Australia ended a long wait for a 20-over World Cup silverware after thrashing New Zealand by eight wickets in the World Cup 2021 final at Dubai International Stadium on Sunday. Mitchell Marsh's 77* and a half-century from David Warner helped Australia chase down 173 with seven balls to spare. Josh Hazlewood and Adam Zampa made crucial contributions with the ball as the fast bowler clinched a three-wicket haul, while the leg-spinner registered bowling figures of 1/26 in four overs.
A sensational 48-ball 85 from Kane Williamson went in vain. The New Zealand captain, who struck ten fours and three sixes, stitched a half-century stand with Glenn Phillips. However, the Kiwi bowlers, apart from Trent Boult, had an outing to forget. Boult picked up the two wickets to fall and was the only bowler to concede less than six runs per over. New Zealand have now finished runners-up in three of the last four white-ball World Cups.
Classic Williamson
Australia, who won the toss and opted to bowl first, clipped the wings of Daryl Mitchell. Hazlewood grabbed the opening breakthrough and ensured New Zealand registered their lowest powerplay score in the tournament. Martin Guptill and Williamson couldn’t find boundaries but managed to maintain a decent scoring rate.
The New Zealand captain upped the tempo with a hat-trick of boundaries off Mitchell Starc’s second over. However, in the 12th over, Guptill holed out to Marcus Stoinis at deep midwicket. It didn’t stop Williamson from going after Australian bowlers. Glenn Maxwell was taken to the cleaners twice by Williamson and brought up his fifty off 32 balls. At the other end, Phillips hit a six and a four in the final over of Zampa.
Williamson continued to pile misery on Starc. He struck four boundaries and cleared the ball over deep backward square leg for a maximum in Starc’s third. Australia managed to break the 68-run stand through Hazlewood. Phillips and Williamson departed in quick succession. New Zealand added 23 runs off the last two overs and ended up on 172 after 20 overs. Starc became the first player to concede 60 runs in a 20-over World Cup final.
Absolute domination
Australia were in total control of the run chase despite losing Aaron Finch in the third over. Marsh clobbered Adam Milne over square leg for six runs and scored back-to-back boundaries in his first three balls. Tim Southee saw Warner hit him for two fours and a six in his first two overs. Also, the Australian opener unsettled Ish Sodhi, scoring 16 runs off his second over. Warner brought up his fifty with a six in the 11th over.
New Zealand had a ray of hope when Boult cleaned up Warner for 53. But Australia put the pressure back on them after Sodhi conceded 16 runs off his third over. Marsh, who ripped apart the spinner, reached his 50, while Australia needed 48 runs from six overs. Maxwell took charge and hit boundaries off Milne and Southee. In the 19th over, Maxwell dispatched the last ball to the boundary to seal a first-ever 20-over World title for Australia.
Player of the Match - Mitchell Marsh
Marsh emerged Australia’s hero in the final with an unbeaten 77 from 50 balls. The all-rounder played the No 3 role to perfection in the tournament. On Sunday, he batted fearlessly and was determined to take his team home. New Zealand bowlers were thrashed to all parts of the ground. Marsh has been one of the most consistent performers in the shortest format of the game in 2021. He has scored over 600 runs and the fifty in the final was his sixth in the year.
Top Fantasy Points scorers
With 113 points, Williamson finished the highest fantasy points scorer in the match. It was the Kiwi batter's first 100-plus score in the tournament. An 11% of fantasy cricket players had selected him as their vice-captain. Meanwhile, second-placed Marsh grabbed 103 points. Hazlewood and Warner made 83 and 75 points, respectively. Pace bowlers Starc and Southee, who both endured disappointing outings, finished bottom with -2 points.
The top Fantasy XI: K Williamson - 113 pts, M Marsh - 103 pts, J Hazlewood - 83 pts, D Warner - 75 pts, T Boult - 58 pts, G Maxwell - 44 pts, M Guptill - 35 pts, A Zampa - 29 pts, D Mitchell - 25 pts, G Phillips - 25 pts, J Neesham - 19 pts
Parameswaran Sankaranarayanan
Parameswaran Sankaranarayan is a sports enthusiast who has worked in print, website, and other digital platforms. He was part of the editorial team of first-ever Indian football-based website - IndianFootball.com (now defunct) - and passionately follows the latest happenings in world football. During his time as a journalist, he had the opportunity to interact with some of the iconic personalities in Indian sports and witness some memorable moments in Indian football.
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