ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023: Will rain spill water on New Zealand’s semi-final hopes?
It was not too long ago that New Zealand was almost a certainty to play the semi-final. However, the way last 20 days have panned out for the Kiwis, they find themselves in a spot of bother. They started their World Cup campaign on a positive note winning their first four matches, however they suffered defeats in their next four. The finalists of the last edition of the World Cup will take on Sri Lanka in the last league match on November 9 at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. In a ‘must win’ situation, New Zealand have a tough challenge in front of them as they have ended up on the losing side on three occasions when the two teams have played in India. Besides, rain forecast during the match day would have been the last thing that New Zealand would have wanted.
Head-to-Head
New Zealand and Sri Lanka have played 101 ODIs against each other since 1979, of which New Zealand have won 51, Sri Lanka have won 41, one match ended in a tie, and eight matches did not produce results. In India, they have played three ODIs and Sri Lanka have won all of them. At the World Cups, they have played 11 matches, with New Zealand winning five and Sri Lanka winning six.
| Particulars | New Zealand | Sri Lanka |
| ICC ODI Rankings | 5 | 7 |
| Wins in ODIs | 51 | 41 |
| In India | 0 | 3 |
| At World Cups | 5 | 6 |
Performance in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 so far..
New Zealand and Sri Lanka will play their ninth and last league match of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023. Of the eight matches, New Zealand have won four, whereas Sri Lanka have won two. Though New Zealand have won 50% of their matches, the biggest concern for them is that they have lost their last four matches on the trot.
| Match number | New Zealand | Sri Lanka |
| 1 | Beat England by 9 wickets | Lost to South Africa by 102 runs |
| 2 | Beat Netherlands by 99 runs | Lost to Pakistan by 6 wickets |
| 3 | Beat Bangladesh by 8 wickets | Lost to Australia by 5 wickets |
| 4 | Beat Afghanistan by 149 runs | Beat Netherlands by 5 wickets |
| 5 | Lost to India by 4 wickets | Beat England by 8 wickets |
| 6 | Lost to Australia by 5 runs | Lost to Afghanistan by 7 wickets |
| 7 | Lost to South Africa by 190 runs | Lost to India by 302 runs |
| 8 | Lost to Pakistan by 21 runs (DLS method) | Lost to Bangladesh by 3 wickets |
Squads
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (c), Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitch Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Will Young.
Sri Lanka: Kusal Mendis (c), Kusal Perera, Pathum Nissanka, Dushmantha Chameera, Dimuth Karunaratne, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage, Kasun Rajitha, Angelo Mathews, Dilshan Madushanka, Dushan Hemantha, Chamika Karunaratne
Injury updates
There are no injury concerns for New Zealand and Sri Lanka, ahead of their match.
Playing conditions
M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru will host the encounter between New Zealand and Sri Lanka. It will be a day night match. The venue will host its fourth match of this tournament. Both teams have played one match each here. While Sri Lanka have emerged victorious against England, New Zealand suffered defeat at the hands of Pakistan. The teams batting second have won two of the first three matches played. Given the smaller ground dimensions, expect plenty of runs to be scored.
Weather
The weather is expected to be mostly cloudy. It could rain later in the day. The maximum temperature attained during the day will be 27 degrees Celsius. The cloud cover will be 86% with 90% chance of rain and 54% chance of thunderstorms. The wind will blow from the north-east.
Players to watch out for
Rachin Ravindra: The left-handed opening batter of New Zealand has had a prolific tournament so far scoring 523 runs in eight matches at an average of 75 and strike rate of 107. He also offers a bowling option with his left arm spin.
Mitchell Santner: The left arm spinner of New Zealand is the most successful bowler for his team with 14 wickets in eight matches, including a fifer. Besides, he can be handy with the bat lower down the order.
Sadeera Samarawickrama: The right-handed middle-order batter of Sri Lanka is the top run scorer for his team with 372 runs in eight matches at an average of 62 and strike rate of 102.
Dilshan Madhushanka: The left-arm speedster of Sri Lanka has been outstanding with the new ball. He is the highest wicket-taker in the tournament so far with 21 wickets in eight matches, including one four-fer and a fifer.
Milestones alert
- Charith Asalanka will play his 50th ODI
- Tom Latham needs 50 runs to complete 4000 ODI runs
- Daryl Mitchell needs 100 runs to complete 1500 ODI runs
- Maheesh Theekshana needs 1 wicket to complete 50 ODI wickets
- Angelo Matthews needs 100 runs to complete 6000 ODI runs
- Sadeera Samarawickrama needs 13 runs to complete 1000 ODI runs
- Trent Boult needs 1 wicket to complete 50 ODI wickets
Match details
Date: November 9, 2023
Time: 2:00 PM IST
Venue: M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru
Live streaming: Star Sports, Hotstar
All the statistics are sourced from ESPN Cricinfo