T20 World Cup Winners: A Recap of the Final and What's Next for Cricket

The 2021 T20 World Cup is over, and Australia beat New Zealand by eight wickets in Sunday's final and won the T20 World Cup for the first time. In this article, we are going to take a look back at the final, take a look at some interesting stats and numbers, and take a look at what is next for the Indian cricket team and Virat Kohli. So, without further ado, let's get cracking.

A Look Back at the Final

Australia drew first blood in the final by winning the all-important coin toss - nearly every match at the 2021 T20 World Cup was won by the team that won the toss and decided to field first. Therefore, when Australia captain Aaron Finch won the toss, it was no surprise to anyone watching to see him opt to bowl first.

Through a combination of really good bowling and a tough wicket, the Aussies managed to restrict New Zealand's runs, and their star man from the semi-final against England, Daryl Mitchell, was out for just 11. The turning point in New Zealand's inning came when Kane Williamson was dropped on the boundary by Josh Hazlewood. At that stage, he had scored 21 from 21 balls, but after the drop he exploded and reached his 50 in just 32 balls. In one over, he smashed Mitchell Starc for 22 runs.

However, Hazlewood would go on to have his revenge as in one over he took the wickets of Williamson and Glenn Phillips, after the former had smashed 85 from 48 balls. In the last couple of overs of their innings, Tim Seifert and Jimmy Neesham guided their team to 172 from 20 overs, meaning the Aussies required 173 to claim their first title.

In their response, Australia had a nervous start and lost Finch early to a very good ball from Trent Boult. However, the Aussies did not panic, and thanks to a partnership between David Warner and Mitchell Marsh, Australia rebuilt and reached the halfway stage of the innings needing 91 to win from 60. Warner reached his half-century off just 34 balls, but was soon dismissed by Boult to give New Zealand a glimmer of hope.

However, Marsh carried on his merry way and reached his own half-century after just 31 balls. Glenn Maxwell also hit some lusty blows and Australia eased to their target in the end. So, New Zealand, who always punch above their weight, will have to wait to be T20 World Cup cricket champions, while Australia can celebrate on their long journey home.

A Look at Some of the Stats and Records from the Final

We are now going to take a look at some of the interesting stats and records that fell during the final.

6: From the seven T20 World Cup finals that have been played, six of them have been won by the team that won the coin toss. In Dubai, all ten of the games that were played under the lights were won by the team that batted second, and nine of these wins were for the team that won the toss.

173: The target that Australia chased down to become T20 World Cup winners is the second highest successful chase in a T20I final. Before this final, only one team had passed the 160-run mark chasing in a World Cup final and this was the West Indies in 2016 when they scored 161/6 chasing down England's 156.

31: This is the number of balls that Mitchell Marsh needed to score his 50, and it happens to be the fastest half-century in a T20 World Cup final. Kane Williamson had held the record for a little while as he hit a 32-ball fifty in the New Zealand innings.

85: Williamson's score of 85 is the joint highest scorer in a T20 World Cup final - Marlon Samuels hit an unbeaten 5 against England in the 2016 final.

39: The number of runs that Williamson scored off Starc is the most that he has conceded to any one batsman in a T20 match. The previous best was 32 runs from 11 balls by Virat Kohli. Williamson hit seven fours and one six from Starc in the 12 balls that he faced, and no other batsman has hit more boundaries off one bowler in a T20 World Cup game.

60: Starc conceded 60 runs from the four overs that he bowled, and this is the second most by a bowler for Australia. Andrew Tye once conceded 64 runs versus New Zealand back in 2018. Starc became just one of five men to concede 60 plus runs in a T20 World Cup game and is the first to do so in the final.

289: The number of runs that Warner scored in the tournament is the most by any Australian at a World Cup. He went past Matthew Hayden's 265 runs in the 2007 edition. Warner and Kevin Pietersen are the only two players that have won the Player of the Tournament award and won the title.

What Next for Indian Cricket?

India will want to forget about the 2021 T20 World Cup as soon as possible because they will be bitterly disappointed that they did not make it to the semi-finals at least, considering they were the favourites to go and lift the title. However, they cannot mope about that for too long because they have plenty of cricket around the corner. In just a couple of day's time, they will welcome New Zealand to India for three T20I matches and Two Tests. Then, halfway through December, they head to South Africa to play them in three Test matches, three ODIs, and four T20Is.

Below is a full schedule of their upcoming visit of New Zealand and their tour of South Africa. You will be able to bet on these matches at the best betting sites for cricket that can be found on our website.

T20 series against New Zealand

• 1st T20I: Wednesday 17th of November - 19:00 IST at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur
• 2nd T20I: Friday 19th of November - 19:00 IST at the JSCA International Stadium Complex, Ranchi
• 3rd T20I: Sunday 21st of November - 19:00 IST at Eden Gardens, Kolkata

Test series against New Zealand

• 1st Test: Thursday 25th November - 09.30 IST at Green Park, Kanpur
• Second Test: Friday 3rd of December - 09.30 IST at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

Test series Against South Africa:

• First Test: Friday 17th of December - 13:30 IST at the Imperial Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
• Second Test: Sunday 26th of January - 13:30 IST at the SuperSport Park, Centurion
• Third Test: Monday 3rd of January - 13:30 IST at the Six Gun Grill Newlands, Cape Town

ODI series against South Africa

• First ODI: Tuesday 11th of January - 14:00 IST at the Eurolux Boland Park, Paarl
• Second ODI: Friday 14th of January - 14:00 IST at the Six Gun Grill Newlands, Cape Town
• Third ODI: Sunday 16th of January - 14:00 IST at the Six Gun Grill Newlands, Cape Town

T20 series against South Africa

• First T20I: Wednesday 19th of January - 19:30 IST at the Six Gun Grill Newlands, Cape Town
• Second T20I: Friday 21st of January - 19:30 IST at the Six Gun Grill Newlands, Cape Town
• Third T20I: Sunday 23rd of January - 19:30 IST at the Eurolux Boland Park, Paarl
• Fourth T20I: Wednesday 26th of January - 19:30 IST at the Eurolux Boland Parl, Paarl

What Next for Virat Kohli

Unless you have been living in the clouds somewhere for the last few months, you will know that Virat Kohli has stepped down as the captain of the T20I team. However, Indian fans will still get to see one of their favourite cricketers in the shorter format of the game because he is still going to play T20 cricket, he will just not captain the side. However, he has opted to sit out of the upcoming T20 series against New Zealand, citing mental fatigue as the reason.

When it comes to ODI and Test cricket, he will remain as the captain, but it is likely that he will soon be replaced as the ODI captain too. However, we do not see him being replaced as the Test captain anytime soon.

Other Cricket on at the Moment

We know that we are all interested in what the Indian cricket team is doing, but their upcoming matches are not the only cricket games being played at the moment. There is the Women’s Big Bash League being played at the moment and things are getting really interesting indeed, and there is also the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy being played too. So, it is quite clear that us cricket fans have plenty to keep us entertained and plenty to bet on