Australia to Meet New Zealand for Climactic Clash in T20 World Cup Final

While New Zealand were one of the favourites to win this edition of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, few would have expected Australia to join them for a high-stakes Trans-Tasman engagement. The most successful team in ODI World Cup history, the Baggy Greens had a rough spell in the shortest format of the game, falling all the way down to 6th in the ICC T20 rankings. Nevertheless, they have played some excellent cricket in this tournament and have earned their rite of passage to the final. The Kiwis, on the other hand, were in what was arguably the easier of the two groups depending on who you ask and won the matches necessary to make their way to their third ICC tournament final in as many years and as many formats.

Australia began the tournament with a tight fight against South Africa before cruising to a win against Sri Lanka. They then stumbled hard against England in what can only be described as a massacre but got their act together to qualify for the semifinal with commanding victories against Bangladesh and the West Indies. In the semi, they were up against a resolute, undefeated Pakistan team, but they managed to change that with a compelling performance that now sees them at level odds against their opponents.

Back in form, David Warner will be the key figure for Australia’s batting hopes, with Matthew Wade and Mitchell Marsh also being potential high-scorers. As far as bowling goes, Adam Zampa, Pat Cummins, and Josh Hazlewood are all bowlers the Black Caps will have to watch out for.

New Zealand’s own T20 World Cup campaign began with a loss against Pakistan, but things have gone perfectly uphill from there. They bulldozed India, and beat Scotland, Namibia, and Afghanistan convincingly before coming back from a difficult position to achieve victory in a nail-biter against fellow tournament favourites England in their semifinal.

New Zealand will be rueing the absence of Devon Conway, who did quite well in the semi before punching his bat out of frustration upon being dismissed to break his own hand. Nevertheless, the Kiwis will have Daryl Mitchell, Martin Guptill, and James Neesham to rely on in the batting department and Trent Boult, Ish Sodhi, and Adam Milne to give strength to the bowling side.

Match Prediction and Betting Odds

While the teams are very evenly poised, the Black Caps are currently enjoying a rare period of being the favourites against the team that has traditionally been their big brothers.

Last 5 matches between Australia and New Zealand (Source)