On this day in 2021: Australia lift maiden T20 World Cup title

Australia has always had a great white-ball team, however, their hunt for a T20 World Cup had extended for a long time. The men in yellow managed to reach the finals in 2010 but missed out on a title after losing to England. However, they managed to break the jinx in 2021 at the Dubai International Stadium when they lifted their maiden T20 World Cup title on this day (November 14) defeating New Zealand.

Opting to bowl first after winning the toss, the Australian side got the early breakthrough of in-form batter Daryl Mitchell. However, after that Kane Williamson was up and running straight away with a flurry of boundaries even as Martin Guptill played an uncharacteristically slow knock of 35-ball 28. Once Guptill was gone, Williamson took the onus of scoring quick runs and enhanced his strike rate quite effectively.

Glenn Phillips perished after a 17-ball 18 while Williamson went past the half-century mark comfortably. The skipper managed to find the boundaries consistently towards the end and his 85 off just 48 balls included ten fours and three sixes. A good finish towards the end from James Neesham and Tim Seifert got the Kiwis to 172 for 4 in their 20 overs. Josh Hazlewood was the pick of the bowlers with 3 for 16 in his four overs in the final.

In reply, Trent Boult got rid of the Australian skipper Aaron Finch for five runs and the second-wicket partnership of 92 proved to be the turning point for the Aussies. Warner was dismissed after a valiant knock of 38-ball 53 while Mitchell Marsh played a knock for the ages under high pressure. His 77 off 50 balls included six fours and four sixes while Glenn Maxwell played a timely knock of 18-ball 28 to seal things for Australia.

Australia clinched their first-ever T20 World Cup title and Warner picked up the player of the series after his consistent run-making. They could not repeat the same in the 2022 edition as the hosts were knocked out in the Super 12 stages of the tournament.