How Australia defied the critics to win the T20 World Cup

Aaron Finch’s team produced an ‘intimidating display’ to crush New Zealand

Australia beat New Zealand in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup final
(Image credit: Alex Davidson/Getty Images)

Ahead of this year’s T20 World Cup, few people gave Australia any chance of lifting the trophy, said Mike Atherton in The Times. The country has never really taken to sport’s shortest format. But on Sunday at the Dubai International Stadium, Aaron Finch’s team produced an “intimidating display” to crush New Zealand in the final and win their first ever T20 World Cup. Put into bat, New Zealand set a challenging total of 172-4 – largely thanks to their captain, Kane Williamson, who scored 85 in 48 balls. But in reply, Australia made light work of the target, romping to victory with seven balls to spare.

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