Sourav Ganguly backs New Zealand to win T20 World Cup 2021

Australia and New Zealand are all set to battle it out against each other in the final of the T20 World Cup 2021. With these two teams in the contest, the world will be witnessing a new World Champion of the shortest format. Ahead of this high-profile clash, former India captain and BCCI President Sourav Ganguly has predicted the winner of the match.

Both the sides did not enter the mega tournament as favorites to dominate the proceedings. However, Australia and New Zealand exuded great character to outplay the in-form teams Pakistan and England respectively to book the seat for the summit clash. According to Ganguly, it is the time of the Kiwis to shine brighter in world cricket.

The Kane Williamson-led side made it to the finals of the 2019 ODI World Cup and also clinched the WTC title. Ganguly heaped praises on the team and asserted that the side has more guts and character than one is aware of.

“I feel it is New Zealand’s time in world sport. Australia is a great nation, but they have had a tough time for a while, though they have been a great cricketing country. New Zealand has a lot more guts and character than we see on TV. They won the World Test Championship a few months ago. It’s a small country but it’s got a lot of steel. I have the feeling that it is indeed New Zealand’s time,” Ganguly said, as quoted by News18.

Expectations were undoubtedly very high: Sourav Ganguly

He also backed the Indian team to bounce back stronger in the coming time. Ganguly reckoned that they had high pressure and that it was two bad matches that restricted them from qualifying for the semi-finals.

“Expectations were undoubtedly very high, but I was happy to see that a majority of the people had the heart to accept the result. They were upset, but they did not overreact. At the end of the day – Bumrah, Shami, Rohit, and Kohli are all human beings. It was just a matter of two bad games. That’s 40 overs of bad cricket. They will bounce back, and within a year or so, we will see the same boys lifting trophies,” Ganguly added.