World Cup hopes on the line for Sri Lanka against IPL-weakened New Zealand

Despite the eventual 2-0 scoreline in favour of the hosts, it’s safe to say Sri Lanka might have surprised a fair few folks that tuned into the Tests in Christchurch and Wellington – okay, maybe not so much the latter, but certainly over the course of that epic first Test.

In that game, the visitors, in pursuit of an unlikely World Test Championship berth, ran the defending WTC champions as close as pretty much anyone could have imagined. And in the process garnered some well-deserved respect from the wider cricketing world.

That, though, was the Sri Lankan red-ball side, one propelled not through individual exceptionalism but an almost New Zealand-esque sense of collectivism. And while their white-ball outings have also seen a marked improvement in recent times, culminating in a memorable Asia Cup T20 victory last year, their ODI unit has largely underwhelmed.

Since the start of the ODI World Cup Super League, Sri Lanka have lost away to West Indies, Bangladesh and England, while their home record has been marginally better, losing to India, beating South Africa and, most recently, drawing against Afghanistan.

The ODI side’s nadir was arguably reached earlier this year during a 3-0 drubbing in India – a particularly tough pill to swallow in a World Cup year in the same country, especially as the T20I series that preceded had seen them take the hosts to series decider. While any silver linings in Sri Lanka’s recent one-day history might seem like wizard-level straw-clutching, the record will nevertheless also show a 3-2 series win at home to Australia last year – so, yeah, there is that.

Which brings us to the present, where for Sri Lanka to have any hopes of automatic qualification for the World Cup later this year they need to complete a whitewash of New Zealand in the week or so ahead – and even then, they’re heavily dependent on South Africa fluffing their lines in a series against Netherlands.

What they might have going for them is that the hosts won’t exactly be at full strength. With World Cup qualification secured, and conditions in India unlikely to be anything like what the likes of Auckland, Christchurch and Hamilton have to offer, New Zealand have given clearance for no less than nine ODI regulars to play in the IPL.

Sri Lanka meanwhile have a relatively settled unit and, save for the absence of Dushmantha Chameera, will likely be able to put out their strongest XI. On paper at least they look the stronger side.

Sri Lanka (probable) XI: Pathum Nissanka, Nuwanidu Fernando, Kusal Mendis (wk), Charith Asalanka, Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya De Silva, Dasun Shanaka (capt.), Wanindu Hasaranga, Lahiru Kumara, Kasun Rajitha, Maheesh Theekshana/Matheesha Pathirana

New Zealand (probable) XI: Finn Allen, Chad Bowes, Will Young, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (wk), Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Blair Tickner/Ben Lister, Henry Shipley/Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Ish Sodhi

(Cricinfo)