Australia win toss and bat in New Zealand T20 decider

  • All four matches so far have been won by the team batting first.
Updated 07 Mar, 2021

WELLINGTON: Australia won the toss and elected to bat first in the deciding fifth Twenty20 international against New Zealand in Wellington on Sunday.

All four matches so far have been won by the team batting first.

After New Zealand won the first two, the series moved to Wellington for the remaining three where Australia handsomely won games three and four to level the series.

The wicket is wearing and spin is again likely to play a significant role after taking 10 of the 15 wickets to fall in game four on Friday.

Australia have retained the same line up that won by 50 runs on Friday with three spinners in Ashton Agar, Adam Zampa, and Glenn Maxwell.

"It looks like a really good wicket and will probably play its best in this game," Australian skipper Aaron Finch said.

"We'll try to post a score and defend it."New Zealand have made one change with Mark Chapman replacing all-rounder Kyle Jamieson.

Chapman, a part-time tweaker, will join Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi to bolster New Zealand's spin bowling stock.

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson said they were not looking for a perfect performance but "looking for improvements" after back-to-back losses.

"Adjusting to the conditions will be key to that," he said.

Teams

New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Tim Seifert, Kane Williamson (capt), Devon Conway, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner, James Neesham, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult

Australia: Aaron Finch (capt), Matthew Wade, Josh Philippe, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Marsh, Riley Meredith, Ashton Agar, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Adam Zampa

Umpires: Chris Gaffaney (NZL), Wayne Knights (NZL)TV umpire: Shaun Haig (NZL)Match referee: Jeff Crowe (NZL)

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