T20 World Cup | Final: David Warner emerges from poor form with Player of the Tournament award

T20 World Cup | Final | Player of the match Micthell Marsh doesn’t have enough words for the winning feeling

Mitchell Marsh, who was awarded Player of the Match in the final of the T20 World Cup 2021 against New Zealand didn’t have enough words to convey his emotions and excitement on becoming the first team from down under to win the T20 World Cup. Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, Marsh, who remained unbeaten on 77 off 50 balls, said, “Absolutely, it feels like [amaizing]. A lot of people say this, but I don't have words (emotional).” Marsh further thanked the coaches for their role in promoting him to the number three spot in the batting lineup. “The coaching staff came up to me in West Indies and asked to bat at 3. And everyone involved in the Australia team backed me to bat up there.” The 30-year-old who hadn’t had much going in this tournament with scores of 11 and 16 against South Africa and Bangladesh, did well to score a fifty in the last league game against West Indies and then hit big in the biggest game. He thanked his Western Australia teammate Marcus Stoinis for always prepping him for showing his presence in the big game. “Not a whole lot of thinking went into that [hitting first ball six in this match]. Stoinis always keeps telling about the presence. [I] Can't believe it. Feels just unbelievable,” he said.

T20 World Cup Final | What Experts Said after Australia's outstanding performance

Australia created history on Sunday evening in Dubai after they lifted their first ever T20 title. The Aaron Finch-led side defeated New Zealand by 8 wickets in the final to clinch the victory. Chasing a stiff total of 173, Australia lost the skipper Finch early in the innings but opener David Warner and Mitchell Marsh who had come in at number three steadied the ship and unveiled a brilliant performance with the willow. The two batters chipped in with a stand of 92 runs for the second wicket before Warner was cleaned up by Trent Boult for a 38-ball 53 which included three maximums and four fours during the course. But Warner’s departure didn’t really make a huge impact on the scoring rate as Marsh continued with his form and eventually returned unbeaten at 77 off 50 deliveries to see his side home. Maxwell who had come in at number four faced some issues initially but managed to score 28* off 18. Earlier, in the day, New Zealand rode on some emphatic batting from Kane Williamson to put 172/4 on the board in 20 overs. Williamson notched up 85 off 48 during the course. For Australia, it was Josh Hazlewood who was the pick of the bowlers after he returned with figures of 3/16 in 4 overs. But the pacer Mitchell Starc had a dismal run after he was hit for 60 runs in 4 overs. New Zealand captain Kane Williamson said that they were able to put up a competitive total but it was sheer brilliance from Australia that they chased it down. “We were trying to get a platform and the surface was holding a fraction. But typical to here in Dubai. It was nice to build some partnerships and get what we thought was a competitive total. Only to be chased superbly by Australia. They're a fantastic side,” he said during the post-match presentation. Australia skipper Aaron Finch hailed the players on the way they performed in the tournament. “This is huge, to be the first Australia team to do it. So proud of how the guys went about the campaign. [Bangladesh game turning point?] Certainly was, backs were against the wall. We had to fight and certainly did that, had some great team and individual performances. [Warner] Can't believe people wrote him off a couple of weeks ago, it was almost like poking the bear,” Finch said. EXPERTS’ OPINION’ Commentator Harsha Bhogle lauded Mitchell Marsh for the kind of innings that he played against New Zealand in the final. “Australia just too powerful. What a player Mitch Marsh has become. Hopefully his body becomes a partner in his future because he is too good to be playing as little he has. Brilliant today,” he wrote on Twitter. Journalist Ayaz Memon also lavished praise on Australia for their title win. “Outstanding performance by Aussies. Popular sentiment, and their own record in T20s, made their prospects in this match somewhat suspect. But they cane hard at the Kiwis from the start, in bowling and batting, and won by a distance,” he tweeted. Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra hailed Australia and the way the side fared in the final. “Australia lost Finch and Marsh made the very next over into a big one. Lost Warner and the same treatment meted out in the following over. The ability to counterattack in knockouts is special. Well played, Australia Zampa and Hazlewood were special throughout,” he wrote on Twitter. Former India bowler Irfan Pathan congratulated Australia on the win. “How many of you thought at the start of the tournament that Australia will even come close to winning this T20 WorldCup 2021 ??? Well done world champion Australia,” he tweeted. Australia had come into the final after beating Pakistan in the semis while New Zealand defeated England in the semi-final to march ahead.

T20 World Cup Final | Twitter reacts to one-sided hammering of Kiwis as Australia lift first World Cup

The Australian cricket team led by Aaron Finch etched their names in the echelons of cricket winning their maiden T20 World Cup. The Aussies dominated their trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand thoroughly on Sunday night, 14 November to establish themselves as the best side in the tournament. They won the game by a margin of 8 wickets and 7 balls remaining. While David Warner and Mitchell Marsh were the shining stars for Australia in the batting department, Josh Hazlewood and Adam Zampa kept the NZ batting order under tremendous pressure whenever they looked to cut loose. Earlier in the innings, Kane Williamson played a captain's knock to rescue New Zealand out of trouble after they got stuck in the opening overs of the game. He scored an emphatic 85 runs off just 48 balls, which allowed NZ to get up to 172 runs in 20 overs, a fairly decent total in the context of the tournament. However, that wasn't going to be enough and Australia ravaged the Kiwi bowling attack and put away whatever they could possibly throw at them. Twitter celebrated the Australian victory in the most joyous of manners and held them in the highest of regards for the effort that they put in to turn their fortunes around. Mitchell Marsh was the story of the night, having turned his form around. Forever a kid who never quite fulfilled his potential, Marsh turned his career around to become the most important factor of Australia's maiden T20 World Cup journey, a title that has eluded them for many many years. Marsh played an incredible knock of 77 runs off just 50 balls hitting 6 fours and 4 sixes. The Australian quick, hero of the 2015 ODI World Cup final did not have a good night in Dubai and leaked out a lot of runs in the first innings of the game. Bowling the most expensive spell in the T20 World Cup final, Starc was not spared from the harsh takes on social media. David Warner turned out to be the man of the tournament, scoring 289 runs from 7 matches. He scored two crucial 50s in the semi final and final games and turned the Australian fortunes around in the shortest format of the game.

People hardly gave us chance, we proved them wrong, says Wade as Aus win first T20 WC title

Australia won their first-ever T20 World Cup on the back of some brilliant batting performances by David Warner and Mitchell Marsh. They beat New Zealand in a comprehensive manner by eight wickets. But before winning the final, they had a semi-final that was one of the toughest wins and the two heroes from that match, Matthe Wade, although weren’t required here. But they were very chuffed about the victory. Speaking in a post-match interview with Ian Bishop, Stoinis said, “Can't believe this [winning this World Cup]. We love each other, I'm so proud of this team.” He further went on to praise Marsh, his Western Australia buddy. “You won't find bigger supporters of Mitch Marsh than us and his family,” said Stoinis. On the other hand, Mathew Wade, the man who won them the semi-final and was the Player of the match there said that people didn’t Australia any chance by tit is huge for them. "This is huge for us. People hardly gave us a chance, but we have proven them wrong. I am so proud of our performance. The partnership with Stoinis in the semis changed everything,” he said. “Can't just say that it was my innings. We are the first team to win a T20 World Cup for Australia and we are proud of this achievement,” added the wicketkeeper batter.