By Brain Thomas
Cricket lovers, who have focused on a political superiority over the weekend, will now turn their attention to the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium.
Question number one to get past is the uncontrollable wrath of mother nature. In the city of Colombo, it is now predictable that rain is assured around 6 pm.
Pallekele tomorrow, and the cloud cover that has hovered around the central hill skies over the weekend is not a good reading for a cricket lover.
New Zealand needs to stich partnerships to win games, especially with most of their senior players being rested for this series.
The question on debate is, do they have a batter who can single handedly win a game in this squad? The answer so far is no. The think tank in the land of the white clouds seems to have followed the white ball Masters West indies example by throwing in babies to the deep end.
Playing against a top spin attack against a subcontinent team is not easy. India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan use this advantage on the slow pitches. Kane Williamson was a master in playing spin. Sadly, the Kiwis do not have that luxury in the current squad.
Critics can state give the youngsters an opportunity, yes, but let them play alongside seniors who can guide them through.
Trying out your bench strength in full will only help in crushing to a white wash and getting a demotion in the ICC team rankings.
The Kiwi bowling was very impressive in the T 20 format. Their batting attributed to the above observations made in terms of experience and skill levels. However, the Black Caps bowling took a nose dive in the first ODI since they conceded 324 runs and scalped only 5 wickets. Whilst chasing relatively an easy target in modern-day cricket, they made a hash of it due to lack of experience.
Sri Lanka looks a bit out of sought minus all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga. He does concede plenty trying to buy wickets, but the end equation is he gets his share of the opposition scalps.
Dilshan Madushanka seems to be the bowler New Zealand can feast on. Speaking to a few experts, they all stated that the left arm seamer has lost his rhythm due to a few technical issues.
The batting has not been tested so far in this format, however, do not underestimate Mich Santner , Ish Sodhi , Glenn Philips, and Michael Bracewell or even debutant Nathen Smith. They can fly like a butterfly and sting you like a bee.
Let’s keep our fingers crossed and hope the rain stays away , We need the full quota. DLS to me, steals the colour of the game.