Can Australia Win their 6th World Cup today? | AUS vs NZ Match Preview
Can Australia Win their 6th World Cup today? | AUS vs NZ Match Preview:
Australian Cricket Team will look for their 6th World Cup title when they face New Zealand today in the finals of the ICC World T20 2021. Australian Cricket Team have won 5 ODI World Cups before this however they have never won a T20 World Cup. They have featured in one final before, back in 2010 against England which England won. New Zealand on the other hand will feature in their first ever World T20 Final. New Zealand have never won a World Cup in either of the formats and if Kane Williamson wins it today, he will be the first Kiwi captain to do so.The match up between the two side is definitely not equal. Australia have won plenty of World Cups before and they know how to deal in pressure circumstances. They have been in the finals before and they know what it feels like to win one. On the contrary, New Zealand have never won any World Cup. They did win the inaugural ICC Test Championship and New Zealand have featured in 2 ODI World Cup finals before, but they have failed to keep their nerves calm in the all important final. However if we just stick to this tournament, then we can say that both sides have a fair chance of winning.
Both teams will be heavily relying on their spinners. With 12 wickets in the event, Adam Zampa is Australia’s highest wicket taker so far in the event and overall he has taken 2nd most number of wickets in the event. Ish Sodhi is leading the Kiwi spin attack and he has taken 9 wickets so far in the event, and he is New Zealand’s second highest wicket taker in the event. Both the leg spinners will play an important role in today’s crunch Semi Final. Both sides have then got supporting spinners in the form of Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Santner. Santner is slightly more efficient than Maxwell but still Glenn also poses a threat to the oppositions. Both the leading Pacers of Australia and New Zealand are in great form. Mitchell Starc has picked 9 wickets in the event so far and he is firing on all cylinders in the starting overs. Trent Boult is currently the leading wicket taker for New Zealand in World T20 2021 and he is performing a similar role too for New Zealand.
Both teams have a star studded batting lineup as well. Both teams have got similar inconsistency problems with their opening pairs. Martin Guptill and Aaron Finch have got some runs but not as consistent as their opening partners, Daryl Mitchell and David Warner respectively. The only department where New Zealand can struggle is their lower order striking capability. New Zealand are too reliant on Jimmy Neesham to provide them a strong finish. On the contrary, Australia have got power houses like Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Wade and Marcus Stoinis. It is expected that New Zealand will once again provide a thriller just like their Semi Final against England. The only thing certain at the moment is that we’re guaranteed to have a New World Champion.
Expected Lineups:
Australia: Aaron Finch (C), David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa and Josh Hazlewood
New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell, Kane Williamson (C), Glenn Phillips, Tim Seifert, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Adam Milne, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi and Trent Boult.
