T20 World Cup Final: NZ vs AUS LIVE: Kane Williamson-led New Zealand will be up against Aaron Finch’s Australia in the much-anticipated T20 WC 2021 Final that will be played at Dubai International Stadium on Sunday evening. The BlackCaps have made it to the T20 World Cup final for the time in history and look clear favorite against Australia who will be eying to become only the fourth team to win all ICC limited-overs trophies. Follow InsideSport.in for more T20 World Cup live updates
NZ vs AUS LIVE: 5 Reasons why New Zealand is hot favourite to win T20 World Cup Finals vs Australia
Also read: NZ vs AUS LIVE: After England’s revenge, New Zealand ready to…
5 reasons why New Zealand is hot favourite to win T20 World Cup Final:
1. From Dark Horses to First Finalist: Ranked fourth in T20Is, Kane Williamson’s New Zealand were dark horses at the start of the tournament. With two Asian giants Pakistan and India in its group, not many have thought that the BlackCaps will even make it to the semis.
However, they not only made it to the final 4 but also became the first team to qualify for the finals. They not only knocked the pre-tournament favorites England out of the competition but also took revenge for their 2019 WC Final heartbreak.
And, to add it they have made it to three ICC tournament finals in a row!
2. Three finals in three years in three formats: For the last couple of years, Kane Williamson-led New Zealand have been impressive in all formats. After the 50-over World Cup and the World Test Championship, the BlackCaps have now made three finals in three years in three formats.
They lost the 2019 ODI World Cup to England by the barest of margins on boundary countback after a tie and a tied Super Over. Then they reached the 2019-2021 World Test Championship & defeated clear favorites India.
And now, they will face Australia on Sunday with an eye on taking the revenge of their 2015 World Cup Final loss when the Aussies denied the BlackCaps their maiden 50 over WC trophy.
3. Best fielding side in the T20 World Cup 2021: Kane Williamson’s New Zealand are undoubtedly the best fielding side in the ongoing World Cup. Devon Conway’s superman catch to dismiss M Hafeez & Daryl Mitchell’s full stretched dive above the ropes to stop a certain Six off Rashid Khan are a couple of instances that prove there’s no match to BlackCaps’ fielding prowess at the showpiece event.
On the contrary, the Aussies kept dropping easy catches against Pakistan in the previous outing. David Warner, Adam Zampa, and Steve Smith dropped three easy catches of Mohd Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman after which both the batters slammed a fifty each.
4. In-form bowlers – pacers + spinners: New Zealand has more penetration abilities in its bowling attack as compared to Australia’s. The Kiwi duo of Tim Southee & Trent Boult have picked up 19 wickets together while M Starc & Pat Cummins have accounted for 14 wickets in total collectively.
In the spin department, Adam Zampa has picked up 12 wickets but has found little or no support from Glenn Maxwell who has been off-color with both bat and ball. For New Zealand, Ish Sodhi and M Santner are on song. Barring the last game against England, Ish Sodhi has struck in his first over into the attack every match in this T20 WC.
Also read: T20 World Cup: Check how ‘Fighter’ Mohammed Rizwan spent two days…
5. A calm & cool captain for handling the final’s pressure: While Aaron Finch and Kane Williamson have fared equally with the bat & captaincy decisions in the tournament, Kane Williamson’s calmness in pressure situations gives New Zealand a slight edge over the Aussies, especially in the final.
Making the right decisions in pressure situations is what makes and breaks a successful captain & Kane Williamson has proved it time again leading his side to number in Test as well as ODIs both.
While most of the teams have opted on the split captaincy, Kane Williamson continues to lead the BlackCaps in all formats and has done a terrific job in the last couple of years. He has led his side to three finals in three years in three formats & is on the verge of winning titles across different formats.
ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021: NZ vs AUS Squads
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (c), Todd Astle, Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Martin Guptill, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Adam Milne
Australia: Aaron Finch (c), Pat Cummins, Ashton Agar, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa, Mitchell Swepson
For more T20 WORLD CUP NZ vs AUS live updates, follow us at Insidesport.in
Editors pick
