T20 World Cup 2021: Kane Williamson delivers on the biggest stage but solo heroics go in vain
Kane Williamson did not go into the 2021 T20 World Cup final against Australia in the best of form. He was averaging 21.83 with the bat in the tournament and had not hit a single half-century. His early dismissal in the semi-final against England did not help his cause.
It was a credit to the New Zealand team then. They made it to their maiden T20 World Cup final with their best batter and talismanic leader not really at his best.
Williamson had been dealing with an elbow injury since before the World Cup. It looked at times like he hadn't fully recovered.
He hit an unbeaten 33 in a low chase against India and 48* in a key match against Afghanistan. However, he had yet to really stamp his authority on the tournament.
But in the final against trans-Tasman rivals Australia, Kane Williamson turned on the style.
He got off to a slow start after semi-final hero Daryl Mitchell fell early to Josh Hazlewood as New Zealand struggled to score runs.
However, from the ninth over, he began his assault.
With pressure building, Williamson came down the track to drive a short ball from Mitchell Marsh. It went over extra cover for the first boundary after a 32-ball gap. The very next delivery was another short ball and this time the New Zealand skipper muscled it through midwicket for another four runs.
After a quiet over from Adam Zampa, Williamson picked his target in Mitchell Starc, but almost got out in the process.
He hit a full toss high towards Josh Hazlewood at deep fine leg. However, the Aussie pacer could not hold on to the ball as it bobbled up to take a bounce before crossing the ropes.
If the last shot was lucky, the next one was sheer class. Taking on a full-ish delivery, Williamson hit a cracking drive down the ground to beat the fielder at long-off.
The third was another full toss. This time he found the gap between deep midwicket and long-on for three consecutive boundaries.
Zampa got Martin Guptill's wicket, but that didn't slow Williamson down.
When Glenn Maxwell replaced Starc, Williamson upped the ante. He hit the part-timer for two consecutive sixes to bring up his half-century off 32 balls.
There was a quiet over from Cummins and then Glenn Phillips took on Zampa for some runs in the 15th over. The 16th over was the one where Williamson shot off.
T20 World Cup final 2021: Kane Williamson tears into Mitchell Starc
Mitchell Starc was brought back into the attack and Williamson went after the left-arm seamer once again.
He was lucky in the first two deliveries. He got an outside edge past Matthew Wade and then a leading edge found the boundary at third man.
The third delivery was full and into his pads. Williamson moved across the stumps before flicking it powerfully over deep square leg.
A dot ball later, he came down the track and hit Starc up and over the point. He then played his trademark glide to the third man boundary to finish the over with four fours and a six.
Kane Williamson has switched gears brilliantly and has taken Mitchell Starc to the cleaners in the 16th over 👏
That dropped catch will be hurting Australia.
#T20WorldCup #Australia #NewZealand #NZvAUS https://t.co/Gt2XBO5Ndf
He got another boundary off Josh Hazlewood. However, he eventually fell to the pacer two deliveries later, mistiming a lofted drive to the fielder at long-off.
Williamson finished with 85 off 48 deliveries, the joint-highest score by a batter in a T20 World Cup final.
It was a stunning knock. It showed that Williamson was not just capable of anchoring the innings but could switch gears and up the tempo as well.
You got to feel for him 💔
#T20WorldCup #Australia #NewZealand #NZvAUS #T20WorldCupFinal https://t.co/6whLoN34hp
He scored at a strike rate of 177.08, significantly higher than his T20I career strike rate of 123.98. Williamson hit three sixes and 10 boundaries in his whirlwind knock.
It was a special knock from a man who has played a huge role for New Zealand in recent times. Williamson has been central to the Kiwis reaching the 2019 World Cup final and their triumph in the inaugural edition of the World Test Championship.
While he didn't have a great tournament leading into the biggest match, he turned up on the day to put in a stunning rescue act for his team.
That New Zealand had Devon Conway ruled out made his innings even more special, as he had to protect a struggling middle-order.
Half-centuries from Mitchell Marsh and David Warner meant his heroic knock went in vain. Though it played a major factor in getting them to a defendable total after a slow start from the team.
Having reached a hat-trick of finals in ICC tournaments, New Zealand will be looking excitedly at the T20 World Cup next year. Williamson consistently putting in match-winning performances with the bat will give them considerable relief and boost their morale.