Piyush Chawla Reflects on Pressure, Motivation in Home Finals

"This is the moment you live for as a cricketer. The game against the West Indies was a virtual quarter-final, and the way Sanju Samson played that innings while chasing 195 in a pressure situation, he made it look so easy. That's the beauty of his batting. And again, against England, he came in to bat and made sure he was hitting every ball. We all know Wankhede brings a lot to the table for the batters, so you have to try and convert even the balls that are not there to hit into boundary balls. Whatever you're thinking of scoring, you have to add 20 runs to that because it’s a chasing ground, and we saw what happened there. India scored 250-plus and at one point we thought 250 was a good enough score in a high-pressure game, but England just fell seven runs short."

On what has been lacking in Varun Chakaravarthy's game for the last few games:

"I feel sometimes when you get desperate or when you try to do too many things, you end up bowling too full, and that's exactly what's happening with Varun. His strength is to bowl that hard length, not the one that fast bowlers bowl, but for a spinner, the good length where the bounce is around knee-high. Because with his pace, if the batter is not picking him up from the hand, it becomes really difficult as he's so quick off the surface. But when you are a little off radar, then you go for plenty, and this is what's been happening with Varun Chakaravarthy in the last couple of games. Either he's too full or too short, and with this kind of pace, it becomes easier for the batter to when the bounce is so true on the surface."

On the key to success in an ICC tournament final at home:

"You just have to go out there, control your emotions and express yourself. Because it's very important when there are so many people around and so many think that you're going to win the game. You are the favourites, and that tag also brings a little bit of pressure. But you have to keep all those things aside. And the butterflies, if someone says they're not there, is totally wrong. Once you enter the field and the whole crowd is behind you, cheering for you, gives you motivation. It's the same feeling that you have to do something special. And when every player thinks that way, that we have to do something special, the whole team comes together. It's not only about the eleven who are playing, even the players who are outside and not part of the playing XI, even the support staff, when everyone comes together, it becomes like a brute force."

Watch India's bid to repeat history at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, as India take on New Zealand in the Final tomorrow, 7:00 PM onwards, LIVE on JioHotstar and Star Sports Network