Mitch Marsh's crowning moment has captured Australia's first men's Twenty20 World Cup title, marking the side's most unexpected and ground-breaking cricket triumph since 1987.
It has been 34 years since Marsh's father Geoff helped Australia win the men's ODI World Cup for the first time.
That team arrived in India with questions about their form after five straight one-day losses, only for Geoff Marsh's 428 runs to spearhead Australia's intent to shed its mediocre status and dominate white-ball cricket.
The men's T20 World Cup, launched in 2007, has never captured the attention of Australian fans, players and selectors like the one-day equivalent.
But there are obvious parallels to draw after Mitch Marsh broke Australia's T20 drought emphatically, clobbering four sixes in a player-of-the-final knock of 77 not out that helped deliver an eight-wicket win over New Zealand.
Marsh's intent, signalled by thumping the first of 50 balls he faced over the square-leg fence, and composure helped Australia chase down the Black Caps' 4-173 with seven balls to spare in Dubai.
David Warner (53 from 38 deliveries) also starred, helping him claim player of the tournament ahead of legspinner Adam Zampa.
Warner's 92-run stand with Marsh for the second wicket set up the biggest successful chase in T20 World Cup final history and ended Australia's 14-year hunt for the T20 title.
"There's been so much talk about this being the one that's been elusive to Australia," captain Aaron Finch said after Kiwi captain Kane Williamson's knock of 85 proved in vain.
"We've probably underperformed in the past, if we're being honest with ourselves.
"We've had some great teams along the way.
"This team is pretty special ... the camaraderie, the way everyone really cares for each other and looks after each other."
Josh Hazlewood was Australia's best with the ball, claiming 3-16 and sending down 14 dot balls in three powerplay overs.
The victory came after five T20 series defeats for Finch's side, who had slid to seventh on the T20 rankings as a result.
Australia, who host the next edition of the T20 World Cup in 2022, will soon reset their sights on going back to back.
Chairman of selectors George Bailey told SEN that Finch deserved a lot of credit for galvanising the side after a suboptimal lead up to the tournament.
Marsh's promotion to first drop proved arguably the selection masterstroke of the year.
Often the target of harsh criticism, the West Australian appeared out of the international frame a year ago and had played just 15 T20s between 2011 and 2020.
But Marsh, boasting a World Cup average of 61.66 and an Australian-record 627 T20I runs for the calendar year, epitomised the aggressive approach that Finch and coach Justin Langer implored Australia to embrace.
"There has been a change in mindset," Marsh said.
"We spoke about it as a group before the World Cup started, about having impact. Impact is not necessarily averaging 40 at a strike rate of 140.
"Impact is, at times, coming out and hitting 10 off three balls.
"You can change the game by getting on top of teams from ball one. All the best players in the world have the ability to do that."
Australian Associated Press
