David Warner made a brilliant turnaround to help Australia win their maiden ICC Men's T20 World Cup title and take home the player of the tournament award.
After getting the boot in the Indian Premier League (IPL), former Sunrisers Hyderabad captain David Warner on Sunday won the player of the tournament for his starring role in Australia's victorious ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021 campaign. The flamboyant opener, who helped Australia overwhelm New Zealand in the Dubai final, revealed that he "wanted to put on a spectacle".
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Warner scored 289 runs at an average of 48.16 in the tournament, including a half-century (53) in the final. But the 35-year-old endured a turbulent build-up to the tournament with SRH first replacing him with Kane Williamson as the captain, then dropping him from the team.
After the match, the 35-year-old talked about the turnaround, saying he "always felt good" about his form and "it was about going back to basics."
Warner was also part of the Aussie team which thrashed the Kiwis in the 2015 ODI World Cup at the imposing Melbourne Cricket Ground. In that one-sided final, the left-handed opener hit 45 off 46 as Australia chased down a target of 184 in just 33.1 over.
In Dubai on Sunday, Warner showed the same domination against the Kiwi attack. He hit four fours and three sixes, and was involved in a 92-run stand with the Player of the Match Mitchell Marsh (77 off 50).
Australia, however, suffered a rare finals blip in 2010 when they lost to England in the T20 World Cup final. And Warner relived those experiences.
"Definitely up there with 2015, losing to England a decade ago really hurt. These are a great bunch of guys, great support staff, and great support around the world, especially back home. Always pumped, wanted to put on a spectacle. There were some nerves around as always in a final but great to see the guys deliver," Warner said.