NEW DELHI: Former Indian batsman VVS Laxman congratulated the Australian men's cricket team for their maiden title triumph at the T20 World Cup.
In his column for the Times of India, Laxman wrote, "Congratulations to Australia on winning their first Men's T20 World Cup title and adding to their already impressive collection of ICC trophies! They grew from strength to strength and saved their best for last, with a commanding all-round performance that New Zealand were powerless to counter. This wasn't the kind of dominant run we had witnessed from the Aussies at the beginning of the 2000s. They started slowly, with a hesitant win against South Africa, and were soundly beaten by England. One of two things could have happened after the latter result - either they imploded or regrouped and came back stronger. With Australia, only one possibility existed."
Australia went into the tournament beset by poor form, having lost their most recent Twenty20 series 1-4 in Bangladesh in August, minimal game time and dressing-room discontent, with few pundits giving them much hope.
"Australia's form leading up to the tournament was anything but impressive. They had lost their last five T20I series, there were concerns over the form of several key players and murmurs over coach Justin Langer's style of functioning. Everyone therefore perhaps felt the need to prove a point, all of which fit nicely into the overall scheme of things," Laxman added.
David Warner, who was dropped from his Indian Premier League team Sunrisers Hyderabad after two bad games in September, hit form with a match-winning 65 against Sri Lanka in a Super 12 match. Warner smashed 53 and put on a key stand of 92 with Mitchell Marsh, who hit an unbeaten 72, as Australia thrashed New Zealand by eight wickets in the final on Sunday in Dubai.
"Davey Warner showed exactly why he is one of the true greats of white-ball cricket. He didn't start the World Cup well but by the end, he was firing on all cylinders, turning the clock back and taking on the bowlers from the word go. Mitchell Marsh was outstanding in the final. He was the one who wrested the initiative away from New Zealand with three tremendous strokes - six, four and four - off his first three deliveries. His assault rattled New Zealand, whose disciplines deserted them," Laxman signed off.
