It’s only been two games in Group 1 of the Super 12s, Australia skipper Aaron Finch conceded that the heavy loss against New Zealand has hurt their chances of defending the T20 World Cup title.
The hosts took an absolute hammering at the hands of New Zealand in the first match at the Sydney Cricket Ground, losing by 89 runs after getting bowled out for just 111. The defeat shot their net run rate down to -4.450, which could be very crucial in deciding the semi-final spots.
“That’s a big loss in the context of the tournament. We were just totally outplayed in all three facets. It hurts our net run rate… but we’re still going to be positive. I think we still back ourselves that we can win four, and you need a little bit of luck along the way in such a brutal tournament,”
Finch said after the match.
Australia had endured a heavy beating against England last year as well but managed to pip South Africa for the second spot in the group on the back of a better net run rate. They need to do a repeat of it, although they have four matches left, unlike two last time around.
Chasing 201, Australia had no option but to go hard from the get-go. Finch iterated that they will continue to play aggressively and would hope for some luck along the way.
“We haven’t got it totally right. But I’m still committed to playing the same way that won us the last World Cup and has given us a bit of a setback here. We’ve taken the fate out of our own hands I think, to a point. We need to be ultra-positive, ultra-aggressive, and I’m sure that we’ll all do that,”
the skipper added.
Australia next take on Sri Lanka at Perth on Tuesday. If they win that, they will have to go through England in a blockbuster clash at the MCG on October 28th.
