Australia beat New Zealand by 8 wickets to win the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021

[MenInG]

Delivering on the biggest stage is where it really matters. And New Zealand and Australia have done just that to set up an ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final that few predicted.

It all started when Oman won the toss and elected to bowl against Papua New Guinea four weeks ago. And forty-four matches, 11153 runs and 485 wickets later, the 16 nations that began this thrilling tournament have been whittled down to just two.

Sunday’s showpiece at the Dubai International Stadium will see the world’s fourth-ranked side New Zealand take on the country ranked sixth, Australia. And it’s a fitting finale to decide who will lift the T20 World Cup trophy after a tournament of twists and turns, highs and lows, upsets and hammerings.

Yet just because few predicted this would be the final line-up, doesn’t mean the players didn’t believe. And Aussie skipper Aaron Finch was in boisterous form on precisely that topic in his media conference on Saturday.

“I'm not surprised one bit,” he said. “I think we came here with a really clear plan to win the tournament, and we still feel as though we've got the squad to do that."

A glance down the likely team sheet for Sunday’s final supports the captain’s claim. Mitchell Starc, David Warner, Pat Cummins, Glenn Maxwell, Finch – there’s an abundance of talent and experience in the Australian line-up.

Add to that the qualities of Adam Zampa, who has taken 12 wickets in the tournament so far – more than any other bowler to enter at the Super 12 stage – and it’s little surprise that this is a squad who have been able to beat higher-ranked and higher-fancied outfits.

The term ‘higher-fancied outfit’ has rarely, if ever, been used to describe Kane Williamson’s New Zealand… even if it should be.

The cliches flow thick and fast in conversation about the Black Caps. They’ve “flown under the radar” and come up on the rails as “dark horses”, but naturally you can “never write off” New Zealand. It’s language that almost goes hand-in-hand with this extraordinary era of Kiwi cricket. But it does so for a reason.

2019 World Cup finalists, World Test Champions, and now 2021 T20 World Cup finalists, this group of players have proven time and again that they are among the world’s best across all three formats.

And Sunday’s all-Antipodean clash in Dubai represents a chance for Kane Williamson and his boys to cap off a stunning calendar year by finally adding a white-ball trophy to the cabinet, where it will sit alongside the World Test Championship mace. Many will bet against them once again, but you’d be brave to do so.

Fixture details

The match: New Zealand v Australia, Match 45
Time: 18:00 local time, Sunday 14 November 2021
Venue: Dubai International Stadium

Key players

Adam Zampa, Australia: The leg-spinner has been a key part of his side’s run to the final and will play a key role against a New Zealand side who aren’t averse to going after slower bowling. If he can continue his terrific record throughout the tournament it will put pressure on the Black Caps to take on the high-quality seamers.

Martin Guptill, New Zealand: The Kiwi opener didn’t fire against England, but his side will be looking for him to get them off to a flier at the top of the order against Australia, particularly given the safety blanket of Conway in the middle-order has been removed. Guptill has the game to take down Australia’s attack, can he do it on the biggest stage?

The Teams

The injury to Conway means New Zealand will be forced into making a change. Tim Seifert is likely to come in as wicketkeeper, with the bowling-heavy balance unchanged, although the loss of the reliable presence of Conway in the middle-order could potentially see an additional batter brought in for stability.

Probable New Zealand XI: Martin Guptill, Daryll Mitchell, Kane Williamson (captain), Tim Seifert, Glenn Phillips, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Adam Milne, Trent Boult, Ish Sodhi

Australia are highly likely to stick with the side that saw off Pakistan in the semi-finals

Probable Australia XI: David Warner, Aaron Finch (captain), Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood

What they said

Kane Williamson, New Zealand captain: “I think ultimately the side has been operating well as a collective and certainly playing for each other. You know, obviously we saw a pretty exciting semi-final. Both semi-finals actually were somewhat similar, where you do see moments in games that are match-defining, and you see games that can take quite a sharp turn when you have some key performances.”

Aaron Finch: “We came here with a clear plan to try to win this tournament. We always felt as though we've got the depth of the squad and the quality in our squad to put ourselves in a position to do that. And New Zealand, they have been in every final for a long time now in ICC events. They are a great team over all three formats of the game.”

