World awaits new T20 champions as Australia, NZ do battle
Minhaz Uddin Khan from Dubai
Publish : 14 Nov 2021, 08:54 AMUpdate : 24 Dec 2021, 07:49 PM
The world will crown a new T20 champion Sunday when New Zealand take on Australia in the final of the T20 World Cup 2021 at Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
This is the first time New Zealand are contesting a final in the shortest format of the game, and the second for Australia.
The Aussies have the experience of playing the championship deciding game once, against England in 2010.
Australia had lost the game by seven wickets to the Kevin Pietersen-inspired English side in Bridgetown.
On Sunday in Dubai, the battle will be between two teams who came to the final riding on brilliant wins in the semi-finals.
The Kiwis won the knockout game against England, chasing down 167 for the loss of five wickets with an over to spare after needing 57 runs off the last 24 balls.
Scenes were similar in the second semi-final too, as Australia crushed a highflying Pakistan’s hopes of going further in the tournament in Dubai.
Chasing 177, Australia won the game by five wickets despite being on the backfoot.
The Aussies required 50 off the last 24 deliveries but they cruised to the shore with an over to spare with some blistering knock from Matthew Wade and Marcus Stoinis.
Both Australia and New Zealand had finished second in their respective groups in Super 12 to move to the semi-finals.
Australia will be eager for opener David Warner to keep true to his form in Sunday's match, along with big hitting contributions from the middle-order.
Wade will be looking to continue his inspired form with the bat after a match winning 17-ball 41 against Pakistan in the semi-final.
The wicketkeeper-batsman has scored his 74 runs in the tournament at a strike rate of 164.44.
With the ball, spinner Adam Zampa will once again be the key being one of the standout bowlers in the tournament this year.
Ranked 55th in the T20 ranking, the spinner has taken a team-leading 12 wickets in six innings and conceded just 5.69 runs per over.
With no injury concerns in the dressing room, Australia will be expected to name the same XI from the last game.
Meanwhile the Black Caps will depend heavily on top-order duo in Martin Guptill and Daryl Mitchell.
If one, or preferably both the openers bat deep into the innings, the Kiwis will have a solid foundation to play with at the death.
There is also the Jimmy Neesham factor to consider.
The left-handed batsman is coming into the game having hit a crucial 11-ball 27 against England in the semis and will have an added role to play with Devon Conway unavailable for the game.
Conway picked up an injury on his hand after punching his bat in frustration during the semi-final against England in Abu Dhabi Wednesday.
Australia and New Zealand have met 14 times in the format with the former winning on nine occasions.
The toss is expected to be crucial here and the winning side will be expected to bowl first as chasing a target has always been the preferred option for teams across the competition with the potential dew factor always taken into account.
The game is scheduled to begin at 8pm, Bangladesh standard time.
World awaits new T20 champions as Australia, NZ do battle
The world will crown a new T20 champion Sunday when New Zealand take on Australia in the final of the T20 World Cup 2021 at Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
This is the first time New Zealand are contesting a final in the shortest format of the game, and the second for Australia.
The Aussies have the experience of playing the championship deciding game once, against England in 2010.
Australia had lost the game by seven wickets to the Kevin Pietersen-inspired English side in Bridgetown.
On Sunday in Dubai, the battle will be between two teams who came to the final riding on brilliant wins in the semi-finals.
The Kiwis won the knockout game against England, chasing down 167 for the loss of five wickets with an over to spare after needing 57 runs off the last 24 balls.
Scenes were similar in the second semi-final too, as Australia crushed a highflying Pakistan’s hopes of going further in the tournament in Dubai.
Chasing 177, Australia won the game by five wickets despite being on the backfoot.
The Aussies required 50 off the last 24 deliveries but they cruised to the shore with an over to spare with some blistering knock from Matthew Wade and Marcus Stoinis.
Both Australia and New Zealand had finished second in their respective groups in Super 12 to move to the semi-finals.
Australia will be eager for opener David Warner to keep true to his form in Sunday's match, along with big hitting contributions from the middle-order.
Wade will be looking to continue his inspired form with the bat after a match winning 17-ball 41 against Pakistan in the semi-final.
The wicketkeeper-batsman has scored his 74 runs in the tournament at a strike rate of 164.44.
With the ball, spinner Adam Zampa will once again be the key being one of the standout bowlers in the tournament this year.
Ranked 55th in the T20 ranking, the spinner has taken a team-leading 12 wickets in six innings and conceded just 5.69 runs per over.
With no injury concerns in the dressing room, Australia will be expected to name the same XI from the last game.
Meanwhile the Black Caps will depend heavily on top-order duo in Martin Guptill and Daryl Mitchell.
If one, or preferably both the openers bat deep into the innings, the Kiwis will have a solid foundation to play with at the death.
There is also the Jimmy Neesham factor to consider.
The left-handed batsman is coming into the game having hit a crucial 11-ball 27 against England in the semis and will have an added role to play with Devon Conway unavailable for the game.
Conway picked up an injury on his hand after punching his bat in frustration during the semi-final against England in Abu Dhabi Wednesday.
Australia and New Zealand have met 14 times in the format with the former winning on nine occasions.
The toss is expected to be crucial here and the winning side will be expected to bowl first as chasing a target has always been the preferred option for teams across the competition with the potential dew factor always taken into account.
The game is scheduled to begin at 8pm, Bangladesh standard time.
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