The opening game of the ICC T20 world Cup takes place in Providence, Guyana on Friday. New Zealand takes on Sri Lanka in Group B. Venue and conditions: There is rain around for these contests at Providence so don’t be surprised if we get a reduction in overs, especially with a game to fit in after this one. The toss is key with seven sides in 10 matches batting first and winning. The highest second innings total is 244. This is the first T20 international played there. Trivia: Shane Bond has taken 18 wickets against Sri Lanka in 13 matches. Sri Lanka Vs New Zealand: Sri Lanka: Sangakkara skippers the side which includes a few golden oldies such as Jayasuria, Murali, Dilshan and Jayawardene along with some promising youngsters, many of whom have already made a mark in one format or another. The excellent Lasith Malinga leads the pace bowling attack but significantly, Sangakkara is already talking up the significance of his options to take pace off the ball. Murali and Mendis are the front liners in this respect but Sri Lanka can call on at least three others who are more than useful. Dilshan had a really disappointing IPL and a return to the sort of form he showed in this tournament last year would be a major boost. If the wickets are spin friendly, I expect Sri Lanka to once again have a good tilt at this tournament. New Zealand: The Black Caps go in with the majority of their tried and trusted. Vettori has the likes of McCullum, Ryder, Taylor, Styris, Bond, Mills and Oram all of whom are dangerous customers in their respective disciplines but they seem to struggle to put it together at the same time. I quietly fancied them last season when they were also a double figures quote in the outright winner market but they were found wanting against the better sides. Ross Taylor only got going late in the IPL, too late to help the Royal Challengers to success, but he does look the prize wicket amongst the batsmen. Shane Bond’s return is most welcome, Mills is a good performer and Vettori himself can be relied upon to be economical but the strength of the remaining … [Read more...]
Sri Lankan team
Sri Lanka was the best team of last World T20 tournament, in June 2009, racing into finals undefeated until Pakistan snatched the final prize. Now, May 2010 comes with another opportunity for Kumar Sangakkara's men to go that one step further. Sri Lanka squad for T20 world cup 2010: 1. Kumar Sangakkara (captain): Left handed batsman, wicket keeper 2. Mahela Jayawardene: Right handed top order batsman 3. Sanath Jayasuriya: Left handed batsman, left arm spin 4. Tillakaratane Dilshan: Right handed batsman, offspinner 5. Chamara Kapugedera: Right handed batsman 6. Angelo Mathews: Crucial all-rounder. 7. Thissara Perera: Left handed batsman, right arm medium 8. Chinthaka Jayasinghe: Right handed batsman, medium pacer 9. Dinesh Chandimal: rookie Right handed batsman 10. Suraj Randiv: Offspinner, can handle the bat 11. Muthiah Muralitharan (vice-captain): Offspinner, most wickets in cricket. 12. Chanaka Welegedera: Left arm fast medium bowler 13. Lasith Malinga: He is in tremendous form. 14. Nuwan Kulasekara: Right arm medium pace bowler 15. Ajantha Mendis: Right arm finger spinner Team rating: 8/10 Final verdict: Tremendous bolwing attack. Sri Lanka can reach finals if batsmen fire. Poor form of Dilshan and Jayasuriya are worrying points. Author: Mona Gupta (New Delhi) … [Read more...]
