New Zealand vs Sri Lanka, ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 Match 3: Preview, likely XIs, predictions

Two teams with vastly different prospects begin their Cricket World Cup 2019 campaigns in Cardiff on Saturday, June 1. New Zealand have legitimate hopes to challenge for the trophy and have been tipped to be dark horses for the tournament by various experts. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, is a surprise package – no one knows what to expect from them this tournament.

And that’s the danger New Zealand face. Eoin Morgan, the England captain, spoke of the threats of the surprise element this Sri Lankan side pose on Thursday, alluding to the side having picked quite a relatively unknown players. New Zealand’s big challenge will be to ensure they are not caught off guard.

Dimuth Karunaratne, the Sri Lanka captain, has put in a couple of solid displays since being recalled to the ODI side and being charged with leadership – he will, at the very least, need to ensure he continues to hold things together with the bat.

Similar responsibility will lie with the likes of Angelo Mathews and Thisara Perera down the order – if they click, Sri Lanka may well shock New Zealand, if the likes of Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Pradeep and Suranga Lakmal can shore up the bowling.

But at the outset, the heavy favourites are New Zealand. In the first of their two warm-up matches, against mighty India, they bundled out the opposition for 179 – a line-up comprising the likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli – to win the match by 6 wickets.

Their bowlers were surprisingly dismantled by West Indies thereafter – they shipped 421 runs, and New Zealand suffered a 91-run defeat despite the batsmen making 330.

Even accounting for that susceptibility to a collapse, New Zealand are heavy favourites here.

Head to head

Over the years, New Zealand and Sri Lanka have clashed in 98 ODIs. In a fairly even rivalry, New Zealand have won 48 to Sri Lanka’s 41. In World Cup matches, however, Sri Lanka have fared better – in 10 clashes, Sri Lanka have won 6. However, this Sri Lankan side isn’t comparable to the great teams of the past.

Key players

Trent Boult (New Zealand): The wily paceman will be key for New Zealand in England, given his excellent ability to move the ball. Sri Lanka have a collapse in them, and Boult is the likely candidate to trigger that. Even in the mauling by West Indies, Boult returned 4/50. He’s superb in these conditions.

Dimuth Karunaratne (Sri Lanka): In his first big outing as ODI captain, Karunaratne will have to lay the foundation of how Sri Lanka will go about this tournament. He needs to be solid with the bat, and sharp with his captaincy calls – plenty rests on him.

Likely XIs

New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Henry Nicholls, Kane Williamson (c), Ross Taylor, Tom Blundell (wk), Jimmy Neesham, Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson.

Sri Lanka: Lahiru Thirimanne, Dimuth Karunaratne (c), Kusal Perera (wk), Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Jeevan Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, Thisara Perera, Suranga Lakmal, Jeffrey Vandersay, Nuwan Pradeep, Vishwa Fernando, Lasith Malinga.

Predictions

New Zealand, all too easily.