The only major ICC tournament which eluded Australia has been secured after an eight-wicket win over New Zealand in the T20 World Cup final on Monday morning.
Aaron Finch won the all-important toss and sent the Black Caps in – a proven winning move during night games in Dubai.
Australia got off to a tidy start with the ball, squeezing their opponents well through the first 10 overs before Josh Hazlewood dropped Kane Williamson in what looked to be a massive turning point.
Williamson made Australia pay, while Mitchell Starc lost his way following the dropped chance off his bowling.
A brilliant knock from Williamson (85 off 48) helped the Kiwis set a very defendable total of 173, while Starc won't be in a hurry to relive his 0/60.
Hazlewood (3/16) and Zampa (1/26) continued their excellent tournaments as the pick of the bowlers for Australia.
Australia lost their skipper Finch (11) fairly cheaply but, on a friendly wicket, David Warner and Mitch Marsh turned in a T20 batting masterclass.
Warner eventually went for a composed 53, bringing Glenn Maxwell (28*) to the crease.
Player-of-the-match Marsh, who set the tone with a six off his first ball, was superb, guiding his team home with a fantastically made 77* off 50 balls.
Appropriately, a switch hit from Maxwell was the final blow of match with seven balls to spare.
Warner was awarded player of the tournament for his 289 runs at a strike rate of 146.7.
Check out the highlights from Australia's win here.
Here’s how the final played out.
LIVE UPDATES
All times AEDT
4:23am: Aussies win! A switch hit down to third man from Maxwell gets them over the line for an eight-wicket win with seven balls to spare.
It’s finally ours! 🏆 🏆 🏆
— Fox Cricket (@FoxCricket) November 14, 2021
Australia are the new T20 World Champions!!!
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4:18am: A good over from Milne keeps the game alive but Australia will need to completely choke to lose from here. Aus 2/162 after 18.
4:07am: Looking like a formality now as Southee goes for 13. Six an over needed. Miracle required for Black Caps. Aus 2/149 after 16.
4:02am: Despite not finding the middle of the bat, Maxwell finds the boundary twice off Milne's latest over. Aussies need 37 from the final five overs. Aus 2/136 after 15.
3:53am: Marsh brings up his 50 off 31 balls with another bomb back over Sodhi's head. Another four follows two balls later. Marsh not fussed by Warner's departure. Aus 2/123 off 13.3.
3:48am: Wicket! Massive moment as Warner (53 off 38) attempts to hit the cover off a skiddy straight one and loses his poles. The decision to bring Boult back on pays off. Could that be the spark New Zealand need? Aus 2/107 after 12.2.
3:40am: The Aussies are flying now as Marsh and Warner hit a six each from Neesham's first four balls. Warner's 50 comes up after 34 balls. Aus 1/95 after 10.4.
3:30am: Huge over for Australia. Warner goes after Ish Sodhi's second, taking 17 from it, including a monster straight six off the final ball. Warner moves to a composed 42 (31). Aus 1/77 after 9.
3:23am: Marsh continues to look comfortable, this time pumping Mitch Santner high into the stand over square leg. Aus 1/57 after 7.2.
3:17am: Milne bounces back with three runs from his second over, the final one of the powerplay. New Zealand were 1/32 at the same point. Aus 1/43 after 6.
3:05am: Mitch Marsh doesn't allow himself a sighter, belting Adam Milne's first ball for six over backward square before running one down to third man for a four. Milne's third ball also goes to the rope, pulled in front of square. Aus 1/29 after 3.3.
3:01am: Wicket! Finch looked scratchy and one ball after hitting a potentially form-finding boundary, he top edges a pull shot from Boult and Daryl Mitchell takes a nice catch in the deep on the leg side. Aus 1/15 after 2.3.
2:55am: Great start by Trent Boult and the Black Caps. One run off it and a big LBW shout against Aaron Finch. Williamson doesn't review. Aus 0/1 after 1.
Innings change: Australia need 173 runs to win at 8.65 an over.
2:41am: A decent final over given the in-form Neesham had most of the strike. Starc finishes with 0/60 - the second worst by an Aussie in a T20 international. NZ finish with 4/172.
2:34am: Neesham survives a runout shout on the final ball of the 19th over. Kiwis pick up 13 from it. Cummins finishes with 0/27. NZ 4/162 after 19.
2:26am: Wicket! Massive one for the Aussies as Williamson goes for 85 (48). Caught at deep mid-off by Steve Smith. Another pace off delivery from Hazlewood. What a captain's knock from Williamson. Brilliant over from Hazlewood - two wickets and five runs coming off it to take his figures to 3/16 from his four overs. NZ 4/149 after 18.
