Sri Lanka and New Zealand gear up for semi-final clash - ICC World Cup 2011
Sri Lanka will take on New Zealand in the first semi-final match of the ICC World Cup 2011, at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Tuesday, 29thMarch. The winners will go onto face either http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755, who face each other in Mohali on Wednesday,
in the final.
The home advantage will definitely be a big plus for http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758. They proved that in their quarter-final match against England. The Poms scored a challenging total of 229 on a slow wicket and the chase was expected to be tough.
However, Sri Lankan openers Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga didn’t have any problems, as they chased down the target without losing any wicket. Both scored terrific centuries, guiding their team to a 10-wicket win. This was the second time in the
tournament, where they scored an opening partnership of 200 plus.
On the other hand, New Zealand have had a bit of a fairytale in the mega event until now. They didn’t have a good record in Subcontinent and were expected to be knocked out by the mighty South African team in the quarter-final.
The Kiwi team had very slim chances of progressing to the last four, after they managed only 221 runs against a very strong Proteas batting lineup. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757 started the chase in confident manner, but things changed dramatically after a few quick wickets
fell. The Black Caps eventually eased to a 49-run win.
Considering the recent form of both teams, the match will be pretty much even. However, it will be a tough ask for the Kiwi bowlers to restrict the Sri Lankan top order batsmen from getting runs. Both Dilshan and Tharanga have been in superb touch and they
will look to continue providing good starts to their team. They have proved to be one of the most dangerous opening pair of the tournament.
The hosts are gifted with two of the most talented cricketers of all-time, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene. They have done a fantastic job for their team over the years and will be eying a World Cup victory. The veteran batsmen put together a crucial
145-run stand against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754 in a group match of the tournament. This proved to be too much for the visitors, as they lost the match by 112 runs at the end.
One weak point for Sri Lanka has been the lack of runs from Chamara Silva and Thilan Samaraweera. They haven’t made a significant impact in the tournament until now, but another lower middle-order batsman Angelo Mathews has done a good job for the team.
Bowling has however, been the strength for the home team. They quality of the Sri Lankan bowling attack is their ability to take wickets. Lasith Malinga, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ajantha-c42419 Mendis and Rangana Herath have done a great job so far and they will look
to continue the good work.
New Zealand have a balanced unit and some of their players are in good form. However, they don’t play spin very well, which may prove to be costly for them. They will need a solid start from their openers Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill. Other than the
openers, Ross Taylor, Jesse Ryder, Scott Styris and Kane Williamson will have to bat very well in the middle overs to challenge their opponents.
The New Zealand bowlers will get some support from the pitch at Colombo and they will be look forward to take full advantage of that. All in all, it will be quite an interesting game of cricket, and the Kiwis will try their best to qualify for the World
Cup final for the first time in their history.
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