Australia and New Zealand are locking horns in the grand finale of the T20 World Cup 2021 in Dubai. Both teams dug deep to win their respective semifinals and paved the way to the marquee clash.
Aaron Finch won the toss and opted to bowl first. Australia remained unchanged with their playing XI for the final while New Zealand replaced injured Devon Conway with Tim Seifert in their playing XI.
Also Read: Kane Williamson takes stunning catch to dismiss Jonny Bairstow, watch here
Martin Guptill and Daryl Mitchell walked out to open the innings for New Zealand. Guptill hit a four on the second ball of the match to kick off the things for New Zealand. Both openers were not taking any unnecessary risk upfront. Josh Hazlewood removed Mitchell before Adam Zampa dismissed Guptill for 35-ball 28 runs.
New Zealand were scoring slow at the halfway mark of the innings. But Kane Williamson decided to up the ante after the drinks break. He targeted Mitchell Starc and smashed him for a hat-trick of fours in the 11th over. Starc returned to ball another over and ended up conceding the most expensive over of his career.
Williamson smashed two fours on the first two balls before hitting an outrageous six with a flick. He scored two more boundaries in the last three balls to get 22 runs off the over.
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Williamson scored flamboyant 85 runs in 48 balls, which featured 10 fours and three sixes. This fifty by Williamson was the fastest fifty by any player in a T20 World Cup Final. It was his innings that propelled New Zealand’s total to 172/4 in 20 overs. Josh Hazlewood was the pick of the bowlers with 3 wickets for 16 runs in four overs.
Also Read: Kane Williamson smashed one-handed six to raise fifty, watch here
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.
