Suresh Raina: Australia’s victory showed their unity and character
- #T20WorldCup ambassadors Samuel Badree, Charlotte Edwards, Brett Lee, Morne Morkel, Sana Mir, Preston Mommsen, Muttiah Muralidaran and Suresh Raina have all written columns on the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021, which are available for free editorial use on the Online Media Zone as perT and Cs
The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final was a great game of cricket and Australia were deserving winners.
I loved their celebrations at the end – not many people expected them to win this tournament but they played brilliant cricket when it mattered.
Watching those celebrations brought back memories of being part of India teams which won ICC tournaments. I was only a young player, with a lot of senior players around me, when we won the 2011 World Cup in Mumbai, so I didn’t really know how to celebrate! But it was an unforgettable day, as was the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy final when we won in England.
It is amazing to wake up as a World Cup winner – lifting a World Cup for your country is very, very special and no-one can take it away from you.
On the day of the final, you have to treat it as a normal day – it is important to feel fresh, live in the moment and play every ball on its merit. Whenever you’re in a final, you have to give everything for your country and the celebrations are a release after all the hard work that goes in.
Australia’s unity was clear throughout the tournament and a lot of the credit for that has to go to Justin Langer. He has been through a lot in his time as coach but he has done a lot of good things around the dressing room – Australia are a really close group and that showed in the knockout stages.
This World Cup is very important to Australia. They have won the 50-over World Cup and ICC Champions Trophy but they really wanted to win a T20 World Cup and the way they bounced back from a defeat against England in the group stage really showed the character of the team.
Pakistan had looked unbeatable but knocking them out in the semi-final gave Australia the belief going into the final. New Zealand batted really well, 172 was a good total, but Mitchell Marsh and David Warner batted brilliantly and shared a crucial partnership.
Marsh hitting his first ball for six changed the momentum and really showed what his team are all about. T20 cricket is all about your mindset and your preparation – you need to play fearless cricket and when it comes to a World Cup, that’s the most important thing. It’s not easy to hit your first ball for six, especially in a final, and Marsh doing so just showed that fearless attitude. He really wanted to show the world what he can do.
Warner had a tough build-up to this tournament in the IPL but he is always really hungry in a World Cup. He steps up when it matters most and he played like a champion in this tournament. He did exactly what Australia needed him to do.
With the ball, Josh Hazlewood deserves a lot of the credit. He was very good for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL this year and must have given a lot of information to his fellow bowlers and Aaron Finch. To take three for 16 in the final, and bowl with a lot of variation, showed how prepared he and his team were for the final. He, Pat Cummins and Adam Zampa were brilliant but winning a World Cup is a full squad effort, so all 15 of the Australian squad can be proud.
The next T20 World Cup is in Australia and they will be favourites. They will be hard to beat there as they have the self-belief now and they know they can win from anywhere. Winning this World Cup will be a real boost to Australian cricket and sets them up nicely for the Ashes.