Bittersweet for Black Caps after another final loss

DUBAI - Skipper Mitchell Santner was proud of the way New Zealand went about their Champions Trophy campaign but was left with a bittersweet feeling after the Black Caps once again ended up on the losing side in a major global tournament.

New Zealand went down to India by four wickets in the title-decider in Dubai on Sunday, suffering a fourth loss in four short-format global finals over the last decade.

Its starting to add up a bit now, Santner told reporters after the final.

But if you make finals, youre coming up against another pretty good team whos also playing some good cricket.

I was proud with the way we fought tonight. I think we pride ourselves on not giving up, and I dont think we did...

I guess its bittersweet. You always want to win one of these, and I dont know how many more chances well get, but this one was up there for us.

I think we were playing some good cricket leading into this, and we thought we were a real sniff today, but I guess we just got beaten by a good team.

New Zealand suffered a blow before the final when pace spearhead Matt Henry was ruled out with a shoulder injury he picked up during the semi-final against South Africa.

That followed a freak injury to Rachin Ravindra, who was on Sunday named Player of the Tournament, that ruled the all-rounder out of New Zealands opener.

The Black Caps players have, however, resolutely refused to engage in the debate over Indias perceived advantage at having been based in Dubai throughout their campaign and Santner was not about to start complaining about adversity after the final.

Its never going to go perfectly in these tournaments, the spin bowler said.

And you could take