T20 World Cup 2021: "A key to this game will be how Australia’s openers come through in the powerplay" - Trevor Bayliss speaks about the importance of David Warner and Aaron Finch

Former England coach Trevor Bayliss outlined the importance of Australian openers David Warner and Aaron Finch to their side.

Both players were amongst the runs last night (October 28) against Sri Lanka and were at their imperious best during the powerplay overs which brought in 63 runs. Warner and Finch will look to fire again in Australia's next match against England on October 30.

Finch was undone by Wanindu Hasaranaga soon after, but he had played his role well with a 37-run knock from just 23 deliveries. Coming into the tournament following a knee surgery, the skipper perished for a five-ball duck against South Africa in Australia's Super 12s opener.

David Warner, on the other hand, has looked tame at best this year and was dropped from the Sunrisers Hyderabad's playing XI at IPL 2021. Following a series of lethargic outings, he came to the fore against Sri Lanka and scored a sublime fifty to sink the Lankans.

Bayliss noted how the manner in which these two perform in the powerplay could very well dictate the fate of Australia's next match against England. Writing for his column in the Daily Mail, Bayliss wrote:

"A key to this game (Australia vs England) will be how Australia’s openers — Aaron Finch and David Warner — come through the powerplay. They both got scores on Thursday night against Sri Lanka which will give them confidence because they’d both [been] short of runs of late."

Warner and Finch put on 70 runs for the first wicket in just 6.5 overs against Sri Lanka. They will be looking to do more of the same against a well-tuned English bowling attack.

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I’m afraid I’m going to sit on the fence for this one: Bayliss on the Australia-England clash

Bayliss expects a tight contest and with allegiances to both Australia and England in one form or the other, he opted to remain in the middle and enjoy the contest. He wrote:

"So, what’s my prediction? I’m afraid I’m going to sit on the fence for this one. I just want to see a good, competitive match and I’m sure I will get one. And whoever wins will take a big step towards the semi-finals."

At the moment, both teams find themselves at the top of their T20 World Cup group after two matches each. England have racked up a couple of dominant wins while Australia, despite having picked up points, are slowly assembling as a unit.