"We kind of said let's do it for him" - New Zealand captain makes interesting revelation after 2025 Champions Trophy final defeat to India

New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner made an interesting revelation after going down fighting in the Champions Trophy 2025 final against India on Sunday in Dubai. With Matt Henry missing the all-important fixture due to an injury, the left-arm spinner said New Zealand were keen to win it for him.

Henry had taken a fifer in the group-stage clash against India. Overall, the right-arm seamer has 21 wickets in 11 ODIs against the Men in Blue, averaging 21 alongside an economy rate of 4.48. However, the 33-year-old had suffered a shoulder injury during the semi-final bout against South Africa and failed a fitness test ahead of the final.

Speaking at the post-game presser, Santner pointed out that Henry has the skill to extract movement on pitches that don't offer a lot for the seamers. The southpaw also revealed that the veteran tried everything to be ready for the game. He said (as quoted by ESPNcricinfo):

"He was the leading wicket-taker going into this game, and he's an outstanding bowler, as we've seen. He seems to be able to nip it on wickets that don't look like they should nip, so I guess we missed that today. I feel for Matty. He's a massive team man, and he looked pretty distraught. We just kind of said, like, let's do it for him. To come this far and then be injured for the main event was pretty tough for him and I guess for us. He tried everything he could to be ready for this game, and unfortunately for us, he wasn't quite there."

Defending 251, the likes of Will O'Rourke, Kyle Jamieson and Nathan Smith couldn't make the required early inroads with the new ball. Although New Zealand's spinners came to the party, India eventually got home with four wickets and an over to spare.

"I couldn't be prouder of the group" - Mitchell Santner on New Zealand's effort

Mitchell Santner with his players. (Credits: Getty)

Santner said the quick turnaround between games was difficult to deal with but heaped praise on his players for stepping up at different times, adding (as per the aforementioned source):

"It's never going to go perfectly in these tournaments, I guess, with the quick turnaround of games like we had. But I think what's most pleasing is different guys got opportunities and stepped up as. I couldn't be prouder of the group. There were guys coming in and out due to injury. And then the way Rachin came back straight away after his head knock and hit the ground running was great. And Kyle Jamieson flying over and coming straight into the team - I thought he bowled extremely well in the games he played."

New Zealand had also lost the Champions Trophy final in 2009 against Australia.