T20 World Cup: Finalists Australia and New Zealand grapple with ‘catch-22’ toss problem | Cricket News – Times of India

At some point, to win this tour nament, you’re going to have to win batting first.” Aaron Finch’s words on the eve of the T20 World Cup final lacked the usual Aussie bravado, probably because the numbers stack up so heavily against him in the UAE.
Across venues, only one match out of 14 has been won batting first in the Super 12 stage. Teams that have batted first in the T20 World Cup have won only once out of 12 instances in Dubai, the venue for the final.
The T20 World Cup itself seems skewed in favour of chasing teams, especially in the knockout stages. In the previous five finals, only once, the West Indies in 2012, has a team won batting first. Given half a chance, the team winning the toss on Sunday would like to bowl first, although the dew surprisingly played truant in the Australia-Pakistan semifinal.

The Australia skipper, however, is convinced any one of the finalists can buck the trend. Finch reckons Australia’s batting-heavy team has the goods to put a match-winning total on the board.
“Absolutely, it (the problem of the toss) can be overcome. I was actually hoping to lose the toss against Pakistan because I would have loved to put a score on the board in that semifinal. It was one of those ones where you’re probably never going to bat first, but you don’t mind if you have to. It’s the same going into the final,” he said.

Finch recalled this year’s IPL final at the same venue, where Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and put Chennai Super Kings in, only to lose by 27 runs as CSK put up 192/3 on the board.
“We saw it in the IPL final,” said Finch, “Chennai were able to put a big score on the board and really squeeze there. It comes down to the day. If you can put a total on the board and make the opposition take early risks in their innings, that’s what it’s all about.”
That IPL final, however, was an aberration.
In 13 IPL games, nine were won by the chasing team this season, a win percentage of 69.23.

“T20 can be fickle, you have to embrace the challenges.” said Finch. “The trend of the tournament is that chasing is the way to go, but I’m not too fussed. I reckon around the world a lot of teams love chasing in T20 cricket. (But) if an opposition puts up a big total, it can be difficult to chase it down. It’s a catch 22.”
‘Catch 22’ is probably what New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson also had in mind when he chose to harp on the uncertainties of the format.
“It’s an opportunity to build on the performances we have doing… (but) this game is full of small margins and small adjustments. It is full of uncertainties and a little bit of gut feel.”

‘SHAME ABOUT CONWAY’
With spin expected to have a big impact on the game, the loss of Devon Conway, who plays spin well and would have been the perfect matchup against Adam Zampa, is a cruel blow for the Kiwis.
Conway, unfortunately, broke his right hand in bizarre fashion by punching his bat in frustration after getting out in the semis.
“What happened to Devon was a real shame. It’s a big loss. He’s been part of all formats for us,” said Williamson. “It’s a freak thing to happen. He has been helping out (replacement) Tim Siefert. Fortunately Tim’s really excited to get involved.”

“They fight and scrap in every situation,” said Finch about the Kiwis. “They seem to hang around for long enough. Conway’s been such a consistent player for them, he’s someone who plays spin really well through the middle overs.”
Williamson, interestingly, dismissed all notions of being displeased by the ‘underdogs’ tag which has hounded the Kiwis for decades.
“Different tags is not something we control,” he said.