[MenInG]

Kane Williamson is the mastermind, the engine room and the personification of this New Zealand cricket team.
Composed and polite but with underlying steel, Williamson approached his pre-match media conference ahead of the T20 World Cup final in a similar style to that of his batting en-route to Sunday’s match.

“It's been important that we've tried to grow and learn throughout, and I think we've seen that a little bit, and tomorrow is another opportunity for that,” Williamson said, playing it cool ahead of one of the biggest days that any cricketer will experience.

And yet big days of cricket have become commonplace for Williamson and this Black Caps side in recent years.

The 2015 World Cup Final, 2016 T20 World Cup semi-final and 2019 World Cup Final have all seen New Zealand involvement. And all saw New Zealand defeats.

But that time flirting with the sport’s major honours has developed a group of players with bags of experience competing under pressure, and this all-time great era of New Zealand cricketers broke their run of defeats with victory in the World Test Championship final earlier this year.

Can New Zealand now add a white-ball trophy that their consistent excellence arguably merits?

The answer to that may well come down to fleeting moments of individual brilliance.

"You know, obviously we saw a pretty exciting semi-final. Both semi-finals actually were somewhat similar, where you do see moments in games that are match-defining, and you see games that can take quite a sharp turn when you have some key performances,” Williamson said.

“That’s why I suppose the tournament's been exciting and always had that anticipation that it would be coming into it. You looked across the board and every side had match-winners throughout, and you knew that every team could beat anybody on their day.

“Our semi-final was an amazing game of cricket against a very strong side. We sort of managed to take the game deep, and there were a couple of outstanding contributions at the end that got us across the line from Daryl Mitchell and Jimmy Neesham which is fantastic.”

Sunday’s opponents aren’t short of players capable of providing moments of brilliance of their own.

Matthew Wade provided a stark reminder of that with his six-hitting feats to see Australia past Pakistan in their semi-final, while Adam Zampa continued his remarkable tournament, picking up his 12th dismissal to make him the highest wicket-taker of any player to have joined at the Super 12 stage.

“Zampa is a world-class bowler, one of the top in the world and complimented nicely by obviously some of the top seamers in the world,” Williamson acknowledged.

“As a side they have got a lot of match-winners, and you know, I think that's a large part of the strength in their team throughout. They have got world-class cricketers.”

One world-class cricketer who won’t be on show in Dubai is Devon Conway.

The New Zealand wicketkeeper-batter was ruled out of the final with a fractured hand, a freak injury that he picked up by striking his bat in frustration when dismissed against England.

“Obviously the loss of Devon is a big one,” Williamson said. “You know, he's been a big part of all formats for us, and you know, it’s a disappointing and really freak thing to happen.

“But for us it's about keeping our focus on the task, and all the players are really excited with the opportunity tomorrow to go out, and like I say, try to improve and adjust to what will be new, which is a different opposition and a different venue.”

A different opposition and a different venue will yield a different T20 World Cup champion, with neither of these sides yet to lift a men's ICC 20-over trophy aloft in their history.

[Shafi]

Both teams deserve to be in the final. Both team has proper power hitters and perfect bowlers to win the trophy. But Australia has highly skilled and mentality to win in final whether they bat first or last. NZ is a very good team but crumble under pressure. Australia 70 NZ 30.

[bantu]

Newzealand have slightly better bowlers.. Both team Batsmen are kind of equally matched .. But as we know it will who performs on that particular day .. I think it will be Aus ..

[Pollack]

Toss is the boss. Result of the match to be decided at 7:00 pm IST. Farce of a world cup. Team batting first have no chance and in Dubai absolutely no chance.

[SpiritOf1903]

Toss wins the match but IPL batting first won, apparently.

Maxwell and Zampa will be key, likewise Sochi and Siefert

[Saj]

Australia win the toss and as expected they are bowling first.

[castortroy]

Congratulations Australia

[MenInG]

Australia have won the toss and have opted to field

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[castortroy]

Game over for new Zealand

[Ahmed216]

Gotta feel for Nz. They had a chance only if they won the toss

[Pollack]

Australia the new T20 world cup 2021 champions. Congratulations aussie fans...

[Shafi]

Congratulation Australia for 2021 T20 World Cup!!!!!!! Perfect and most strong T20 side at the moment. NZ is the 2nd best team.

[shokz1408]

Australia wins.

