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New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum and Sri Lanka’s Tillakaratne Dilshan: two destructive openers

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New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum and Sri Lanka’s Tillakaratne Dilshan: two destructive openers
The city of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mumbai-c820 will witness an exciting match between Sri Lanka and New Zealand today. Though, both teams have confirmed their place in the next round, the battle will be for the top spot in the group A standings. The match is very significant, as it
will be the last chance for both teams to get ready for knockout stage of the ICC World Cup 2011.
The two teams have some dazzling players in the line-up, but when one thinks about the most aggressive players in the Sri Lanka-New Zealand contest, only two names pop up in the mind, Brendon McCullum and Tilliakaratne Dilshan. Both McCullum and Dilshan
are two stunning opening batsmen and their respective teams rely heavily on their performances.
McCullum is one of the most dangerous batsmen in the tournament with his ability to hit both pace and spin cleanly. A true match winner for the Black Caps, the wicket-keeper batsman can strike the ball all around the ground with power. McCullum is an innovative
batsman who can pick some quick runs by notching the ball around in a unique manner. His scoop against fast bowlers is the most difficult and extraordinary shot to play in modern-day cricket.
"New Zealand 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," said Danny Morrison, former http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754 fast bowler.
In 189 one-day international matches, McCullum has scored over 4000 runs at an average of little under 30. So far in the World Cup, McCullum holds an average of 75 and a strike of rate of 95 under his belt, the highest by any of New Zealand’s batsman.
McCullum batting record has not been very good against Sri Lanka, as he has an average of just 16.75 in his 17 matches against them. He has yet to make a century against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758, but one can anticipate a good show from him, due to his phenomenal form.
Sri Lanka will enter the ground with the aggressive opening batsman, Tillakaratne Dilshan. Having no respect for the bowlers, the 34-year-old opener is the most destructive player in the current Sri Lankan side. He started his career as a number six batsman,
but with some excellent performances, he cemented his place at the top spot. Like McCullum, Dilshan also looks innovative when he scoops the ball over his head in an exceptional way. Dilshan is also a handy option with his off-break bowling.
"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," said Marvan Atapattu, former Sri Lankan captain.
It will be Dilshan’s 200th One Day International match today. In his 50-over career so far, the enterprising opener has scored 5239 runs at an average of 35. The right-hander has already piled up a huge amount of runs in this tournament, as he
keeps an average of 56 and strike rate of over 100.
Dilshan’s previous ODI performances against New Zealand are not brilliant, as he holds an average of just 25 with the bat and 45 with the ball. He has faced the Black Caps in 18 games.
McCullum and Dilshan are in wonderful form and both are on top of their game. It will be interesting to see how they will use their aggressive intent and competitive style against each other. It will be an exciting and entertaining match to look out for.

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