Aaron Finch of Australia watches during the Australia net session before the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final match between New Zealand and Australia at the ICC Academy on November 13, 2021 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Australia’s entry into T20 World Cup final is not surprising, says captain Aaron Finch said on Saturday, he insisted that his team has the depth to go the distance and win the first title. Australia came to the ICC event after losing all the series played this year. They lost to New Zealand, West Indies and Bangladesh in the lead up to the tournament.
On Thursday, however, Australia set up a summit clash against New Zealand after beating Pakistan by five wickets in the second semi-final of the T20 showpiece.
“It was not unexpected. We came here with a clear plan to try to win this tournament. We always felt we had the depth and quality to do it,” Finch said on Sunday’s eve of the final. “
“A lot of people rejected us from the start, so it’s been really impressive the way we’ve gone about our business. Everyone has prepared really well and put in a match-defining performance at some point.” Well, people are ready and about tomorrow. We had a lot of confidence, we were confident about how we were preparing, our strategy was coming together. So it didn’t live up to the expectations, we went to the tournament Come up with a clear plan to win and we still think we have the team to do it,” he said.
Finch was dismissed for a first-ball duck after Pakistan left-arm pacer Shaheen Afridi caught him in front of the wicket, and the captain admitted he was “weak” when the balls came back.
“That was a good ball. Whenever it kicks back a bit I’m probably the weakest,” he said. “So that would be another challenge Trent Boultleft hand swing and Tim Southee Who can swing the ball away and can also knock off the seam and also slide a bit. I felt really good at training, so feeling good to go in tomorrow,” Finch said.
Five-time ODI World Cup champions Australia have never won a T20 title and Finch hopes his team can make a difference on Sunday.
“Absolutely, this is what has stayed away from us in the past and the fact that we are in the final gives us a great opportunity to improve it,” he added. “It will be a good game, New Zealand are a great team, they have been to all the finals in the last six years, so looking forward to it,” he said.
Talking about New Zealand, the 34-year-old said: “They can’t be underestimated… they have firepower, experience and class, so I’m not a bit surprised.”
“The New Zealand team has a lot of quality, they have shown that in the long run, they have been the best team in the powerplay with the ball, it will be a challenge,” he said. “They’ve got Daryl Mitchell, who played a great innings against England, Martin Guptill, which has class and power and then you got Kane Williamson, who are also world class as top 3. So they have match winners with both bat and ball.”
Finch also said that he is not too worried about the toss because “at some point, you have to bat first and win a game. Obviously, the trend of the tournament and IPL Followed has been the way to go. In the last game, I was really hoping to lose the toss, I wouldn’t feel like batting first, but I won the toss. I think if we can score well on the board, we can put pressure on the opposition to chase.”
Australia had suffered a loss against England and Finch said that he had decided to stay on the offensive after that defeat, and it paid off.
“We were disappointed but a few days helped to regroup… to freshen up mentally and physically, we talked about staying committed to being really aggressive, we realized that we could play that game. I was timid and got out in the powerplay. It’s about being really aggressive,” said the Australian captain.
Former captain and middle order batsman Steve Smith Has not participated in the tournament, but Finch said he is “not worried in the slightest” about his form.
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