On Wednesday and Thursday, New Zealand’s players and support staff could be looking at their weather apps on numerous occasions to gauge whether it would rain in Bengaluru. Somewhere else, Pakistan’s players would also be keeping an eye on the all-important New Zealand-Sri Lanka game. The simple reason is that the outcome of the game would affect the semi-final chances of both New Zealand and Pakistan.
A win for New Zealand and they would take a step closer to qualifying for the last four, as their Net Run-Rate is quite a bit better than Pakistan’s. However, if New Zealand hurtle to defeat or the game is abandoned, then Pakistan would be favourites to seal the spot. All they then need to do is beat a struggling England side in their last game of the league phase. Just like New Zealand and Pakistan, Afghanistan also have four wins from eight matches, but their NRR of -0.338 leaves them in a precarious position.
Leaving aside all the permutations and combinations, what is the weather like in Bengaluru? In November, Bengaluru gets rain mainly due to the Northeast Monsoon. Over the last few days, there have been two or three rain showers in the evening and then through the night. But the weather in Bengaluru can be unpredictable. Incidentally, a couple of weather apps for tomorrow’s game show slightly different weather patterns for 2 to 6 PM.
Perhaps the unpredictable weather is because Bengaluru is on a slightly elevated plane, nestled between hills and ridges. Or maybe global warming is playing its part. Whatever the reason, the city-dwellers are used to the unpredictability factor. Let’s also do a bit of analysis on the two teams who are playing tomorrow. New Zealand lost to Pakistan in their previous game, despite compiling 400. Yes, the rain played its part with the DLS Method coming into play. But the major share of the credit has to go to Fakhar Zaman’s whirlwind innings.
New Zealand’s think-tank could look at selecting Kyle Jamieson or Lockie Ferguson. Although Jamieson doesn’t have the best of records in ODIs, New Zealand seemed to lack an extra seamer against Pakistan. Glenn Phillips and Rachin Ravindra are better known for their batting ability than spin bowling. Meanwhile, Ish Sodhi was quite innocuous in that game. In very good conditions for batting at the Chinnaswamy, New Zealand need to bolster their bowling side of things.
With Kane Williamson back in the side and Rachin Ravindra compiling hundreds, New Zealand don’t have much to worry about in the batting department. Phillips, Mark Chapman and Daryl Mitchell further add strength and depth. Sri Lanka, meanwhile, are already out of contention for a spot in the last four. They didn’t just lose their last game to Bangladesh, but also had to deal with a controversy or two as Angelo Mathews was timed out. Behind the scenes, Roshan Ranasinghe, the country’s sports minister, has suspended the cricket board.
This is Sri Lanka’s chance to end their campaign on a high with a victory. Kusal Mendis and company also have something else to think about – qualification for the 2025 Champions Trophy. Amid all their woes, the one bright spot for Sri Lanka has been the form of their left-arm pace bowler, Dilshan Madushanka. He is currently the leading wicket-taker in the tournament with 21 scalps.
Time and Venue Details
November 9, 2PM IST, Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru.
Expected conditions
The pitch for the Pakistan-New Zealand match turned out to be a quintessential Chinnaswamy deck, with both teams scoring at 8 an over. Expect more of the same for this crucial encounter. A couple of rain showers are expected through the evening and night.
Possible XIs
New Zealand could look at picking Jamieson or Lockie Ferguson ahead of Sodhi.
New Zealand: Devon Conway, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (c, wk), Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner, Kyle Jamieson/Lockie Ferguson, Tim Southee, Trent Boult.
Sri Lanka might retain the same playing XI that took the field against Bangladesh.
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis (c, wk), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Kasun Rajitha, Dilshan Madushanka.
Matchup
Trent Boult v Kusal Mendis: Mendis is a shot-maker, but he would be against a bowler who usually swings the new ball and has the left-armer’s angle.
Team Speak
“He (Lockie Ferguson) balances out our attack nicely and made some really valuable contributions in the tournament and brings a bit of experience as well.” – Kane Williamson, New Zealand captain.