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All-round New Zealand brush aside Sri Lanka
Facing a must-win game to keep their semifinal chances in their own hands, New Zealand came up with a clinical performance to thump Sri Lanka by five wickets in Bangalore on Thursday (November 9). The result virtually assures the Black Caps of a semifinal date with India unless Afghanistan or Pakistan win their respective games by an astoundingly high margin. The victory was set up by the bowlers – Trent Boult (2-37) and Mitchell Santner (2-22) leading the charge – and the batters then made a mockery of the target by finishing the chase with more than half the allotted overs left.
The target of 172 was never going to trouble New Zealand as long as they didn’t lose early wickets. Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra not only prevented early wickets but also went at breakneck speed in the first powerplay. The duo’s strokeplay showed how good the pitch was for batting and also put into perspective Sri Lanka’s torrid show earlier in the day. Conway started off as the aggressor but it didn’t take Ravindra long to take on the bowling as all the bowlers got the stick. The intent was clear from New Zealand that they wanted to boost the net run rate as much as they possibly could.
Conway and Ravindra perished but Daryl Mitchell ensured that the tempo was maintained with his signature high-intent brand of strokeplay. Sri Lanka did manage to get a few wickets towards the end as New Zealand went harder at the bowling but the result was a foregone conclusion. Glenn Phillips struck successive boundaries in the 24th over to finish the formalities and it was an emphatic win for New Zealand across all departments. Sri Lanka’s bowlers can’t be faulted as the damage was done in the first innings where their batters failed to utilize a good batting surface.
While the pitch wasn’t as flat as in some of the famous IPL games at this venue, it still gave value for proper strokeplay. New Zealand’s bowlers had the overhead conditions as an advantage and it was perhaps why Kane Williamson opted to bowl at the toss with inclement weather being the obvious main reason. Weathering the new ball storm was all that Sri Lanka needed to do as batting was bound to get easier through the innings. However, Boult along with his new-ball partner Tim Southee made early inroads to have Sri Lanka reeling at 32/3 in the fifth over.
Kusal Perera’s aggressive half-century did threaten a Lankan counter punch but he too fell after the landmark as Sri Lanka lost half their side inside the first ten overs. Santner’s frugal spell in the middle overs further denied any scope of a fightback from Kusal Mendis’s side. New Zealand’s bowling and fielding were all on point, putting a squeeze on Sri Lanka’s scoring. It took an 87-ball stand of 43 for the final wicket between Maheesh Theekshana and Dilshan Madushanka to lend some respectability to the total although it was still a very low score. New Zealand were expected to gun it down with ease and they did that with aplomb.
Brief scores:
Sri Lanka 171 in 46.4 overs (Kusal Perera 51, Maheesh Theekshana 38*; Trent Boult 3-37, Rachin Ravindra 2-21, Mitchell Santner 2-22, Lockie Ferguson 2-35) lost to New Zealand 172/5 in 23.2 overs (Devon Conway 45, Daryl Mitchell 43, Rachin Ravindra 42; Angelo Mathews 2-29) by 5 wickets
Hosts England will take on Sri Lanka at Edgbaston. The match is set to begin at 6.30pm local time (5.30pm GMT).
England hold an advantage in this contest, having won 10 out of the 12 T20Is between the sides. Sri Lanka though will draw confidence from recent history, having won the last two T20Is against England in 2023. This will be just the fourth time these two sides meet in the T20 World Cup.
England arrive at the tournament having won four out of the six matches since the start of the year, while Sri Lanka come in with momentum on their side, riding on five consecutive T20I wins that include series wins against West Indies and Bangladesh.
England (probable): Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Amy Jones, Nat Sciver-Brunt (capt), Alice Capsey, Heather Knight, Freya Kemp, Dani Gibson, Charlie Dean, Sophie Ecclestone, Linsey Smith, Lauren Bell
Sri Lanka (probable): Vishmi Gunaratne, Chamari Athapaththu (capt), Hasini Perera, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Hansima Karunaratne, Kavisha Dilhari, Nilakshika de Silva, Kaushini Nuthyangana (wk), Malki Madara, Sugandika Kumari, Kawya Kavindi/Chetana Vimukthi
Lauren Bell has been in spectacular form all year, starting with the WPL where she finished with 12 wickets in nine games and was often a handful with the new ball. After picking three wickets in two games against New Zealand, she bagged seven wickets in three matches in the T20I series win against India. She’s bowled at an economy of 7.4 this year, and the home conditions are likely to suit her perfectly.
All eyes will once again be on Chamari Athapaththu for Sri Lanka. In what will be her 10th T20 World Cup the 36-year old will be expected to do the heavy lifting for her side. She heads into the tournament in excellent touch, highlighted by a blistering 94 off 58 balls in the warm up against Pakistan. Her contributions with the ball could prove just as important – she picked up four wickets in three matches in the series against Bangladesh in May.
Weather and conditions
The forecast points to clear skies in Birmingham on Friday evening. There was however some rain in the area on the eve of the match.
[Cricinfo]
President Donald Trump says that the US will strike Iran “very hard tonight” in a new post on Truth Social.
Here’s what the president says:
“The United States will be hitting Iran (Whose Navy, Air Force, Radar, Anti Aircraft, and all other forms of Defense, together with most of its offensive capability, are GONE!), VERY HARD TONIGHT
“At some point in the not too distant future, we will be taking Kharg Island, and other oil infrastructure points, and assume total control of their Oil and Gas Markets, much like we have with Venezuela, which is working out brilliantly for both Venezuela and the United States of America.”
Since the beginning of the conflict, Trump has repeatedly threatened to seize Kharg Island, a small island off the coast of Iran that is home to a major oil terminal.
[BBC]
Firefighters are investigating a hazardous materials incident at the Pentagon, the sprawling facility that houses the US Department of Defense, according to authorities.
In a statement on Thursday, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the “department is executing standard protection protocols, including a shelter-in-place order for the affected area”.
“The Pentagon has sophisticated systems to ensure the safety of the building and its occupants,” Parnell said.
“Those systems have detected an air quality issue necessitating precautionary measures until we determine its significance.”
In a post on X Arlington County fire and rescue said its “units, including our Hazardous Materials Team, are currently operating at the Pentagon in support of PFPA’s Hazmat Team during a hazardous materials incident”.
Further details were not immediately available.
The 600,000 square meter Pentagon is the world’s largest low-rise office building. Nearly 30,000 military and civilian personnel work at the facility each day.
[Aljazeera]
Edgbaston takes center stage as England, Sri Lanka kick off T20 World Cup
Trump says US will hit Iran ‘very hard tonight’
Firefighters on scene at Pentagon during ‘hazardous materials incident’
Samarawickrama’s rise gives Sri Lanka a second pillar
Prabhsimran, Gaikwad, Tilak score fifties in DLS loss to Afghanistan A
India-born Nikhil Chaudhary called into Australia T20I squad
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
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