[castortroy]

If every team at the start had their strongest line up then on paper England blow everyone out of the water

[Shafi]

Better luck for NZ next time. Neither of Pakistan and India has any chance in 2022 World Cup. Australia, NZ and England are main contender for that cup.

[Shafi]

If every team at the start had their strongest line up then on paper England blow everyone out of the water

England is as bad as Pakistan and NZ. They choke when pressure mounts.

[castortroy]

Won the 50 overs didn't they?

[castortroy]

Better luck for NZ next time. Neither of Pakistan and India has any chance in 2022 World Cup. Australia, NZ and England are main contender for that cup.

England or Australia firm favourites

[Pollack]

Australia is not the strongest team on paper. Neither is NZ. ENGLAND is a strong team on paper and other is West Indies and South Africa.

[castortroy]

England were missing Archer, Stokes and Roy for their semi

[castortroy]

Just hoping guptil and Kane fire today to make it slightly competitive

[Swashbuckler]

Congrats Aussies. Toss is boss, when non minnows play in Dubai, match result depends 99% on toss result.

Joke of a WC. Eng and Pak were the two best teams this time.

[ethan hunt]

Australia is not the strongest team on paper. Neither is NZ. ENGLAND is a strong team on paper and other is West Indies and South Africa.

Lol @ westindies.
Pakistan and England were the two best teams by a country mile.

[MenInG]

Pathetic crowd support....

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[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

Australia is not the strongest team on paper. Neither is NZ. ENGLAND is a strong team on paper and other is West Indies and South Africa.

Thank god cricket is not played on a piece of paper.

[Joseph Gomes]

Pathetic crowd support....

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Why would Indian and Pakistan expats in UAE come to watch Aus vs NZ match? Last I checked, there aren't too many Aus and Kiwi expats living in UAE.

[Swashbuckler]

Toss also played a big part in the 2019 WC where teams batting first had a big edge, courtesy pitches slowing down in second half of the innings and absence of dew factor. Sure not as lopsided as this WC since overhead conditions can make things unpredictable in England.

But something must be done in white ball cricket to minimize impact of tosses. Start matches in the afternoon in Asia to eliminate dew factor. Maybe give 2 extra overs of PP to the team batting first in D/N matches, or some tweaks in bowling quota. Something, anything. How can a coin toss decide who wins?

2023 WC will be in November-December in India. Again toss will play a major role in D/N matches especially in venues like Mohali where ball basically becomes a wet, slippery soap during night time. Hope ICC looks into this issue more seriously.

[Pollack]

Lol @ westindies.
Pakistan and England were the two best teams by a country mile.

I am talking about on paper where conditions are not necessarily taken into account. Had this world cup been played in India, west Indies would've been one of the strong teams.

[Swashbuckler]

All interest in the match killed 30 minutes before start of play. With Aussies batting first we would have had more of a contest because of the 'mental block' factor.

[Bull]

It hurts not to see pakistan in the final.
New Zealand should win this one.

[DeadlyVenom]

The lack of crowd is highly embarrassing for a world cup final.

[Pollack]

An IPL matche between two crap teams generate more audiences than this world cup final. IPL > International cricket. ;)

[RamLakhan]

If NZ manages to win this, it has to be greatest effort in cricket's history given the impact of toss in this tournament!

[TAK]

One of cricket's premier occasions and it looks like two men and their dogs have turned up to watch...

[DeadlyVenom]

One of cricket's premier occasions and it looks like two men and their dogs have turned up to watch...

using fake crowd noises on the TV broadcast for an ICC world event is highly embarrassing.

[Aman]

Hopefully Guptill makes Aus suffer for the dropped catches.

[Aman]

Massive wicket for Aus.

[Ahmed216]

Hopefully Guptill makes Aus suffer for the dropped catches.

Commiserations in advance

[Aman]

Hazlewood keeping us in check 1/9 after 2 is excellent.

[IMMY69]

Well I said there wouldn't be much of a turn out and that's because of the venue and nothing else.
Such a pity.

Williamson needs to show his class here

[hussain.r97]

It's so shameful that they couldn't even fill up the stadium for a world cup final. UAE should never host a world event again, the worst place for sports in the world.

Really dreading the FIFA world cup in Qatar next year.

