Champions Trophy: Match 4, Group A - 5 reasons why New Zealand can defeat Sri Lanka

Group A got under way yesterday with the much-anticipated clash of England and Australia and though it was not the keenly contested match we expected it to be, the match threw some noteworthy performances. England came out victorious and now have a healthy position in the group and the same head-start will be on offer when New Zealand take on Sri Lanka at Cardiff. Both the teams have spent some time in England and are now getting used to the conditions. Whereas Sri Lanka played a well-contested warm-up game against India, New Zealand have had the better preparation with a competitive series win against England.

New Zealand come into the Champions Trophy on a high after beating England 2-1 in the recently concluded ODI series

The warm-up game at Cardiff threw up a pitch that supported both batting and bowling as we saw India pile up a total of more than 300 runs whereas Australia slumped to a humiliating 243 run defeat. The weather conditions thus will be critical for the course of the play and also for the decision at the toss.

New Zealand boast of a good mix of youth and experience in their squad. The likes of Brendon McCullum, Ross Taylor and Martin Guptill will constitute an experienced batting line-up that will be familiar with the conditions. Kane Williamson and Mitchell McClenaghan look exciting young talents and will provide New Zealand with skill and youthful energy. Sri Lanka’s squad boasts of some extremely experienced campaigners who have excelled at the big stage. Sri Lanka have had the knack of producing the goods in prestigious ICC events and they will like to continue that good work.

Here is a list of 5 reasons why I think New Zealand will come out on top in this battle:

1. Batting form

The English bowling attack is one of the best in the tournament, boasting of a diverse pace attack and quality spin, and New Zealand’s handling of that threat in the recently concluded series augurs well for them in this tournament. Martin Guptill was the leading man with two centuries but he was not a lone fighter as Ross Taylor contributed half-centuries in each of the three matches. Kane Williamson looks a promising batsman coming at one-down in the batting order. Luke Ronchi will look to take advantage of the hard new ball and the power-play overs and Brendon McCullum’s threat in the lower-middle order is well known. This batting line-up looks even stronger if you consider Sri Lanka’s weak pace attack that boasts of very little pace with the exception of Lasith Malinga.