Kane Williamson equalled the highest score ever made in a Twenty20 World Cup final, but Mitchell Marsh and David Warner combined to thwart him as Australia beat the Black Caps by eight wickets.
The New Zealand captain made 85 off 48 as they posted 172-4 after being sent in, but Warner made 53 off 38 and Marsh was unbeaten on 77 off 50 as their side chased it down with ease at Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
Trent Boult took 2-18 off his four overs, but the rest of the Black Caps bowlers failed to deliver on the biggest stage after playing so well to get their team there, and the writing was on the wall from a long way out.
The Black Caps’ slow start with the bat, where they made just 57 runs in their first 10 overs, was also a factor, in a match where they probably ended up around 20 runs short, but the chasing side was always going to be the favourite.
Williamson said at the post-match presentation that he thought their total was competitive: “They didn’t give us an inch, really. We were relying on wickets throughout and making life difficult, but it wasn’t to be”.
Aaron Finch won the toss and elected to bowl, backing his side to make it 10 wins out of 10 for the team batting second in night matches in Dubai in this tournament.
Williamson was dropped on 21 off 21 by Josh Hazlewood at fine leg then scored 64 off 27, a tally that included a one-handed six off Glenn Maxwell and 22 runs off a single Mitchell Starc over.
His innings equalled the highest score in a T20 World Cup final, while Starc conceded 60 runs off his four overs to finish with the most expensive figures in one.
The Black Caps scored 103 runs off his overs and those bowled by Maxwell and Marsh, while the other 12, bowled by Hazlewood, Pat Cummins, and Adam Zampa, only went for 69.
Martin Guptill made 28 off 35 and was tied down after scoring boundaries in each of the first two overs, while Glenn Phillips made 18 off 17 and Jimmy Neesham was unbeaten on 13 off 7.
With four overs to go, after Williamson’s attack on Starc, the Black Caps were 136-2, and might have fancied adding more than 36 off the last four, given the wickets they had in hand.
Hazlewood removed Phillips and Williamson to finish with 3-16, and Neesham and Tim Seifert, in for Devon Conway, who was ruled out after breaking his hand in their semifinal win over England, couldn’t find the boundary as often as they needed to.
The Black Caps’ bowling had been their strength on their run to their first T20 World Cup final, but they’d usually been operating in first innings, with batsmen adjusting to the conditions and no clear target in sight.
Finch went cheaply, caught by Daryl Mitchell in the deep off Boult, but Warner was patient before launching into Tim Southee, and Marsh started his innings with 14 runs off three balls from Adam Milne.
Spinners Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner entered the mix after the power play but by then Warner and Marsh were set and on their way to putting together a second-wicket partnership of 86 off 59.
They gave each other the support Williamson lacked, but Warner wasn’t able to finish the job, as he was bowled by Boult in the 13th over, with 66 needed off 46.
Any hopes the Black Caps had of turning the screws were swiftly erased when Sodhi returned to bowl the 14th over and sent down three wides while conceding 16, to finish with 0-40 from three.
The writing was on the wall at that point and Maxwell made sure the job was finished with time to spare, scoring 28 not out off 18 as he and Marsh made 66 off 39 and ending things with a reverse hit off Southee.
Once again, it was Australia in New Zealand’s way at a crucial juncture of an international tournament.
The 2021 T20 World Cup final joined their quarterfinal at the 1996 ODI World Cup and the final of the 2015 ODI World Cup as major knockout defeats. Even on their way to winning the inaugural World Test Championship in June, the Black Caps couldn’t win across the Tasman.
Winning matches that matter against Australia remains one of New Zealand’s final frontiers in men’s cricket.
This will hurt, but they have to dust themselves off quickly, as they have another T20 to play in less than 72 hours in India. The grind never stops.
T20 World Cup – final
Black Caps 172-4 (Kane Williamson 85 off 48, Martin Guptill 28 off 35; Josh Hazlewood 3-16) lost to Australia 173-2 in 18.5 overs (Mitchell Marsh 77no off 50, David Warner 53 off 38, Glenn Maxwell 28no off 18; Trent Boult 2-18) by eight wickets.
