T20 World Cup, semi-final: Williamson elects to field first
England and New Zealand will square off in the first semi-final of 2021 T20 World Cup on Wednesday. The Sheikh Zayed Stadium will host the high-octane clash. Both sides lost only one game in the Super 12 stage. The news from the center is that New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson has won the toss and will field first.
Here is the head-to-head record
The two sides have met 21 times in T20I cricket, with England leading the head-to-head series 13-7 (1 NR). England and New Zealand last faced each other in T20Is in November 2019 (England won 3-2). As far as the T20 World Cup is concerned, England lead the Kiwis 3-2. England won in 2010, 2012, and 2016 respectively. NZ tasted success in 2007 and 2014.
Key details about the match
The match will be held at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. It will begin at 7:30 PM IST. All matches on this venue have been one-sided so far. The surface here assists everyone in phases. Spinners are always in action as they garner turn. One can watch the match live on the Star Sports Network and stream the same on Disney+ Hotstar.
Here are the top performers
Martin Guptill is New Zealand's leading run-scorer in T20Is against England. He has smashed 467 runs from 14 games at a strike rate of 145.48 against them. In the bowling segment, Mitchell Santner has taken 16 wickets with the best bowling performance of 3/23. Meanwhile, Eoin Morgan owns the most runs for England against New Zealand (424 at a strike rate of 146.20).
A look at the two sides
England playing XI: Jos Buttler (wk), Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Moeen Ali, Eoin Morgan (c), Sam Billings, Liam Livingstone, Chris Woakes, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood New Zealand playing XI: Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell, Kane Williamson (c), Devon Conway (wk), Glenn Phillips, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Adam Milne, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult
Billings comes in for the injured Roy
Sam Billings has replaced the injured Jason Roy for England. However, he will bat in the middle-order with Jonny Bairstow set to open alongside Jos Buttler. Meanwhile, New Zealand are fielding the same XI that took on Afghanistan in their final Super 12 match.
