Australia will take on New Zealand in the ICC World T20 2016 at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala, Friday. Australia will want to make a winning start to their ICC World T20 campaign agains the Kiwis.
These two sides have played a lot of Tests and ODIs but haven't not played much T20 cricket against each other. The last time they squared off was back in 2010 in Christchurch. The match went down to the wire as it was decided after a Super Over. The Black Caps got the better of the Aussies in that game.
Here they are again, and the Trans-Tasman rivals are ready to take on each other in a Group 2 encounter of the ICC World T20 2016.
But rain is looming over the state of the match as the ground remained under cover, Thursday. The weather has not been great and there is a chance that Rain Gods may play spoilsport, Friday.
The strategies will have to be re-worked by both captains - Steve Smith and Kane Williamson -- if that is the case.
"Yeah, I think you have to have something in mind [for a shortened game]," Smith was quoted as saying by ESPN Cricinfo.
"I don't think a lot of the game-plans or the way each individual plays changes too much but I think you do have to have a few different game-plans if the game is a bit shorter."
Williamson & co. will look to continue with the winning momentum that they gained after humbling the No.1 T20 side in the world -- India. But it will not be an easy game against the Aussies. They have a number of hard-hitters in their ranks, who can take the game away from New Zealand.
"It was definitely a lot of happy teammates after the game (against India). But we don't want to get too carried away. It's just one game in what is a short and condensed tournament. Lot of games to be played," Ross Taylor said.
Australia's bowling lineup, though, will also be aware of the firepower that the Black Caps have in their lineup.
Smith & co. have come into this tournament after a good T20 series win over South Africa. But they were beaten by the West Indies in a warmup game just ahead of the start of the main phase of the ICC World T20 2016.
Probable lineups: Australia: Aaron Finch, Shane Watson, Steven Smith (C), David Warner, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh, James Faulkner, Peter Nevill (wk), John Hastings, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood.
New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson (C), Colin Munro, Corey Anderson, Ross Taylor, Mitchell Santner, Grant Elliott, Luke Ronchi (wk), Nathan McCullum, Adam Milne, Ish Sodhi.
Where to watch live:
Australia vs West Indies is scheduled for a 3 p.m. IST (8:30 p.m. AT, 10:30 p.m. NZT, 9:30 a.m. GMT, 5:30 a.m. ET) start. Live TV coverage in India, and the rest of South Asia, will be on Star Sports 1, Star Sports 3, Star Sports HD1 and Star Sports HD3. Starsports.com and Hotstar will stream Australia vs West Indies ICC World T20 2016 Match 5 live.
Sky Sports 2 is the place to be to watch Australia vs West Indies live in the UK, with Sky Go and Watch Sky Sports being the live streaming online options.
ESPN will broadcast the game live in the Caribbeans.
Willow TV and Willow TV Online will provide live coverage of the WT20 Match 5 in the US and Canada.
Sky Sport 1 will broadcast the World T20 Match 3 live in New Zealand, with the live stream option on Sky Go NZ.
Fox Sports 3 will show the match live in Australia, while the action can also be live streamed on Foxtel.
Fans in the Middle East and North Africa can watch Australia vs West Indies live on their TV screens on OSN Sports Cricket, while the match can also be live streamed on OSN Play.
SuperSport 2 is the TV channel which will show the match live in South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa, with the live streaming option on SuperSport Live Video.
Star Cricket will broadcast the match live in Singapore and Hong Kong. Astro Sport is the place to be to watch the game live in Malaysia.
