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Pallekele: Sri Lanka hope spinner Ajantha Mendis recovers in time to face New Zealand in their opening Super Eights match at Pallekele on Thursday.
Sri Lanka were runners-up to South Africa in Group C, while New Zealand finished second to Pakistan in Group D after both of teams lost to strong opponents on their way to the Super Eight stage.
Sri Lanka after crushing Zimbabwe by 82 runs in their opening match of the tournament, subsequently lost to South Africa by 32 runs in a rain-curtailed seven-over-a-side game.
New Zealand, on the other hand, entered the knock-out stage after posting a 59-run win over Bangladesh, riding on Brendon McCullum's superb 123 off 58 balls. They lost to Pakistan by 13 runs in the next match but the result had no bearing on their chances, as the net run rate was healthy enough for the Kiwis to emerge from their group.
Thus, there is very little to choose between the two sides ahead of tomorrow's contest at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium here.
New Zealand can also take heart from the fact that they would be playing at the same venue where they had played both their league games, while Sri Lanka's two matches took place at Hambantota.
For Sri Lanka, a matter of concern is the form of opener Tillakaratne Dilshan, who has been completely off-colour, while Dilshan Munaweera also didn't look too impressive so far at the top order and the latter might be replaced by a more experienced Dinesh Chandimal.
The onus would be on captain Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara to deliver the goods with the bat. Their lower middle-order also has enough fire power with the likes of Angelo Mathews, Lahiru Thirimanne, Jeevan Mendis and Thisara Perera in the ranks.
However, the form of Lasith Malinga, who has been very expensive in the competition till now with an economy rate in excess of 10 per over, still remains a concern for the team.
They would hope that Malinga gets his act together against the Kiwis and is well supported by the likes of Nuwan Kulasekara and Perera.
The New Zealanders, on the other hand, have looked more or less a solid side even during their loss to Pakistan in a close game. But they need to work out their opening combination.
They started with Rob Nicol and Martin Guptill in their warm-up tie against Australia, while James Franklin opened along side Guptill in the following tie against South Africa.
They continued with the same combination in their first league match against Bangladesh, but chose to field Nicol and Kane Williamson as openers against Pakistan.
But with McCullum having scored enough runs in the previous encounters, captain Ross Taylor may well be tempted to start with Guptill and McCullum at the top against Sri Lanka.
Taylor's main worry though will be his side's inconsistent run with the bat.
As far as bowling is concerned, the form of veteran Daniel Vettori has been a cause of worry. The left-arm spinner didn't look his best against either Bangladesh or Pakistan and it remains to be seen how he comes up against the Lankans.
But Kyle Mills and Tim Southee are expected to stick to their jobs for the Black Caps.
Teams from
Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardene (captain), Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Shaminda Eranga, Rangana Herath, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Ajantha Mendis, Jeevan Mendis, Dilshan Munaweera, Akila Dananjaya, Thisara Perera, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Lahiru Thirimanne.
New Zealand: Ross Taylor (captain), Doug Bracewell, James Franklin, Martin Guptill, Ronnie Hira, Brendon McCullum (wk), Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, Adam Milne, Rob Nicol, Jacob Oram, Tim Southee, Daniel Vettori, BJ Watling, Kane Williamson.
Pitch and conditions
Neither team has had a look at the pitch yet so not much is know of it apart from the fact that previous Pallekele surfaces have been better for seam bowling than spin. The weather forecast is cloudy with a chance of thunderstorms.
Stats and trivia
Match facts
Thursday September 27, 2012 (day/night)
Start time 1530 local (1000 GMT)
