Don't give a toss about T20 trend: Aussies

Mitch Marsh insists the toss won't determine Australia's Twenty20 World Cup fate as he readies himself for a semi-final showdown with Pakistan's potent batters.

Teams batting second have won 18 of the 28 matches so far in the Super 12s stage of the tournament.  

That trend is particularly true of 10 games in Dubai, where Scotland's inability to haul in a target of 173 against New Zealand has been the only unsuccessful chase.

The toss bias has been widely attributed to the impact of dew in night matches, with India bowling coach Bharat Arun arguing teams winning the toss have enjoyed a "big advantage" in Dubai.

The ground, famed for its 'ring of fire' lighting, is hosting the Australia-Pakistan semi at 1am AEDT on Friday and the final on Monday.

"I don't think the toss is overly important," Marsh said.

"Most teams have obviously chosen to bowl first when they've won the toss.

"But the couple of games that I was there (in Dubai), the dew didn't really come in.

"Obviously if you can bat first and post a big score then bowl well, you go a long way to winning.

"We're confident and now we're in the finals, anything can happen."

Marsh, who needs 10 more runs to set an Australian record for most T20I runs in a calendar year, was surprisingly dropped for a key clash with England.

The allrounder was recalled after that lopsided loss, underlining his value in a win over West Indies with a knock of 53 and tidy figures of 0-16 from three overs.

Selectors are expected to name an unchanged XI, banking on Marsh, Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis to deliver a combined four overs.

Marsh, who didn't bowl at this World Cup until Australia's last group-stage game, feels ready to deliver with the ball against the only remaining undefeated side of the tournament.

"The Pakistan batters come hard at all bowlers," the 30-year-old said.

"But I'm certainly not daunted by that task. 

"It's about being prepared to bowl at any stage.

"It's purely execution under pressure. If you can do that then you go well.

"I love the challenge. This is why you play cricket ... now we're at the business end, it's going to be even more fun."

Australia are yet to win the men's T20 World Cup, with the current edition marking their seventh attempt.

Marsh, one of few to excel in T20 series losses to Bangladesh and West Indies earlier this year, understood why external expectations were low in Australia at the start of this tournament.

"Our form lines pre-World Cup probably suggested that we were going to struggle, but ... we were really confident," he said.

2021 Men's T20 World Cup

Semi-finals

Nov 10: England v New Zealand, Abu Dhabi (6pm local, 1am Nov 11 AEDT)

Nov 11: Pakistan v Australia, Dubai (6pm local, 1am Nov 12 AEDT)

Final

Nov 14: TBC v TBC, Dubai (6pm local, 1am Nov 15 AEDT)

All matches live and exclusive on Fox Cricket, available on Kayo Sports.

Click here for the full 2021 ICC T20 World Cup schedule

Click here for the full squads for all 16 teams

How the teams are grouped

Round 1

Group A: Sri Lanka, Ireland, Netherlands, Namibia

Group B: Bangladesh, Scotland, Papua New Guinea, Oman

Super 12s

Group 1: England, Australia, South Africa, West Indies, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh

Group 2: India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Afghanistan, Scotland, Namibia