India and New Zealand meet at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday in the T20 World Cup Final and we at the game from a betting angle.
India Road to the Final
India topped Group A with four wins from four and then finished runners-up in Group 1 of the Super Eights before edging England by 7 runs in a remarkable semi-final at the Wankhede.
Their batting has been the story of the knockout stages. They posted 253/7 against England and then just held on despite Jacob Bethell’s brilliant hundred in reply. Sanju Samson made 89 off 42 in that match and arrives in outstanding touch, while Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan and the rest of the India batting unit have all contributed through the tournament.
India now have five players inside the top twenty run scorers in the tournament, with Ishan Kishan on 263, Suryakumar Yadav on 242, Sanju Samson on 232 (after only 4 matches), Shivam Dube on 209 and Hardik Pandya on 199.
With the ball, Varun Chakravarthy has 13 wickets although he has struggled in the Super Eights and Semi-Final, Bumrah has 10 but has been as economical as ever and Arshdeep Singh has 9, so they bring both batting depth and wicket-taking strength into the final.
New Zealand Road to the Final
New Zealand finished second behind South Africa in Group D, were runners-up to England in Group 2 of the Super Eights and then produced one of the performances of the tournament to crush South Africa by 9 wickets in the first semi-final.
Finn Allen was the star in that game with a stunning unbeaten hundred off just 33 balls, the fastest century in T20 World Cup history, and he has now surged to 289 runs in the tournament at a strike rate above 200. Tim Seifert has also been exceptional with 274 runs, while the middle order offers plenty of power through Glenn Phillips and Mark Chapman.
With the ball, Rachin Ravindra has been their leading wicket taker with 11 scalps, while Matt Henry has 9. New Zealand have not always had one dominant bowler, but they have shared the workload effectively and have shown throughout the event that they are capable of matching any side when they get momentum.
BETTING – Click here to bet
India 1.40
New Zealand 3.00
India are deserved favourites especially given home ground advantage, but New Zealand were superb against South Africa and if Allen and Seifert get them away again they are dangerous outsiders. I am tempted by New Zealand at the current orice, but there looks more value in the player markets than the straight match result.
India Top Batsman, Sanju Samson at 4.25
Samson was superb in the semi-final as well as what was effectively a quarter-final against the West Indies and has 232 runs from only four innings in the tournament. He is striking at over 200 and looks to be seeing the ball beautifully at the right time of the competition.
New Zealand Top Batsman, Finn Allen at 4.25
Allen’s numbers are impossible to ignore. He has 289 runs in the tournament at a strike rate north of 200 and comes into the final off one of the great T20 World Cup innings. If New Zealand are to lift the trophy, there is every chance Allen is central to it.
Player of the Match Jasprit Bumrah at 12.00
He was the difference between the 2 teams in a high scoring semi-final and has an excellent economy rate of 6.62. Teams tend to play him defensively which means he doesn’t always get amongst the wickets but in the final I expect the best bowler in the world to step up.
Note: All prices are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change.
