New Zealand v Sri Lanka: Both teams looking for advantage in group A
New Zealand and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mumbai-c820 on Friday. This is the first time Sri Lanka is going to play a match outside their home in this tournament;
the encounter is going to have a huge impact on the standings of the teams in the points table at the end of the group matches.
Sri Lanka have had a mixed sort of a tournament so far, as they have easily dismantled all the minnows but were beaten by http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 was abandoned due to rain. So we can say that this is going to
be a huge test of the Sri Lankan team and if they fail to overcome the Kiwis then they will surely finish at number four in group A. If that is the case, they will have to take on the number one team of the other group in the quarter-final, most probably South
Africa.
Kumar Sangakkara and company looks to be a settled unit but Sri Lanka’s late middle order seem to be the problem area, as they heavily depend on their top four batsmen to pile up big scores on the board. If the top four players fail to kick on in any match,
Sri Lankan late middle order finds it very hard to compete with a good bowling lineup. However, the good news for Sri Lanka has been the fact that their top four players have delivered in the tournament, so far.
Lasith Malinga was not able to take part in Sri Lanka’s initial two matches because of a back strain but he bounced back nicely against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Muttiah-Muralitharan-c78157, Malinga
is taking the burden of Sri Lankan bowling on his shoulders and possess the ability to win matches for his country on his own.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 and Pakistan. However, the Black Caps sealed an emphatic victory against
Pakistan last week in a group match to signal that they are still a force in international cricket.
Ross Taylor was out of form before this tournament, but found his way back to his blazing best as he scored a century against Pakistan. This is a great sign for the Kiwis before the knockout stage as http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Taylor-c92915 is their best batsman by a long distance and can
change the complexion of the game very quickly.
The biggest concern for New Zealand remains the fitness of their captain Daniel Vettori who injured his knee in the game against Pakistan and did not take part in Black Cap’s last match against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Canada-c748. Apart from the leader of the group, Vettori is New Zealand’s
best bowler without doubt and his fitness is extremely important for the young Kiwi side.
Both teams would be looking for a victory on Friday in order to seize the advantage before the knockout stage of the tournament.
Tags: