Sri Lanka vs New Zealand Match Preview, 2nd T20I
Sri Lanka are leading the two-match T20I series 1-0.
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Sri Lanka will look to win back-to-back T20I series at home when they lock horns with New Zealand in the second T20I on Sunday, November 10, at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium. The hosts are leading the series 1-0.
In the first T20I, Sri Lankan bowlers bowled with a lot of discipline and made life difficult for the New Zealand batters after Mitchell Santner won the toss and opted to bat first. The pitch was on the slower side and the Sri Lankan spinners made the most of the favourable conditions as runs were hard to come by. New Zealand lost eight wickets for 96 runs inside the first 16 overs. Zakary Foulkes played a fine hand of 27* off 16 balls to help his team get to 135 before being bowled out in the last over.
Dunith Wellalage took a three-for, while Nuwan Thushara, Wanindu Hasaranga, and Matheesha Pathirana bagged two wickets apiece.
In reply, Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Perera played some aggressive cricket inside the powerplay after Kusal Mendis departed in the second over. Nissanka and Perera got out in the fifth and sixth overs, respectively, but Sri Lanka had already put 55 runs on the board. Kamindu Mendis played a fine hand before being dismissed by Glenn Phillips for 23. Bhanuka Rajapaksa lost his wicket in the following over as the hosts lost half their side for 87 runs in 11.3 overs.
Charith Asalanka played a captain's knock and put on a decisive partnership of 38 runs with Wanindu Hasaranga. After the leg-spinner was dismissed in the 18th over, Wellalage joined his captain in the middle with 11 runs left to get off 16 deliveries.
Wellalage hit a boundary and a maximum in the penultimate over to take his team home. Asalanka remained unbeaten on 35 off 28 balls as Sri Lanka won with an over and four wickets to spare.
New Zealand bowlers fought well but they didn't have enough runs to defend. Another 15 runs and things could have been even more interesting. The Kiwis will have to bat better in the second game to square the series. They will need to take a leaf out of Sri Lanka's book and look to make the most of the powerplay overs when only two fielders are allowed outside the circle and the new ball comes nicely onto the bat. Run scoring is going to get difficult as the ball gets older.
Match Details
| Match | Sri Lanka vs New Zealand, 2nd T20I |
| Venue | Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, Dambulla |
| Date & Time | November 10, Sunday, 7 pm IST |
| Live Broadcast & Streaming Details | Sony LIV, FanCode (app and website) |
Pitch Report
Batting is not going to be easy, especially if the same pitch is used for the second game. Taking advantage of the new ball and the field restrictions inside the powerplay will be crucial for the batters. The captain who wins the toss would want to bat first and get a decent score on the board. Aiming too high could be detrimental on these surfaces as the best approach would be to keep wickets in hand for the slog overs. New batters will struggle to hit the big shots from the get-go and that is why it is important for the set batters to covert their starts into big scores.
Head-To-Head Records
| Matches Played | 24 |
| Won by Sri Lanka | 10 |
| Won by New Zealand | 13 |
| No Result | 01 |
| First-ever Fixture | January 17, 2007 |
| Most-recent Fixture | November 9, 2024 |
Also Check: Sri Lanka vs New Zealand Match Prediction - Who will win today’s 2nd T20I match between SL vs NZ?
Predicted Playing XI
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka picked three spinners and two pacers in their side in the first game. With all the bowlers doing well, there is no need for the home side to tinker with their line-up. Meanwhile, the batting line-up also looks sorted despite Bhanuka Rajapaksa not being among the runs of late. The southpaw should get another go on Sunday.
Predicted XI: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (wk), Kusal Perera, Kamindu Mendis, Charith Asalanka (c), Chamindu Wickramasinghe, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Matheesha Pathirana, Nuwan Thushara.
New Zealand
New Zealand can think about bringing in the experienced Henry Nicholls into the line-up in place of Josh Clarkson. Nicholls has played 56 Tests for New Zealand and his experience of playing in tough conditions could help the Blackcaps. The rest of the team should remain the same.
Predicted XI: Tim Robinson, Will Young, Mitchell Hay, Mark Chapman, Glenn Phillips (wk), Henry Nicholls, Mitchell Santner (c), Zakary Foulkes, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson, Jacob Duffy.
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