Kane Williamson and Aaron Finch, T20 World Cup
Kane Williamson and Aaron Finch (Credits: Twitter)

Australian skipper Aaron Finch has said that a lot of people had written Australia off before the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 commenced and he is proud of the way the team has played so far in the tournament.

Australia were not considered as favourites in the ongoing World Cup but after the stunning performance of the team, they were successful in reaching the final of the tournament by defeating Pakistan by 5 wickets in the semi-final 2. Now they will lock horns with New Zealand on Sunday at Dubai International Cricket Stadium in the summit clash.

Aaron Finch
Aaron Finch (Image Credit: Twitter)

Meanwhile, on the eve of Sunday’s final against The Blackcaps, Finch said that reaching the final was not unexpected as they had a clear plan and depth and quality in the squad to do that. He said:

It wasn’t unexpected. We came here with a clear plan to try and win this tournament. We always felt that we have the depth and quality to do that,”

“Lot of people had written us off from the start, so it has been really impressive the way we have gone about our business. Everyone has prepared really well and had match-defining performances at some point, the guys are up and about for tomorrow,” Finch said.

“We had a lot of confidence within, we were confident about how we were preparing, our strategy was coming together. So it has not defied expectations, we came with a clear plan to win the tournament and we still feel we have the squad to do that,” He added.

Aaron Finch
Aaron Finch (Image Credit: Twitter)

Aaron Finch failed to make an impact in the semi-final battle against Pakistan as he was dismissed on duck by Left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi. Talking about his dismissal Finch said:

That was a good ball. Any time it nips back a little bit is where I am probably most vulnerable,”

“So that would be another challenge with Trent Boult’s left-arm swing and Tim Southee who can swing the ball away and also knocks it off the seam and slides it a little bit. I had a really good hit in the training, so feeling good going into tomorrow,” He added.

It Will Be A Great Game, New Zealand Is A Great Team – Aaron Finch

Kane Williamson and Aaron Finch
Kane Williamson and Aaron Finch (Credits: Twitter)

Although Australia is the most successful team when it comes to ODI World Cups, having won it five times, however, they have never won the T20 title and Finch wants to add a T20 trophy to the cabinet. He asserted:

Absolutely, it is one that has eluded us in the past and the fact that we are in the finals, it gives us a great opportunity to rectify that,”

Finch further lauded New Zealand and said that they have been consistently making it to the finals of the ICC event for the last six years. He said:

It will be a great game, New Zealand is a great team, they have been to all finals over the last six years, so looking forward to it.”

Aaron Finch reckons that New Zealand can’t be underestimated as they got a nice blend of firepower and experience in the team. He stated:

They can’t be underestimated. They have the firepower, experience and class, so I am not surprised one bit. New Zealand side has got a huge amount of quality, they have shown that over a long period of time, they have been best powerplay performing team with the ball, that’s going to be a challenge.”

“They have got Daryl Mitchell, who played a great knock against England, Martin Guptill, who has got class and power and then you got Kane Williamson, who is also world-class as the top 3. So they have match-winners with both bat and ball.”

Meanwhile, Finch further added that he is not worried about the toss because a team have to win a game batting first. He also revealed that in the last match he was hoping that they lose the toss and put some runs on the board. He asserted:

At some point, you have to win a game batting first, Obviously the trend of the tournament and the IPL has been chasing has been the way to go. In the last game, I was hoping to lose the toss actually, I wouldn’t have mind batting first, but I won the toss. I think if we can put decent score on board, we can put pressure on opposition chasing.”

David Warner and Aaron Finch
David Warner and Aaron Finch (Image Credit: Twitter)

Australia’s only loss in the tournament came against England and talking about that match Finch said that they were disappointed after it but then they decided to play aggressive and that has worked for them. He stated:

We were disappointed but a couple of days helped to regroup. To freshen up mentally and physically, we talked about staying really committed to being aggressive, we felt in that game we were timid and got outplayed in the powerplay. It is about staying really aggressive.

Also Read: New Zealand vs Australia-Weather Forecast And Pitch Report of Dubai International Cricket Stadium, ICC T20 World Cup 2021 Final

Sonanchal Gautam is the Assistant Content Manager at Cricketaddictor. He is a professional Wrestling and Hip-hop enthusiast.