Australia: They can click just at the right time

While Australia have never claimed the T20 World Cup, now in its seventh edition, the time is right for them to break their duck. The Aussies have gone through a rough patch recently, losing the short-format series to Australia, New Zealand, England, Bangladesh and the West Indies, but with many of their players such as Josh Hazlewood and Glenn Maxwell thriving in the recent IPL in the UAE, glory could be just around the corner. With the likes of Mitchell Starc, Kane Richardson and Adam Zampa ready to join the party and Marcus Stoinis back to full fitness following a hamstring injury on IPL duty for Delhi Capitals, the Aussies have a line-up that will take some stopping.

Steve Smith and captain Aaron Finch are both batting well and will be key at the top of the order to get the runs. A slender victory over New Zealand in their first warm-up match in Abu Dhabi shows they know how to win ugly too, and — with two semifinals and a runners-up finish in previous editions of the T20 World Cup — there is a team spirit that can take them one step further. Confidence will be high, but the one concern may be David Warner, who is struggling with the bat and will need to get his eye in quickly as there is no mercy in this swiftest format of the game.