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ICC T20 final Preview: Australia vs Kiwis

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Australia is the most decorated team in the world.

While they have underwhelmed in T20 World Cups, they are the most successful 50-over team in history.

They are five-time World Cup champions and blew away New Zealand in the 2015 World Cup final.

David Warner, one of the greatest T20 batters in history, finding form is a huge plus for Australia.

Having struggled for around nine months – and being dropped from his IPL side – Warner scored two fifties in the Super 12 stage and a vital 49 in the semi-final.

Australia’s bowling attack has been reliant on Test specialists – Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins.

Both have shown their versatility alongside white-ball great Mitchell Starc and in-form Adam Zampa.

Zampa is the leading wicket-taker in the tournament and stifled Pakistan superbly, taking 1-22 in the middle overs.

He will expect more success at the same venue on Sunday.

One of the disappointments has been Glenn Maxwell who has scored 36 runs in six matches.

But it would not be a surprise to see the talented all-rounder produce some magic in the final.

Not a typical T20 team

Despite their run to the final, there is still a sense that Australia are not considered a complete T20 side.

They are ranked No. 6 in the world.

Their middle order lacks the big-hitting firepower needed for T20 success.

A middle-order of Mitchell Marsh, Steve Smith and an out-of-form Glenn Maxwell can be an area of weakness.

Red-ball great Smith, in particular, has struggled and it’s not clear what he brings to the team.

Amongst the bowling, all three Australian quicks have gone for runs in this touurnament.

This is another potential weakness that can undermine Australia.

New Zealand analysis

There is no doubt that the Kiwis are a better white-ball team than Australia.

They were ranked No. 4 in the world coming into the tournament.

New Zealand also have big tournament pedigree having reached major finals in 2015 and 2019.

The best thing about the Kiwis is that they are not overly reliant on anyone.

All of their top-six have stood up at some point, with Daryl Mitchell and Jimmy Neesham stealing the show in the semi-finals.

Black Caps opener Martin Guptill is a big hitter and has the ability to take the game away from the opposition.

In Williamson, they have one of the best Kiwi players of all time.

Trent Boult and Tim Southee have been a constant threat with the new ball.

Spinner Ish Sodhi has been their secret weapon.

New Zealand have achieved the belief needed to win tournaments by beating India to win the World Test Championship.

Prediction

Our prediction is that New Zealand will win the tournament.

Though T20 is an unpredictable format, the Kiwis have better squad depth and are packed with game-changers.

Australia can make it provided Warner or Maxwell come up with a big innings.

This probability of this happening is comparatively low as the Kiwis would have prepared a plan to tackle both.

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Smriti Mandhana and Ellyse Perry star in RCB women’s comeback win against UP Warriorz in WPL 2024

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Smriti Mandhana and Alyssa Healy (Source - X)

RCB women overcame UP Warriorz by 23 runs to clinch their third win of the season. The home side outperformed Warriorz in all the facets of the game and emerged victorious. A collective team effort, particularly with the bat, helped RCB women to beat Warriorz for the second time in the season. They now have three wins in their five matches in the WPL 2024.

Alyssa Healy won the toss and opted to field first. Given how things have panned out in the league so far, it needed a great batting performance from RCB to challenge the chasing side. The home side did exactly that. They were full of intent which was lacking in the last few games. Right from the start, S Meghana and Smriti Mandhana smashed the bowlers.

It was the night of the RCB skipper. The Southpaw scored 80(50) in her stay. S Meghana perished after a valuable 28(21). Ellyse Perry batted well and registered her first fifty of the WPL 2024. She was aided well towards the end by Richa Ghosh whose 21(10) propelled RCB to a score of 198 on the board. It was the highest team total in the WPL 2024.

