ICC T20 World Cup 2021 final: Australia vs New Zealand: Three crucial factors which might determine the fate of the match
Australia will take on their trans-Tasman neighbors New Zealand in the T20 World Cup final today in Dubai. Neither of the two teams have won the T20 World Cup so far. Therefore, winning it would be an historic achievement for either of them.
New Zealand had beaten England in the first semifinal on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Australia overcame Pakistan in the second semifinal a day later. Both Australia and New Zealand will be fancying their chances of winning the coveted trophy today.
It would also be a repeat of the one-day World Cup final in 2015, when Australia brushed aside New Zealand to win the title.
The ICC's official Twitter page also tried to analyze the match-up:
Trans-Tasman rivals, and two world class teams competing for a #T20WorldCup trophy!
How #NZvAUS will be won 👇
t20worldcup.com/news/2349222
On that note, we will take a look at the three factors which might prove to be crucial today:
1. Toss and spinners playing a crucial role
Toss has been a crucial factor in the tournament so far, as the teams batting second have prevailed in most of the matches. Therefore, toss would be a crucial factor tomorrow and the team winning it should choose to bowl first. The dew factor might come into play, as the spinners might have some difficulty gripping the ball.
However, it also has to be kept in mind that both Australia and New Zealand went through difficult chases in the semifinals. Ultimately, they succeeded in snatching victory from the jaws of defeat.
The spinners might also take heart from the fact that Liam Livingstone and Shadab Khan, the two spinners from England and Pakistan respectively, bowled superbly while defending a total.
Therefore, the likes of Adam Zampa, Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner would play a crucial role in today’s match irrespective of whether they are bowling in the first or the second innings.
Both Zampa and Sodhi have had a great tournament so far. Zampa is the second highest wicket taker in the tournament and Cricket Australia's official twitter page lauded him:
Keep underestimating Adam Zampa all you want. He thrives off it #T20WorldCup https://t.co/EeEuJBzOyW
Australia would also depend somewhat on Glenn Maxwell, who bowled some tidy overs against Pakistan. On the other hand, New Zealand's spin attack is among the best in the world in this format.
A big boundary in Dubai would mean that the batsmen would not find it easy to clear the ropes against the slow bowlers. They would rely on the pace of the delivery to hit sixes, as was demonstrated in the semifinals.
2. Big hitters coming in handy in death overs:
In this format of cricket, big hitters usually hold the key. Both Australia and New Zealand have an abundance of batsmen capable of lusty hitting. It was especially evident in the death overs against Pakistan and England respectively, when Jimmy Neesham, Darryl Mitchell and Matthew Wade took the opposition bowlers to the cleaners.
Wade was especially heroic in his approach and hit three consecutive sixes off Shaheen Afridi to finish the match. He scooped the Pakistani fast bowler behind the wicket to hit two of his sixes and also managed to pick his cutter on another occasion before hitting it over the mid-wicket boundary.
Meanwhile, New Zealand's Neesham bludgeoned some overpitched deliveries over long off and mid-wicket boundaries to turn the tide against England. Mitchell also played some wonderful pull shots to clear the boundary in the last over.
Moreover, Australia have a few more strong hitters in the form of David Warner, Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis, who are all capable of clearing the ropes easily. Fast bowlers from both sides would have to be extremely cautious in the final overs of an innings. They would do well to vary their pace and bowl slower deliveries at regular intervals.
3. New Zealand’s top order against the Australian pace attack:
Australia have an enviable new-ball attack and the likes of Mitchell Star, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood will try to strike early against the Kiwis. Both Hazlewood and Starc went for a lot of runs against Pakistan and Australia had to wait until the 10th over to get the first Pakistani wicket.
However, they should come back strongly in today’s final and the swing Starc generates with the new ball might trouble the Kiwi batsmen.
New Zealand have a very strong top order with Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson being their two most influential batsmen. Make-shift opener Mitchell has been a revelation in this tournament with 197 runs so far. He will try to continue his good run in the final as well.
However, Australia probably boasts of the best pace attack in the world, and would try to deliver an early blow or two to New Zealand. New Zealand will find it difficult to post a big total should their top-three are dismissed cheaply by the Aussie bowlers.