Australian batter Steve Smith heaped praise on his teammates David Warner and Mitchell Marsh after the duo led the Kangaroos to their maiden ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 glory in Dubai, UAE.
On Sunday, November 14, Australia won the toss and invited New Zealand to bat first in the final of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 in Dubai.
However, the openers Martin Guptill (28) and Daryl Mitchell (11) failed to give a good start to the Black Caps, but the skipper Kane Williamson managed to power New Zealand to 172/4 with his whirlwind knock of 85 runs off 48 balls.
Chasing the 173 runs for victory, Warner set the perfect platform with 53 runs off 38 balls for Australia. The opener also stitched a 92-run partnership for the second wicket with Marsh (77* off 50 balls) to take the side over the line inside 8 overs, as Australia defeated New Zealand by 8 wickets in the final on Sunday to win their maiden T20 World Cup trophy.
After T20 World Cup 2021 win, Smith hailed Warner – who was adjudged as Player of the Tournament for scoring 289 runs – and said that the left-hander entered the T20 World Cup with exceptional intent, as people were writing him off after a below-par outing in the IPL 2021.
The former skipper said that Warner took the game away from New Zealand at the start and mentioned his partnership with Marsh has really set up the game for Australia in the final in Dubai.
Smith said after the match, “This means a lot. We have worked hard for a long time and it is an honor to be here with the boys and take the trophy home. Warner's last two weeks have been amazing.”
The right-hander added, “A lot of people were writing him off. He came in with exceptional intent and took the game away at the start. Him and Mitchell Marsh, that partnership really set us up for the game, they’ve had great tournaments.”
Meanwhile, the wicketkeeper-batter Matthew Wade was also over the moon after Australia’s historic T20 World Cup 2021 triumph over New Zealand. Wade stated, “It's huge. I felt like a lot of people wrote us off but we spoke about being the first team to do this for Australia and it feels really special.”
On the other hand, Mitchell Starc said of Australia's T20 World Cup win: “It's not been an ideal lead up. But this is the closest the guys were and it has shown in the way we played our cricket. Different guys in different games and the closeness with the guys have taken us through.”
Starc signed off by saying, “Adam Zampa has been the best bowler by far in the white ball over the last two years. We know how to bowl around him. The bowling group just know our roles a lot clearer.”
(With ANI Inputs)
