Australia ended a long hiatus of T20 World Cup Silverware. The emotions of all the Aussie players were seen as this time the Cricketers were having tears of joy. Australia would be booming with confidence as no one expected them to win the elusive trophy.
Australia had won the toss & elected to bowl first. Bowling first was an obvious choice considering the dew factor. Tim Seifert played in the place of Devon Conway who unfortunately had a freaky injury. Australia had an unchanged playing 11 as they didn’t want to disturb the balance of the team.
New Zealand were cautious with the bat. Martin Guptill was dropped on 10 by Wade on the bowling off Glenn Maxwell in the 3rd over. There was a setup for the Lethal Daryl Mitchell from Josh Hazelwood who irked him by bowling immaculate lines. New Zealand had a mediocre power-play as they scored a mere 32 runs for the loss of 1 wicket. This was New Zealand’s lowest power-play score in the Tournament.
Kane Williamson & Martin Guptill didn’t play with fire; as surprisingly there was a tinge of grass on the wicket which was enough for bowlers to capitalise on it. Aaron Finch was marshalling his troops at his best by drying up the boundaries; as at the end of 10 overs New Zealand had struck only 6 boundaries which consisted of 5 fours & 1 six and scored 57 runs. Kane Williamson was itching as he was aware of the fact that a score of 130-140 runs was unacceptable.
Kane Williamson took a bold decision as he targeted Mitchell Starc. In the 11th over Kane Williamson was dropped on 21 by Josh Hazlewood on the bowling off Mitchell Starc. Kane got a life & he made sure that Aussie would rue it. Martin Guptill was struggling to time the ball as he was undone the variation of Adam Zampa (*Guptill scored 28 runs in 35 balls).
Kane took calculative risk & pummelled Starc, Maxwell & every bowler through crafty shots. In the 16th over Kane Williamson had scored 22 runs against Starc.
Josh Hazlewood the man with the golden arm dented Kiwi’s onslaught as he got rid of Kane Williamson in the 18th over (*Score was 149-4 at the end of over) by bowling a cunning knuckle ball. Kane stood out as a one-man army as he smashed 85 runs in 48 balls including 10 fours & 3 sixes.
At the back-end James Neesham & Tim Seifert posted a formidable target of 173 runs. This was the highest total in the history of T20I World Cup. Mitchell Starc got bashed as he gave away eye-boggling 60 runs in his 4 over spell. The pick of the bowlers was Josh Hazlewood who took 3 wickets & gave away 16 runs in his spell. The bowlers had a topsy-turvy day as the final 10 overs yielded 115 runs.
In response to 173 target Trent Boult got rid off Aaron Finch cheaply. Once again, the duo of Mitchell Marsh & David Warner was at the crease. In the 4th over Mitchell Marsh went into beast mode as he smashed a six on the very first ball of Adam Milne; he made a statement that he means business. There was a complete assessment done by both the batters. Australia scored 43 runs in the power-play overs.
It was expected that Ish Sodhi & Mitchell Santner would be the nemesis for Aussies; but David Warner & Mitchell Marsh didn’t allow them to settle. Marsh took care of Santner whereas Warner dismantled Sodhi. All of a sudden Australia were cruising as they scored 39 runs off 4 overs (*2 overs a piece from each spinner).
The equation for Australia was pretty simple as they required 91 runs to win in 10 overs. The introduction of James Neesham weakened Kiwi’s chances as the stroke-play & hitting was a spellbound. Warner smashed his half century in 51 balls & made a statement that he is not finished yet.
It was looking like a Cake Walk as Aussies required 67 to win in last 8 overs. In the 13th over Trent Boult reignited the finale by castling David Warner’s stumps. Warner constructed the run-chase as he scored 53 runs in 38 balls.
In the 14th over Mitchell Marsh worsened Ish Sodhi’s figures & New Zealand’s chances furthermore as Sodhi conceded 16 runs. Mitchell Marsh scored the fastest half century in 31 balls in the History of T20 World Cup Final. Ish Sodhi had a forgettable World Cup finale as he gave away 40 runs in 3 overs.
The pendulum shifted quite quickly from New Zealand to Australia. Australia required 48 in 6 overs. Glenn Maxwell got promotion as he was batting ahead of Steven Smith. He took pressure off Mitchell Marsh as he too deepened the agony. Kane Williamson was seen helpless as his bowlers were getting demolished.
Glenn Maxwell wrapped up the game by his typical switch hit as Australia got the crown of T20 World Cup Champions. Australia chased down the target by 8 wickets with 1.1 overs remaining. Maxwell’s knock was a supporting as he scored 23 runs in 16 balls. Mitchell Marsh was the chief of the Run Chase as he scored 77 runs in 50 balls which consisted of 6 fours & 4 sixes. David Warner’s knock was of utmost important as he didn’t allow the game to drift away.
Trent Boult was the only pick of the bowlers who took 2 wickets & gave away 18 runs. New Zealand would be shell-shocked as Aussies hammered them. Throughout the tournament New Zealand’s bowling clicked but at the last junction they succumbed to the pressure. Kane Williamson should be proud of his team & of himself as he is continuing one of the greatest legacies.
Australia have silenced all the experts regarding bubble life & rotation policy. It is often said that the team which stays together & plays together only wins which now can’t be said. The Credit must go to the Head Coach Justin Langer who has faced a lot of criticism for team’s failure in the last 6-8 months.
David Warner was ecstatic as he silenced the entire Cricketing World as many experts had written him off. David Warner was awarded as the Player of the Tournament as he amassed 289 runs. David Warner is the architect behind the Triumph as his brand of Cricket was Versatile.
Mitchell Marsh’s presence at the top of the order made the difference as he took the responsibility of finishing the matches. The only positive which Australia had from the tours of Caribbean & Bangladesh was Mitchell Marsh. In the last 6 months he has played like a Warrior.
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