Last Update on: November 15th, 2021 at 09:52 am
Australia captain Aaron Finch has made an interesting revelation following his side’s victory in the T20 World Cup final against New Zealand in Dubai.
The Aussie skipper said that he was not only backing his opening partner David Warner to return to form, but also predicted that the left-hander will be the Man of the Tournament to coach Justin Langer.
Warner was rewarded with the Man of the Tournament award as he ended up as Australia‘s leading run-scorer – and second only to Babar Azam – for scoring 289 runs at an average of 48 while striking at 146. He struck three fifties in the tournament, including a crucial knock of 53 runs off 38 balls in the final to set up for Mitchell Marsh and Glenn Maxwell’s late assault.
Aaron Finch said that though he felt Adam Zampa should have been the Man of the Tournament, he lauded Warner for his outstanding batting in the tournament.
“You didn’t expect that? [Warner winning the Man of the Tournament]. I certainly did,” Aaron Finch told reporters.
“Without a word of a lie, I promise you, I called Justin Langer a few months ago and I said ‘don’t worry about Davey, he’ll be man of the tournament’.
“I thought Adam Zampa should have been man of the tournament personally but [Warner]’s a great player, he’s one of the all-time great batters and he’s a fighter. He’s someone who when his back’s against the wall, that’s when you get the very, very best of David Warner. It was a special finish to the tournament for him, the last couple of knocks,” he added.
Toss did play a big factor: Aaron Finch
Aaron Finch had immense success with luck in the tournament: he won six out of seven tosses, including in the final, as Australia won all their games while chasing. The right-hander asserted that winning the toss in the UAE conditions was a “big factor” in Australia’s triumph.
“It did play a big factor, to be honest. I tried to play it down as much as I could because I thought, ‘at some point in the tournament, I’m going to lose a toss and we’ll have to bat first’. But it did play a big part. You saw out there at the end there the dew factor: the slower balls weren’t holding in the wicket as much. I don’t know how I did it – maybe it was just fate,” the Aussie skipper said.
New Zealand now have lost the 2009 Champions Trophy final, 2015 ODI World Cup final and the 2021 T20 World Cup final – all to Australia.