Australia - New Zealand Predictions & Betting tips - ICC Men's Cricket World Cup

Prediction published on 26/10/2023, 16:55  by Devesh Jaganath | Modified on 26/10/2023 at 16:55

Familiar foes Australia and New Zealand will clash in match 27 of 48 in the 2023 Cricket World Cup on Saturday morning. This is a crucial match in the race for the top four spots, with the Aussies currently in fourth place while the Kiwis are one spot above them. After losing their first two matches in the competition, many were writing off the Aussies from making the semi-finals. However, the five-time champions reminded onlookers why they are the most successful side in this competition, bouncing back with three consecutive wins. That included a five-wicket victory over Sri Lanka, followed by a 62-run win over Pakistan and a huge 309-run demolition of the Netherlands. The Baggy Green will be particularly pleased with the fact that their batsmen seem to have found their form of late after failing in the first two matches. David Warner is now ranked third in the top run scorer standings with 332. With the ball, Adam Zampa has taken an impressive 13 wickets so far and is the leading wicket-taker in the competition. Australia have won each of their last five ODI matches against this opponent and are the favourites in this one as well. 

Meanwhile, despite being the underdogs in this one, New Zealand cannot be ruled out of this match. Along with India and South Africa, the Kiwis have been one of the most impressive sides in the competition, winning four of their five matches so far. In addition, their solitary loss to date came against India in their last match, following victories over Afghanistan, Bangladesh, England and the Netherlands. They also possess the second-best net run rate in the competition, currently at +1.481. While the likes of Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra have been solid in the first five games, New Zealand’s major strength has been with ball in hand. Mitch Santner and Matt Henry have taken 12 and 10 wickets to date and are ranked second and fifth, respectively, in the leading wicket-taker standings. New Zealand last beat this opponent in a World Cup match back in 2015 and will know they need to be at their absolute best to come out on top in this one.