T20 World Cup | Final | Amidst redemption, legacy & finishing the job, lies a lifetime opportunity
If three weeks ago at the start of the Super 12 stage, anyone told Kane Williamson and Aaron Finch that they were to be in the final of the T20 World Cup, the underconfident sides, who were stacked up against the odds in alien conditions, would have taken it gladly. But now exactly three weeks from October 23, when Australia played its first Super 12 game, the Kangaroos would want nothing less than their first ever T20 World Cup. And New Zealand, one may ask? Well, if there is one team that wouldn’t want to finish second right now, it is Australia’s trans-Tasman rivals, the Kiwis. If anything, James Neesham, the hero from the breathtaking semi-final between New Zealand and England, reminisced the now-iconic lines of NBA legend Kobe Bryant, “What’s there to be happy about? Job finished? I don’t think so.” It is a sign of how seriously the Blackcaps want this trophy and to what extent they can go to have it. The job is not finished, both Jimmy Neesham and Matthew Wade, two heroes from the enthralling semi-finals know that. But who will finish the job is the question? For Australia, it would be an opportunity to add the much-awaited T20 feather to their Word Cup cap which is heavy with success. But for New Zealand, it is an opportunity of a lifetime to not only win their first-ever World Cup in any format but also to become champions of two formats at the same time and in the same year, a feat that might take some strength and an awful lot of luck to be repeated ever after. They won the World Test Championship in June this year. What's at stake? The question should be what’s not? Almost everything is at stake in this biggest game in the T20 history for both teams. While New Zealand have made it to their first-ever T20 World Cup final, for the Australian team it is yet another opportunity after the 2010 heartbreak to get their hands on the silverware. Australia have had a horrid year so far in cricket. First, they lost a four-match Test series to India at home and then they were beaten all ends up by West Indies and Bangladesh in the respective T20Is overseas. Being one of the most affected nations from Covid-19, sporting joy hasn’t come easy for the people back home in Australia and thus this title will not re-establish the faith in this unit for the upcoming home summer which includes a massive Ashes, but will also give people reasons to be happy about the game they adore. For New Zealand, the stakes are even higher. After the defeat in 2015 and the heartbreak in 2019, the 2021 WTC might have worked as a balm but those wounds of not being able to win a World Cup per se are deep and can only be healed by redemption. For the older generation of cricketers, who have been treated like a little brother in cricketing terms by giants Australia, this is also an opportunity for payback, especially of the wretched 1981 MCG ODI. Trevor Chappel was asked to bowl underarm by his older brother and captain of the team Greg, when the Kiwis required six runs off the last ball in a match which would have been iconic but is now part of dark pages in cricket history. Thus a victory in this match could heal these wounds too. What needs to change? What victories tend to do is cover up the glaring deficiencies in every team. Like in New Zealand’s chase against England, the failures of Kane Williamson, Glenn Phillips and Martin Guptill was covered up by the amazing performances of Neesham and Daryl Micthell. Now that Devon Conway won’t be available for this game, the focus would shift on the players that failed in the semi-final. Thus their form and performance in the big game are the things New Zealand would want to change. For Australia, a change in the way they bowled at the death and how clueless they looked when Adam Zampa was not bowling would be ideal. Micthell Starc, their premier death bowler was tonked for huge sixes by Fakhar Zaman as he was not able to land yorkers. The form of Steve Smith and Glenn Maxwell with the bat is yet another worrying sign for Australia as the law of averages says that Matthew Wade, David Warner and Stoinis might not be able to salvage them in this game. New Zealand vs Australia: Match Details Match Number - Final Date and Time: November 14, 2021, 07:30 pm IST, 06:00 pm Local, 02:00 pm GMT Venue: Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai Broadcast and Livestream: Star Sports and Hotstar Pitch Report The pitch at Dubai as was seen in the second semi-final is a wicket that the batters can express themselves freely on. There is help early on for the pacers with the swing, but once that is tackled, it becomes all too easy to bat on. However, with the cross breeze affecting the stadium, spinners are a genuine threat in the later stages of the game. This was evident in the game against Pakistan, bigger ground means that getting the spinner way would take a lot of power and courage. So in total, it is going to be a wicket that would provide for the best battle between ball and bat if dew stays away like it did in the semi-final. Weather Forecast The temperature at the stadium will fall from 28-degree Celsius at 06:00 pm to 24-degree Celsius by 10:00 pm and similarly, the humidity will increase from 55% to 65%. There would be a light breeze blowing and it being a 06:00 pm start at local time, dew in large amounts is expected in the second innings. Thus a captain winning the toss would look to chase in all circumstances. Team News New Zealand Devon Conway’s unfortunate injury has forced the Kiwis to make a change and Tim Seifert would come in place of Conway. Apart from that, the entire team would remain the same that played in the semi-final against England. Probable XI Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell, Kane Williamson (c), Glenn Phillips, James Neesham, Tim Siefert (wk), Mitchell Santner, Adam Milne, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult Australia Australia would be sticking with the same lineup that played the previous game. Probable XI David Warner, Aaron Finch (c), Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Steven Smith, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade (wk), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood CE XI Fantasy team Wicketkeepers- Matthew Wade Batters - David Warner, Daryl Mitchell, Kane Williamson All-rounders - Marcus Stoinis, James Neesham Bowlers - Pat Cummins, Adam Zampa, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult Vice-captain - Kane Williamson Captain - David Warner
 "Mayank Kumar")
