Two thrilling run-chases in the semi-finals have raised the expectations from the T20 World Cup 2021 final. One thing is guaranteed that a new T20 World Champion will on Sunday at Dubai International Cricket Stadium when Australia and New Zealand will lock horns with each other. None of these two sides have ever received the glory of winning a T20 World Cup title. Both sides have played some astonishing cricket so far and displayed great character on the field, especially in the knockout stages.
A lot of similarities can be carried out between these two teams and ‘Believing in themselves till the end’ is the biggest of those all. New Zealand, the first finalist of the 2021 ICC T20 World Cup, has made it to their third consecutive ICC tournament final, after the 2019 World Cup and the 2021 Test Championship. The Kiwis pulled off a phenomenal run-chase against England in the first Semi-Final at Abu Dhabi.
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On the other hand, Australia, the second finalist of the 2021 ICC T20 World Cup, lost a couple of consecutive 5-match T20I series, to West Indies and Bangladesh, ahead of the tournament. They will be playing their second T20 World Cup Final (previously in 2010) on Sunday, and against the same opposition whom they thumped in the 2015 World Cup Final. The Trans-Tasman meetings have occurred a total of 14 times in T20Is, with Australia having teh upper hand with 9 wins.
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New Zealand and Australia have met only once in the ICC T20 World Cup (during 2016), where the Kiwis managed to win the close contest by a narrow 8-run margin. Both teams have some brutal hitters and agile fielders in their respective XIs. An electrifying contest is on the cards and the cricketing world is all set to witness a brand new T20 World Champion on Sunday.
New Zealand
With Devon Conway being ruled out, he will be replaced by Tim Seifert who hasn’t played a game since the loss to Pakistan. Ish Sodhi, who’s having a great tournament, enjoys favorable matchups against Australia openers David Warner (8 balls, 9 runs, 2 dismissals) and Aaron Finch (37 balls, 45 runs, 3 dismissals). On top of that, Dubai has been the most favorable venue for spinners, especially in the middle overs. Between overs 7 to 15, the spinners pick wickets at an average of 16.28 and strike at 16.5.
Probable XI: Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell, Kane Williamson (c), Glenn Phillips, Tim Seifert (wk), James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Adam Milne, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult
Australia
There’s no reason for Australia to change their winning combination or make-up of the team. Aaron Finch and his men have rewritten the match-ups by attacking spin-friendly conditions with their Test pace-attack. However, it’s the form of David Warner that the Aussies will want to lean on. At the same time, how the likes of Steve Smith and Glenn Maxwell score off Santner-Sodhi could well have a big bearing on how well Australia is placed for the death overs with Matthew Wade and Marcus Stoinis
Probable XI: Aaron Finch (c), David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
Fantasy XI Suggestion 1:
Matthew Wade, David Warner (C), Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Marsh, Marcus Stoinis, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa (VC), Ish Sodhi
Fantasy XI Suggestion 2:
Matthew Wade, Kane Williamson, Martin Guptill, David Warner, Steven Smith, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Maxwell, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
