After making an ignominious exit from the world's premier T20 cricket league, the Indian Premier League, David Warner helped Australia lift their maiden ICC Men's T20 World Cup trophy on Sunday. In the final, the former Sunrisers Hyderabad captain scored invaluable 53 runs off 38 balls as Australia chased down New Zealand's 172/4 with seven balls to spare in Dubai, UAE.
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Besides lifting his second ICC World Cup trophy, the fambouyant left-handed opener also walked home with the Player of the Tournament trophy. Warner had played a similar knock (45 of 46) under different circumstances in 2015 as the Aussies made a mockery of the 184-run target, reaching it with 101 balls to spare in their ODI World Cup final against the same opponents.
But his preparation ahead of the tournament in the UAE was not ideal - a lean period with the bat and getting the boot in IPL! It prompted many to write off Warner. But the Aussies persisted with him and the opener ended up as the second-highest scorer in the tournament, 14 runs behind Pakistan captain Babar Azam's 303.
And Aussie skipper got the final say. After the lop-sided Dubai finale, Aaron Finch said that writing Warner off at the start of the tournament was like poking the proverbial bear.
"Can't believe people wrote him [Warner] off saying he was done. That's when he plays his best cricket. Was almost like poking the bear," Finch said. "This is huge, to be the first Australia team to do it. So proud of how the guys went about the campaign."
Warner started the campaign with 14 against South Africa in their Super 12 clash. But he scored 65 against Sri Lanka, a morale-boosting knock. It was followed by a single against England, which Australia lost badly.
He hit three fours in a 16-ball knock for 17 against Bangladesh, then followed it up with 89 not out against the West Indies in their final Group 1 match to set up a big win which eventually proved just about enough to pip South Africa in the race for a second-place finish the group and make the knock-outs.
In the semis against a confident Pakistan side, Warner hit 49, as the Aussies chased down a 177-run target.
Warner himself said that he "wanted to put on a spectacle".
