On Saturday, 11th January, New Zealand will take on Sri Lanka in the final ODI in Auckland to culminate the white-ball tour of the latter.
Match Preview:
The year 2024 could not have gone any better for Sri Lanka in the ODI format. Other than the historic 2-0 drubbing of India at home, the island nation also overpowered Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, the West Indies, and New Zealand in a highly successful calendar year as far as the 50-year format was concerned. But the new year has been a different story so far.
Irrespective of the format, a tour of New Zealand is extremely challenging for any Asian side – perhaps apart from India – and Sri Lanka have found out why. Having already conceded the T20i series 2-1, a combination of indifferent batting performances, a stiff breeze, and peculiar boundary dimensions have resulted in the home side thumping Sri Lanka in the first and second ODIs at Wellington and Hamilton respectively. As the show moves to Auckland, can they put on one last big performance to end a disappointing tour on the high after a memorable 2024?
New Zealand have ticked all the boxes so far in the series and Mitchell Santner and his men will be eager to say goodbye to the visitors with a 3-0 clean sweep over them. In the 2nd ODI, Rachin Ravindra 79 was so impressive that even a lower-order batting collapse orchestrated by Maheesh Theekshana’s hat-trick could not prevent the Kiwis from sealing the ongoing series. Despite resting some of the key players, New Zealand have never really been threatened by the visitors, and the series’ scoreline so far is an exemplification of it.
So, Auckland is perhaps the ideal stage for Santner and co to secure an ODI series whitewash, and with the Champions Trophy just a month away, this is exactly what the New Zealand fans are hoping for at the beginning of 2025.
Probable Playing XIs
New Zealand: 1 Will Young, 2 Rachin Ravindra, 3 Mark Chapman, 4 Daryl Mitchell, 5 Tom Latham (wk), 6 Glenn Phillips, 7 Mitchell Santner (c), 8 Nathan Smith, 9 Matt Henry, 10 Jacob Duffy, 11 Will O’Rourke
New Zealand: 1 Pathum Nissanka, 2 Avishka Fernando, 3 Kusal Mendis (wk), 4 Kamindu Mendis, 5 Charith Asalanka (c), 6 Janith Liyanage, 7 Chamidu Wickramasinghe, 8 Wanindu Hasaranga, 9 Maheesh Theekshana, 10 Eshan Malinga, 11 Asitha Fernando
Pitch and Weather Report:
No rain is predicted in Auckland on Saturday and while it will be sunny, the temperatures will most likely hover between 14 and 24 degrees Celsius through the day. Add to this fact that the straight boundaries are just around 45 meters at the iconic Eden Park Stadium, and we are all set for a fascinating end to the series.
Head-to-Head Record:
When it comes to the ODI format, both sides have faced off 107 times with New Zealand clinching 54 games while Sri Lanka securing wins on 43 occasions.
Prediction:
While the result of the series has already been decided, it is highly unlikely that New Zealand will drift away from the formula and team combination that has worked so well for them. There are high chances that Santner XI will finish off the series with a 3-0 whitewash.
Where to Watch:
New Zealand: TVNZ1, Sports Nation, and The ACC
Pakistan: Tapmad
Sri Lanka: Dialog TV
India: Sony Sports, Sony LIV
Australia: Kayo Sports
UK: TNT Sports