[YousafTheBeast]

Guptill playing a good test knock here

[TAK]

One of cricket's premier global occasions and it looks like two men and their dogs have turned up to watch...

Cricket's been played in the UAE for decades, I wonder how many Arabs have taken up the game?

[Aman]

Aus putting on the screws.

[Aman]

Don't know what will be winning total here tbh.

[NeVerMind]

2 overs going for only 7 runs and one wicket...this is where the Aussies won the match

[YousafTheBeast]

NZ require 160 from 90 balls…good luck with that

[NeVerMind]

Don't know what will be winning total here tbh.

If you bat first, you have to aim like you are chasing 180 plus...

[NeVerMind]

Run rate now below 6...Kiwis already lost bar a miracle here...

[Aman]

Guptill and Kane will really need to play well here.

[Aman]

These last 2-3 overs have killed all the momentum in this innings.

[YousafTheBeast]

Imagine giving a maiden over in a T20

[NeVerMind]

Pakistan Vs Australia was the real final between the two best teams in the tournament... this is painful to see from the Kiwis...

[Nikhil_cric]

Tougher pitch than the other night. Pakistan match, he pitch was decent to bat on even in the first dig. Didnt change a lot . For NZ's sake, this pitch wont change either. Or else this will be a thrashing.

[IMMY69]

Don't know what will be winning total here tbh.

Wicket is really slow.
Problem is that even there is no dew, the wicket still tends to play better under lights.

Adding the pressure of chasing in a final, I'd say 170 should be defendable.

Last 8-9 overs will be easier for batting for the kiwis so they need to be smart and not lose to many wickets.

[GLORY OF '92]

Waste of a final.

[castortroy]

Kiwis will get 150 max which isn't going to be enough

Game is done

[TAK]

The doylems screaming to rouse a non-existent crowd...

[Gilly]

These last 2-3 overs have killed all the momentum in this innings.

What do you think about Finches field positioning?.

[RexRex]

Kiwis are dead scared to play a shot.

[asadee]

Yawn

[IMMY69]

I'm gonna revise a defendable total due to the slowness..
160 could be enough with no dew

[shah_1]

Australia in full control

[YousafTheBeast]

For NZ’s sake, Guptill and Williamson should retire from T20i’s after this defeat. I’m sure New Zealand can find a couple of South Africans to replace them.

[kingusama92]

It's so shameful that they couldn't even fill up the stadium for a world cup final. UAE should never host a world event again, the worst place for sports in the world.

Really dreading the FIFA world cup in Qatar next year.

I think they will easily fill up the stadiums during the world cup cause there's greater interest in football across the Middle East.

It's the number one sport there.

[asadee]

Embarrassing innings from Williamson so far

[Zeshan547]

I'm gonna revise a defendable total due to the slowness..
160 could be enough with no dew

What slowness, these scared kitten kiwis are not even trying to hit. Repeat of 2015 wc massacre.

[Bull]

This doesn't look 180 pitch.
New Zealand should score 160 and they have this match in bag.

[Sarwar89]

I am in the stadium, it looks like a club level match, does not feel like a world cup final.

Finch will become Allan Border of 1987 who led unfancied Australia to world cup triumph.

Match is over already. I ll b leaving stadium shortly, 40 minutes i spent in stadium overall.
Kiwis lost 75% match at toss. Pitch is v slow and worse than Pak Aus match.

[shokz1408]

NZ playing 50 over game

[RexRex]

New Zealand has scored 14 runs from the last five overs... losers !

[NeVerMind]

I know it's a slow pitch but there is no intent from Guptill it Williamson...they already lost...

[Nikhil_cric]

150-160 can possibly be defended here. Also , the pitch may start playing better after 10 overs or so. They can recalibrate and hit out in the next 10.

[shah_1]

New Zealand has scored 14 runs from the last five overs... losers !

blaming the pitch for pathetic batting is no excuse.

[YousafTheBeast]

Wow, a boundary has been hit. You’d see more in test cricket

[shah_1]

Much needed over for NZ otherwise this innings was going nowhere

[Zeshan547]

Ab kidhr gae slowness, it's all about intent.

[RexRex]

I am in the stadium, it looks like a club level match, does not feel like a world cup final.

Does the crowd really enjoy the shrieking announcer ?

[TAK]

after two exhilarating semis this is so far so so...