ICC T20 World Cup final: Aaron Finch elects to field
New Zealand and Australia will lock horns in the grand finale of the 2021 ICC T20 World Cup. The Dubai International Cricket Stadium will host the high-voltage encounter. New Zealand edged past England in a nail-biting semi-final, while Australia replicated the show against Pakistan a day later. The news from the center is that Australian captain Aaron Finch had elected to field first.
The two sides have met 14 times in T20I cricket, with Australia leading the head-to-head series 9-5 (includes NZ's Super Over win). Earlier this year, New Zealand beat Australia 3-2 in the five-match T20I series at home. As far as the T20 World Cup is concerned, the two sides have clashed only once. The Black Caps won in the 2016 edition by eight runs.
The final will be held at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. It will begin at 7:30 PM IST. Both New Zealand and Australia won their last games on this venue. The wicket here assists the batters, while the bowlers also receive help. One can watch the match live on the Star Sports Network and stream the same on Disney+ Hotstar (paid subscription).
Aaron Finch is Australia's leading run-scorer in T20Is against New Zealand. He has amassed 251 runs from seven games at a strike rate of 144.25 against them. In the bowling segment, Ashton Agar has taken 13 wickets with the best bowling performance of 6/30. Meanwhile, Martin Guptill owns 435 runs against Australia at an average of 36.25. He also has a ton against them.
New Zealand playing XI: Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell, Kane Williamson (c), Tim Seifert (wk), Glenn Phillips, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Adam Milne, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult Australia playing XI: David Warner, Aaron Finch (c), Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade (wk), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
Earlier, Devon Conway was ruled out of the final.The dashing batter broke his hand during the semi-final against England.Tim Seifert has replaced him in the playing XI against Ausralia.
