R Ashwin picks his favourite between New Zealand & Australia to win T20 World Cup title

Ahead of the much-awaited finale of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021, senior Team India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has come forward and picked his favourite between Australia and New Zealand to win the coveted title. Both teams will be locking horns with each other at Dubai International Stadium and either of these teams will lift the biggest prize in T20 Cricket for the very first time.

T20 World Cup Final: Ravichandran Ashwin picks his favourite in New Zealand vs Australia clash

"I think Australia are the favourites going into this contest because that is what I believe it is since Australia vs New Zealand battles over the years have ended up with Australia sort of dominating the contest and especially when it comes to the white-ball game, barring that final of the T20 World Cup in the West Indies  (2010) where Australia came to the final against England and England trumped them, Australia have been really the team to ace in the knockout section of the ICC World Cups and I think Australia holds the edge with the amount of familiarity they have on the big stage and also the way they've played against New Zealand", said Ravichandran Ashwin while speaking on his official YouTube channel.

"New Zealand do a lot of planning, they are a well-planned side, execute plans ruthlessly and that's where their strength lies in", he added.

Image Courtesy: Ashwin YouTube channel

The Trans-Tasman rivals will be facing off in a final of the world event for the first time since the 2015 edition of the ODI World Cup which was co-hosted by these two nations.

New Zealand vs Australia

In the last 14 T20I face-offs between both sides, it is Australia who reigns supremacy over the BlackCaps having won nine matches with New Zealand registering four victories and one game ending in a tie. When it comes to their head-to-head meetings in T20 World Cups, it is the Kiwis who are on top as they had got the better of their Tran-Tasman rivals by eight runs during the only ICC T20 World Cup meeting in the 2016 edition.

While New Zealand can take confidence from their solitary win in T20 World Cups, the odds are completely stacked against them when it comes to the ICC knockout matches against the same opposition. Apart from the 2015 World Cup final, the Aussies had outperformed the Kiwis in the 1996 World Cup quarterfinal and in the 2009 edition of the ICC Champions Trophy respectively.