 After putting it across Sri Lanka rather unexpectedly in the first T20I,
New Zealand will look to go into the second game as the favourites to win
the series on the same venue; the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Sri Lanka, on
the other hand, will look to correct their mistakes of the previous game which
had seen them capitulate from a position of near impregnability to losing quick
wickets and the game.
Click for Live Score Card of Sri Lanka vs New Zealand
The rather weak middle-order of Sri Lanka will worry them. After the top four
batsmen, there is virtually nobody whom the hosts could lay their trust, and
this invariably puts a lot of pressure on the top-order. Sanath Jayasuriya
place would have been in a definite jeopardy, and he seems to be past his prime
for some time now. The one experiment, however, that the Lankans could do is
to get Jayasuriya down the order and get in a new opener, Mahela Udawatte, given
that Tillakaratne Dilshan is already up there providing the Lankans the
aggressive start they need.
The bowling was a definite stand-out, and the skipper may not want to twiddle
around too much with it. However, he would hope for a fit Muttiah Muralitharan,
who in turn could be added as the third opener given the visitors' clear aversion
to the slow bowlers.
For the Kiwis, Brendon McCullum lack of form had found a way to get
to him during the T20I as well as he was run-out at the non-striker's end off
a deflection. But he would believe that it is only a matter of time before he
turned the corner. Jesse Ryder did not explode as he had been expected
to, but Ross Taylor's handling of spinners - both, in the T20 and the tests
before that - would be encouraging. Martin Guptill did a good job with
Taylor at the top, but he will have to watch his fitness in the humid conditions
of Colombo and ensure that he does not cramp up so easily again.
Daniel Vettori bowled like a champ. Without possessing as much variety as Mendis
does, or the amount as Murali, he still manages to fox the batsmen enough to
disallow them to get away to anything substantial. What Vettori also needs to
for the quick bowlers to continue with their performance of the first game,
what with the Jacob Oram picking a hat-trick, while Shane Bond making
a reasonable return to international cricket after being carted by Dilshan for
four fours.
The standout quick bowler for me was Ian Butler, and if he could maintain
his fitness through the rest of the series, he could be the one to watch out
for!
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