Mitchell Marsh delivered the performance of his life to secure Australia's first ever T20 World Cup, beating New Zealand with seven balls to spare despite an incredible knock from Kane Williamson.
Both of these teams came into Sunday’s showpiece looking to make history, with each nation hoping to clinch their maiden title at the Dubai International Stadium. It was Australia though, who etched their name into the history books in style thanks to a stunning performance from Marsh, who finished unbeaten on 77 after 50 balls. Marsh shared a stand of 92 with opener David Warner and continued to attack after Warner was dismissed for 53 from 38.
Many had written off the Aussies pre-tournament, having lost five series in a row coming into this and getting bowled out for 62 a month before the tournament. Aside from a heavy defeat by England though, they have been pretty consistent throughout.
21 of the 32 games since the Super 12s stage started have been won by the chasing team, so it was unsurprising to see Australia, who won the toss, elect to bowl first having won all five of their games chasing so far.
Batting first, Williamson put in one of the great captain’s innings of T20 cricket, scoring the highest ever in a World Cup final, eclipsing Kumar Sangakarra’s 64 in the 2014 final. He started slowly, making six from his 12 balls, before being dismissed for 85 from 48 balls. It was a particularly bad day at the office for Aussie bowler Mitchell Starc, who finished with figures of 0-60 from his four overs. The Black Caps put themselves in the driving seat of a finely poised finale leaving Australia with a commendable 173 to chase, though it wouldn’t be enough.
An epic performance from our sensational Aussies! Men's T20 World Cup champions! 🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺
#T20WorldCup
New Zealand, who have now lost three white-ball finals in a row, looked to have had one hand on the trophy at the halfway stage after Williamson's heroics, but it was ultimately the unfancied Australia who won their first T20 World Cup title with relative ease.
Speaking after the win, deserved player of the match Marsh said: "I feel like a lot of people say this but I don't really have words right now. What an amazing six weeks with this group of men. I love them to death and now we're world champs.
"I just love playing for this team. I just wanted to get out there and have a presence, which big Marcus Stoinis always talks to me about. I can't believe it. It's unbelievable.”
