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A new T20 World Champion will be crowned on Sunday when New Zealand takes on Australia in the grand finale at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. New Zealand knocked out England while Australia defeated Pakistan to reach the final.
The Black Caps will miss the services of their star batter and wicketkeeper Devon Conway as he broke his right hand during the semi-final clash against England. In place of Conway, Tim Seifert is set to fulfil the keeping duties. He, too, is handy with the bat in top-order.
There are no injuries ahead of the match for Australia, and Aaron Finch should field with the same team as they aim to clinch their first-ever T20 World Cup title in men’s cricket.
New Zealand and Australia faced off only once in T20 World Cups when the Black Caps edged past the Aussies by eight runs on a sluggish surface in Dharamshala, India.
Head-to-Head record:
Played: 14 | NZ won: 05 | AUS won: 09 | No result: 0
Pitch report:
The pitch in Dubai often favours batsmen, especially in the second innings. But spinners will have a role to play in the middle-orders since there are bigger boundaries at this venue. Keeping dew in mind, the team winning the toss will opt to bowl first.
Probable XIs:
New Zealand: 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: Aaron Finch (c), David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
Match Prediction:
Case 1:
- NZ wins the toss and bowls first
- Powerplay score: 35-40
- AUS total: 140-150
Case 2:
- AUS wins the toss and bowls first
- Powerplay score: 40-45
- NZ total: 150-160
Team batting second to win the contest.
