T20 World Cup 2021, 1st Semifinal: England vs New Zealand: Abu Dhabi Pitch Report, T20 Records, Weather Info

Abu Dhabi, November 10: The first semifinal of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 will take place on Wednesday (November 10) when England face New Zealand at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium.

It will be an exciting battle between two teams that follow contrasting style. England are quite the explosive side with batters like Jos Buttler, Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow and captain Eoin Morgan completing a fiery batting order.

They have capable bowlers in Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid etc too.

At the other end of the spectrum, New Zealand under Kane Williamson have been quietly effective. Williamson, Martin Guptill and Glenn Phillips have made impact in various stages of the tournament.

While the bowling unit comprising Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Adam Milne and Ish Sodhi has remained trustworthy.

Meanwhile, former England women’s captain, Charlotte Edwards said that the English side will clash with Australia in the T20 World Cup final.

Pakistan will play Australia in Dubai on November 11. The final will be played in Dubai on November 14.

“Of course, the main worry for England is Jason Roy's injury. He's a massive player for England, he brings so much firepower to the top of the order and he's a hard man to replace," Charlotte Edwards wrote in her ICC column.

"With Tymal Mills also missing the rest of the tournament through injury, England have been hit a couple of times in a week, which is always tough - especially in two such big positions, opening batter and death bowler.

“Those roles are tricky to replace but we have spoken a lot in recent years about England's enormous white-ball depth and now is the time for that to come to the fore," she added.

Edwards opined that a final between arch-rivals England and Australia is on the cards.

"The two semifinals are so hard to call. Pakistan have been playing some great cricket Australia have played some tough games and has been under quite a bit of pressure, which always holds you in good stead going into a semi-final.

“They have been under more pressure than England and Pakistan," she wrote.

"With that in mind, I think it will be an England-Australia final, just as it was in Barbados in 2010. Hopefully, this one will end in the same result," the former batter said.

So, here are some essential info like pitch and weather reports and stadium records.

1 Abu Dhabi Pitch report

The Abu Dhabi pitch has improved a bit since the beginning of the tournament. India made the highest total of the tournament so far, 210, against Afghanistan at this venue. But still capable attacks like New Zealand and England can make the life tough for batsmen on this pitch.

2 Abu Dhabi Weather

The weather is predicted to be around 30 degree Celsius in day time and it could drop to around 27 degrees in the night time.

3. Abu Dhabi Stadium records

Total matches played: 60

Matches won batting first: 27

Matches won batting second: 33

Average 1st Innings score: 141

Average 2nd Innings score: 128

Highest total: 225/7 (20 Ov) by Ireland vs Afghanistan

Lowest total: 87/ all out (18.3 Ov) by Hong Kong vs Oman

Highest score chased: 166/4 (19 Ov) by Namibia vs Netherlands

Lowest score defended: 129/6 (20 Ov) by England vs Pakistan.