New Zealand v Australia 1st T20I – 22/02/2021

NZ v Australia 1st T20I – Cricket Betting Tips, Latest Odds, Team News, Predictions – 22/02/2021

New Zealand and Australia will play the first T20I of their five-match series. Plenty of stars from the recent BBL and Super Smash will be in action.

Discover our free cricket betting tips. See what our experts have to say about the best betting sites for this series.

New Zealand v Australia 1st T20I – Match Preview

The Black Caps and Aussies haven’t played each other in T20I cricket since 2018. The last three head-to-head meetings brought victory for the Australians on all the occasions.

Where: Hagley Oval, Christchurch

When: Monday, 22 February 2021

Start time: 11:30 IST (06:00 GMT)

Pitch conditions: The last three Super Smash matches played in Christchurch were all won by the team batting second. This is a good ground for chasing totals. A score of a around 180 from the team batting first could be competitive.

Weather conditions: Monday’s weather in Christchurch is predicted to be a relatively cool 24 degrees celsius. There’s a small chance of rain, but probably not enough to shorten the match. If there are fewer overs and an adjusted target, this might suit the team batting second as well.

New Zealand v Australia 1st T20I – Latest Odds

1xBet are among the best betting sites in India. We enjoy the value of their outright markets and their popular accumulator outcomes.

For this series opener, they have priced Australia as 1.804 favourites and New Zealand 2.005 underdogs. This is a good time to bet on the series hosts.

New Zealand v Australia 1st T20I – Team News

• Martin Guptill – New Zealand will hope their experienced opening batsman is fully fit to play. He’s injured. Finn Allen has been called up as cover.
• Kyle Jamieson – The tall fast bowler’s rise has been steady. His pace and carry could be a handful for the Australian batsmen to manage.
• Tim Southee – So reliable for many years, seamer Southee’s ability to couple varied pace with the right lines and lengths will be vital for the Kiwis.
• Josh Philippe – The talented batsman finally looks set for an international debut after a couple of successful BBL seasons and time with RCB in the IPL.
• Ashton Agar – The spinning all-rounder missed a lot of the BBL due to injury. But he’s back now. His role with bat and ball is in big demand for the Australians.

New Zealand v Australia 1st T20I – Betting Tips and Prediction

Our team of expert cricket and betting analysts have more match predictions for you. These include generous odds from the best betting sites in India.

Make Meredith the Top Australia Bowler

Ricky Ponting sang the praises of Riley Meredith throughout the BBL. Meredith brings a lot of genuine pace, which should prove a big threat on the Hagley Oval deck.

bet365 have plenty of markets for this match alone. But we especially like their price of 5.0 for Meredith to be the top bowler for Australia.

Choose Conway as the Top NZ Batsman

Devon Conway has broken into the New Zealand limited-overs squad and is impressing at almost every turn.

He was superb during the Super Smash final. He carried the Firebirds to another title. Bet on him to be the top New Zealand batsman at 5.0 with 22Bet. This might bring great value.

Back NZ for the Highest Opening Stand

Aaron Finch and Josh Philippe will probably open the batting for Australia. One is out of form and the other will be on debut. It could go wrong.

New Zealand, though, have a selection of solid openers and are decent price at 1.83 with 10CRIC to have the highest score for the first wicket.

Read our round-up of the best cricket betting tips for this series opener.