We finally nailed it!!
That must have been the thought on Aaron Finch and his jubilant Australian T20 cricket team’s mind a fortnight ago. Fourteen years of a long wait for this greatest cricketing nation is a big deal.
Not having a T20 WC Trophy in their team cabin must have been a big deal, considering that Australian cricket team was 6-time world champions before this, in the 50 over ICC world championship tournaments. They have won 5 times in the world cup and once in the champions trophy.
For the past few decades, Australia has always been the dominant side in all forms of cricket. They have also performed at their very best in every international championship tournament.
So, Australia was determined to win the tournament this time. Starting from the opening match till the finals, all the players gave their 100% best.
David Warner stuttered at the beginning of the tournament. Everyone ruled out Australia to be the champions of this tournament. But it all changed against the West Indies, where Warner scored an unbeaten 89. That boosted their confidence. From there onwards, they were like the ‘Old Invincible Aussie Team‘.
Players like Adam Zampa, Mitchell Marsh, Josh Hazelwood have been the most consistent performers for Australia throughout the T20 World Cup. Australia had peaked at the right time in the tournament. Most of their players made a conscious effort to win this tournament that alluded them for these many years.
The Big Final
November 14th, 2021 was the D-Day for the ‘Men In Yellow‘ to get one step closer towards holding that ‘Illusive ICC Tournament Cup’ that they have been unable to achieve since the 1st edition of the tournament began in 2007.
Their opponent was their neighbor New Zealand. New Zealand never won a T20 world cup.
So, it was a first of all kind. Now, all you readers out there from various parts of the world, especially Aussie fans, what I’m about to scribble down below is just my thought or wish to see the ‘History Made.’
I was rooting for New Zealand to win this tournament. New Zealand had never won any ICC World Cup Tournaments before. And also against Australia. They were the consistent performing teams with only one loss in the tournament to Pakistan.
Also, Australia has won so many tournaments before, so they could wait till the next T20 World Cup that is going to be in Australia.
Anyways, I always like to be a ‘Neutral Supporter’ with seeing the best team of that day winning.
Now let us come to the match day. Right from the toss to the pitch conditions, everything suited the Australians.
Throughout the entire tournament, in all the matches played in Dubai, any team that won the toss had decided to field first. It was because of the ‘Dew Factor‘ that takes effect in the 2nd innings. It becomes difficult to grip the ball.
So, Aaron Finch, the captain of Australia, never hesitated in asking New Zealand to bat first. It meant that Kane Williamson and his other teammates had to bat throughout their entire innings. Moreover, the chasing score should have been close to 200 and above as Australia has depth in their batting lineup.
I’m not going to run through every over in detail in this blog. So, it is only going to be a summary.
New Zealand lost early wickets, and the inning was anchored for most of the match by their captain Kane Williamson, who scored 85 runs. But he couldn’t get the support from other players in scoring quickly.
Hazelwood and Zampa were the economical bowlers for the Australian team. Hazelwood took three wickets and gave away only 16 runs in his four overs. Even though Mitchell Starc gave away 60 runs in his four overs, it turned out to not have caused any loss for Australia.
Because when the two openers for Australia came to play in the 2nd innings, things appeared to be much easier than it might have seemed. From the beginning till the end of the final run, 172 never seemed to be a daunting total for Australia as they chased it at a ‘Speed Of Lightning.‘ In the end, it turned out to be a ‘One-Sided’ match. When Mitchell Marsh came to bat after the fall of Finch’s wicket, he made sure there was no further collapse at all. He kept on hitting the boundaries of all top New Zealand bowlers like Boult, Southee, Nisham, and in particular, Sodhi.
No New Zealand bowler was successful. As a result, Australia became the champions. Marsh remained unbeaten at 77 while Warner had scored 53 runs.
Now, one has to wonder why Mitchell Marsh, a gifted cricketer, played so few matches of all formats. You have to feel for him. He has been the unlucky player getting injured all the time. No cricketer should face injuries all the time in their career.
From a fan point of view, I felt that it would have been better had the match gone till the end. It would have been exciting.
It is the way Australians play their game. In particular, the finals. They are always at their ‘Absolute Dominance.‘ So, no wonder Australia has won so many International ICC Tournaments to date.
Hats of to them.
In the end, it was a wonderful sight to watch Aaron Finch and his team members lifting the ICC T20 World Cup Trophy for the first time.
I’m looking forward to seeing them win more T20 World Cups!