ICC CRICKET WORLD CUP 2019

Live Cricket Score: New Zealand vs Sri Lanka, Match 3, ICC World Cup 2019

Can New Zealand go one step further thIan 2015? © Getty
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Build Up:

In the recent past, Sri Lanka have paddled through a very troubled phase, losing one game after another. In such a phase, where you seem to be in a long dark tunnel, you look for small positives to keep the spirits up. The Sri Lankan side was thrashed across formats in New Zealand, earlier in the year. But they would be hoping to turn it around under the leadership of Karunaratne.

New Zealand too have a few problems of their own and they need their key players - Ross Taylor, Williamson, Boult and Guptill - to fire. Their bowling unit seemed to lack the penetration in the warm-up game versus the West Indies. However, they would be the favourites to win this encounter and start their World Cup campaign in style.

Usually, the track in Cardiff offers a hint of movement due to moisture upfront and then spinners come into play.

Here's a detailed previewby Kaushik Rangarajan

History:

The first time these two sides met in World Cups was in 1975 when the ever-reliable Turner powered New Zealand home by nine wickets. Sri Lanka, who weren't yet full members back then, had fine batsmen like Warnapura, Tennekoon, Mendis, Dias, Wettimuny and Co. in their ranks.

One of Sri Lanka's finest wins against New Zealand came at the Derby County ground in 1983 when de Mel, who finished the 1983 World Cup with a rich haul of 17 scalps, picked up five scalps to reduce the Kiwis to 181 all out. New Zealand posted a total close to 200 mainly thanks to Snedden who composed a vital hand of 40. Kuruppu and Dias then notched up fifties to steer Sri Lanka to a famous victory.

Incidentally, Del Mel, who used to bowl at waspish pace, could have been the joint highest wicket-taker in the 1983 WC, but one of his wickets was wrongly credited in the name of his pace colleague Rumesh Ratnayake - versus England. Another of Sri Lanka's finest moments versus New Zealand came in 2003 when Jayasuriya cracked an enterprising hundred and Tillakaratne gave him good support to ensure a 47-run victory in Bloemfontein. The last time these two sides locked horns was in the 2015 World Cup when New Zealand, one of the hosts of that tournament, registered a thumping 98-run victory.

Toss and teams in a while...