"Not a lot of people thought that Australia could win" - Ricky Ponting on Aaron Finch's 'jewel' in crown
Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting has pointed out the 'jewel' in the crown of Aaron Finch's international career. Ponting opined that Finch's finest moment was captaining Australia to the T20 World Cup title.
The Aussies captured their maiden T20 World Cup crown in Dubai in November 2021, beating New Zealand by eight wickets in the final. Mitchell Marsh's unbeaten 77 off 50 balls helped Australia breeze past the Kiwis' 172. David Warner also scored a critical fifty.
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Speaking in an episode of the ICC Review, Ricky Ponting reflected on how Australia were the underdogs ahead of the tournament. The conditions were perceived to suit the sub-continent teams, but the Aussies played some superb cricket to emerge as champions.
Ponting said:
"The jewel in his [Finch's] crown probably was the T20 World Cup win in the UAE as not a lot of people thought that Australia could win that tournament.
"The conditions, everyone thought were going to be against them, obviously finishing off the IPL [Indian Premier League] and then playing on some tired wickets. Most people thought that those conditions would suit the sub-continental teams."
However, Ponting noted the element of fortune in their title win:
"But Australia got a little bit lucky in their last few games. They were able to win the tosses and got to chase runs when the dew was sort of coming in on the grounds, which made it a little bit easier for them.
"But it was still an awesome win, and a World Cup title next to Aaron Finch's name, which I think, because of his longevity and his success as a player, he deserved that."
Aaron Finch ended his international career earlier this month by retiring from T20I cricket, going down as Australia's highest run-getter in the format. The Victorian amassed 3120 runs in 103 games at an average 34.29. His 172 is the highest-ever individual score in T20I cricket.
"Vital to the success that that team had" - Ricky Ponting on Aaron Finch's leadership
Ricky Ponting further claimed that Aaron Finch's contribution to the World Cup success was greater than runs, adding:
"Any big tournament that you go into... I think your experienced players and your leaders are more often than not, the difference between winning and losing.
"His influence and the fact that his experience and the steadiness that he provided around that group as far as leadership was concerned was vital to the success that that team had."
While Finch managed only 135 runs in the competition, David Warner (289) and Mitchell Marsh (185) sizzled to lead Australia to glory.