New Zealand star Trent Boult made ICC Cricket World Cup history for his country against Sri Lanka, as he became the first Blackcaps player to take 50 wickets across the many editions of the tournament. Boult's early spell helped New Zealand pin their opponents down at 74/5 with the pacer claiming three of those five wickets. Tim Southee, who commenced the proceedings with the first wicket of the innings, is the second-most successful New Zealand bowler in the World Cups with 38. (Match Blog | Streaming | Scorecard | Full Coverage)
Advantage still resides with New Zealand in the race for the fourth spot. Despite losing their last four matches - the most recent due to an unfortunate washout - the Blackcaps are currently fourth with a significantly better net run rate than closest competitors Pakistan and Afghanistan. However, they need to beat Sri Lanka to get to ten points, so as not to leave any gaps behind that their rivals could take advantage of.
Sri Lanka unceremoniously exited the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 semi-final race with a defeat against an already-eliminated Bangladesh under controversial circumstances in their last game. Uncertainty awaits the Lions back home, where the entire cricket board was initially purged by sports minister Roshan Ranasinghe before being reinstated by a court.
Rain, however, could yet play another crucial part in the game. Having already dealt a significant blow to New Zealand, the Bengaluru weather threatens to wash over their World Cup dreams with another rainy day on the cards.
Playing XIs
New Zealand
Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson (C), Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner, Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson
Sri Lanka
Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis (C) Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva, Chamika Karunaratne, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Dilshan Madushanka
