2019 ICC World Cup in England & Wales May 30 to July 14,2019 - Match 03 New Zealand Vs Sri Lanka @ Cardiff Saturday June 01,2019

New Zealand's ODI team has remained quite same in the core as it was in 2015. Kane Williamson has replaced Brendon McCullum as captain from the team that finished as runners-up in the last edition of the World Cup.

Since the last World Cup, New Zealand have risen as high as second in the world rankings but have also been beaten at home by South Africa, England and India.

Four years later, New Zealand, ranked fourth in the ICC ODI rankings,start their World Cup 2019 campaign against a struggling Sri Lanka @ Sophia Gardens,Cardiff on Saturday June 01,2019


The Kiwis start clear favourites in their opener against 1996 winners Sri Lanka, a side that has slumped to ninth in the ODI rankings.




Squads

New Zealand: Kane Williamson (capt), Tom Blundell (wk), Trent Boult, Colin de Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Tom Latham (wk), Colin Munro, Jimmy Neesham, Henry Nicholls, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee (vice-capt), Ross Taylor.

Sri Lanka: Dimuth Karunaratne (capt), Angelo Mathews, Thisara Perera, Kusal Perera (wk), Dhananjaya de Silva, Kusal Mendis (wk), Isuru Udana, Milinda Siriwardana, Avishka Fernando, Jeevan Mendis, Lahiru Thirimanne, Jeffrey Vandersay, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Pradeep, Suranga Lakmal.

Head to Head in CWC

Matches: 98
New Zealand won: 48
Sri Lanka won: 41
Tied: 1
No result: 8

New Zealand beat Sri Lanka by 10 Wickets
Scorecard

Sri Lanka       136/10 in 29.2 Overs
New Zealand 137/0 in16.1 Overs

Martin Guptill  73(51 Balls 4x8 and 6x2)
Colin Munro     58(47 Balls 4x6 and 6x1)

Match Result NZ won by 10 wickets
MOM - Matt Henry(New Zealand)for his 3/29(7 Overs)

New Zealand got their ICC World Cup 2019 campaign to the perfect start by registering a clinical 10-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in Cardiff on Saturday (June 1).

Set a meagre 137 to win, New Zealand hardly broke a sweat in pursuit of the target, losing no wickets and finishing off the game in 16.1 overs as both Colin Munro (58*) and Martin Guptill (73*) made half-centuries.

Sri Lanka needed early wickets to stand any chance of making the game competitive, yet it was New Zealand who set the tone in the second innings with Guptill slamming Lasith Malinga for two boundaries in the first over.

Munro took a little longer to get going but found his rhythm in the sixth over, hitting Suranga Lakmal for a boundary and a six to get his innings underway in earnest.

The two brought up their 50-run stand in the 7th over and crossed the 100-run mark in the 13th over before finishing the match 3.1 overs later, finishing a forgettable day for Sri Lanka.

Earlier after being put in to bat by New Zealand, they could only score 136 before being bundled out in 29.2 overs as New Zealand’s pace unit ran through their batting line-up.

Matt Henry (3-29) and Lockie Ferguson (3-22) were the pick of the bowlers for the Kiwis, with the remaining four bowlers chipping in with a wicket each.

The game started well enough for Sri Lanka as Lahiru Thirimanne hit Henry for a boundary on the first ball of the innings. Henry had the last laugh though, as he trapped Thirimanne plumb on the very next delivery.

Kusal Perera put together a 42-run stand with Dimuth Karunaratne but once the former departed, the floodgates opened and Sri Lanka never recovered.

Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, Angelo Mathews and Jeevan Mendis all departed in quick succession, leaving them in a spot of bother at 60-6.

Thisara Perera scored a valuable 23 lower down the order and strung together a 50-run stand with Karunaratne to take Sri Lanka past the 100-run mark.

Once Perera departed it was only a matter of time before the innings came to a close. Karunaratne posted a valiant half-century but the tailenders all departed without much fuss