The T20 World Cup is in full swing. Currently, New Zealand are making the headlines by topping a tough Group 1 involving the likes of England and Australia.

Although their second match was abandoned due to poor weather, the Black Caps have started the tournament in excellent form, winning two of their three matches. This started with them battering top contenders Australia, and then an impressive win against Sri Lanka.

Sportsbook enthusiasts and those who like to find an online casino NZ to bet on may not have predicted that New Zealand would have such a successful performance against Australia. Their strength was in their batting and they finished on 200-3.

Devon Conway and Jimmy Neesham led the way, and both finished the innings not out – Conway as an opening batter was only eight runs short of a century, while Neesham ended on 2. Finn Allen also put in a great performance with 42 runs as the other opener. The Kiwis bowling was superb and this match saw Tim Southee and Mitchell Santner taking three wickets each, with Trent Boult close behind on two.

After the disappointment of the cancelled game against Afghanistan, New Zealand were on top form against Sri Lanka. Their bowlers annihilated the batters and held Sri Lanka to just 102.. This included only four runs from their opening partnership of Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis. Boult was the standout performer, with four wickets from just four overs, and an exceptional economy of 3.25.

Although New Zealand started off slowly with their batting, they eventually kicked into gear and the best performance was undoubtedly from Glenn Phillips, who scored a brilliant 104 runs – including four sixes. No one else scored above 25 runs, but this was more than enough to beat Sri Lanka, with a total of 167-7. With a fantastic bowling performance, and well-rounded fielding, New Zealand look strong. However, the inconsistencies in their batting need to be ironed out and more players need to take up the scoring effort.

Unfortunately, the Kiwis fell short against England after this initial run, but they only lost by 20 runs.This put New Zealand in a fantastic position to reach the semi-finals, which they did with victory over Ireland, and potentially claim their first T20 World Cup title.