Australia vs New Zealand, Australia vs New Zealand 2019, Today Match Prediction 26 Dec 2019

aus vs nz Match Prediction & Analysis

Australia is leading the three-test series by 1-0 margin after winning the first match. Boxing day tests are one of the festive important matches in the Australian cricketing circuit and they made this a tradition for a long time. Australia will have a chance to seal the series here in the boxing day test with a win.

New Zealand's away record has been below par against top nations like India, South Africa, Australia, and England. New Zealand needs to win this match and level the series. Never forget we also have 40 ICC Test Championship points to play for in this test.

Australia will look to close their space between table-toppers India with a win here while New Zealand has a chance to surge ahead to third place with a win here.

TEAMS PREVIEW

Australia Preview

Australia posted a good score of 416 runs in their first innings which helped them win the match. Their latest batting Marnus Labuschagne scored his third consecutive Test century and had scores of 143 & 50 in the two innings. Travis Head and Joe Burns scored half-centuries in the first and second innings respectively. David Warner, Steve Smith, and Mathew Wade failed to make an impact with the bat in the last match.

Mitchell Starc spearheaded the bowling attack with 9 wickets including a five-for in the first innings. Nathan Lyon and Pat Cummins chipped in with 6 & 3 wickets in the match. James Pattinson is expected to replace injured Josh Hazlewood in this match.

Key Players:

Steve Smith – Smith had scores of 43 & 16 in the two innings and he is yet to make a big score in their home summer. He is too good a batsman to keep him quiet for a long time and a big knock is always around the corner from him.

Mitchell Starc – Starc`s bowling efforts ensured they don’t miss Hazlewood's last match. He threatened the Kiwi players with his pace, bounce, and aggression and we can expect a lot more in this match too.

Australia Predicted Playing XI:

Matthew Wade, David Warner, Tim Paine (c & wk), Steven Smith, James Pattinson, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Pat Cummins, Joe Burns, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne

Australia Actual Playing XI:

Tim Paine, James Pattinson, Marnus Labuschagne, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Joe Burns , Matthew Wade, Steven Smith, David Warner, TM Head, Nathan Lyon

New Zealand Preview

New Zealand team came into this series after a good showing against England at home, yet they succumbed to a massive loss by 296 runs. Their batting was too fragile and weak with scores of 166 & 171 in the two innings. Ross Taylor scored a counter-attacking 80 in the first innings and no other player managed to score fifty. Experienced players such as Tom Latham, Kane Williamson, and Henry Nicholls must stand up and post big scores on board. Tom Blundell is all set to replace Jeet Raval at the top of the order.

Tim Southee and Neil Wagner took 9 & 7 wickets respectively in the match. They were burdened with workload due to Ferguson's injury early into the match. Their bowling unit will welcome the services of Trent Boult for this match.

Key Players:

Kane Williamson – Williamson is a vital player in the Kiwi middle order and he needs to play big knocks to ensure their batting order does not fail again. Williamson needs to score a century and stamp his authority in this match.

Neil Wagner – Wagner surprised the Aussies by his short ball burst in the last match and took 7 wickets in the process. He dismissed their batting mainstays Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith in both the innings.

New Zealand Predicted Playing XI:

Ross Taylor, Tim Southee, BJ Watling (wk), Neil Wagner, Kane Williamson (c), Colin de Grandhomme, Tom Latham, Mitchell Santner, Tom Blundell, Trent Boult, Henry Nicholls

New Zealand Actual Playing XI:

Ross Taylor, Mitchell Santner, N Wagner, Henry Nicholls, BJ Watling, Colin de Grandhomme, KS Williamson, Trent Boult, TA Blundell, Tom Latham, TG Southee

Weather Conditions

The weather at Melbourne looks bright and sunny with little chances of rain on the last day only. We can expect a full match with very rain weather interruptions.

Venue Details

MCG has received recent flak and ratings from average to poor in the last few outings. The curators are expected to give a sporting track where we have some spice in it for the pacers to utilize. Any score above 400 will put the team ahead in the match.

Toss: To Bat

Win the toss and bat first is a No-brainer in the test matches nowadays. The pitch is good for batting on the days 1-3 only. Chasing becomes tough on a worn pitch.