Match Preview

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Sri Lanka face India in battle of survival

India and Sri Lanka are set to meet each other in the fifth ODI of the Tri-series in Dambulla. It is a must-win game for Sri Lanka. They win, they go through and if they lose they are out of the finals reckoning. India are not in such a panic situation, even if they lose, they will have a chance to beat New Zealand in the last league game and make their way in to the finals.

The Sri Lankan team has been surrounded by quite some unwanted stuff in the last few days. After that one match ban to Suraj Randiv over the No Ball controversy, this time it was the skipper Kumar Sangakkara itself who was called for by the Referee after being involved in a tussle with Kiwi all-rounder Nathan McCullum. Though, the Lankan captain was found not guilty and was cleared off offense. Keeping all of that behind, the home side would definitely want to concentrate on this all important game and see themselves through.

The inclusion of Mendis and Herath in the bowling department against the Kiwis wasn’t tested as the match got washed out on both the days. The selection of Silva in place of Samaraweera came off well as the former looked in fine touch in whatever time he got in the middle, before the rain intervened. Including Randiv back in the side would be a tricky call for the team management as the Indians would definitely go hard at him.

India, after losing comprehensively in the first game, have come back pretty strongly as they managed to beat the home side in the first leg encounter. They look a touch settled now but still their batting needs to prove a point with Kohli, Sharma out of touch in the middle-order. Praveen Kumar and Ashish Nehra should once again be the trump-cards for India in the bowling department.

There is very little to choose from between the two sides at the moment, and the team that holds its nerves better on the field will win the game. Another important factor will of course be the rain but lets hope it stays away from Dambulla and we get a good game of Cricket.

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Thursday, August 19, 2010

TEAMS HOPE TO RESUME BATTLE AFTER WASHOUT

After rain played spoil-sport on Thursday, the fourth ODI of the tri-series is now scheduled to be played on Friday which is the Reserve day for the game. Losing their second game having won their first comprehensively, both, hosts Sri Lanka and New Zealand lock horns to conquer the game and almost seal their place in the finals.

The Lankans started the tournament well by beating the Kiwis but were given a taste of their own medicine by the Indians in the second game. As compared to the Asia Cup held a couple of months ago at this venue, batting first is proving to be tricky for the captains as the ball swings a lot in the first half and the batsmen have a very difficult task to score runs. On the other hand, chasing over 220 too, would be difficult under lights. There is no problem with the Lankan batting or bowling as each department has excelled in the conditions suited to them. Dilshan’s consistent low scores is becoming a big cause of concern for the team though. Herath and Mendis were included in the side with Randiv not available and Sri Lanka should play the same side.

The Black Caps have a major trouble on their hand apart from the toss factor. Unlike the Lankans, their top order has not at all performed and all the burden has fallen on the shoulders of Taylor and Styris. Watling did a good job against the Lankans but apart from the latter duo, no other batsmen has been able to find his feet and should they be chasing, they might find themselves in a bit of a bother. The bowling did well in both games, especially against the Lankans, where they managed to make the hosts earn their win in spite of a small target. Oram made a return to the side after picking up an injury and his inclusion is very much vital to the teams cause.

With all the three teams having won a game each, the tri-series is wide open with each side having an equal chance of making it to the finals. The Kiwis are tied with India in terms of points earned with a win but the former have surged ahead due to a better net run-rate. All the three games have shown that batting is difficult at this venue, whether first or second. However, if the top order manages to negotiate the first hour, things might turn a bit easy, which might just make the captains opt to bat first. Once again there will be a threat from the Weather Gods but one can only stay positive about it.

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