Brendon McCullum vs. Tillakaratne Dilshan: player analysis – ICC World Cup 2011
New Zealand is all set to take one Sri Lanka for their crucial semi-final match of the ICC World Cup 2011 on 29 http://www.senore.com/Cricket/March-c74391 at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Both teams will battle it out for a place in the highly coveted finals.
New Zealand in their quarter-final match had a sizzling 49-run win over http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c749 by ten wickets in their match. The two Sri Lankan openers Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga achieved the target of 230 runs
in 39.3 overs. The semi-final will be the second encounter of Sri Lanka and the Black Caps in the ongoing tournament. In their first encounter, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 had beaten the Black Caps by 112 runs.
Both teams have a variety of talented and experienced players in their squad including, pacers, brilliant spinners, and outstanding batsmen.
Brendon McCullum is one the most talented batsmen of the New Zealand team, as he gives a useful innings while playing at the top-order. He is famous for his aggressive style and his ability to play the big shots all round the ground. The right-handed batsman
is also known for his innovative batting style in the limited-overs format, as he has the ability to handle critical situations with his marvelous batting temperament. The big-hitter does not spare any spinner or pacer and hits the shots across the boundaries
with ease. Apart from his batting, he also serves as a regular wicket-keeper for his team.
The ICC World Cup 2011 is the third mega event of McCullum’s career. Earlier, he has featured in 2003 and 2007 editions of the tournament, as a middle-order batsman but remained anonymous because in ten appearances, he gave a poor performance. In 17 World
Cup innings so far, McCullum has scored 401 runs at an average of 33.41 including one century and two fifties.
McCullum averages 24.42 in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bangladesh-c747 and 17 in Sri Lanka.
Former New Zealand fast bowler, Danny Morrison described McCullum and said, "http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754 rely on him massively. He needs to get a truckload of runs at the top of the order for New Zealand to have any sort of chance."
Tillakaratne Dilshan is the experienced and skilled player of the Sri Lankan team who has the ability to anchor the innings. The veteran also serves as a part-time off-break spinner.
In the last two years, Dilshan has shown a great skill in his batting and has averaged 55.55 in 2009 including four centuries, while he averages 51.16 in 2010 including three centuries. Dilshan is among the three batsmen who have a strike rate of more than
100. In addition, he is one of those players who have amassed 1000 runs in One Day Internationals since the beginning of 2009.
Dilshan has been part of the 2007 edition of the World Cup, but did not give a remarkable performance, scoring 217 runs in nine innings. In 16 World Cup innings, he has scored 611 runs at an average of 47 including two centuries and two fifties.
Former Sri Lankan captain Marvan Atapattu commented on Dilshan and said, "The man to watch. Immensely talented and not afraid of anything. Has great hand-eye co-ordination. Brilliant fielder. If he fails to contribute with the bat he is sure to do something
on the field."
In the 2007 World Cup semi-final, Sri Lanka beat New Zealand. In the upcoming semi-final, both teams will look to put in a dominating performance to bring them one step closer to winning the trophy.
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