Dubai: Australia lifted their maiden T20 World Cup trophy with a commanding eight-wicket win over New Zealand in the title clash which was rendered one-sided by Mitchell Marsh with his blistering 77-run knock, on Sunday. Skipper Kane Williamson top-scored for the Black Caps with his 85-run knock while opener Martin Guptill contributed 28 runs after Australia inserted them in to take first strike.Winning skipper Finch said, ‘ This is huge. To be the first Australian team to be able to do it. So proud. We knew our backs were against the wall. We had some great individual performances, some great team performances. Can’t believe people wrote him off saying he was done (Warner). That’s when he plays his best cricket. Was almost like poking the bear. The player of the tournament for me (Zampa). Mitch Marsh – what a way to start his innings today. Wade coming into this game with an injury cloud but got a job done. Stoinis did the business.’
New Zealand captain Williamson, said, ‘ We were trying to get a platform and the surface was holding a fraction. But typical to here in Dubai. It was nice to build some partnerships and get what we thought was a competitive total. Only to be chased superbly by Australia. They’re a fantastic side. We certainly made every effort. Guys came out and committed to their plans. They didn’t give an inch really. Really proud of our team’s efforts throughout. Came here in the final and gave it our best shot but it wasn’t enough. Conditions varied a lot from venue to venue but we adjusted well. Nice to get to the big dance. Credit to Australia. Today they really turned it on. High hopes coming into this game. Never nice. Winning and losing are two possible outcomes.’
David Warner, Player of the Tournament, said, ‘Always felt really well. Didn’t get much time in the middle in the two practice matches obviously. But for me it was about going back to basics. Going to hard, synthetic wickets and try to hit some balls. Definitely up there with 2015. Being part of the World Cup final against England a decade ago definitely hurt. These guys are a great bunch of guys. Great support staff, great team, great support back home. Just wanted to put on a great spectacle for everyone. Bit of nerves around with a good score on the board. Just great to see the guys deliver.’
Mitchell Marsh, Player of the Match, said, ‘ Lot of people say this but I really don’t have words right now. An amazing six weeks with this group. Coaching staff came up to me in the West Indies and said you’ll bat three for this tournament/series. Absolutely jumped at the idea of that. Done a little bit of that for the Scorchers. I must thank everyone in the supportstaff for backing me. Not a whole lot of thinking that goes into that (first ball for six). Just wanted to go out there and have a presence. Big Marcus Stoinis always talks about having a presence.’
Aussie coach Justin Langer, said, ‘Everyone that wins a World Cup says it’s hard to process, it’s hard to put in words, but this is such a wonderful group of people. Every coach and every captain says the same but we have got some amazing cricketers here. We haven’t had a chance to play together for different reasons for the last 12 months. When we all got back together, it was almost like a reunion. There are so many close relationships there, a very special moment for everyone. We knew when we came together how much talent we had. There’s enormous talent in the team. When we were in the West Indies and Bangladesh, there were a few missing pieces, Mitch Marsh took one of those pieces and he’s been brilliant. We also embraced fun. In these situations, when everyone’s talking about bubble, these guys have had so much fun on and off the ground. In this form of game, you actually it’s important to have fun and enjoy, the guys have done that. I think that was a really important part of the success here. Zamps (Adam Zampa) puts a smile on my face everytime because he’s a little bit different and he’s a little bit hippie but he’s so competitive, he’s been so good in this form of the game. We see leg-spinners having an impact around the world and he’s doing that for Australia. Josh Hazlewood – he didn’t play the last one-day WC because he had some back issues. He’s been sublime here, it’s been a great team effort.’