New Zealand got their World Cup campaign back on track with a superb victory against India, a victory that sets them up nicely for a semi-final push. With matches against Pakistan and India now out of the way, New Zealand have three matches against the supposed lesser lights of the group, and three wins against Scotland, Namibia, and Afghanistan will see the Black Caps qualify out of the group and advance to the semi-finals.
Scotland, who pulled off a stunning victory against Bangladesh back in round 1, have exceeded expectations in getting this far. They have played two matches in the Super 12 phase, losing to both Afghanistan and Namibia. The Scots are now faced with the tricky task of facing New Zealand, India, and Pakistan in their final three group games.
The Scots are the heavy underdogs and can be backed for the surprise victory at 10.00. New Zealand are the massive favourites and can be backed as short as 1.06.
New Zealand vs Scotland T20 World Cup
Team News for New Zealand
New Zealand profited from some unbelievably poor tactics from India to record a comfortable eight-wicket victory.
India's reluctance to take off the hand-brake during their innings played right into the New Zealand bowlers' hands. In their momentous victory, all of New Zealand's bowlers were at the top of their game, with three wickets being claimed by Trent Boult, two by Ish Sodhi, and a wicket apiece by Tim Southee and Adam Milne.
Sodhi and his fellow spin partner Mitchell Santner put the pressure on the Indian batsmen, with the two bowlers only conceding 32 runs between them across eight overs. The absolute undoubted star for New Zealand was Trent Boult. Boult is a true master of his craft, and he will be licking his lips at the prospect of tearing into this Scottish batting lineup. Boult is priced at 3.50 to be his team's leading wicket-taker.
Likely playing 11 of New Zealand
Martin Guptill, Tim Seifert, Kane Williamson, Devon Conway, Glenn Phillips, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Daryl Mitchell, Lockie Ferguson, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult
Team News for Scotland
Scotland have done really well to get this far, and their appearance in the Super 12 phase is certainly deserved after three successive victories against Bangladesh, Oman, and P.N.G.
The Scots were always going to find life tough in this phase of the tournament but would have liked to have been more competitive against the two sides most close to them in the world rankings, Namibia and Afghanistan.
It's with the bat that they have struggled; they were completely bamboozled by Afghanistan and their spin, going on to make just 60. Against Namibia, they couldn't recover from the loss of three wickets in the first over, only being able to post 109 runs.
This will be by far their toughest assignment of the tournament so far, and they will need someone to step up with the bat. Captain Kyle Coetzer has proved in the past he can mix it with some of the best, and despite a poor tournament so far, he can be backed at 5.00 to be his team's top scorer.
Likely playing 11 of Scotland
George Munsey, Kyle Coetzer, Matthew Cross, Richie Berrington, Calum MacLeod, Michael Leask, Chris Greaves, Mark Watt, Josh Davey, Safyaan Sharif, Bradley Wheal
Pitch and Weather conditions
New Zealand return to Dubai, where they played out that great win vs India. This is where the final will also be held.
In total, there have been 66 T20 contests held at this stadium. There have been 34 games where the side batting first has won, and 32 games have been won by the side batting second. The average score for the first innings is 144, with the second innings average at 122. So far, during this World Cup, the team that has batted second has gone on to win the game every time a match has been contested in Dubai.
This could be a contest where players struggle to find the middle of the bat and could be a contest where spin is key.
Betting Predictions for New Zealand vs Scotland
Let's take a look at a few important betting predictions for New Zealand vs Scotland:
Match Result Prediction
It's very hard to make a case for Scotland here as New Zealand should have far too much class.
You could argue that New Zealand are the best multi-format team in the world, and one thing you wouldn't associate with them is complacency. You would think that the only way Scotland have a chance here is if New Zealand end up beating themselves, which you can't see happening.
New Zealand will be looking for a victory and a dominant one at that so that they can boost their net run rate.
Match Winner: New Zealand (1.06)
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Toss Prediction
Either team to win the toss can be backed at 1.91. On a pitch that could be very hard to bat on, the side that wins the toss could choose to put the other team in to bat first. The chasing teams have won the majority of matches in this World Cup. Any score over 150 could be very hard to chase.
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Top Batsman for New Zealand
In a match where value is hard to find, there could be some value in backing Devon Conway to be his team's top scorer at 5.00.
At four, there is no guarantee that Conway will face a lot of balls, but he is one of the classiest batsmen in this New Zealand side. He top-scored for New Zealand in their first match against Pakistan and could be a value play here.
Top Batsman for New Zealand: Devon Conway (5.00)
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