[In Pictures] Marsh roars; Wade, Finch bathe in champagne as Australia celebrate maiden T20 WC triumph
The Australian men's cricket team's 14 year old drought ended in tears of joy as they won their maiden T20 World Cup at the expense of New Zealand in Dubai on Sunday (November 14).
The moment of reckoning came on the 5th ball of the penultimate over when Glenn Maxwell reverse-swatted Tim Southee past third-man for a boundary.
Maxwell was soon engulfed in a hug by an emotional Mitchell Marsh, who turned around and let out a guttural roar as his teammates charged towards him from the dressing room.
Check out the winning moment here:
[In Pictures]: Australian players celebrate maiden T20 World Cup triumph
Here's a look at Australian cricketers' social media posts:
An eight-wicket win in the final means Australia are now the T20 World Cup winners in both men's and women's cricket. The women's team won the trophy last year, defeating India at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground. Prior to Australia, it was only the West Indies' men's and women's teams that held both titles at the same time.
Clinical Australia thump New Zealand to add another title to their trophy cabinet
The final turned out to be anti-climatic as Australia completely dominated the proceedings against New Zealand, who once again failed to turn up against their 'big brother' in a high-pressure encounter.
Australia won the crucial toss, and apart from Mitchell Starc [0/60 in 4 overs], their bowlers did exceedingly well to restrict the Kiwis to 172/4 in 20 overs.
The seeds for New Zealand's defeat were sown in the first ten overs of their batting, as the likes of Martin Guptill [28 off 35 balls] and skipper Williamson showed little intent.
The Black Caps managed just 57 runs in the first ten overs. While Williamson [85 off 48 balls] made up for it with some brilliant acceleration during the second half, a final flourish from the other batters never arrived.
Defending 173, New Zealand managed to get the early wicket of Finch, but Marsh [77 not-out off 50] ensured it didn't hurt the Aussies much.
The all-rounder played with attacking intent, which allowed David Warner to settle into his rhythm. Once Warner got set, runs started to come from both ends at a brisk pace.
Boult eventually dimissed Warner [53 off 38 balls] to break the 92-run stand. However, Maxwell [28 not-out off 18] and Marsh ensured there was no last-minute twist as they strolled past the target in the penultimate over.