World Cup 2019: Why New Zealand are clear favorites against Sri Lanka

New Zealand pack far too many guns for Sri Lanka in the World Cup 2019. The Kiwis still retain most of their stalwarts, and a fine blend of experience and youth. They have senior batsmen - skipper Kane Williamson, Martin Guptill and Ross Taylor - and bowlers of the ilk of Tim Southee and Trent Boult, to guide the younger lot.

The Sri Lankans, on the other hand, have lost stars of the stature of Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan since the 2015 World Cup. They still have the services of the veteran Lasith Malinga, the only man with two hat-tricks in the World Cup and an unprecedented four wickets in four balls, but he is past his prime.

It was a fine World Cup for the New Zealanders in 2015. They won all their six Pool A matches. Tim Southee’s superb seven for 33 destroyed England, and set up a one-sided eight-wicket win. That was the third-best analysis in the World Cup, and one of only four seven-wicket hauls in a World Cup match.

In a low-scoring thriller, they beat eventual champions Australia by 1 wicket. This time left-armer Trent Boult captured five for 27, and went on to become the leading wicket-taker in the tournament along with Player-of-the-Series Mitchell Starc, with 22 scalps.

Then in the quarter-final against the West Indies, Guptill smashed the second double century of the World Cup. He emulated Chris Gayle’s feat of less than a month earlier, and in fact surpassed him to register the top score of 237 not out in the showpiece event. Guptill also finished with the highest aggregate of 547 runs in the 2015 World Cup.

New Zealand scored a nail-biting win over South Africa in the semi-final with just a ball to spare, which brought them eight consecutive wins in the tournament. In their first World Cup final, they were outplayed by Australia, but it was a fine performance by them through the event.

Gayle’s half-century in the easy 2019 win over Pakistan leaves him just one of his special hits over the ropes short of joining the exclusive 17-member World Cup 1000 runs club. Guptill, who is 20th with a tally of 809 runs, should also be part of the pantheon over the next few matches.

Sri Lanka’s batting brilliance in 2015 was centred around Sangakkara and Dilshan. Lahiru Thirimanne, who is in the 2019 World Cup squad, supplemented their efforts, and featured in a few fine partnerships.

The great Sangakkara performed an unprecedented batting feat by scoring four consecutive centuries. They bowed out in the quarter-final, and an era passed in Sri Lankan cricket. They are still in the rebuilding stage.

New Zealand have reached as many as six World Cup semi-finals, and in addition were runners-up in 2015. Sri Lanka rose like a phoenix by clinching the title in 1996, and have thereafter been runners-up twice and in the semi-finals once.

Head to head, Sri Lanka actually lead New Zealand 6-4 in the World Cup. But in the overall World Cup standings, New Zealand stand fourth, while Sri Lanka are eighth.

In the current International Cricket Council (ICC) One-day International (ODI) rankings, New Zealand are fourth, with Sri Lanka ninth, only above Afghanistan.

It is an unequal face-off on the first day of June 2019. There seems to be only one outcome possible, unless the clichéd glorious uncertainties of cricket play a hand in this one.