GameDay Squad Cricket Match Preview: New Zealand come up against Sri Lanka in the 41st match of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in Bengaluru on the 9th of November.
New Zealand played Pakistan in their eighth match of the CWC, and Pakistan won by 21 runs (DLS method). Pakistan won the toss and elected to field first and this looked like it was a mistake. New Zealand were off to a good start with the bat and made it through to 68 before Conway was dismissed in the 11th over. Ravindra and Williamson piled on the runs as they put on 180 for the third wicket before Williamson was dismissed in the 35th over, just short of a century. Ravindra was dismissed the very next over, but New Zealand’s middle order was able keep the momentum going as they made it through to 401/6 at the end of the 50 overs. The Kiwis were off to a great start with the ball as Southee picked up the wicket of Shafique in the 2nd over. That was good as it was going to get for New Zealand as they failed to take another wicket before the rain came. At this stage they were behind on the scoreboard under the DLS method. The teams made it back on the field again for a few overs, but Pakistan didn’t lose another wicket and managed to stay ahead of the required target under the DLS method. Zaman was simply outstanding with the bat and the Kiwi bowlers had no answer to his onslaught.
The top performers in GDS for New Zealand were.
Rachin Ravindra – 141 points
Kane Williamson – 125 points
Glenn Phillips – 81 points
Mark Chapman – 50 points
Devon Conway – 45 points
Sri Lanka played Bangladesh in their eighth match of the CWC, and Bangladesh won by 3 wickets. Bangladesh won the toss and elected to field first. Sri Lanka wasn’t off to the best of starts with the bat as Perera was dismissed in the first over. Nissanka and Mendis rebuilt the innings and made it through to 66 before Mendis was dismissed I the 12th over. Nissanka joined him back in the pavilion shortly after and Sri Lanka continued to lose wickets regularly on their way to a total of 279 all out in the 50th over. We did see the first player ever in international cricket be dismissed via the timed out dismissal method. Mathews made it out to the middle and his helmet strap broke as he was setting up to face his first ball. He was unable to face his first ball within the two-minute time limit and was given out without even facing a ball. Sri Lanka was off to a decent start with the ball and had Bangladesh 41/2 in the 7th over with both openers back in the pavilion. Shanto and Al Hasan hit form at the right time and put on 169 for the third wicket before Al Hasan was dismissed in the 32nd over. Mathews dismissed Shanto a few balls later and Sri Lanka were given a glimmer of hope. However, Bangladesh did have the required run well under control and their middle order guided them through to the 280-run target in the 42nd over.
The top performers in GDS for Sri Lanka were.
Charith Asalanka – 140 points
Dilshan Madushanka – 110 points
Maheesh Theekshana – 95 points
Pathum Nissanka – 53 points
Dhanajaya de Silva – 52 points
M. Chinnaswamy Stadium & Pitch Information
The pitch at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru is expected to be flat with short boundaries. I’m expecting for a lot of runs to be scored but seam bowlers bowling a good line and length might be able to generate some movement, especially under lights. This will be the third game at this venue in the CWC and we have seen plenty of runs being scored. In two of the first innings here, we have seen scores of 367 by Australia and 401 by New Zealand. In both matches the team chasing were also able to score plenty of runs. New Zealand and Sri Lanka have both played at this venue in the CWC, New Zealand went down to Pakistan while Sri Lanka cruised to a win over England.
New Zealand vs Sri Lanka predicted XIs
New Zealand: Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi/Kyle Jamieson, Trent Boult and Tim Southee/Lockie Ferguson
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva, Maheesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha, Dushmantha Chameera and Dilshan Madushanka
Who to play in your GDS starting XI
Batters
The three batters that I am likely going to start will be Devon Conway, Kane Williamson and Pathum Nissanka. Over the CWC these batters average the following points in GDS.
