Mitchell Santner may have ended up on the wrong side of the result as captain in the Champions Trophy final against India as New Zealand ended up being a runner-up in an ICC tournament for the fifth time in 16 years but the left-arm spinner scripted history in the tournament with his performance with the ball. Santner picked up a couple of crucial wickets with the ball in the final of Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer, the first one may majorly belong to Glenn Phillips for his catch, to take his tally to nine wickets for the tournament.
Santner's nine is the most number of wickets by a captain in the Champions Trophy as he leapfrogged former South African Shaun Pollock pacer, who had eight scalps to his name in the tournament. Santner was inspirational for New Zealand with his bowling on surfaces in Dubai and all three venues in Pakistan and his leadership in his first ICC event in charge of the Black Caps' white-ball team.
Most wickets in Champions Trophy as captain
9 - Mitchell Santner (New Zealand), in 5 innings*
8 - Shaun Pollock (South Africa), in 5 innings
7 - Daniel Vettori (New Zealand), in 4 innings
4 - Hansie Cronje (South Africa), in 3 innings
4 - Steve Tikolo (Kenya), in 3 innings
New Zealand faltered with the bat in the grand final as India were just too good on a slow and sluggish track in Dubai with their spin quartet. Kuldeep Yadav pegged New Zealand back with a couple of big wickets of Rachin Ravindra and Kane Williamson, the centurions in the semifinal for the Kiwis and then onwards, the Black Caps were always behind the eight-ball. Michael Bracewell tried his best with a quickfire fifty and a metronomic spell but India's depth in the squad proved to be too good with both bat and ball as the Men in Blue clinched their third Champions Trophy title.