Australian captain Aaron finch who won the toss and decided to bowl first limited New Zealand on 172 in 20 overs with wonderful show of last three overs.
Australian all rounder Mitchel marsh declared man of the match on his brilliant performance after up the order from his captain where he was given priority of Steve smith.
David Warner on his excellent performance declared player of the tournament, Warner scored 289 runs in the tournament and on second number after Pakistan Captain Babar Azam who scored 303 runs, Muhammad Rizwan is on 3rd position with 281in the list of most runs in batsmen of ICC T20 WC2021.
ICC Brief on Final Match
Mitchell Marsh’s explosive 77 not out and a brilliant spell from Josh Hazlewood propelled Australia to their maiden ICC Men’s T20 World Cup title against New Zealand in Dubai.
The skillful Australian seamer’s three wickets for 16 runs helped limit Kane Williamson’s Black Caps to 172 for 4. Later, all-rounder Marsh, supported by the in-form David Warner, delivered a match-winning half-century, adding to New Zealand’s woes in ICC World Cup finals.
Williamson, leading his side in their third consecutive final since the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2015, compiled a masterful 85 to help guide his team to a competitive-looking total after losing the toss.
Marsh and Warner (scoring 53) led the charge for Aaron Finch’s side. Their efforts helped extend the winning streak for chasing teams under the lights at the Dubai International Stadium to ten out of ten in the tournament. This victory ended Australia’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup drought, making them the first team from the southern hemisphere to claim the crown.
Finch has enjoyed an excellent record at the toss and after winning his seventh of the tournament, unsurprisingly opted to insert New Zealand and leave his team chasing in the dewy conditions.
Australia stuck with the same lineup that secured a thrilling victory in the semi-final against Pakistan. However, New Zealand had to make a change due to Devon Conway’s broken hand, which he sustained in the semi-final against England after punching his bat in frustration. Tim Seifert replaced Conway as the wicketkeeper for the final.
And spearheaded by Martin Guptill and semi-final hero Daryl Mitchell at the top of the order, New Zealand came flying out of the traps by taking 23 off the first three overs.
Despite Matthew Wade initially dropping a difficult chance to dismiss Guptill, the Australian wicketkeeper redeemed himself by catching Mitchell with a smartly bowled Hazlewood cutter.
That helped restrict the Black Caps to their lowest powerplay total of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021, with New Zealand left stalling on 32 for one after six overs.
Captain Williamson soon set about rebuilding, however, helping himself to back-to-back boundaries off Marsh to haul his team up to 57 for one at the halfway mark.
Hazlewood put down Williamson near the boundary, but despite the Kiwi skipper’s onslaught, Marcus Stoinis kept his cool to dismiss Guptill for 28 off Adam Zampa’s economical bowling.
Williamson’s innings seemed to bring the Black Caps back into contention, especially as he stylishly anchored the innings, achieving the fastest half-century in an ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Final in just 32 balls.
And then the New Zealand lynchpin really started to accelerate, smashing a game-changing 22 runs from another Starc over to propel his team towards a competitive total.
Australia fought back in the death overs to restrict their opponents, with Hazlewood dismissing both Phillips and crucially, Williamson – whom he had dropped when he was on just 21 – after a superb knock of 85 runs off 48 deliveries.
And that helped cap the joint-best figures for a seamer in an ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Final, matching Irfan Pathan’s three for 16 for India in the 2007 showpiece.
Jimmy Neesham and Seifert combined in the final two overs to leave Australia with a total 173 to win – an almost identical target to the 177 they thrillingly chased down to topple Pakistan three days earlier.
Warner and Finch managed just a single run off a tight Trent Boult over. Despite a slightly leakier over from Tim Southee, which went for ten runs, the Black Caps soon managed to break through.
Mitchell pulled off a splendid catch on the boundary off Boult to dismiss the Australian skipper, covering excellent ground to his left to hold on under the lights.
Marsh quickly joined the action, wasting no time to assert himself, smashing Adam Milne for a six and following up with consecutive fours off his first three balls.
Marsh and Warner promptly began building the platform for victory, achieving a crucial fifty partnership in the ninth over.
Things were looking ominous for New Zealand as Warner – fresh off the back of 89 not out against West Indies and a quickfire 49 in the semi-final – swatted Ish Sodhi for an imperious maximum down the ground.
The Warner-Marsh onslaught persisted as the dynamic duo alternated in smashing Neesham for two additional sixes in the 11th over.
The game looked to be getting away from the Black Caps but with Warner well-poised on 53, Williamson’s strike bowler Boult delivered the goods.
After his initial two overs went for five runs, the left-arm bowler took advantage of an awkward cross-bat slog to dismiss the Australian batsman with 66 runs still needed for victory.
Despite the missed chance by Boult, the Australian momentum remained intact, especially as Glenn Maxwell, who came in after Marsh, quickly hit three fours and a six in succession.
Marsh’s impressive innings of 77 runs from 50 balls guided Australia to the target with seven balls to spare, maintaining their unbeaten record in ICC knockout matches against New Zealand and securing the T20 crown for the first time.
Scores in Brief
Australia beat New Zealand at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai, by 8 wickets
New Zealand 172/4 in 20 overs (Kane Williamson 85, Martin Guptill 28; Josh Hazlewood 3/16, Adam Zampa 1/26)
Australia 173/2 in 18.5 overs (Mitchell Marsh 77 not out, David Warner 53; Trent Boult 2/18)
Player of the Match: Mitchell Marsh
