New Zealand won the first two T20 games of the five match series and it looked like the Kiwis were going to wrap up the series pretty quickly. Our team of cricket experts pointed out that even though Australia lost the first two T20 games, they were getting better with each game.
We predicted that Australia would do better during the third T20 and told you to put your money on the Aussies. If you signed up at Bet365 or 10Cric and used our predictions for the third T20, you would have won. Australia bounced back to not only win the third T20 but also the fourth T20 and tie the series at 2-2.
Betting Odds For Fifth T20
The fifth and final T20 will take place on March 7 at Wellington. Bookmakers now have the Aussies as favorites to win at 1.80 and the Kiwis are slight underdogs at 2.00. Before we give you our predictions as to who is going to win, let us do a quick analysis of both sides.
Do remember that apart from betting on the outright winner, there are a also a number of side bets that you can wager on at any of the betting sites listed below.
What New Zealand Must Do To Win
The first thing that we want to point out is that New Zealand won the first two T20s when they batted first and lost the next two T20s when they batted second. When the Kiwis lost it was because their batsmen were unable to perform as well as they would have liked under pressure.
It will certainly help the Kiwis if they can win the toss and bat first at Wellington. The Kiwis are struggling in the middle order as none of their batsmen are making runs. They can also use a good partnership at the top as Tim Seifert hasn’t delivered and needs to step up in the series decider.
The Kiwis need to work out a better batting strategy if they end up batting second. Whether it is shuffling the batting order or getting Kane Williamson to block up one end, they need to do something different if they want to win the series.
New Zealand has also had problems with their fifth bowler in both their losses. J Neesham conceded 60 runs in the third T20 and Kyle Jamiseon went for 49 in the fourth T20. The Kiwis will need to stem the flow of runs or Australia could run away with the match and the series.
What Australia Must Do To Win
Australia have done well to win the last two T20 games on the trot and one of the reasons for that is because their captain Aaron Finch has started to make runs at the top of the order again. He scored 69 and remained unbeaten on 79 in the fourth T20 to give his side the momentum at the top of the order. Finch needs to fire yet again in the fifth T20 game.
Australia also needs one of their middle-order batsmen to score big. G Maxwell has scored at a strike rate of over 200 in the last two games and can quickly take the game away from the Kiwis if he gets going.
The bowling department has delivered with all of the bowlers not only taking wickets but also bowling economically. They will have to bowl well as a unit in order to strangle the Kiwis.
Our Prediction
This is a hard one to call based on how the series has gone so far. A lot will depend on whether New Zealand can win the toss and bat first. If they can, the odds will swing in their favour. We think that Australia is going to use their momentum and clinch the series 3-2.
West Indies vs. Sri Lanka T20 Series
If you are looking to bet on the West Indies vs. Sri Lanka T20 series, you can do so below.
