World Cup 2019, Match 3, New Zealand vs Sri Lanka: Why New Zealand will win the match

New Zealand, the runners-up of the 2015 edition, will open their 2019 World Cup campaign against Sri Lanka at Cardiff.

The Kiwis had an up-and-down run in the warm-up games. They trashed tournament favorites India in the first match but were then squashed by the dark horses, West Indies in the 2nd game.

On the other hand, former champions Sri Lanka lost both of their warm-up matches and will head into the World Cup without any momentum on their side. Dimuth Karunaratne, the team's skipper, will have to pull something special out of his hat to motivate the players to improve their performances.

Kane Williamson's men will try to ensure that they repeat their 2015 World Cup success against Sri Lanka. In that edition, the two teams met in the tournament opener which saw the hosts New Zealand subdue the Lankan challenge quite easily.

Given that this World Cup is being played in English conditions, the pacers of both the teams will play a huge role in deciding the winner. If we compare the fast bowlers of the two teams, it is difficult to pick the superior attack; Sri Lanka have the likes of Lasith Malinga, Suranga Lakmal and Nuwan Pradeep in their ranks, while New Zealand have the trio of Trent Boult, Tim Southee and Lockie Ferguson.

So it might come down to how the batsmen of the two teams perform. And if we have a look at the recent performances of the two teams' batting units, then we will easily conclude that New Zealand are way ahead of Sri Lanka.

The likes of Williamson, Martin Guptill and Ross Taylor can destroy any opposition bowling attack. The same can't be said about Sri Lanka's batsmen.

In the third match of the tournament, we can back the Kiwis to dominate the Lankans irrespective of what happens at the toss. The Black Caps have the ability to put on a 300+ score if they bat first, while they also have the ability to chase down any target that Sri Lanka set.

Thus, we can expect Kane Williamson's army to overcome the Sri Lankan team at Sophia Gardens.