Brad Hogg praises Australia's field placements

Brad Hogg singled out Australia's smart field placements in the powerplay that helped them put a stranglehold on the New Zealand top order. The Australian bowling unit only conceded 32 runs in the powerplay with the wicket of Daryl Mitchell as well.

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Hogg noted how the bowling and field set went hand in hand for the fast bowlers. He noted how the tight line and the short cover placed kept the strike rotation to a minimum. He also lauded Finch's ploy to put in a gully for Kane Williamson, to avoid conceding runs to his customary soft hand dab to third man. While speaking on his YouTube channel, Hogg said:

"Australia's field placement was on point, they planned exceptionally well. Did not allow openers to take singles freely, they bowled straight lines so that they played straight instead of square. When Williamson came on, there was a slight tweak. Finch pushed the point in close and put in a gully as well so Williamson does not play the dab to third man so freely."

The New Zealand skipper struggled initially during his innings and could only score a solitary run off his first 6 deliveries.

Overs 7-10 is where the game was won and lost: Hogg

Hogg went on to elucidate the importance of the early phase of the middle overs, specifically where spin was introduced. He noted that the stark difference between the two innings was the overs between 7 and 10, where Australia dominated across both innings. Hogg added:

"Overs 7-10 is where the game was won and lost. Australia conceded 14 runs less in that phase of play. New Zealand spinners were not looking threatening. It was all about the leg-spin, Zampa outbowled Sodhi. Boult and Hazlewood bowled exceptionally well under pressure."

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Australia have been one of the top teams in the tournament when it comes to middle overs. Much of the credit for that arguably goes to Adam Zampa, who kept his economy under check in this tournament and picked up wickets in constant intervals.