New Zealand’s flamboyant and fearless brand of cricket in the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup helped them storm into the finals. This was their first entry into the finals after six semi-final defeats. They were crushed by the Aussies at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on March 29, 2015.
Can the Kiwis go one step ahead this time and finally end their World Cup drought?
Although Brendon McCullum’s charismatic leadership will no longer be at their service, his successor Kane Williamson has been in phenomenal form, both as a captain and as one of New Zealand’s most dependable batsmen. While as captain, Williamson led the Kiwi side to the second position in the Test Match Rankings (for the first time in history) and ODI Rankings (second), though, they were beaten on their home turf by South Africa (2017), England (2018), and India (2019).
However, with the recent run of play, New Zealand look a lot more comfortable and a balanced side than their opponents. The core of the 2015 runners up remains the same and is being led by a captain who is a cool-minded skipper. In the Warm-Up Games, leading up to the 2019 World Cup, New Zealand defeated World Cup favourites India before experiencing a loss against the West Indies where they were hammered to all parts of the park as they conceded 421 runs, eventually losing the game by a whopping 91 runs. However, the game against India would have given the Kiwis a lot of confidence where their bowlers restricted the mighty Indian batting line up to an under par 179 and then the batting chased it down with only 4 wickets down.
Apart from Williamson himself, Ross Taylor and Martin Guptill are absolute game changers with the bat and have been at the top of their game. With the ball, Trent Boult will lead the attack and will have the company of Tim Southee and Colin de Grandhomme with the new ball. Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner are capable spinning options for the skipper.
It would be fair to say that New Zealand start as clear favourites in their World Cup opener against the 1996 World Cup winning team – Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka have slumped to number 9 in the ICC ODI Rankings and look nowhere close to being a dominant side in the World Cup. With one Trophy and two runners up finishes, Sri Lanka have an impressive record at the World Cup stage, and although the side may be inexperienced, Sri Lanka cannot be written off at such an early stage of the tournament.
Sri Lanka’s World Cup preparations haven’t been to their liking as they faced defeat in both their World Cup Warm Up games. However, the newly appointed captain Dimuth Karunaratne’s batting form and the experience of Angelo Matthews could be the X-factor in Sri Lanka’s campaign. Karunaratne could well play the anchor role for his team. He will have Lasith Malinga to his aid both with the ball in his hand and his vast amount of experience if ever the skipper needs a word of advice.
Both the teams lock horns at the Sophia Gardens Stadium at 3:00 pm (IST).