The Trans-Tasman tussle for T20 title
It will be the first ever T20 World Cup for whoever wins today, be it New Zealand or Australia
The cricket world order will witness a new dawn when New Zealand—the most consistent team across formats in global tournaments during the last three years–meet title-starving Australia in the T20 World Cup final today.
Both teams have never laid hands on the title of which there have been six editions since its inauguration in 2007. But both New Zealand and Australia produced electrifying performances this time, putting favourites England and Pakistan out of the running for the final which will bring to a close a month-long competition in the United Arab Emirates.
Kane Williamson-led New Zealand were the losing finalists at the 50-over World Cup in England in 2019, where the winner was decided on the boundary count after a super over was tied. They won the inaugural World Test Championships in June this year, beating India to their first global title. They started the tournament with a loss against Pakistan—a team many thought would lift the cup this time given their familiarity with conditions. Since then, however, the Black Caps have been unstoppable, beating India, Scotland, Namibia and Afghanistan to secure their semi-final spot.
Pitted against Eoin Morgan’s men, New Zealand were under pressure going into the death overs with 60 runs required of the last five overs, but some brilliant late hitting from Jimmy Neesham and Daryl Mitchell saw them through. It was sweet revenge for the New Zealanders against England after their defeat in the 50-over World Cup at Lord’s.
However, they will miss the services of Devon Conway who has been ruled out with a broken hand when he punched his bat after his dismissal in the semi-final.
“That’s probably a final that I’m not sure too many people would have predicted a month or so ago, Australia and New Zealand,” said New Zealand coach Gary Stead of the Sunday’s final.
“I am sure there will be a bigger outpour of emotion if we manage to get across the line.”
The teams previously met at the 50-over World Cup in 2015 where Australia lifted the cup beating the Black Caps by seven wickets.
“And we’re going to have to make sure that our planning, out scouting is right on point and we’ve got really clear plans for their players because they can like rip a game open pretty quickly,” Stead said.
However, Australia might have a slight advantage following their emphatic win over Pakistan on Thursday in the second semi-final, where ruthless hitting at the death overs grabbed them victory from the jaws of defeat. Australia kicked off their campaign with a nail-biter against South Africa in a low-scoring thriller but recorded a resounding win over Sri Lanka before losing their next game to England.
However, their last two games against Bangladesh and West Indies saw Aaron Finch’s side making a clear statement with an impressive performance to earn their progression to the semi-finals after England, Australia and South Africa finished on level points.
Their performance against Pakistan—the only unbeaten side until then–was out of this world as they chased down a competitive total of 176 with an over to spare, when Marcus Stoinis and Matthew Wade hit a flurry of sixes, including three consecutive ones to shatter Pakistan’s hopes. If they continue in the same vein, Australia’s eyeing their maiden title will pose a huge threat to cricket’s ‘nice guys” who are eyeing country’s maiden limited overs title.
Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis said a T20 World Cup title will “mean a bloody lot to us”.
“I don’t think many people gave us a chance leading into this tournament apart from the players and coaching staff,” he added.
“So it’s definitely going to mean a bloody lot to us and we will be super proud when we bring that home to Australia.”
| Teams | |
David Warner, Aaron Finch (Capt), Mitch Marsh, Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade (wk), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood.
Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell, Kane Williamson (Capt), Glenn Phillips, James Neesham, Tim Seifert (wk), Mitchell Santner, Adam Milne, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult. |
