T20WC Semi Final 1 Preview: ENG vs NZ

The ICC World T20 2021 has reached its business end as England will take on New Zealand in the first semi-final of the tournament at Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi. Both sides are very balanced and are in good form as well, meaning that an exciting contest is on the cards for us fans. The last time these 2 met in an ICC game was in the ODI World Cup Final 2019 when the boundary-count rule still existed.

England is coming off an excellent Super 12 round winning 4 out of the 5 matches they played. Their batters are in superb form especially Jos Buttler who has scored runs in almost every game. The likes of Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone have done well in the limited opportunities they had while skipper Eoin Morgan showed signs of coming back in form as well in the game against Sri Lanka. The injury to Jason Roy will be a huge blow for the Englishmen but they have enough depth in their squad to fill in his shoes.

Their bowling has been very consistent with Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid, Chris Woakes, and Chris Jordan picking up wickets in all the games. The injury to Tymal Mills was another body blow for Morgan and his men as Mills was bowling pretty well but Mark Wood bowls hard lengths at a very pace and is a great replacement for Mills.

The BlackCaps, on the other hand, had a great outing in the Super 12 round as well. They too won 4 out of the 5 matches they played. They will be high on confidence as no one really expected them to make it to the semis but they are here and have a good chance of winning the title for the first time. Martin Guptill has been in excellent form with the bat scoring runs consistently for his team. He has got good assistance from Daryl Mitchell who is enjoying his new position at the top. Skipper Kane Williamson like always has been consistent with the bat playing a couple of sensible knocks in the Super 12 round.

Their bowling has been excellent with the likes of Trent Boult, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, and the others performing really well. Boult and Southee have been brilliant with the new ball and in the death overs as well while the spin duo of Sodhi and Santner has bowled very tightly and has not allowed the batters to score freely in the middle-overs.
 

Probable Playing 11

New Zealand

The Kiwis should not make changes to their winning combinations and hence, are expected to field the same eleven from the last match.

Probable 11: Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell, Kane Williamson (c), Devon Conway (wk), Glenn Phillips, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Adam Milne, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult.

England

Jason Roy has been ruled out for the remainder of the tournament. One of David Willey or Sam Billings is expected to replace him in the playing eleven.

Probable 11: Jos Buttler (wk), Johnny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Moeen Ali, Eoin Morgan (c), Sam Billings/David Willey, Liam Livingstone, Chris Woakes, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood.

Pitch Report

The pitch at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium has been one of the best for batting since the last few games. Batters enjoy the ball coming onto the bat while it has good bounce for the pacers as well. Dew settles in the second innings making batting easy so teams will look to chase after winning the toss. Pacers will be very crucial here while spinners too will get assistance but mainly in the first innings. Scores of 160+ should be expected in this match.

Head to Head

Overall: England lead 13-7
In T20WC: England lead 3-2

Match-Ups

Buttler vs Boult: 45 runs at SR 145, no dismissals
Buttler vs Sodhi: 40 runs at SR 154, 2 dismissals
Malan vs Sodhi: SR 194, Average 47.5
Morgan vs Santner: 52 runs at SR 208, 2 dismissals
Morgan vs Boult: 55 runs at SR 196, 1 dismissal
Bairstow vs Santner: 17 runs for 3 dismissals
Bairstow vs Sodhi: 59 runs at SR 295, no dismissals
Guptill vs Rashid: 61 runs at SR 170, 3 dismissals
Seifert vs Jordan: 23 runs for 2 dismissals
Neesham vs Jordan: 36 runs for 3 dismissals

Since there are 3 Right Arm Spinners in England (Adil, Moeen, Livingstone) 
Conway vs Right Arm Spin: 110 runs for no dismissals
Mitchell vs Right Arm Spin: Average 7.5, SR 77
Kane vs Right Arm Spin: Average 41, SR 110
Phillips vs Right Arm Spin: Average 45, SR 166
 

Key Players

England

• Jos Buttler: Buttler is one of the most destructive batters of the modern era and has been in red hot form in this tournament. He has scored 240 runs in 5 games at a whopping average of 120 and a strike rate of 155.84. These numbers are enough to show the kind of form Buttler is in and England will expect him to continue the same form in this do-or-die game.
   
• Moeen Ali: Moeen Ali has performed really well with both bat and ball in this World T20. He has scored. He has picked 7 wickets at 5.50 runs per over. He hasn’t got many deliveries to face with the bat but he looked in good touch in the last game scoring a vital 37 runs against South Africa. England may promote Moeen in the absence of Roy and the expectations will be high from him.
   
• Adil Rashid: Adil Rashid is England’s highest wicket-taker in the tournament with 8 wickets in 5 games at an economy of 5.83. Rashid is one of the best leg spinners in white-ball cricket and has been very consistent till now. With the Kiwis being a right-hand heavy batting unit Rashid’s role will be even more important in this semi-final.

New Zealand

• Kane Williamson: Kane Williamson has done well in the tournament scoring 126 runs in 5 games at an average of 42. His strike rate of just 98.43 may be concerning but he is a champion player and plays according to the situation. Williamson is New Zealand’s best batter and with the middle-order not getting enough exposure in the Super 12 round, Kane will look to continue his consistent form with the bat.
   
• Martin Guptill: Guptill has been phenomenal with the bat in ICC World T20 2021. He has scored 176 runs at an average of 35.20 striking at 131.34. He scored 93 runs against Scotland after his team had a bad start with the bat. Guptill is known for playing aggressively and he will look to play his natural game in this game.
   
• Trent Boult: Trent Boult has been brilliant with the ball picking 11 wickets in 5 games at an economy of 5.84. He hasn’t picked many wickets in the power play but has been economical with the new ball and has bowled pretty well in the death overs. The New Zealand team and fans will expect him to pick a few more in this semi-final against England.
   

Dream11 Prediction

Top Captain Picks

• Jos Buttler
• Moeen Ali
• Trent Boult (Bowling First)
• Johnny Bairstow (Risky)
• Martin Guptill
• Daryl Mitchell (Risky)
   

Team 1 (If Eng Bats First)

Team 2 (If NZ Bats First)

Disclaimer:   These teams are based on the author's understanding of the game and do not guarantee to win in fantasy cricket. Users are advised to create their own teams with the information provided.