If McCullum is talked of as a match-winner, it is probably Brendon that one thinks of, but it was his brother Nathan who was the hero with an all-round performance, topped off by a six over long-off to seal a tense victory with one delivery to go.
McCullum's first major contribution with the bat was a mishit over mid-on for three off the final delivery of the penultimate over of the chase. That reduced the equation to ten off the final over, from Malinga - still a tough ask. The first delivery was squeezed by McCullum to mid-on for a single, then they comically stole a bye after Vettori missed a full delivery - with McCullum charging down the track, both batsmen were at the keeper's end, Sangakkara lobbed the ball to Malinga who missed the stumps from a few yards, though he could have walked and taken the bails off.
McCullum then swiped a full delivery to long leg for four to reduce it to 4 off 3, making New Zealand fans believe again. A hard drive to long-on had Vettori run-out attempting a non-existent second, but McCullum's glorious hit over long-off for six off the penultimate delivery confirmed New Zealand's victory.
He had been superb at the start of the match as well, when handed the new ball, stifling the most explosive batsman of the previous World Twenty20, Tillkaratne Dilshan. Add to that the three safe catches in the outfield, and he thoroughly deserved the Man-of-the-Match award.