New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner on Sunday said the team should be "proud" of their efforts in the T20 World Cup despite a crushing defeat to India in the final.
India became the first team to win back-to-back titles and a record third crown with a 96-run thrashing of New Zealand in Ahmedabad.
Santner's side conceded 255 runs after they elected to field first in the title clash and were then bowled out for 159 in 19 overs.
"To make it to a final is obviously a pretty good effort from the boys," Santner told reporters. "And, you know, they should be very proud of their efforts throughout this tournament."
Defeat in Ahmedabad.
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A T20 World Cup campaign to be proud of.#T20WorldCup | 📸 = ICC/Getty pic.twitter.com/7IMoYLU7GI
New Zealand came in as underdogs after a hot and cold tournament where they lost to England and South Africa and squeezed into the semifinal on net run-rate.
They hammered South Africa in the semifinal but lost their second T20 World Cup final after they went down to Australia in 2021.
"I guess it's not ideal, losing finals, but, you know, like I said the other day, you get to this situation, you're coming up against teams that are also playing very good cricket," said Santner.
"They showed their class again tonight, you know, with their batting performance, and then, everything kind of has to go well when you're chasing 250 and losing wickets to the powerplayers, it's always a challenge."
New Zealand were up against 11 Indian players and over 86 000 home fans at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
Santner thanked New Zealand fans back home, some of whom may have got up in the wee hours to watch their team losing another final.
"It's thanks to the fans back home for following us. Yeah, they might have to go to work without a trophy today, but we obviously get great support," said Santner.
"We get great support here as well. Obviously, there were a few blue shirts on, not many black shirts, but it's always a great occasion and it's always cool for us to play in front of so many people. "