Brendon McCullum (L) and Ross Taylor will be the key for New Zealand against Sri Lanka © Getty Images
By CricketCountry Staff
Pallekele: Sep 26, 2012
New Zealand skipper Ross Taylor won the toss and chose to bat against Sri Lanka in the first Super Eight clash of the ICC World Twenty20 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.
Teams:
Sri Lanka: Tillakaratne Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene(c), Kumar Sangakkara(wk), Lahiru Thirimanne, Angelo Mathews, Jeevan Mendis, Thisara Perera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Ajantha Mendis, Akila Dananjaya Perera
New Zealand: Martin Guptill, James Franklin, Brendon McCullum(wk), Ross Taylor(c), Kane Williamson, Rob Nicol, Daniel Vettori, Jacob Oram, Nathan McCullum, Tim Southee, Kyle Mills
Catch live score and ball-by-ball commentary of the ICC T20 World Cup 2012 Super Eight match between Sri Lanka and New Zealand, here
Video – Preview: Sri Lanka vs New Zealand
Points Table
ICC Twenty20 World Cup 2012: Match time table with group details