Defending champion England and New Zealand will fight it out for a crucial win in the ICC Twenty20 World Cup on Saturday. It’s a do-or-die Super Eights match for both teams.
The team which wins next two matches will have a good chance of making it to the semifinals.
New Zealand came very close in the first match against Sri Lanka on Thursday, and lost. England too lost in the second match of the day to the West Indies.
Resurrection
England and New Zealand would aim for resurrection when they face off in what is likely to be an even contest here.
“There is a lot of confidence [that we can beat England]. We have to be confident in every game we play,” said New Zealand’s consistent batsman Martin Guptill.
“Both teams need to win the next two games to make it to the semifinals. It’s going to a tough game for both sides,” he said.
If there is one ground in Sri Lanka that New Zealand is quite familiar with, it is the Pallekele international stadium.
New Zealand was here for the ICC ODI World Cup, and it beat Pakistan comfortably, and has played all its World T20 tournament matches so far here.
“It’s a nice wicket. Just try to go there and be positive and do what we got to do,” he said.
Is there a lot more pressure on players because New Zealand is going into a must-win game?
“Yes, it’s quite a lot more. It’s the same for both sides, I hope so. Come tomorrow, whoever has the skills and does better on that day will get the results,” Guptill said.
Main concern
England’s main concern is the number of wickets it has been losing in the early overs. “Losing wickets in the first over especially is not acceptable,” said England captain Stuart Broad.
“I think it is too early to even think of selection for Saturday. But whoever takes responsibility to go out there and face the new ball will have to take the responsibility to get through the first over. Because we have lost wickets in the first couple of overs,” he said.
The teams (from):
England: Stuart Broad (captain), Jonathan Bairstow, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Danny Briggs, Jos Buttler, Jade Dernbach, Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Craig Kieswetter, Michael Lumb, Eoin Morgan, Samit Patel, Graeme Swann and Luke Wright.
New Zealand: Ross Taylor (captain), Doug Bracewell, James Franklin, Martin Guptill, Ronnie Hira, Brendon McCullum, Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, Adam Milne, Rob Nicol, Jacob Oram, Tim Southee, Daniel Vettori, B.J. Watling and Kane Williamson.
Umpires: Simon Taufel and Asad Rauf. Third Umpire: Steve Davis.
