Old rivals England and Australia will be looking to spoil one another's party as the two teams clash in match 26 of the ICC T20 World Cup at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
The high-stakes match will see the winner inch a step closer to a semifinal spot while the loser will have to wait a little longer for a place in the knockout stage of the tournament.
Both teams are on song at the moment having won their first two games of the ongoing World Cup.
England began their campaign in style, embarrassing defending champions West Indies. Following the win over West Indies, England then defeated Bangladesh. Australia too, have enjoyed a fine start. The Aaron Finch-led side first won against South Africa, before registering a comprehensive win over Sri Lanka.
The two teams are the front runners from Group 1 to qualify for the sem-finals, but a loss could affect their chances.
England’s strengths:
England captain Eoin Morgan would be pretty happy seeing the form of his bowling attack. Spinners Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali ran riot against West Indies, picking 4 and 2 wickets respectively. Ali again picked two wickets against Bangladesh. Left-am pacer Tymall Mills has been consistent, picking 5 wickets from two games. Chris Woakes has been very economical and bagged two wickets from as many innings.
England’s weaknesses:
Skipper Eoin Morgan's batting form is a cause for concern. He had a poor IPL season heading into the World Cup and he has not had much time to spend in the middle in the two matches that England have played so far.
Australia’s strengths:
Australia too will be enjoying the form of its bowling attack. The pace bowling trio of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins can rattle any batting line-up on a given day. The three bowlers have combined to pick 9 wickets. Spinner Adam Zampa bowled a brilliant spell of 2/12 against Sri Lanka which won him the Player of the Match award. Part-time bowlers Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell, if in the mood, can also prove to be handy wicket-taking options.
Australia’s weaknesses:
Although opening batters Aaron Finch and David Warner did stitch a 70-run partnership in the chase against Sri Lanka, their recent form has been iffy. Discounting their show against Sri Lanka, Finch has scored only two fifties in the last 10 T20 innings and was dismissed for a duck in the match against South Africa. Warner, on the other hand, has scored only 207 runs from his past 10 T20I innings, averaging only 20.70. In those 10 innings, Warner has twice failed to post a score. With Finch and Warner struggling at the top of the order, Australia tend to slow down in the powerplay overs.
Head-to-head
Matches played: 18
England wins: 8
Australia wins: 10
Form Guide:
England: W-W-W-W-L
Australia: W-W-L-W-L
Pitch and conditions
Four T20 World Cup matches have been played at Dubai International Cricket Stadium and all four have been won by the team chasing. The average first innings total of the four games played in this tournament at the venue is 125.75. The numbers tell that the captain who wins the toss would want to bowl first.
The evening will be warm and clear. The temperature will be around 29 degrees Celsius and humidity level will be 58 per cent.
Team News
Neither team is facing any injury concerns to any of their key players.
Deccan Herald’s Dream XI
David Warner, Aaron Finch (c), Jason Roy, Jos Buttler (wk), Eoin Morgan, Moeen Ali, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Adil Rashid
Impact player for England
Jason Roy: English opener Jason Roy played a match-winning knock of 61 against Bangladesh. Roy has been enjoying good form off late. He was in good form in the latter stages of the IPL in which he scored a fifty. If Roy gets going then he can destroy any bowling attack in the world.
Impact player for Australia
Mitchell Starc: Australian speedster Mitchell Starc is bowling pretty well at the moment. He has picked two wickets in each of Australia's last two matches. Starc cleaning up Kushal Perera with a deadly yorker highlighted that the Aussie is at the peak of his skills at the moment. Starc has picked 8 wickets from his last six T20 games. Starc’s spell will be crucial for Australia’s chances.
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