T20 World Cup: Williamson helps New Zealand make 172/4 against Australia

Australian captain Aaron Finch won the toss and asked New Zealand to bat first

A fantastic knock of 85 off 48 balls from captain Kane Williamson helped new Zealand post a challenging total of 172 for four in the ICC T20 World Cup final against Australia at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

Put into bat, New Zealand got off to a slow start against an Australian attack that produced a disciplined effort in the powerplay.

Even the free-flowing Martin Guptill (28 off 35) was kept on a tight leash as the Kiwis crawled to 32 for one in the first six overs.

Having failed to score a single half century in his previous 10 T20 innings, Williamson made a slow start in the final after Daryl Mitchell (11) was dismissed by Josh Hazlewood in the fourth over.

The classy batsman soon found his range but needed a slice of luck in the 11th over of the innings when Hazlewood dropped him in the deep off Mitchell Starc (4-0-60-0) with the ball rolling onto the boundary.

Williamson added to Starc’s misery by hitting the next two balls for fours before demolishing the Australian leg-arm pacer five overs later.

The Kiwi captain launched a stunning assault on the veteran Australian bowler, picking 22 runs in the 16th over.

The first of the four boundaries in that over was the result of an outside edge with the ball racing to the third-man boundary. But then he showed the full range of shots for the next three fours, which were punctuated by a majestic flick for a six over the mid-wicket.

Williamson’s 68-run partnership for the third wicket with Glenn Phillips (18) came off just 35 balls.

But Australia managed to peg back New Zealand after Williamson’s superb innings came to an end in the 18th over when the Kiwi captain fell to the outstanding Hazlewood (4-0-16-3) while going for his fourth six of the evening.

Brief scores:

New Zealand 172/4 in 20 overs (Williamson 85, Martin Guptill 28, Glenn Phillips 18, James Neesham 13 not out; Hazlewood 3/16, Adam Zampa 1/26).