Kane Williamson delivered a performance for the ages, enabling New Zealand to post a competitive total in an extremely important encounter.
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New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson smashed 85 runs off 48 deliveries, to help his team post a total of 172 runs for the loss of four wickets in the T20 World Cup 2021 final against Australia. Williamson’s knock comprised of ten boundaries and three sixes, enabling the Black Caps to post a competitive total on the board. However, he did not receive much support from the rest of the batters, with Martin Guptill (28 runs off 35 deliveries) the second highest run-getter. Glenn Phillips and James Neesham were the other players who fared well with the bat, accumulating 18 and 13 runs respectively.
Mitchell Starc had a horrible day with the ball, conceding 60 runs in four overs. Josh Hazlewood was the pick of the bowlers, conceding just 16 runs while accounting for three dismissals. Adam Zampa also provided quality support, chipping in with a wicket.
“Yeah it’s a bit slow, there’s some spin and hold on it, but it’s played really nicely for us. It was about going about each over as necessary. Zamps bowled a few good overs, so it was important for us to see him off. The way Kane took Starc on was unbelievable, it turned the match around for us a little bit there. In finals you never know, but we just gotta keep our plans simple and do what we do best,” said Phillips as quoted by Cricbuzz.
Australia skipper Aaron Finch opted to field after winning the toss in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2021 final against New Zealand. Finch believes that the nature of the pitch will not change, with the Aussies going in with an unchanged lineup. Williamson admitted that he would have loved to field as well, considering the reasonable wicket. The New Zealand skipper stated that his sole objective would be to ensure a competitive total on the board. Tim Seifert has been included in the lineup by the Kiwis in place of Devon Conway who is injured.
“We’ll have a bowl. Looks a little bit dry but I don’t think it will change. It might skid with the new ball. We’re playing the same team. The way we hung in the contest and take it deep was crucial for us. Zampas has been superb for a while in the shortest format, and hopefully that will continue. It is a new format, a new team and our record over NZ doesn’t matter at all,” said Finch as quoted by Cricbuzz.
Williamson backed spinner Mitchell Santner to make his presence felt, having failed to make much of an impact in the semi-final against England.
“We would have fielded as well. It looks like a reasonable wicket and who knows about the dew. Just trying to get a competitive total. We have one obvious change: Conway is out and Seifert is in. It is a shame that he misses but as a team we have to move on and focus on the challenge at hand. Mitch Santner is a world class operator and it didn’t quite work out in the match the other night. We don’t want to look too far ahead and we just need to make a few small adjustments,” he said.
Lineups:
New Zealand (Playing XI): Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell, Kane Williamson(c), Tim Seifert(w), Glenn Phillips, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Adam Milne, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult.
Australia (Playing XI): David Warner, Aaron Finch(c), Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade(w), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood.