Devon Conway – 54 points
Kane Williamson – 111 points
Pathum Nissanka – 54 points
In GDS there are seven players combined from New Zealand and Sri Lanka that have the batter position designation. Five of these seven players are predicted to play, four from New Zealand and one from Sri Lanka. Williamson will be my first batsmen selected. He has only played in two matches due to injury in the CWC. In these matches he has had scores of 78 vs Bangladesh and 95 vs Pakistan. I have Conway, Mitchell and Nissanka battling it out for the other two batsmen position and I’m leaning towards Conway and Nissanka. I believe Conway is due for a decent score after only having one score of 50+ in the CWC. Nissanka has been the best Sri Lankan batsmen in the CWC by some distance and he had his best score in GDS of 95 points at this venue. Mitchell only just misses out on my starting XI and it’s for no particular reason as he has shown good form over the CWC. Call it a gut feeling on his omission but I’m not going to disagree with anyone if they favour him over the other suggested batsmen.
If you don’t have the suggested players in your squad, I have ranked the remaining batters for New Zealand and Sri Lanka in the following order. Daryl Mitchell and Mark Chapman.
All-Rounders
The four all-rounders that I am likely going to start will be Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, and Charith Asalanka. Over the CWC these all-rounders average the following points in GDS.
Rachin Ravindra – 109 points
Glenn Phillips – 67 points
Mitchell Santner – 84 points
Charith Asalanka – 45 points
In GDS there are nine players combined from New Zealand and Sri Lanka that have the all-rounder position designation. Five of these nine players are predicted to play, three from New Zealand and two from Sri Lanka. Selecting the all-rounders for this match has been the easiest decision to make compared to the other positions. Ravindra, Phillips and Santner are all locks in my starting XI for this match and I lean towards Asalanka being my fourth all-rounder. After his impressive century I can’t really leave him out even though de Silva is coming off his best performance in GDS of 52 points. These two Sri Lanka all-rounders have played in the same match for seven of Sri Lanka’s eight matches and Asalanka has outscored de Silva in four of these matches. I also don’t believe that de Silva offers enough upside with the ball to be selected over Asalanka.
If you don’t have the suggested players in your squad, I have ranked the remaining all-rounders for New Zealand and Sri Lanka in the following order. Dhananjaya de Silva
Bowlers
The three bowlers that I am likely going to start will be Trent Boult, Tim Southee/Lockie Ferguson and Dilshan Madushanka. Over the CWC these bowlers average the following points in GDS.
Trent Boult – 68 points
Tim Southee – 52 points
Lockie Ferguson – 65 points
Dilshan Madushanka – 90 points
In GDS there are ten players combined from New Zealand and Sri Lanka that have the bowler position designation. Six of these ten players are predicted to play, three from both New Zealand and Sri Lanka. There have been 36 wickets taken by bowlers at the venue over the CWC, 29 have been taken by seam and 7 by spin. I’m going to be fading spin bowlers in this match, this rules out Sodhi and Theekshana. Madushanka is the pick of the bowlers for me in this match. He is the leading wicket taker in the CWC with 21 wickets. Out of the remaining three bowlers Rajitha is the odd one out for me. After an impressive 108 and 114 points in GDS in Sri Lanka’s first couple of games, Rajitha has struggled with the ball. He has only taken four wickets over his other four matches at an average of 42 points per match in GDS. Going by method of elimination, Boult and Southee/Ferguson will be my other two starting bowlers.
If you don’t have the suggested players in your squad, I have ranked the remaining bowlers for New Zealand and Sri Lanka in the following order. Maheesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha and Ish Sodhi.
Wicket Keeper
The wicket keeper that I am likely going to start will be Sadeera Samarawickrama. Over the CWC these wicket keepers average the following points in GDS.
Tom Latham – 30 points
Kusal Perera – 24 points
Kusal Mendis – 60 points
Sadeera Samarawickrama – 62 points
There is honestly nothing separating Mendis and Samarawickrama over the CWC. In GDS, Mendis has scored a total of 480 points and Samarawickrama 493. I have ranked Samarawickrama just ahead due to Mendis’s ODI record against New Zealand. Mendis has played six ODIs against New Zealand and has been dismissed for a duck in his last four innings. I’m fading Latham and Perera due to their recent form.
If you don’t have the suggested player in your squad, I have ranked the remaining wicket keepers for New Zealand and Sri Lanka in the following order. Kusal Mendis, Tom Latham and Kusal Perera.