ICC Men’s T20 World Cup
Match starts at 7 pm
Colombo, Feb 24: Sri Lanka will need to improve their batting against slower bowlers when they take on New Zealand in a must-win Super Eight game of the T20 World Cup here on Wednesday.
The home team batters failed to chase a below par 147 against England on a slow turner in Pallekele. The pitches in Sri Lanka have been tougher for batting compared to co-hosts India and the trend is likely to continue at the Premadasa where bigger boundaries make six-hitting difficult .
Some of the shot selection was questioned following the heavy loss in the Super Eight opener and Sri Lanka will need to learn from their mistakes.
“It’s a T20 game, so obviously you come into a game, so you are looking to score as many runs as you can. So when the ball is not coming on to the bat, it’s easier said than done,” Sri Lanka’s Indian batting coach Vikram Rathour reflected on the side’s poor poor performance.
“Are there better options? Yes, definitely could have been taken. I thought on a wicket where the ball is stopping, so pushing is not a great idea. A couple of our wickets lost out on guys pushing for a single. I don’t think that was a great option in these conditions,” he added.
While batting has been led by Pathum Nissanka, left-arm spinner Dunith Wellalage has been impressive with the ball. To be fair, even the pacers have delivered thus far in the competition.New Zealand, who had to share a point with Pakistan following the wash-out at Premadasa, too have good spinners in their ranks including captain Mitchell Santner.
With rain unlikely, both teams would be pushing for their first win of the Super Eight stage.
New Zealand’s opening duo of Finn Allen and Tim Seifert showed ominous form during the league stage and would be looking to extend that run.More runs are expected from the bat of Rachin Ravindra who got a much-needed fifty in his previous innings against Canada. As the Super Eight stage gathers pace at the R. Premadasa Stadium, Wednesday’s clash could well define the trajectory of both campaigns. Sri Lanka, smarting from their faltering chase against England, must recalibrate swiftly — especially against quality spin and pace-off variations. For New Zealand, consistency at the top and sharper execution in the middle overs remain key after the shared points against Pakistan. (PTI)