Alyssa Healy’s efforts go in vain

Chasing the daunting total, UP Warriorz were off to a flier. The opening duo of Healy and Kiran Navgire gave a fiery start to the visiting side. When the two were batting in the PP overs, it seemed like the Warriorz could pull off an insane chase. However, Sophie Devine brought RCB back into the game with crucial wickets. At Bengaluru, the home crowd was literally behind the RCB women.

It helped the home side to stay calm and do their job with ease. Sophie Molineux and Asha Sobhana were the pick of the bowlers, who claimed 2/29 each in their spell of four overs. While Healy scored a fifty and Deepti tried her best in the death overs, ten daunting targets could not be chased down. Despite the early hiccups, RCB managed to restrict UP Warriorz to a score of 175 and won by 23 runs.

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WATCH: Ellyse Perry in disbelief as her six breaks car’s window

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Ellyse Perry smashed a six in the match against UP Warriorz in the WPL 2024. It was an interesting six as the ball travelled towards the boundary ropes and fell exactly on the window of the car. As a result, the glass of the window was broken. The car is set to be provided as a reward for the player of the tournament.

It was the over of Deepti Sharma towards the last few moments of RCB’s innings. Before Perry struck, the home side was in a great position in the match, thanks to a great start provided by Smriti Mandhana. The star batter scored 80 (50) and shined in front of the home crowd. Her form helped RCB to have a good momentum towards the death overs.

Watch the viral video here –

Perry, who was struggling till that point, opened up and smashed the bowlers for fun. She went hard against the spinners like Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Deepti Sharma who were asked to bowl at the death. The right-handed batter smashed back-to-back sixes in the over of Sharma. One of those travelled towards the mid-wicket region where the car was stationed. The video of her shot has gone viral on X.

RCB teammates laugh, Ellyse Perry in disbelief

As the ball fell on the car and damaged the window, the fans erupted. There was no end to the joy of the fans who started chanting “Perry.. Perry..” and lit the atmosphere of the stadium. However, Perry was in disbelief. As she saw the impact of the ball damaging the car’s window, the Australian batter could not believe her eyes and thought about what she had just done.

On the other hand, the RCB teammates of Perry were in awe of the shot. They looked at the replays and appreciated the shot of Perry. At the same time, players like Sophie Molineux and Sophie Devine had a laugh about the car’s window getting damaged. Ellyse scored a fifty and helped her team score 198 runs with her batting in front of the home crowd.

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Praveen Kumar addresses Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer’s negligence of taking part in Ranji Trophy

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Praveen Kumar

Praveen Kumar has given his opinion on the preferences of Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer in recent times. The duo did not take part in the Ranji Trophy matches for their respective teams despite being fit. It did not go well with the Indian Cricket Board which landed the duo without a ventral contract which was announced a few days back.

Praveen Kumar has reacted to the issue recently. The former India pacer claimed that he has been of an opinion on the issue for a long time. Praveen felt that one should definitely earn money but not at the cost of neglecting to play for domestic and national teams. The right-arm pacer felt that players today are having a certain mentality which is not good.

The former pacer claimed that the players have a mindset that they can rest for a month before taking part in the IPL, thereby bypassing playing for their national team or the domestic teams. Praveen felt that the players could not resist letting go of money which they could earn by taking part in the IPL and other T20 leagues (For foreign players).

‘Ye mentally hota hai, ki mai itne paise kaise chodun’ – Praveen Kumar

“This thing is now firmly in the mind of players. Mai ek mahine pehle rest kar lunga, fir IPL khel lunga. Ye mentally hota hai, ki mai itne paise kaise chodun,” said Praveen in the interview. He claimed that youngsters these days are spoilt and are behind money. The former RCB pacer felt that it is not fair on the part of the young players to neglect the country over the IPL.

Kumar felt that a player needs to maintain a balance between playing for the IPL team and for the country. He felt that money is an important factor, but not at the cost of playing for the national team. “But this is not fair at all. A player needs to balance things. Money is important, but this (giving franchise cricket the priority) is wrong,” said the former Indian bowler in the interview.

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