World Cup 2019: New Zealand vs Sri Lanka Match Preview

New Zealand and Sri Lanka will begin their World Cup campaign tomorrow at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff in the third fixture of the tournament. New Zealand will be looking to get back to winning ways after being hammered by West Indies in their last warm-up game. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka will look to put in a clinical performance in their opening match. Both the teams would be eyeing to open their World Cup campaign with a victory.

New Zealand has been in decent form in the limited-overs format over the past few years. The runners-up of the last World Cup’s, Blackcaps have a robust squad with match-winners like Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson and Trent Boult in their ranks. Having been battered in their previous game against Windies, New Zealand would be looking for a better bowling performance from an experienced bowling attack.

On the contrary, Sri Lanka looks the most unfledged side in this edition of the World Cup. Since the departure of veterans like Sangakkara and Jayawardene, Sri Lanka have never looked the same outfit. Their recent performances demonstrate their tendency to succumb under pressure. Players like Kusal Mendis, Angelo Matthews, and Lasith Malinga have to ste up if they want to defeat the Kiwis. With Karunarathane at the helm, the Islanders will aim to march back to glory days.

Match Details

Date: Saturday, 1st June 2019

Time: 03:00 PM IST

Venue: Sophia Gardens, Cardiff

League: ICC World Cup 2019

Live Telecast: Star Network

Online Streaming: Hotstar

Venue Stats

Avg 1st Innings score: 227

Avg 2nd Innings score: 216

Highest Total: 342/8 (50 Ov) by Eng vs AUS

Lowest Total: 138/10 (37.5 Ov) by SL vs NZ

Highest Chased: 304/6 (48.2 Ov) by PAK vs Eng

Lowest Defended: 169/10 (23.3 Ov) by Eng vs NZ

Head-to-head Record at World Cups

Total – 10

West Indies – 07

Pakistan- 03

Squads

New Zealand

Kane Williamson (capt), Tom Blundell (wk), Trent Boult, Colin de Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Tom Latham (wk), Colin Munro, Jimmy Neesham, Henry Nicholls, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor

Sri Lanka

Dimuth Karunaratne (c), Avishka Fernando, Lahiru Thirimanne, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva, Jeffery Vandersay, Thisara Perera, Isuru Udana, Lasith Malinga, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep, Jeevan Mendis, Milinda Siriwardana.

Probable Playing XI

New Zealand

Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Kane Williamson(C), Ross Taylor, Tom Blundell, Colin de Grandhomme, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, and Trent Boult

Sri Lanka

Kusal Perera, Dimuth Karunaratane (C), Kusal Mendis, Lahiru Thirimane, Dhananjay de Silva, Angelo Matthews, Thisara Perera, Jeevan Mendis, Nuwan Pradeep, Suranga Lakmal and Lasith Malinga