New Zealand - Sri Lanka Predictions & Betting tips - ICC Men's Cricket World Cup

Prediction published on 07/11/2023, 17:57  by Devesh Jaganath | Modified on 07/11/2023 at 19:19

We enter the final eight matches in the 2023 Cricket World Cup, with New Zealand taking on Sri Lanka in match 41 of 48 on Thursday morning. The Black Caps are in the fourth and final qualification spot, while the Sri Lankans are down in eighth place. After an incredible start to the tournament, New Zealand must be wondering how it has come to this. They are barely holding on to a top-four spot and have lost four on the trot. Their most recent defeat came against Pakistan, who claimed the victory by 21 runs on the DLS method. Unfortunately, there is rain predicted in this match as well. That result has also seen their net run rate drop to 0.398, which could be a crucial factor after this match. While their batting lineup has faired quite well, New Zealand's bowling has failed to impress in this competition. They will need to step up here in conditions that could favour the pace bowlers. New Zealand will be boosted by the return of the captain, Kane Williamson, who made an immediate impact, scoring 95 in his first game back. 

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka cannot reach the semi-finals but will want to finish the campaign on a positive note. The Lions come into this match off the back of a loss to Bangladesh, where we saw probably the most controversial moment in this year’s competition when Angelo Matthews was timed out and dismissed as a result without facing a ball. However, while they may have felt hard done by for that dismissal, Bangladesh were the better side on the day and claimed a solid victory quite comfortably in the end. The Sri Lankan standout performers in this competition have been Sadeera Samarawickrama, with 372 runs in eight innings, while Dilshan Madushanka has bagged 21 wickets at an average of just 22.23. Can The Lions crush the hopes of The Black Caps in the closing stages of the competition?