New Zealand vs. Sri Lanka: first semi-final of the ICC World Cup 2011 Preview
The first semi-final of the ICC World Cup 2011 will be played between New Zealand and Sri Lanka on 29 March, 2011 at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Sri Lanka comes into this semi-final having beaten England in the quarter-finals, as New Zealand defeated
South Africa to secure their place in this amazing match.
Four teams have been successful to book their places in the semi-finals. Pakistan was the first team to qualify for the semi-final by thrashing the Caribbean by a huge margin of 10 wickets while the second team was India, who defeated the defending Champions
Australia in their quarter-final by a convincing margin of five wickets and booked their place in the semi-final against the Men in Green.
The third quarter-final was an upset in which New Zealand defeated the South Africans and bounced them from the World Cup. The fourth semi-finalist is Sri Lanka, as they managed to crush England and made history. They have chased 229 runs without losing
a wicket.
Both teams are in tremendous form and they really deserve to be in the semi-finals. New Zealand has defeated all the teams throughout their campaign of World Cup except Australia. They have defeated one of the favourites of the coveted mega event, South
Africa, by a convincing margin of 49 runs.
Similarly their counterpart Sri Lanka, have also won all their matches throughout their journey to the semi-final except the group match against Pakistan. They managed to crush England and proved that they really deserve to play the semi-final.
Both Sri Lanka and New Zealand are well balanced and are in supreme touch. It will be an exciting match as both teams put it all on the line and go for the victory.
New Zealand has a fabulous opening pair which reflects the true image of youth and experience. Brendon McCullum is the experienced campaigner, while Martin Guptill is the young blood at the opening position for New Zealand.
In the middle-order they have an explosive batsman, Jesse Ryder, who can clear the boundary with minimum effort and a pair of veterans, Ross Taylor and Scott Styris who can play patiently and can be very lethal when required. New Zealand can depend on these
two to provide them a solid launching pad for the upcoming batsmen.
In lower middle-order, the Black Caps have three talented all-rounders which include Jamie How, Nathan McCullum and Daniel Vettori. These players can take their team to a safe position by building solid partnerships during their innings.
The bowling department of the Kiwis is also exceptional, as they have Tim Southee as their pace spearhead with Kyle Mills as his deputy. Nathan McCullum and Vettori will play a key role in the match with their right arm off-spin and left-arm orthodox spin
bowling. The Kiwis are a complete package having the talent and strength to defeat any opposition.
On the other hand, Sri Lanka has a tremendous blend of enthusiasm and experience in all departments of the game. In batting they have Tillakaratne Dilshan, a very seasoned and explosive opening batsman along with Upul Tharanga, a very intelligent and enthusiastic
opening talent. They can provide Sri Lanka a flying start and can set a launching pad for the upcoming middle-order.
Sri Lanka currently has the most dynamic and reliable middle-order set. They have one of the most stylish and talented batsman, Mahela Jayawardene. Sri Lanka’s Captain Kumar Sangakkara is an elegant and seasoned left-hand batsman that has the ability to
take the game away from the opposition. Besides these two veteran campaigners, there are some young talented players in the middle-order and lower middle-order.
Thilan Samaraweera is a very handy batsman to have in the middle-order, as he has the ability to build healthy partnerships and keep the score ticking. Similarly, Sri Lanka has a very explosive all-rounder batsman, Angelo Matthews who can hit the ball very
hard to different parts of the ground for boundaries.
Lasith Malinga is their bowling spearhead and Thisara Perera and Nuwan Kulasekara are his supporting bowlers.
In the spin department, Sri Lanka has the seasoned magical off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan along with the young gun Rangana Herath. They are the most dangerous spin-ball attack which can demolish any team on a turning wicket.
Sri Lanka has a definite edge over New Zealand with their powerful batting and bowling line-up. However, New Zealand has a ‘never quit’ attitude, which has brought them all the way into the semi-finals of this tournament. It will be a close exciting match,
which will probably see the Sri Lankans triumph in the end. Both teams will be looking to put in a good performance and take a victory to get one step closer to the coveted World Cup trophy.
New Zealand (probable): Martin Guptill, Jesse Ryder, Ross Taylor, Scott Styris, Jamie How, James Franklyn, Daniel Vettori, Nathan McCullum, Tim Southee, Kyle Mills,
Sri Lanka: (probable): Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Kumar Sangakkara (capt & wk), Mahela Jayawardene, Chamara Silva, Thilan Samaraweera, Angelo Mathews, Thisara Perera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Rangana Herath, Muttiah
Muralitharan.