When the Kiwis lost their shine
The New Zealand team had a dream run, in the world cup, They remained undefeated throughout the tournament and played a totally different form of cricket. They were loud and they were hitting the ball all over the ground. Leading them was a man, who is known to punish even the good deliveries. But things did not go the way New Zealand had planned. From McCullum getting clean bowled by Starc early into the game to James Faulkner wrecking havoc, there were a number of things that led New Zealand to a World Cup final defeat.
Here we bring you the reasons why the Kiwis lost the New Zealand Vs Australia World Cup final.
McCullum gave his wicket cheaply early in the innings: Even though McCullum did not score significantly in the tournament, he had given his side more than decent starts, which the other batsmen had taken advantage of. His pyrotechnics used to put pressure on the opposition. New Zealand got good starts because of him. When Starc got him in the first over itself, he put the pressure on New Zealand. The Kiwis lost the momentum from the beginning of the match. His wicket dented the morale of the New Zealand team.
James Faulkner: Although New Zealand had scored only a handful of runs, the partnership between Grant Elliot and Ross Taylor seemed to restore some hope to the New Zealand innings and stabilised it. They might have hoped to get 40-50 runs in the powerplay and another 80-90 runs in the last ten overs. But the spell of Faulkner spelled doom for them. The Kiwis lost three wickets in that power play and managed to score only one run. Faulkner took two wickets in this spell. He took the wicket of the dangerous looking Grant Elliot.
Steve Smith: The young Steve Smith is having a time of his life. He is in a terrific form since the start of this year. He has hardly faltered in the recent months, be it in the test matches, or the ODIs. At the start of the summer, he was just one of the youngsters in the Australian side, but now he has become the man for every occasion for the Australian side. The best part about him is that he never once got beaten. Although, Aaron Finch got out early, Smith seemed to be hardly affected by it. He went on to do his usual business and made sure that Australia had crossed the line.
Michael Clarke: It was his last ODI, not only as a captain, but also as a player. He made sure that his side won the World Cup the fifth time. He showed his brilliance not just as a captain, but also as a player. In the first innings, he showed that he was an attacking captain while, in the second half, he showed that how classy he is as a batsman. It was a perfect end to his brilliant career. Finally, the pup retired.
For regular updates on sports, visit our social media pages by clicking the options below:
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Pinterest
Recommended for you
