, has an enviable depth of talent and will easily field multiple teams of comparable strength, Phillips noted while reflecting on the daunting challenge that awaits the Black Caps within the title clash on Sunday.
“Obviously, we’ve got got a couple of less people in our country, to have the luxurious of selecting from, which suggests obviously our high-performance program must be very specific and catered for the population that we’ve got,” Phillips was quoted as saying to the media during an interaction on the Narendra Modi Stadium before the Black Caps’ training session.
Interestingly, Phillips, considered considered one of the best fielders amongst energetic cricketers, turned the highlight on India ahead of the marquee encounter — a comment that might even be seen as a subtle try and shift the psychological pressure onto the house side, which is able to carry the expectations of over a billion fans.
India Vs Recent Zealand In Final
For perspective, Recent Zealand’s population is around 5.36 million, which is roughly 4 million fewer than the population of Ahmedabad city alone, estimated at about 9.3 million.
“But obviously, the talent that comes out of India is phenomenal. And, , they might probably pick three sides that will compete just as evenly on this World Cup.”
“So for us to exit and compete with teams all over the world, with such a small population is implausible,” Phillips tried to place things in perspective.
In Sunday’s title clash, India is chasing several firsts as they tackle Recent Zealand in Ahmedabad. They aim to change into the primary host team to win the T20 World Cup, the primary team to defend the title, and the primary to win three T20 world titles.
(With inputs from Agencies)
March 06, 2026, 20:42 IST
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