Sri Lanka vs. New Zealand: A SWOT analysis of the batting line-ups - Part 1 – ICC World Cup 2011
Sri Lanka and New Zealand are set to open the semi-final round of the ICC World Cup 2011 with their fierce encounter at Colombo on 29 http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 is considered the favourites and New Zealand are on a high following their quarter-final victory over South
Africa. It will be an exciting game, as the Lions have the home ground advantage and the Kiwis’ competitive spirit knows no bounds.
Both the teams have some world class batsmen who are all set to cause a big upsets. In order to preview the match, the following is a SWOT analysis of the batting line-ups of the two sides.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Martin-c74834 Guptill, Brendon McCullum, Jesse Ryder and Ross Taylor.
McCullum and Guptill formulate an excellent opening pair of the Kiwis. Having a sound mutual understanding, they have a natural temperament to establish strong partnerships and they have showed this quality in many innings. Guptill is a right-hander and
loves to play the short-arm pull shots. He combines aggression and sensibility at the same time. Before hitting the ball, he keenly takes a view of the fielding positions. Guptill scored a marvelous 86 against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Zimbabwe-c3045 in a group match during the first round.
His only weak point is outside-edging that cause him to get caught at the first slip. Lasith Malinga may take his wicket early, but if he survives, he is likely to go for a strong innings.
Being a wicket-keeper batsman, McCullum has immense talent and a sound temperament for batting. His experience behind the stumps helps him while playing before the stumps. With his tremendous professionalism, he manages to play at both the off and on sides.
His weak area lies in over-confidence and excessive aggression. He often embarks upon playing risky shots and gets caught. In this tournament, McCullum has been in good form, scoring 101 and 76 in two of the innings. For him, the only threat will emanate from
the Lankan pacer, Malinga who seems to be in good form and has been a destructive bowler throughout the tournament.
Ryder and Taylor put a bulk of firepower in the middle-overs. Both have an inherent ability to forge long innings. They are often supposed to hold and stabilise the innings after the collapse of the opening order. Taylor, after displaying his extra-ordinary
batting capacity at the eve of his birthday against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Taylor-c92915 and Ryder did very well and put up many match-winning runs. Taylor’s only weak point is the spinners, as they tend
to frustrate him and force him into taking bad shots. Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Murlitharan has the ability to create havoc for him.
Being a left-hander, Ryder is a brash and blatant batsman with a One Day International average of 36.50. Though he missed some of the inning in the start of this tournament, he made a good come-back against the Proteas. He possesses a skill and ability to
play the pacers quite easily, but spinners often cause him some damage. Ryder is supposed to pile up a big score against the Lankans and take his side ahead of the semi-finals for the first time in their cricket history.
Continued in Part 2
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