Do or die game for Sri Lanka today

• Flat pitches in India to slow turner in Sri Lanka – the challenge for NZ

It’s a win or bust for co-hosts Sri Lanka when they take on New Zealand in their second match of the Men’s T20 World Cup Super-Eights at the R Premadasa International Cricket Stadium today commencing 7 pm.

The loss to England in their opening Super Eight fixture has put extra pressure on Sri Lanka to win this important contest to be in the running for a semi-final berth. A loss today would mean closing the door of making the final four.

It’s not so much the bowling because despite the absence of three key bowlers the replacements did a splendid job with the ball to restrict a strong England batting to 146-9. Sri Lanka's Achilles heel has been their batting which has still not shown the consistency that is required to make them an effective unit.

Sri Lanka will need a quick fix to their batting if they are to come out on top against New Zealand. A lot will depend on their three inform batters Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis and Pavan Rathnayake – all three of them fell cheaply inside the first power play against England which made life difficult for the rest of the batting.

Promising all-rounder Dunith Wellalage said, “We are determined to make a comeback from the England game in our next two matches. Our preparations are good. We get a lot of support from the coaches and the senior players. This World Cup is very important for our country. I think, as a team, every player wants to contribute 200% for the country. To contribute 200% for the team once they are out in the field. We hope to give a good match starting from tomorrow's match.”

Wellalage was rather optimistic when he said, “We always play according to the wicket; that’s how we plan our batting as well. If we look at the last match, the wicket was slow, so the decisions we made as batsmen, including myself, didn’t work out well. But, if we look at all the five matches in this World Cup, we have done well as a team batting wise. One match could have been like that. But still, we have two more matches. So as a batting team, as a team, we hope to perform well.”

The possibility of Charith Asalanka making a comeback to the team has been discussed, but the big question is where does he bat. No. 3 could be an option which means Kusal Mendis will have to go back to his former position as opening partner to Pathum Nissanka. Asalanka has batted at no. 3 in T20Is before. It is in this position that he has made his highest score in T20Is – 80* against Bangladesh at Sharjah in 2021 and has the best average (25.73) in the four positions he has batted from 3-6.

What has been noticeable with this Sri Lankan team is they wilt under pressure and lack the fight to make a comeback when they have their backs against the wall. So, it is far better that whenever they get the opportunity to bat first and put the scoreboard pressure on the opposition.  

For New Zealand who played all their group matches in India, the challenge is tackling the slow turning pitches in Sri Lanka.

“I guess that's the challenge when you have a tournament like this in two countries. Every team is in the same boat,” said New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner. “I think where we were in the group stage, Chennai and Ahmedabad were both very flat, so I think you have to skin it differently. Over here, I guess you have to adjust. You pick a squad of 15, knowing that you could potentially be in both countries on slightly slower wickets, and on some flat ones as well. I think we have the spin kind of options covered which is nice, but it's just going out there and adjusting as fast as you can. Which team can ever do that the best will put itself in a pretty good position.”

“We know Sri Lanka are outstanding at home and they'll know what to do on these wickets. For us it's preparing accordingly and then going out tomorrow and trying to execute your skills the best you can as a unit.”

Sizing up the opposition they are up against Santner said, “We know Sri Lanka are a great team obviously. They showed that in the first stage of the group. Everyone's just trying to get through to the Super 8s. That was the first thing to be ticked off. England are a great side and we saw that on a slightly slower wicket. If you lose power play wickets at the start, it can be a challenge, but we know they've got quality all the way throughout, obviously missing a couple of players through injury, but in saying that, they're still very good. We are lucky that we've played them a lot and I guess they've played us a lot. So, there's no real secrets or it's just whoever can go out there tomorrow, adapt the best to the conditions and put on a show.”