A month ago, when ex-cricketers and experts picked their favorites before the tournament, Australia wasn’t the first choice for most of them. Some didn’t even have them on their list. And the selection didn’t help raise eyebrows when the powerhouses of world cricket, with a rich legacy of the white balls, headed for the T20 World Cup after a horror run in the game’s shortest format.
Australia last won a bilateral T20I series in February 2020 and went to the World Cup after five defeats in a row. They had a 4-11 win-loss record in T20Is in 2021 and suffered streak losses in Bangladesh, the West Indies and New Zealand. In a 4-1 slip in Asia, some people wrote down their chances of making a name for themselves at the T20 World Cup.
How Australia celebrated its World Cup triumph
Mitchell Marsh, who had split opinions in Australian cricket, was her only ray of hope while hammering in Bangladesh. Glenn Maxwell found form for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the UAE stage of the 2021 IPL and Josh Hazlewood stood out in a successful campaign with the Chennai Super Kings but their path to the World Cup was far from ideal.
Several of their star players, including Maxwell, Steve Smith, Pat Cummins and David Warner, had stayed away from international T20I engagements in the World Cup year. While Maxwell played 5 T20Is before the World Cup in 2021, Warner and Smith played none. Your captain Aaron Finch was banned from the tour to Bangladesh due to injury.
Now head coach Justin Langer was under pressure when conversations of rioting in the locker room at home were widely reported, even though Australia looked like they couldn’t evolve with the rest of the world when it came to T20I cricket.
AUSTRALIA’S WASTER START
The World Cup campaign was shaky when Australia was overrun by India in the warm-up game. Even their tournament opening win over South Africa didn’t leave much hope as Australia snorted in 19.4 overs and shot at a 120-run target.
David Warner’s form was another key A cause for concern as the former SunRisers Hyderabad captain lost his job as skipper and was eventually removed from the team. Warner’s place on the team was asked about the warm-up games and he only made 14 runs with 15 balls in the win over South Africa.
However, things quickly changed for Warner and Australia. The left-handed opener found his own, pounding a 42-ball 65 against Sri Lanka, while Australia chased 155 down in just 17 overs to make it two in two.
Have you done enough to earn the title of favorites after 2 wins in as many games? No, they were so beaten up by arch-rivals England in their third game that ex-cricketer Michael Vaughan took to social media and trolled Aaron Finch’s men.
AUSSIES FIGHT BACK AFTER THE ENGLAND HAMMERING
Australia was blown away by England at their Super 12 meeting (AFP Photo)
Australia was knocked to the ground when England defeated them for 125 and shot the target down in just 11.4 overs. So devastating was the loss that it looked like Australia wouldn’t make it through the Super 12 stages.
However, Aaron Finch’s men have left disappointment at the devastating loss behind and dealt a real blow to Bangladesh. Starring Adam Zampa taking a 5 wicket haul against Bangladesh before Warner put on a big hits show in their final Super 12 game to outperform the West Indies to increase their net run rate over South Africa and qualify as runner-up in Group A to the semi-finals.
IF IT IS DIFFICULT.
Against all odds, Australia rallied to win the T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates (AP Photo)
Cut to the 2nd week of November, not many were ready to write off Australia’s chances. They have stood in the knockout round with a reputation for being unmatched when it comes to handling the pressures of big games. In the semifinals, however, a tough test against Pakistan awaited them.
Australia was pushed to the limit by a fearless bunch of Pakistani cricketers who advanced to the semi-finals on perfect record. But Australia showed signs of its vintage self and dug deep to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. In the hunt for 177, Australia tumbled over at 97/5 in the 13th, but a new line of heroes emerged as Matthew Wade and Marcus Stoinis came up with blinkers to show the door to Pakistan.
Interestingly, Australia went into the World Cup final by a narrow margin over New Zealand and that was enough to break the door open and end the long wait for an ICC title. David Warner and Mitchell Marsh took the New Zealand bowlers to the cleaners as even Kane Williamson Special couldn’t stop the men in yellow from picking up the trophy.
THE MANTRA OF OZ
Aaron Finch became the first Australian to win a T20 World Cup title as captain (Courtesy: ICC)
The rest of the world may not have given them a chance, but the typically Australian iron determination was unwavering in the locker room, according to Aaron Finch. It was fascinating to hear Finch say he called his head coach Justin Langer long before the T20 World Cup and told him Warner would shake off the IPL form and win the player of the tournament.
In hindsight, Cricket Australia’s rotation policy has served them well, especially when its much-touted rivals led the way on bio-bubble fatigue. Your key players stayed fresh and were turned on in the cracking moments. Indeed, calling Langer the series defeats in the West Indies and Bangladesh enabled them to find the missing pieces of the puzzle, which they eventually did at the T20 World Cup.
Finch was asked if Australia believed that after pounding against England they would win the World Cup. With a grin on his face, the Australian captain replied in the affirmative.
“Honestly, we believed in our group so much that we were good enough, that our team, squad, and extended squad are as good as anyone else in the world. T20 cricket, you need a bit of luck. We have 6 won by 6. ” 7 litters. We played really good cricket, the teams turned on their backs and we were aggressive, “said Finch, proud of his team’s run in the United Arab Emirates.
Australia made a statement reminding the naysayers that it is not advisable to write them off, especially in ICC tournaments. It took Australia 14 years to win their first ever Men’s T20 World Cup, but the second in 12 months won’t come as a surprise. Winning is a habit and nobody knows better than the Aussies!
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