It was a horror start for New Zealand after being put in to bat first by the Australian skipper Aaron Finch as even though they lost just one wicket in form of semi-final hero Daryl Mitchell, however, they weren’t able to push the scoring rate in the final of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 final.
Guptill wasn’t able to time the ball well and Kane Williamson was his usual watchful self early in his innings and New Zealand’s scoring wasn’t going anywhere. They were 57/1 after 10 overs and needed someone to take on Australian bowlers and boy captain Kane arrived and how.
After the drinks break, Williamson just ripped apart Australian bowlers, especially severe on Mitchell Starc. He got a reprieve from Josh Hazlewood at fine leg as Williamson hit three fours in a row to amp up the scoring rate.
Guptill’s struggle came to an end against Zampa but Williamson just kept firing on.
In the next over, Williamson came down the ground against Maxwell and swung his but one hand came off but it sailed over the deep mid-wicket boundary for a maximum. Williamson followed it up with another one on the next ball as he brought up the fastest fifty for a batter in the Men’s T20 World Cup final.
However, the turning point of the innings came in the 16th over, bowled by Mitchell Starc as Williamson smashed him for four fours and a six accumulating 22 runs off the over and he was now striking at 180. This was a sensational recovery by New Zealand from where they were at one point.
Williamson ended up scoring 85 runs off just 48 balls and gave New Zealand the impetus their innings desperately needed.
Rashid Khan, Ravichandran Ashwin, Wasim Jaffer, fans couldn’t control their excitement and reacted to a brilliant innings by Williamson. Here are some of them:
KANEE MAMAAAA
— Rashid Khan (@rashidkhan_19) November 14, 2021
Kane Williamson doesn’t hurt you with power, when he plays well it’s like death by a thousand cuts.. literally. What a joy to watch a champion batsman at the height of his prowess come to the party on the big stage. #AUSvNZ #T20WorldCupFinal
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) November 14, 2021
Omg! This is #KaneWilliamson #ablekane #NZvAUS
— Ashwin (@ashwinravi99) November 14, 2021
Greatest ever T20I innings by Williamson. No question.
— Rahul Desai (@ReelReptile) November 14, 2021
he has done it again… https://t.co/ARFp2xo95b
— A (@kyaaboltitu) November 14, 2021
Kane Williamson against Kangaroo bowlers today pic.twitter.com/o2Jsv4UQ29
— Rajabets India (@smileandraja) November 14, 2021
Ridiculously marvellous from Kane Williamson. Way to turn up in a final
— Sambit Bal (@sambitbal) November 14, 2021
Amazing Kane!! especially off Starc, first dropped on 21 since then, 4 4 2 4 4 6 . 4 4 #NZvsAUS #T20WorldCupFinal
— Lisa Sthalekar (@sthalekar93) November 14, 2021
Kane Williamson to each ball today!#NZvAUS pic.twitter.com/uBsnb1525n
— Disney+ Hotstar (@DisneyPlusHS) November 14, 2021
Win or lose, Kane Williamson is Ethereal #KaneWilliamson #NZvsAus #T20WorldCup
— Vikrant Gupta (@vikrantgupta73) November 14, 2021
Strike Rate of 180!! #KaneWilliamson bhai…#NZvAUS #T20WorldCupFinal pic.twitter.com/qfTO2FgoOr
— Tanay Tiwari (@Tanay_Tiwari) November 14, 2021
We are witnessing one of most genius batters in the world in action. What a phenomenal knock this was by Kane Williamson (85 off 48).
Deserved a century.#T20WorldCupFinal #NZvAUS
— Subhayan Chakraborty (@CricSubhayan) November 14, 2021
Sheer genius from #KaneWilliamson
What incredible skills in that over! — Gagan Chawla (@toecrushrzzz) November 14, 2021
