The 2021 T20 World Cup final will be contested by New Zealand and Australia. This will be Australia’s second appearance in a T20 cricket World Cup final, having lost the previous one to England in 2010.
This is New Zealand’s first final in this event, and they will be looking to capitalize on their opportunity.
They’ve become everyone’s’second favorite’ side over the years due to their brand of cricket, but more importantly, the spirit with which they play the game.
Kane Williamson, the captain, is the best ambassador for fair play and respect for others. The neutrals will undoubtedly be rooting for the Kiwis.
But this final isn’t about being the nice guy, and a large trophy is at stake between these two rivals. Let’s take a look at the most recent Cricket World Cup odds, team news, pitch reports, and everything else you need to know before the big day. Most importantly, some World Cup betting tips will be provided shortly.
New Zealand’s
The Black Caps got some sort of retaliation for their ODI World Cup final loss in 2019. They knocked out favorites England in the semi-finals, but the job is only half done, and another runner-up finish will surely be as painful to swallow as the 2019 defeat.
A great result for them and a good result for us; we tipped them to beat England last week at Cricket World Cup odds of 2.45.
They chased England’s 166 with an over to spare on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi. Tim Southee was the standout bowler, taking 1-24 off four overs, while Adam Milne also impressed with 1-31.
They used seven different bowlers, demonstrating that Williamson has good resources at his disposal and that if someone has a bad day, he can call on other players to cover the overs.
They were a little slow to respond, but that’s to be expected. They had to rebuild after losing their two big-name batsmen, Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson, on the cheap.
But, even as wickets fell around him, Daryl Mitchell remained. And he demonstrated the importance of playing yourself in by accelerating when necessary, and the four sixes off his bat helped them cross the finish line. But if it hadn’t been for Jimmy Neesham’s intervention, he probably wouldn’t have made it.
The all-rounder had already dismissed dangerman Liam Livingstone, and his quickfire 27 off 11 balls was exactly what New Zealand needed at a time when they were falling well short of the run rate. Mitchell was named man-of-the-match, but it could just as easily have gone to Neesham.
Australia
They looked doomed with three or four overs to go until Mathew Wade’s three sixes put an end to the game, and they won with an over to spare, just like New Zealand.
However, they have been written off throughout the tournament. They arrived in poor form, with a mediocre record in the UAE and a number of players out of form, including David Warner. He’d had a terrible season in the IPL prior to the World Cup.
But Warner has a habit of proving people wrong, and while he’s not quite among the top run scorers in the tournament, he’s had a fantastic month. Wade was named man-of-the-match for his late hitting when they appeared to be out, but Warner’s 49 set the tone and kept them on track to meet the required run rate.
However, there will be some concern about Steve Smith and Glenn Maxwell’s form. They were out for 5 and 7, respectively, and neither has looked in good shape so far. Aaron Finch was aiming for a golden duck, but it was a brilliant delivery from Shaheen Shah Afridi that got him there. He’ll need to get off to a better start this time.
Cricket World Cup Odds: Who Will Win?
Both teams entered their respective semi-finals as underdogs and won. But was there anything else they had in common? We’ll explain. They both won the toss and were assigned to bat second. It was no coincidence that they had a significant advantage because batting second has been a significant advantage throughout the tournament. That is due to two major factors.
The first is that almost every team nowadays prefers to have a goal in mind and know exactly what they need to do.
The second word is dew. As the game progresses, dew accumulates and makes the ball more difficult to grip. We saw it in both semi-final games, with bowlers losing control of the ball due to the damp conditions, costing them runs.
So, what is the takeaway here? It is that winning the toss provides a significant advantage. It’s not quite ‘win the toss, win the match,’ but it’s close.
