Sri Lanka look to book quarter-final berth against Zimbabwe - ICC World Cup 2011
Sri Lanka will take on Zimbabwe in a Group A match of the ICC World Cup 2011 on Thursday, 10th March(today). The match will be played at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, and the hosts will be looking to perform well and clinch top spot in the group.
The wicket at Pallekele is good for batting, but it also offers bounce to the bowlers. The new ball bowlers can take some early wickets, as the ball will swing for them. However, bowling second will not be an easy task for any team, as the dew factor could come into play.
Sri Lanka are currently placed third in Group A, behind leaders New Zealand and Pakistan. However, there are still some pool matches to be played in both groups, which means that the points table could change entirely by the time the final round of matches takes place on 20th March.
Compared to Sri Lanka, the minnows Zimbabwe have got nothing to lose. The African team has only won a single match in the tournament so far, and they are in fifth place in Group A. However, Zimbabwe have an outside chance of making it to the quarter-final stages of the mega event.
The hosts are expected to win tomorrow’s match, as they have a lot of experience and variety in their line-up. The Sri Lankan opening pair is particularly impressive. Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga complement each other very nicely, as Dilshan is an aggressive player whereas; Tharanga rotates the strike over to his partner more often.
Even if one of the Sri Lankan openers fails to score runs, the middle-order of the team is one of the best compared to other sides in the World Cup. Experienced players such as Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara and Thilan Samaraweera are the backbone of the team, and they will give the Zimbabwean bowlers a tough time.
Apart from a useful bunch of middle-order players, the team has also got some handy batsmen in the lower middle-order. Promising players like Chamara Silva and Angelo Matthews provide flexibility to the team, as they adapt themselves to the situation.
The main weapon for the Sri Lankan team is their lethal bowling combination. The team has wicket-taking bowlers, who can shift the momentum of a match at any stage. The fast bowling department is led by the slingy Lasith Malinga whereas; Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis give the hosts a real edge with their tricky spin bowling.
On the other hand, Zimbabwe have vowed to offer a stiff challenge to Sri Lanka in today’s match. However, they will have to work extremely hard to win. In order to do well, Zimbabwe will need some solid performances from their experienced batsmen like Brendan Taylor, Charles Coventry, Tatenda Taibu and the captain Elton Chigumbura.
The visitors have some useful spinners, who can prevent the opponents from getting away with massive totals and take wickets for them. Ray Price, Prosper Utseya and Graeme Cremer will be looking forward to making the most of the conditions at Pallekele.
Even if Zimbabwe lose the match tomorrow, a good fight will boost their confidence ahead of their match against Pakistan, which will be played on 14th March.
Tagged in: Australia, Muttiah Muralitharan, Lasith Malinga, Tatenda Taibu, Ajantha Mendis, Kumar Sangakkara, Elton Chigumbura, Mahela Jayawardene, Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Tillekaratne Dilshan,Zimbabwe, Brendan Taylor, Upul Tharanga, icc world cup 2011, Thilan Samaraweera, Angelo Matthews,Chamara Silva, Charles Coventry, Prosper Utseya, Ray Price, Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Graeme Cremer
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