New Zealand crushed Host Australia in the inaugural match of the T20 World Cup while Sri Lanka was on the receiving end of the heroics of Marcus Stoinis. Can Sri Lanka defeat New Zealand and complete this cycle of New Zealand-Australia-Sri Lanka?
Here we would cover a full match preview and would provide fantasy teams at the end for the New Zealand-Sri Lanka encounter.
Date and Time: 29 October, Saturday, 1:30 PM IST/8:00 AM GMT/7:00 PM Local Streaming Platforms: Star Sports Network and Disney+Hotstar app and website
Team Previews
Sri Lanka
Won Asia Cup, qualified for the Super 12 and won their first match in the Super 12 against Ireland. It was going all in the favour of Sri Lanka until Stoinis scored 59 at a blistering Strike Rate of 328 and turned the match for the hosts.
Captain Shanaka and WK Batsman Rajapaksa have scored just 40 and 51 runs respectively in this WC so far.
New Zealand
Finn Allen’s 42 of 16, Devon Conway’s 92* and brilliant bowling from the whole bowling unit; it was a team performance and a dream start for Kiwis in their inaugural match at the same ground SCG. They had a good chance to win against Afghanistan but the match was abandoned without a ball being played.
Captain Kane Williamson is making runs but the rate at which he is scoring might affect the team going ahead in the World Cup. He has 152 runs in the last 5 matches at a mere Strike Rate of 118.
Pitch Report/Venue Report
The match would be played at Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney.
Out of the total 14 matches played on this ground, the team batting first has won 7, the team chasing has won 5, 1 resulted in a tie and no result in the other. 169 runs is the average first innings score on this ground.
Previous 5 Matches Record
The team batting first has won the previous 4/5 matches and one of them resulted in a tie. 178 is the average batting first score. New Zealand beat Australia on the same ground.
Probable Playing 11
New Zealand– Finn Allen, Devon Conway(WK), Kane Williamson(C), Glenn Phillips, James Neesham, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult
Sri Lanka– Kusal Mendis(WK), Pathum Nissanka, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka(C), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Maheesh Theekshana, Binura Fernando, Lahiru Kumara
Players To Watch Out For
Kusal Mendis: In the 5 World Cup matches so far, he has scored 176 runs at a 157+ Strike Rate and has 2 fifties under his belt. Mendis is also the highest run-scorer in the tournament.
He and his partner Pathum Nissanka (who plays a bit slow) need to provide Sri Lanka with a good start and score some good runs in the powerplay.
Wanindu Hasaranga: 15, 19, 19; these are the runs scored by Aussie batsmen in three overs against Hasaranga in the previous match. It was a very poor performance according to his standards but we might see his comeback in this match.
His World Cup performance has been impressive so far and has taken 9 wickets in 5 matches (Joint highest with Bas de Leede). Hasaranga has still not performed accordingly with the bat, so a good knock can be predicted in this match or the next.
Devon Conway: The left-hander is in sublime form. He has scored 325 runs in the last 6 matches at an average above 100. Conway scored 3 50+ scores in these with 92* being his best performance.
He has not scored a single ‘single digit score’ in the previous 6 matches. The Conway-Allen partnership might be the best opening partnership in this World Cup.
Tim Southee: This pitch is not suited for Fast bowlers as much as it is for medium pacers and spinners, but Southee with his experience can be the main man for New Zealand.
His recent performances depict his form. 11 wickets in 6 matches at an economy above 7.5, these are surely good numbers for Bowler bowling in Powerplay and the death. Southee clinched 3 Wickets for just 6 runs against Australia.
SL vs NZ Dream11 Team
Note: We cannot update our final team (after the toss), this is a demo team which can be changed after a change in playing XI or the toss result. For our Final Team, Join our Telegram Channel Clan For Gamers
Match Prediction
We are backing New Zealand to win the match. Devon Conway and Wanindu Hasaranga might be the best performers from their sides.
