New Zealand v Australia betting tips, prediction & odds; second T20 International

England v New Zealand first Test

Welcome to our preview of the 2nd New Zealand-Australia Twenty20 International on Thursday, February 25, at University of Otago Oval, Dunedin. 

We stay on the South Island of New Zealand for the second match, with this match the only one of the five not played under lights. The Black Caps, of course, took a 1-0 lead with a resounding win the series opener in Christchurch, when their pace bowlers extracted extraordinary swing under lights and then spinner Ish Sodhi finished off the flailing Australians.


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That Sodhi was the man doing the damage was a blow to your correspondent, as we had pinned our betting faith in fellow Kiwi spinner Mitch Santner to take the most wickets for NZ.

Australia have some big calls to make ahead of this match, though the biggest of all, to drop the woefully out-of-form captain Aaron Finch from the opener’s spot, seems unlikely to happen in this series.

The WGL recommends checking the final teams before placing too many bets, as the Australians could switch Josh Philippe to opener, or similarly have the likes of Ben McDermott, Tanveer Sangha and high-class Tasmanian paceman Riley Meredith itching for a game.

The weather forecast is for a cool but clear day in Dunedin. It will be a shock to the system for the Australian players with a maximum of 13 degrees Celsius, coming off another scorching Australian summer.

The picturesque University of Dunedin Oval has not hosted a lot of international limited-over cricket but we expect the pace bowlers to be suited, as both Kiwi opening bowlers Tim Southee and Trent Boult have collected big bags there in ODIs.


New Zealand v Australia series results/schedule

T20 Internationals
1st T20I: February 22, Hagley Oval, Christchurch. New Zealand 5-184 (20 overs; Devon Conway 99no; Jhye Richardson 2-31, Daniel Sams 2-40) d Australia 131 (17.3 overs; Mitchell Marsh 45; Ish Sodhi 4-28) by 53 runs. Player of the match: Devon Conway.
2nd T20I: 2pm (local time), February 25, University of Otago Oval, Dunedin
3rd T20I: 7pm (local time), March 3, Sky Stadium, Wellington
4th T20I: 7pm (local time), March 5, Eden Park, Auckland
5th T20: 7pm (local time), March 7, Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui


New Zealand T20 squad

Kane Williamson (c), Hamish Bennett, Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Martin Guptill, Kyle Jamieson, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips. Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert (wk), Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Finn Allen (stand-by).

Australia T20 squad

Aaron Finch (c), Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, Josh Philippe, Kane Richardson, Daniel Sams, Tanveer Sangha, D’Arcy Short, Marcus Stoinis, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, Matthew Wade, Adam Zampa.

Continue reading for our free NZ v Australia tips for the 2nd T20 at Dunedin on Thursday. 



New Zealand v Australia 2nd T20 odds

Head to head odds: New Zealand $1.80, Australia $2

Man of the match betting:
$9 Kane Williamson
$10 Aaron Finch, Martin Guptill
$11 Glenn Maxwell, Josh Philippe, Tim Seifert, Matthew Wade
$13 Devon Conway, Glenn Phillips, D’Arcy Short, Tren Boult
$15+ others

Top run-scorer New Zealand
$3.75 Kane Williamson
$4.50 Martin Guptill, Tim Seifert
$5 Devon Conway
$6 Glenn Phillips
$6.50 Mark Chapman
$13 Jimmy Neesham

Top run-scorer Australia
$4.50 Aaron Finch, Matthew Wade
$5 Glenn Maxwell, Josh Philippe, D’Arcy Short
$5.50 Ben McDermott
$6.50 Mitchell Marsh
$7 Marcus Stoinis

Top wicket-taker New Zealand
$3.75 Trent Boult, Tim Southee
$4.50 Kyle Jamieson, Ish Sodhi
$5 Hamish Bennett
$5.50 Mitchell Santner
$7.50 Jimmy Neesham

Top wicket-taker Australia
$3.75 Adam Zampa
$4 Jhye Richardson
$4.50 Kane Richardson, Andrew Tye
$5 Daniel Sams, Jason Behrendorff, Riley Meredith
$5.50 Tanveer Sangha, Ashton Agar


New Zealand v Australia betting tips

Our cricket tipsters have examined the odds and found several New Zealand v Australia tips for the 2nd T20 International.

Riley Meredith leading wicket-taker for Australia

We just can’t wait for the Australians to unleash the powerful Hobart Hurricanes on this tour. Australia have some fine short-form bowlers but none is as quick as Meredith, who had batsmen hopping through the recent BBL. He might get his chance in this match, but of course check the team line-ups closer to match time.

Kane Williamson man of the match

With so many players missing from the Australian line-up, Williamson stands alone as the highest-class batsman in this match. He has had a warm-up now and seldom goes long before getting among the runs. The day conditions should be helpful to the top-order batsmen.


New Zealand v Australia prediction 25/2/2021

Australia were admittedly just a day out of quarantine for the first match, but even so their batting was a shamble and their bowling at the death was poor in Christchurch. New Zealand have a very settled team and their bowling line-up in particular looks outstanding. Australian are a quality T20 side but they need to sort out their best batting order and fast or they are in danger of being blown away in this series. They also need captain Finch to find something with the bat. He needs to throw caution to the wind and see if he can blast out of his form slump. Our final New Zealand v Australia prediction? New Zealand to make it 2-0. 


New Zealand v Australia T20I Details

How can I watch the New Zealand v Australia T20 series?

Britain: Sky Sports Cricket, Main Event. India: Star Sports. Live stream: Disney plus Hotstar. Australia: Fox Sports, KAYO. New Zealand: Spark Sport.

How can I bet on the New Zealand v Australia T20s?

International readers can check out the best cricket betting sites.

What time does the New Zealand v Australia T20 start?

The game starts at 2pm local time (noon AEDT) on February 25, 2021.

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