The T20 series between New Zealand and Sri Lanka continues on Wednesday when the two sides head to the south island for the second match of the scheduled three, which comes from the University Oval in Dunedin.
The first match of the series was a cracker which ended up going to a super over which was won by Sri Lanka so they will have the chance to win the series with a match to spare. New Zealand have to win to force a decider.
New Zealand
It is hard to make too much of a judgement on New Zealand in that first game, as it will be for the rest of the series, because they are clearly between a rock and a hard place in terms of player availability for themselves when the IPL is on. They have allowed everyone in the IPL to travel to that tournament so this is very much a second string squad that they are utilising in this series so it is hard to expect them to produce the sort of cricket we would usually expect from a New Zealand side.
To be fair to them in that opening game, their batting was very much on point. They were faced with a daunting run chase but still managed to match the score of Sri Lanka but couldn’t quite get the job done in the extra six balls. They were found wanting a little with the ball in hand but we could probably cut the bowlers some slack because it must be a thankless task bowling at Eden Park. They would probably be better judged on their effort here.
Sri Lanka
After a couple of pretty indifferent efforts in ODIs which were much more meaningful than these T20 matches, it was hard to know what to expect from Sri Lanka in the first game of the series. In fairness to them, they have improved a lot in 20 over cricket to the extent that their 50 over game has suffered as a result, but doubts were definitely there such was the emphatic nature of the two losses they suffered in the ODI series when they were looking to win them to keep automatic World Cup qualification hopes alive.
Given how indifferently they batted in that ODI series the really good thing for Sri Lanka in the opening game was how they came out with attacking intent with the bat, particularly when they were shot out for just 76 on the same ground in a 50 over game a week earlier. That shows the character of the team and the one thing we know about this Sri Lanka outfit is that they have some very good T20 bowlers in their ranks so they should be confident about winning the series here.
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Team News
New Zealand went into the first T20 with an inexperienced bowling attack at this level. They might want to see how that same attack goes in more favourable conditions and dimensions but if not Matt Henry is waiting to come in.
Chamika Karunaratne went the distance in Auckland which could open the door to the likes of Lahiru Kumara or Kasun Rajitha coming into the side in what is likely to be the only change for Sri Lanka should they wish to make it.
Betting
I’m a little surprised that Sri Lanka are the price to win this match that they are. We knew heading into the series that they have shown much better form in the 20 over game in recent times than they have the 50 over one and we saw further evidence of that in Auckland. Their bowlers are more effective in T20 cricket when batters can’t really just milk them like they can in ODI cricket and on this bigger ground the spinners will have even more protection to go through their variations.
When you consider that Sri Lanka put up 196/5 with arguably their best player out first ball there is plenty of reason to think that the touring batting will hold up against this inexperienced attack and if it does I think the Sri Lankan bowling, particularly the two spinners, can keep New Zealand quiet with the bat in hand. Eden Park is an impossible ground to defend but Sri Lanka did a good job of it and on this bigger ground they should be suited to the task at hand a lot more. 6/4 Sri Lanka feels a little too big given the respective strengths of the two sides.
Tips
Back Sri Lanka to beat New Zealand for a 3/10 stake at 2.50 with William Hill
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