Five-time champions Australia will face New Zealand in Match 27 of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023. The match will be played at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala on Saturday. Australia found themselves in a spot of bother early on in the tournament with two consecutive defeats to begin their tournament, but they are now on course with three big wins on the trot. It all began with a hard-fought win against Sri Lanka, where they had their moments of struggle but emerged triumphant.
They followed it up with a blistering batting performance against Pakistan and Netherlands. David Warner scored centuries in both these games to put Australia in the driver’s seat, while Mitchell Marsh scored his second ODI ton against Pakistan and Glenn Maxwell broke the record for the fastest century in World Cup cricket against the Netherlands.
Australia’s 309-run win against the Dutch is now the biggest win in World Cup history and the second-biggest win of all time in the format. This also boosted their net run rate significantly and in pursuit of a top-four spot, the Aussies currently find themselves in a very good position.
New Zealand’s incredible start to the tournament was curbed by a defeat to hosts India in Dharamsala. Now, the Kiwis have an opportunity to fight back and return to winning ways at the same venue, but the path will not be smooth sailing. So far, New Zealand have picked up four wins – against England, Netherlands, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
Here’s our predicted XI of Australia for this Trans-Tasman encounter
Openers: David Warner, Mitchell Marsh
David Warner is among the leading run-scorers in the ongoing tournament, scoring 332 runs in five matches. This tally includes two centuries, which have come in the last two matches. He is also batting at an impressive strike-rate of 109.93, providing solid starts to the team in the powerplay overs.
Mitchell Marsh has been a hit-and-miss as an opener ever since he took up that duty in the absence of Travis Head. However, he smashed a terrific century against Pakistan in Bengaluru, taking his run-tally to 189 runs, which includes another half-century as well.
Middle order: Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis
Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne are an ideal choice for the No. 3 and No. 4 positions, as both batters are capable of switching gears. Smith, despite getting only one half-century in the tournament, has looked in good touch whenever he came out to bat. Labuschagne scored 183 runs in five knocks and he too has scored one half-century.
Josh Inglis has shown some destructive signs batting in the lower middle order. Although he scored only 90 runs in four matches until now, his attacking intent is exactly what the team needs from him.
All-rounders: Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis
Glenn Maxwell was chipping in with some top performances with the ball, making great use of the slow conditions in India. However, against the Netherlands, he unleashed his quintessential best, smashing a 40-ball century after coming in to bat in the 40th over. He has so far contributed 155 runs at a strike-rate of 143.51 and picked up three wickets at an economy of 4.40.
Marcus Stoinis’ role after the losses to India and South Africa has been minimal, but the opposition will be wary of his strength, especially with the bat. Stoinis has proven himself as a big-match player in the past and Australia will bank on him for that one big contribution which usually comes at a crucial juncture.
Bowlers: Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Adam Zampa
Skipper Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood have not been at their best in the ongoing tournament. Both bowlers picked up six wickets each and haven’t looked threatening enough with the new ball, thus conceding some early advantage to the opponents. However, both are in the top three of the ICC ODI rankings for bowlers and are proven match-winners.
Adam Zampa was off to a poor start, but lately, he has been spearheading their spin department, as he was expected to on these spinner-friendly conditions. He has picked up 13 wickets at an average of 17.76 and an economy just short of six. Mitchell Starc, a bonafide star at the World Cup with 50+ in the tournament history, added seven to his tally so far in India.
Australia’s Predicted Playing XI
David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis (wk), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Adam Zampa
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