World Cup 2019: Match 3, NZ vs SL - New Zealand's Probable Playing XI and Key Players

New Zealand will take on Sri Lanka for match 3 of the ICC Cricket World Cup on the 1st of June at 3:00 pm IST. Both these sides had a mixed outing in the warm-up games and while New Zealand were able to reap some success, Sri Lanka have a lot of worries to tend to ahead of this fixture.

New Zealand, who were the runner-ups last season will want to get their 2019 campaign off to a winning start against Sri Lanka whose selections for the World Cup have been criticized.

On that note, let's take a look at how the Black Caps might line up for their first group stage fixture.

Martin Guptill and Henry Nicholls can be expected to open the batting for New Zealand due to the poor form and lack of maturity from Colin Munro. Guptill has loved playing in ICC tournaments and will look to continue in the same vein while Nicholls must be more careful and give value to his wicket.

Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor will form the fulcrum of this New Zealand side with the performance of these two imperative to their success. They are two of the top ODI batsmen in the world and must live up to the reputation and take the Lankans to task in this crucial opening fixture.

Tom Latham is expected to make his return to the side and likely to grab the No.5 spot and don the keeping gloves despite Tom Blundell's brilliant century against the West Indies.

Colin de Grandhomme and James Neesham are both expected to retain their place in the side as their pace bowling will be of some use on a Cardiff track which isn't expected to favor the spinners so much. Also, their batting has been a welcome reprieve for New Zealand on many occasions and they'll look to deliver on the day on the match.

Mitchell Santner will be the key man for New Zealand since he will be the only spinner for the side. The weather will not favor him as it's expected to be bright and sunny when the match is taking place and Santner will have to use all his tricks in order to keep the batsmen in check. He'll also have a role to play with the bat, something he has done pretty well.

Tim Southee, Trent Boult, and Matt Henry are expected to be the pace bowlers for New Zealand in this fixture. While Boult will be the leader of the pack, both Southee and Henry have had a hard time operating with the new ball and while Southee has failed to pick up wickets, Henry has given away too many runs despite being a wicket-taker.

These three bowlers must fire in unison if they want to truly rattle the Sri Lankan batsmen who themselves are seething in turmoil though all eyes will be on Boult after 2 successive 4-wicket hauls in the warm-up games.

Key Batsmen: Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson, and Ross Taylor

Key Bowlers: Trent Boult, Mitchell Santner and Tim Southee.

Predicted Playing XI: Martin Guptill, Henry Nicholls, Kane Williamson(C), Ross Taylor, Tom Latham(WK), Colin De Grandhomme, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Trent Boult, and Matt Henry.