After what seems like a decade of preliminary matches, cricket’s World Cup has finally reached the final four. The first semi-final sees hosts Sri Lanka take on the surprise semi-finalists, New Zealand.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka reached the semi-finals courtesy of a crushing ten wicket victory over an England side who just got out of group B and ran out of energy – and fit players – at just the wrong moment. New Zealand will not be such an easy prospect for them and make no mistake about it, the pressure upon them to win the tournament before Muttiah Muralidaran retires at the end of it is every bit as great as the pressure upon India to win for the sake of Sachin Tendulkar. Their spin bowling quartet, with Murali to the fore, saw them to victory against England and they were well supported by an inspired Lasith Malinga. Against the New Zealanders they will need the same five to fire on all cylinders again if they are to defeat the tournament’s most dogged side.
New Zealand
No-one was supposed to beat South Africa in this tournament. That England did so in the group stages was regarded as something of an aberration. The Black Caps proved that, whilst they may not have the depth of talent of other nations, they can make up for it with a combination of team spirit and a ruthlessness in exploiting any opening given to them. They came back from a poor start in the quarterfinal to set a competitive total, largely on the back of a determined innings from Jesse Ryder (who seems a player reborn in this tournament). In the field they threw themselves around like demons, Martin Guptill leading the way, and their bowlers exerted such pressure upon the South Africans that they couldn’t get the ball away. The Sri Lankans will be very similar, having five very good batsmen but a very long tail. They could be tailor made for a side who have reached the semi-finals in nine of the past eleven tournaments without ever reaching the final.
Prediction
Despite the similarities between Sri Lanka and South Africa, this should be a game too far for the Black Caps. In particular, expect their spinners to apply too much pressure to the New Zealand batsmen and prevent them scoring at the sort of run rate that could lead to victory.
Odds
William Hill make Sri Lanka 4/11 favourites, and you will struggle to find anyone who disagrees. Pinnacle Sports, in fact, offer a whacking 3.600 on New Zealand and only 1.339 Sri Lanka. Sneakerhead in the forum also thinks these odds on NZ are a little long but expects Sri Lanka to take the game.
