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New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson saved his best for the last as he broke records with the 85-run impactful knock in the T20 World Cup 2021 final. Williamson registered the highest score by a captain in a T20 World Cup final breaking former Sri Lankan skipper Kumar Sangakkara’s record. Sangakkara had scored an unbeaten 64 against Pakistan in the final of 2009 edition against Pakistan in a losing cause.
Williamson’s 48-ball 85 is also the joint-highest score by a batter in a T20 World Cup final. The 31-year-old broke West Indies’ Marlon Samuels record which was created in the previous edition. In the successful run chase at Eden Gardens, Samuels scored an unbeaten 85 against England to get his team over the line with Carlos Brathwaite playing an outstanding cameo at the other end.
Williamson dominated Australia’s frontline bowler Mitchell Starc scoring most of his boundaries against him. The Kiwi skipper hit Starc for seven fours and one six and equalled the record of West Indies opener Chris Gayle and Pakistan’s Ahmed Shehzad. Gayle and Shehzad had also hit eight boundaries in a match against Brett Lee (2009) and Mashrafe Mortaza (2014) respectively.
Till the eight over, Williamson had a strike rate of 50 with just six runs off 12 deliveries. He took on Mitchell Marsh in the ninth over and accelerated from there. He got to his half-century in the 13th over with a six off Glenn Maxwell to record the fastest fifty in a T20 World Cup final which was later broken by Marsh who reached the milestone from 31 deliveries.
He was at his attacking best in the 16th over hitting the left-arm pacer for 22 runs in an over including four fours and one six. The 22-run over by Starc contributed to the 60 runs he conceded in his four overs which the most expensive bowling figures in a T20 World Cup final.
The no.3 batter got out in the 18th over to Josh Hazlewood. He batted with a strike rate of 177.08, hitting 10 boundaries and three sixes. His inning helped New Zealand recover from a faulty start and post 172/4 on the board, the highest total in the final of mega event.
