T20 World Cup 2021 recap: Australia end long wait, lift maiden title – Firstcricket News, Firstpost

Almost a year has passed since the last edition of the T20 World Cup, which witnessed numerous changes in schedule and venues before it finally took place in the United Arab Emirates and Oman from 17 October to 14 November 2021.

The marquee event was originally scheduled to be held in Australia from 18 October to 15 November 2020, but in July 2020, the International Cricket Council (ICC) confirmed that the tournament had been postponed, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Then, in August 2020, the ICC confirmed that India would host the 2021 tournament as planned, with Australia being named as the host for the succeeding 2022 tournament.

However, in June 2021, the ICC announced that the tournament had been moved to the UAE due to growing concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic situation in India, and a possible third wave of the pandemic in the country.

Finally, the multi-nation tournament began on 17 October, and 45 matches, 12162 runs, and 526 wickets later, Australia became the champions of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 on 14 November.

With less than two weeks before the first ball of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022, we revisit the seventh edition of the event and some of the key moments that made it an event worth remembering:

Format:

T20 World Cup 2021 was composed of two rounds. Round 1 had twelve matches played between eight teams (Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Netherlands, Scotland, Namibia, Oman, and Papua New Guinea), with the top four teams progressing to the Super 12s.
The Super 12s consisted of 30 matches between the four teams from Round 1 and the top eight ranked T20I teams.

The teams which made it to the Super 12 stage of the tournament were: India, Australia, Pakistan, England, South Africa, New Zealand, West Indies, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Netherlands, Ireland, Namibia, and Scotland.

The teams were then divided into two groups:

Group 1: Australia, England, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Bangladesh

Group 2: India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, New Zealand, Namibia, Scotland

The top two teams from each group qualified for the semis.

Super 12s:

The very first match of the Super 12 stage, which was played between Australia and South Africa, ended up being one of the most significant. Neither of the teams went into the tournament particularly highly fancied, but the Aussies showed some of their strengths in a game that set them on course to the title. In a low-scoring thriller, Australia first restricted the Proteas to 118/9 in 20 overs, but they made heavy weather of the chase as the Aaron Finch-led side crossed the finishing line with just two balls and five wickets left.

On the same day, England and West Indies played against each other and it turned out to be a one-sided affair as England bowled out West Indies for mere 55 runs and then went on to chase the target in 8.2 overs with six wickets in hand.

Notably, England went on to beat Bangladesh, Australia, Sri Lanka to qualify for the semis from Group 1 and they were joined by Australia, who defeated Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and West Indies and finished the group stage with better NRR than South Africa to make it to the semi-finals stage.

Meanwhile, in Group 2, Team India, who were pre-tournament favourites, were off to a horror start in their campaign as they suffered a 10-wicket defeat against their arch-rivals Pakistan. Shaheen Afridi’s powerplay strikes set the tone for a match that Pakistan dominated against their neighbours, with Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan starting as they meant to go on at the top of the order. The pair stitched a 152-run partnership to beat India by ten wickets with more than two overs remaining. It was also Pakistan’s first-ever victory against India in a World Cup.

Later, New Zealand took their chance against an Indian side shaken by the loss to Pakistan, heaping pressure on Team India’s top order with a high-quality display of Powerplay bowling that left Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli needing to launch a rescue operation after both being pushed down the order in a reshuffle.

But the rescue never came as India limped to 110/7, with just two of their batters scoring at better than a run-a-ball. New Zealand’s dominant reply saw them need just 14.3 overs to knock the score off for the loss of two wickets, ultimately knocking India out of the tournament.

Ultimately, Pakistan remained unbeaten in group 2 to enter the semis, while New Zealand lost their only group game to the Babar Azam-led side to make it to the last-four stage.

Semi-finals:

England vs New Zealand: New Zealand required 57 from the final four overs with James Neesham on strike and Chris Jordan at the top of his mark. But eight deliveries later the match was flipped on its head. In the 17th over, Jordan conceded 23 runs, which consisted of two sixes and a four – all smashed by Neesham.

The remaining task was completed by Darryl Mitchell, who smacked two sixes and a four in the 19th over to help the Kiwis storm into their first-ever T20 World Cup final as they chased down a 167-run target, which is also the highest target successfully chased down in T20Is in Abu Dhabi.

Australia vs Pakistan: High-flying Pakistan, who were unbeaten in group stage, rode on solid performances by their top three batters – Mohammed Rizwan (67), Babar Azam (39) and Fakhar Zaman (55) to set a challenging 177-run target in Dubai.

Australia were firmly on the back foot despite a brisk knock from David Warner and required 50 from the last four overs, and ate into that tally with two decent overs off Haris Rauf and Hasan Ali to get it down to 22 from 12 balls. But star man Shaheen Shah Afridi was to bowl the 19th, coming back into the attack following his stunning turn at the top of the innings.

A failed review for LBW preceded a full-angled delivery that Matthew Wade miscued into the deep, only for Ali to put the chance down. And that was the lifeline that Australia’s keeper-batter needed.

The very next ball he went down on one knee, ready for the yorker, and ramped a shot over fine leg for six.

Next up he scorched a monster maximum over midwicket, picking up a cutter and giving it the treatment.

And Wade ensured the final over wasn’t even needed when he scooped again for six to wrap up a remarkable win.

Final:

The summit clash between Australia and New Zealand saw the Kiwis set a challenging 173-run target courtesy of skipper Kane Williamson, who smashed 85 runs off just 48 deliveries.

However, Aussie opener David Warner continued his rich form and hit a half-century after captain Finch’s early dismissal. Later, the match was all about a brilliant show by Mitchell Marsh, who took guard for the first time at the start of the fourth over and smashed the very first ball he faced for an enormous six, following that up with consecutive fours to race to 14 off just three balls.

Ultimately, Marsh went on to play what proved to be a match-winning knock as the all-rounder accumulated 77 runs in 50 balls to help Australia clinch their maiden T20 World Cup title.

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