In the T20 World Cup Final played on Sunday, the Australian team handed their neighboring team New Zealand a thumping loss. After the manner in which New Zealand had breached past the English bowling attack to reach the final, fans around the globe were expecting them to win against Australia. They were severely disappointed when the Kiwis lost their third ICC World Cup final on the trot.
Amid their supporters was former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir, who too showcased his discontent on the result. In his column for TOI, Gambhir wrote, “Seeing them (New Zealand) bullied around wasn’t a pleasant experience. They batted well to score 172 for 4. More often than not, this kind of score isn’t that tough to defend, especially with a balanced attack like that of New Zealand. But clearly, the occasion got to them as they didn’t look the same team that beat India or England.” He further added that after seeing the dismal second half of the match, he would have asked for a refund for his ticket money.
New Zealand indeed posted the highest total ever in the first inning of their match against Australia. Kane Williamson, the captain, led from the front and made 85 runs to bolster his team’s inning. Towards the end, Jimmy Neesham played some fabulous shots to make sure that the Black Caps had more than enough runs on the board to win the game. However, the Australian batting line-up was not intimidated by this score, and the inspired innings of David Warner (53) and Mitchell Marsh (77*), cruised them to a comfortable victory.