Highlights
- Australia play New Zealand on October 22, 2022
- The match will be played at Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
- New Zealand's last warm-up game against India got washed out due to rain
T20 World Cup 2022: The all-important World Cup is underway and the qualifiers are slowly coming to a close. A total of 45 matches will be played across 7 Australian cities. In this edition, 16 teams are participating which makes it one of the biggest cricketing event of the year. In the opening game of the T20 World Cup, Australia will play against New Zealand which is a rematch of the previous year's T20 World Cup final.
Australia have a game changer at their disposal and that is Adam Zampa. For a few years now, Zampa has proven to be a game-changer for the Aussies. As far as the white ball format is considered, Zampa can always pitch in and get some crucial wickets for the Aussies which breaks the back of the opposition.
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Zampa opened up on the Kiwi challenge and said:
The thing about New Zealand is that they are always in the contest. They are the kind of team that will scratch their way to 165-odd runs. They certainly have a great bowling attack that can defend it and we completely understand that. When you are up against New Zealand, it is never easy, they are always in the game. You saw last year in the World Cup, in the finals we had them 55/1 after 10 overs, we thought that we might end up chasing 150 or 160, but they somehow got themselves to 170. You can never take New Zealand lightly.
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The Australian team is currently plagued with both form and fitness issues. Just ahead of the opener, the Aussies have lost their reserve wicketkeeper-batsman, Josh Inglis. They have roped in Cameron Green as a replacement and this puts Steve Smith's place in the team under severe doubt. The Aussies will also be worried about Glenn Maxwell and his form ahead of the World Cup.
