Skip to main content

Editor's Pick (T20): Australia - New Zealand

By
“England needs to not only win but win significantly to get a better run rate.” If you read my previous blog you would remember this line I had posted. England won the match against New Zealand on 18th Feb 2018. But only by 2 runs. That was clearly not enough. The net run rate did not get better. Hence, New Zealand got through and is meeting Australia in the finals tomorrow.

England would be disappointed. They had a beautiful chance. But having said that, it was NZ’s home advantage that got them through to the finals as well. England did play really well. It was their best day yet at the tournament. NZ enters the finals with a loss but they will feel good about the fact that they do get to walk into the finals, which England does not. Despite winning. The key was to play the spinners and the change of pace in the middle overs. Eoin Morgan, who won the man of the match, is not a happy man either.
Let’s talk about the finals.

Probable New Zealand Squad: Playing XI: Ross Taylor, Tim Southee, Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson (c), Colin de Grandhomme, Colin Munro, Trent Boult, Ish Sodhi, Tim Seifert (wk), Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner
Bench:Anaru Kitchen, Ben Wheeler, Henry Nicholls

Probable Australia Squad: Playing XI: Aaron Finch, David Warner (c), Kane Richardson, Glenn Maxwell, Chris Lynn, Ashton Agar, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey (wk), Billy Stanlake, Andrew Tye, D Arcy Short
Bench:Travis Head, Adam Zampa, Ben Dwarshuis

Avg 1st inn score:
173
Avg 2nd inn score:
151
Highest Total:
245/5 (18.5 Ov) by Aus vs NZ
Lowest Total:
107/10 (14.5 Ov) by NZ vs RSA
Highest Chased:
245/5 (18.5 Ov) by Aus vs NZ
Lowest Defended:
165/7 (20 Ov) by RSA vs NZ

The other finalist could not have been either team. This was a race that had excitement until the last minute. Will the finals also have the thrill or will it be a one-sided match? Time will tell. Australia is in a fantastic winning streak. A victory in the finals will be their sixth straight win taking them higher up the ICC T20 ranking order.
If Zampa gets the nod, one of the Aussie key players will lose their place. Will they change their winning combination?
NZ must bowl first if they win the toss. Point to be noted - NZ has lost their last four matches at Eden Park. Will being the home team matter now?

There is a chance that it might rain. So D&L might be invited. So best if both teams hit hard from the word go. You can never tell when the run rate would matter. Except for Zampa, I do not see any change in the playing eleven for both the teams.

Key players

New Zealand
Colin Munro
Martin Guptill
Trent Boult
Tim Southee

Australia
David Warner
D’Arcy Short
Glenn Maxwell
Kane Richardson
Andrew Tye

Australia won all four of their games and are favourites for Wednesday's final at Eden Park in Auckland.

Indu


Reactions:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

India showed what they can do at Chepauk Stadium last night.

By
I could not get my hands on the tickets. Yup. Had to start with this line because it can only get better as you read on. The match was mind-blowing. The Men In Blue were bright and brilliant. They were down a bit but when they came back, they were strong and competitive. They did not let the rains get to them. They did not let the rain prevent them from winning. The Chennai Audience had the time of their lives indeed. It was good cricket. Even for those few at the stadium who supported the Aussies. The sea of blue chanting Dhoni’s name was resounding and well-deserved. It reminded all those who kept asking Captain Cool when he plans to retire that Dhoni makes the call, not them. The man’s still got it.
When Australia came in to bat, they were facing a target of 164 to be hit in 21 overs. Now I do not understand Duckworth or Lewis. Put them together and I am just lost. They came in, played around with the numbers and put a target based on how India batted, the number of wickets they lo…
Post a Comment
Read more

Editor’s Pick (T20): India - Sri Lanka

By
A young and relatively inexperienced team, the players are full of enthu and raring to go as they face Sri Lanka at home tomorrow for their first T20 match of the Nidahas Trophy. I’ll tell you one thing. India is full of confidence. The boys have beaten the lions before in their own den. Not just beaten but a brutal defeat the Lions faced. Team Sri Lanka, on the other hand, will not take this team lightly. Yes, they are young. Yes, many players are playing for the country for the very first time. But that does not make the players any less lethal or skilled. In fact, the young players are likely to be passionate and aggressive from the word go.
India squad: Rohit Sharma(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik, Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Vijay Shankar, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohammed Siraj, Rishabh Pant Sri Lanka squad: Dinesh Chandimal(c), Upul Tharanga, Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis, Dasun Shanaka, …
Post a Comment
Read more

Editor’s Pick(TNPL): Karaikudi Kaalai - Tuti Patriots

By
Currently on top of the table with two wins from two matches and entering this year’s tournament as the defending champs, Tuti Patriots come off as the obvious favourite. Karaikudi Kaalai, third on the table with one win from two matches and fifth from last year, they will want to show that they can be on top as well. KK lost their first match but came back strong to defeat Madurai. Vishal Vaidya helped pull it off. S Anirudha also matched with his contribution. Badrinath has it in him to help lead his team to victory.
Batsmen Akash Sumra S Badrinath Kaushik Gandhi S Anirudha Bowlers S Mohan Prasath Shoaib Md Khan Sunil Sam L Balaji Aushik Srinivas Wicket-Keeper Dinesh Karthik All-Rounder Washington Sundar
Subramanian Anand can also be picked. SP Nathan too. Here’s my Alternate lineup
Batsmen Akash Sumra SP Nathan K Vishal Vaidhya S Anirudha Kaushik Gandhi Bowlers R Sonu Yadav Aushik Srinivas S Mohan Prasath Wicket-Keeper
Post a Comment
Read more