Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754’s Scott Styris: two experienced batsmen
Sri Lankan Lions are ready to take on Kiwis in a vital ICC World Cup 2011 group A match in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mumbai-c820 on Friday. Both Sri Lanka and New Zealand have already qualified for the knockout stage of the tournament and the match will determine which team finishes at
top of the group standings. The Black Caps are entering this game after three wins in a row, as the Sri Lankan side has also got their confidence back after an ordinary performance against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755.
Along with aggressive batsmen like Brendon McCullum and Tillakratne Dilshan, there are also some steady and experienced batsmen participating in this contest. Sri Lanka will come to the field with their dependable Mahela Jayawardene, as New Zealand will
like to face them with the experience of Scott Styris.
With a calm presence at the crease, Jayawardene has a very sound technique which allows him to play some silky strokes all around the ground. He is very strong at his cover drives and plays spin and pace equally well. With an ability to pick gaps, the 33-year-old
batsman can pace the innings with his charging strokes.
"A touch player in a class of his own. The amount of cricketing knowledge he brings makes him an asset in the side. He is probably the only player who can bat anywhere in the top seven because of his class," said Marvan Atapattu, former http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 captain.
In 337 One Day International matches, the right-hander has scored 9253 with 13 hundreds and 55 half-centuries. Jayawardene has played many match-winning innings for his country, but he is considered as an under-achiever, with an average of 32.69 in ODIs
being low for a player of his potential.
So far in the mega event, Jayawardene holds an average of 33.50 and a strike rate of 109. The Sri Lankan vice-Captain has played a lot of cricket against the Black Caps, as in his 32 games against Kiwis he has an average of 33.00 along with two stunning
centuries.
On the other side, the skills of Scott Styris will be vital for New Zealand. The 35-year-old all-rounder has the experience and class to take his side to victory single handed. Styris is extremely good with adjustments in his innings’ tempo and can play
steadily or attackingly as the situation demands. The veteran player has scored two World Cup hundred against Sri Lanka, but both came in losses. He will be hoping to make another hundred, but this time in a victory.
"He's lost a bit of weight and got fitter, and credit to him for that. In recent times, he's needed to make the opposition hurt a bit more and score more runs - as simple as that," said former Kiwis’ fast bowler Danny Morrison about Styris.
Styris has scored 4404 ODI runs at an average of 32.62. He is also a very handy bowler with his medium-paced variations and has 136 wickets to his credit in 185 matches. Styris has the ability to pick wickets and frustrate the batsmen at crucial situations.
His performance has not been very good so far in the World Cup, as he has an average of just 21.00 in five mega event games. One of the things which can worry the Sri Lankan team in tomorrow’s match is Styris’s good track record against them, as he averages
36.36.
The two batsmen have all the skills to play a memorable innings in the match. It will be nice to see both batsmen, using their experience and natural talents for snatching a victory from opponent. Styris and Jayawardene are truly key players, and it will
be interesting to see how well they perform and bring their team one step closer to the elusive trophy.
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