2:23am: Wicket! Josh Hazlewood gets the breakthrough with a knuckleball as Maxwell catches Phillips deep on the onside for 18 off 17. Williamson still out there on 81. Jimmy Neesham to the crease. NZ 3/144 after 17.2.
2:16a: 4, 4, 6, 0, 4, 4. Huge over from Williamson, taking Starc for 22 to put the pressure right back on Australia. NZ 2/136 after 16.
2:09am: Glenn Phillips goes after Zampa's final over, picking up 12 runs. Zampa finishes with a tidy 1/26. NZ 2/114 after 15.
1:59am: Williamson continues to make the Aussies pay for the drop, hitting Maxwell for two sixes in a row over the leg side. Run rate receiving a much-needed boost. NZ 2/97 after 13.
1:50am: Wicket! Guptill goes for 28 (35). Doesn't quite strike it cleanly as he finds Marcus Stoinis at cow corner off the bowling of Adam Zampa. Will Guptill's slow scoring come back to bite the Kiwis? NZ 2/76 after 11.1
1:48am: Dropped! Wow, big moment. Williamson nails one straight to Hazlewood at fine leg off the bowling of Starc but the Aussie can't hang on and the ball goes for four. Williamson then hits the perfect off drive to compound the error. It gets worse for Australia as Starc gets sloppy with a no-ball full toss, Williamson thanks him with another boundary. Massive over the Black Caps. 19 off it. NZ 1/76 after 11.
ANOTHER drop and this time it's Kane Williamson 😱
— Fox Cricket (@FoxCricket) November 14, 2021
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1:38am: Skipper Kane Williamson looks to put the foot down after a lean couple of overs, hitting Mitch Marsh for consecutive boundaries to each side of the wicket. NZ 1/51 after 9.
1:26am: Brilliant end to the powerplay from Hazlewood, limiting New Zealand to just two runs from his second over. NZ 1/32 after 6.
1:16am: Wicket! Hazlewood gets Mitchell for 11 (8). The opener made a solid start but feathered a slower ball off a good length to Wade who took a nice catch coming forward. NZ 1/28 after 3.5.
1:09am: After a tidy over from Josh Hazlewood, Daryl Mitchell takes Glenn Maxwell's first ball for a beautiful straight six, the first of the contest. Wade then drops a tough chance off Guptill's inside edge two balls later. NZ 0/20 after 2.3.
1:05am: There would be no repeat of the first over drama from 2015 as the Kiwi openers saw out Mitchell Starc's first. Martin Guptill scored the first boundary via a slash through square on the offside. NZ 0/9 after 1.
12:35am: Aaron Finch has won the toss and elected to bowl first, a massive boost for the Aussies in the decider. Australia make no changes to their semi-final lineup, while Tim Seifert comes in for the injured Devon Conway for the Black Caps' only change.
FINAL TEAMS
| New Zealand | Australia |
| Martin Guptill Daryl Mitchell Kane Williamson (c) Glenn Phillips Tim Seifert Jimmy Neesham Mitchell Santner Adam Milne Tim Southee Ish Sodhi Trent Boult | David Warner Aaron Finch (c) Mitch Marsh Steve Smith Glenn Maxwell Marcus Stoinis Matthew Wade Pat Cummins Mitchell Starc Adam Zampa Josh Hazlewood |
WHO IS PLAYING IN THE T20 WORLD CUP FINAL?
Australia will take on New Zealand in this year's T20 World Cup Final.
Both sides finished in 2nd place in their respective groups, and advanced to the final after entertaining semi-final victories.
New Zealand downed tournament favourites England in dramatic fashion, with opening batter Daryl Mitchell finishing with an unbeaten 71 from 47 balls.
Australia defeated the previously-unbeaten Pakistan in their semi-final, with some late heroics from Matthew Wade getting them over the line.
The match between the Trans-Tasman neighbours will be a replay from the decider of the 2015 ODI World Cup.
WHEN IS THE T20 WORLD CUP FINAL?
The 2021 T20 World Cup final will take place in the early hours of the morning on Monday November 15th (AEDT), which will be Sunday evening local time in Dubai.
The match between Australia and New Zealand will begin at 1am AEDT, which is 6pm local time.
WHERE IS THE T20 WORLD CUP FINAL?
The final between Australia and New Zealand will be held at Dubai International Stadium, Dubai.
The venue can hold up to 25,000 fans.
HOW TO WATCH T20 WORLD CUP FINAL IN AUSTRALIA
For fans in Australia looking to get up or stay up for the 1am start time, you can catch all the action live on Fox Cricket and Kayo Sports.