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

Welcome to our preview of the 3rd New Zealand-Australia Twenty20 International on Wednesday, March 3, at Sky Stadium, Wellington. 

This match will be played behind closed doors with no crowd, with the COVID-19 outbreak in Auckland sending that city into lockdown and bumping up the level of restrictions in the rest of the country.

It also means the fourth and fifth T20 Internationals of this series will also be played in Wellington.

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New Zealand head to Wellington with a 2-0 lead in the five-match series after they held on in an epic, high-scoring contest at the University of Otago Oval, Dunedin.

Marcus Stoinus came within an ace of steering Australia to a winning run-chase but the big talking point out of the game was another failure by out-of-form Australian captain Aaron Finch.

In contrast, player of the match Martin Guptill emerged from a terrible form slump of his own to club 97 for the Black Caps before being caught on the boundary rope.

Finch needs to take a leaf out of Guptill’s book and rediscover his attacking brilliance, although national selector George Bailey has eased the pressure by insisting Finch will lead Australia to the T20 World Cup in India later this year.

New Zealand are likely to stick with a winning combination, though it’s worth keeping a close eye on the teams in the lead-up to the clash. The Kiwis had four Auckland-based players, Guptill, Mark Chapman, Jimmy Neesham and Glenn Phillips, waiting for clear Covid-19 tests before joining the team in Wellington. Young sensation Finn Allen blasted a ton in the domestic competition and could be rushed in if required.

Australia could finally unleash express paceman Riley Meredith for this clash, though again the teams had not been released at the time of writing.

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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: February 25, University of Otago Oval, Dunedin. New Zealand 7-219 (20 overs; Martin Guptill 97, Kane Williamson 53; Kane Richardson 3-43) d Australia 8-215 (20 overs; Marcus Stoinis 78; Mitchell Santner 4-31) by 4 runs. Player of the match: Martin Guptill.
3rd T20I: 7pm (local time), March 3, Sky Stadium, Wellington
4th T20I: 7pm (local time), March 5, Sky Stadium, Wellington (moved from Eden Park, Auckland due to Auckland lockdown)
5th T20: 12pm (local time), March 7, Sky Stadium, Wellington (moved from Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui due to lockdown and brought forward to noon)

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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 3rd T20 at Wellington on Wednesday. 

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New Zealand v Australia 3rd T20 odds

Head to head odds: New Zealand $1.81, Australia $2

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

Top run-scorer New Zealand
$3.75 Kane Williamson
$4 Martin Guptill
$4.75 Finn Allen
$5 Tim Seifert, Devon Conway
$6 Glenn Phillips
$7.50 Mark Chapman
$13 Jimmy Neesham

Top run-scorer Australia
$4.50 Josh Philippe
$4.75 Aaron Finch, Matthew Wade
$5 D’Arcy Short
$5.50 Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, Marcus Stoinis
$7 Mitchell Marsh


Top wicket-taker New Zealand
$4 Trent Boult
$4.33 Ish Sodhi
$4.50 Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee
$5 Kyle Jamieson, Hamish Bennett
$5.50 Mark Chapman
$7 Jimmy Neesham

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

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New Zealand v Australia betting tips

Our cricket tipsters have examined the odds and found several New Zealand v Australia tips for the 3rd T20 International.

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New Zealand v Australia prediction 3/3/2021

Australia almost pulled off a great escape in Dunedin and are getting close to a win. This is their chance and they need to to keep the series alive. They also desperately need some momentum from the top of the order. Finch put a lot of pressure on his fellow batsman with his battling 12 from 14 balls while almost all others players in the match were scoring at a rate of knots. It will be fascinating to watch how Finch approaches his innings. Our final New Zealand v Australia prediction? Australia to win. 

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New Zealand v Australia T20I Details

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