New Zealand T20 League

Elimination: OTA vs NOR

Preview

OTA and NOR will lock horns for the Elimination Final of the New Zealand T20 League 2023. The match will be played at University Oval, Dunedin on Thursday, 09 February at 03:30 AM IST. When Otago shall be up against the Northern at home. The winner of this game will join Canterbury in the final on Saturday. OTA come here with a big loss against the COK and shall look to overcome that loss. The NOR won their last league game against the CES to qualify for this game.

OTA ended their league in 2nd place with 24 points which included 5 wins, 3 losses and 4 points for net run rate, whereas NOR came third in the points table with 22 points which included 4 wins, 3 losses and 6 points for net run rate in the NZ T20 League.

OTA play at home, where the side has won two out of three games they played. Their players know the conditions well and shall look to take full advantage of them. NOR is known for surprising its opponents in big games and will put in its best efforts here in this match. It is a high-stakes contest for both sides, and we shall see a close game on Thursday as the winner will grab the ticket for the final.

Hamish Rutherford's side performed poorly in the last game, going down by 8 wickets against the Canterbury Kings. This loss prevented them from finishing ahead of the Kings and earning a direct entry in the final. They haven't had a great record against the Northern Knights but playing at home, Rutherford will like to use the home advantage.  

The left-handed batter Hamish Rutherford is likely to lead from the front and set up a big opening wicket stand with Jake Gibson, who did well in the last game. The 24-year-old Dean Foxcroft has done well at No. 3 and will look to build partnerships with Max Chu and Michael Rippon in the middle order. With the likes of Llew Johnson, Josh Finnie, and Ben Lockrose add depth to the batting and make it strong.  

Their bowlers come here after a poor outing in the last game, and OTA will need good spells with the new ball from Matthew Bacon and Travis Muller. Michael Rae had bowled well in the ongoing NZ T20 League, and Rae must keep the scoring rate under check in the middle order with Josh Finnie. Both the players' Dean Foxcroft and Rippon shall need to do well in the supporting role. 

Jeet Raval's side NOR did well in the last game against the CES to win by 4 wickets and finish ahead of them on the points table of the NZ T20 League. NOR had defeated the OTA earlier, and the skipper Raval would want his players to draw inspiration from that win. However, the NOR hasn't shown consistency this season and will have to stand up to the challenge.  

For NOR, Katene Clarke and Tim Seifert must do well for the side while batting at the top, as Northern will face a strong bowling attack. Raval comes here with runs under his belt and needs to do well in the middle order with Joe Carter and Henry Cooper for this contest as the losing team will go home. As far as their middle order is concerned, Brett Hampton and Scott Kuggeleijn will have to do well in this game.   The side will be looking for good spells with the new ball from Scott Kuggeleijn and Tim Pringle. The left-arm fast bowler Neil Wagner is an experienced bowler, and Wagner will have to bowl tight lines in the middle overs along with Joe Walker and Frederick Walker. Hampton needs to get his lines right in the supporting role if they want to play the final.

Match Details

Match: OTA vs NOR, Elimination Match, New Zealand T20 League

Date: Thursday, 09th February 2023

Time: 03:30 AM

Venue: University Oval, Dunedin, New Zealand

Pitch & Weather Report

The venue is much more favourable for swing and fast bowlers. The pitch at University Oval would be tricky to bat on early in the game, and batters must watch out for swings on the pitch. Seamers will enjoy these conditions, with the track aiding them. The side batting first shall be happy to have 165 runs on the board.

The University Oval wicket is challenging to bat on as the ball moves around, and batters who like rotating the strike have done well at this venue. Spinners have struggled at this venue as the wicket doesn't allow them to grip and turn the ball. Scoring runs early in the game is never easy, and the wicket gets better to bat on as the game progresses. This wicket offers assistance to the bowlers at the start of the game. The side winning the toss will like to take advantage of the conditions by opting to bowl first.

The maximum temperature will remain at 15°C, with a low of 8°C with 56% humidity, and a strong wind speed of 32 Km/hr for the Elimination Final NZ T20 match on Feb 09 between OTA and NOR. It is going to be cloudy with no sign of rain interruption on the matchday on Thursday.

OTA vs NOR Squads

OTA: Hamish Rutherford, Dale Phillips, Dale Foxcroft, Josh Finn, Llew Jhonson, Thrown Parkes, Jack Gibson, Ben Lockrose, Mitchell Rae, Matthew Bacon, Max Chu, Tarvis Muller

NOR: James Baker, Peter Bocock, Dean Brownlie, Zak Gibson, Joe Carter, Katene Clarke, Henry Cooper, Anton Devcich (c), Matthew Fisher, Brett Hampton, Scott Kuggeleijn, Brett Randell, Jeet Raval, Tim Seifert (wk), Anurag Verma, Joe Walker, Trent Boult, Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Neil Wagner, BJ Watling, Kane Williamson

CAK vs OTA Probable XIs

OTA: Hamish Rutherford (c), Jake Gibson, Dean Foxcroft, Llew Johnson, Josh Finnie, Ben Lockrose, Travis Muller, Matthew Bacon, Michael Rae, Max Chu (wk), Michael Rippon

NOR: Jeet Raval (c), Katene Clarke, Tim Seifert (wk), Joe Carter, Henry Cooper, Brett Hampton, Scott Kuggeleijn, Kristian Clarke, Neil Wagner, Frederick Walker, Joe Walker

Match Prediction

The 2nd placed OTA did well after a poor show in the early part of the tournament in the New Zealand T20 League. NOR has struggled at this venue and will have to overcome this challenge and defeat the hosts. OTA has a solid strong batting order and its players are performing well for their side. It will put them ahead of the NOR in this game. We back OTA to win this match and make it to the final of the New Zealand T20 League.

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