Sri Lanka aim to build momentum

Zimbabwe need more from their top order to stand a chance against Sri Lanka © Getty Images Enlarge

The Big Picture

Like all four major Test nations in Group A, Sri Lanka are on course to progress to the quarter-finals without any serious problems, and the chances of Zimbabwe providing an upset to create a modicum of the excitement witnessed in the other group is slim to none. However, for Sri Lanka it's an ideal time to produce a commanding all-round performance and build momentum ahead of the quarter-finals.

There is a feeling that Sri Lanka haven't quite clicked yet. They have eased past Canada and Kenya - the latter thanks to Lasith Malinga's hat-trick - but came unstuck against Pakistan with an 11-run defeat. The clash against Australia was shaping up to be a cracker when the rain came and interrupted a well-paced innings by Kumar Sangakkara and denied the spinners their chance to shine.

Zimbabwe shouldn't provide many problems having suffered a 10-wicket hammering at the hands of New Zealand in their last game. Their batting has lacked consistency and will face a tough examination from whichever combination of spinners Sri Lanka opt to field, while there's Malinga's toe-crushes to overcome as well. Ray Price and Prosper Utseya are good spinners themselves but desperately need the batsmen to back them up.

Form guide

(completed matches, most recent first)
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Watch out for...

Ajantha Mendis may have been worked out by some of the top international teams, but against lower-ranked opponents his unique variety of wrist and finger spin still proves a handful. He surprisingly went wicketless against Kenya, did not play against Pakistan and took just one wicket against Canada. He'll hope for a chance to make his mark on the World Cup and build confidence ahead of the knockout stages, but faces competition for his place from left-arm spinner Rangana Herath.

Elton Chigumbura needs to lead from the front. The captain has struggled so far with three low scores and it means Zimbabwe's middle order is lacking someone to either rebuild after early problems or increase the scoring rate later on. Chigumbura has the talent to be a major run-scorer which is why his lean World Cup is such a frustration, and perhaps the stresses of captaincy are weighing on his shoulders. Conditions haven't proved conducive to his medium-pace, either, which makes it even more important that he delivers with the bat.

Team news

If Sri Lanka want three spinners in their XI again it means the new ball is either in the hands of one of them or Angelo Mathews. With Malinga also more of a threat with the older ball it can leave Sri Lanka a little light early on so it may be an opportunity to assess the balance of their team. Mahela Jayawardene hinted that Dilhara Fernando could earn his first outing although Nuwan Kulasekara provides more batting.

Sri Lanka (possible) 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2 Upul Tharanga, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk) 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Thilan Samaraweera, 6 Chamara Silva, 7 Angelo Mathews, 8 Nuwan Kulasekara, 9 Lasith Malinga, 10 Ajantha Mendis, 11 Muttiah Muralitharan

There aren't really many options for Zimbabwe to strengthen their team so it's a case of asking for better from what they already have. The pitch in Pallekele offered some assistance to the seamers during Tuesday's match between New Zealand and Pakistan, and Chigumbura said they may play one or two seamers although Chris Mpofu is carrying a side strain so is doubtful.

Zimbabwe (probable) 1 Brendan Taylor, 2 Charles Coventry, 3 Tatenda Taibu (wk), 4 Craig Ervine, 5 Elton Chigumbura (capt), 6 Regis Chakabva, 7 Greg Lamb, 8 Prosper Utseya, 9 Graeme Cremer, 10 Ray Price, 11 Tinashe Panyangara

Pitch and conditions

Pallekelle will be staging its second ODI following the match between Pakistan and New Zealand. Ross Taylor didn't have many problems with the conditions - and comfortably cleared the ropes - but batting proved trickier under lights when the ball zipped around.

Stats and trivia

• Thirteen of the 16 wickets Zimbabwe have taken at the World Cup have gone to their spinners

• Compared to their record against some other major nations, Zimbabwe have had their moments against Sri Lanka with seven victories in 46 ODIs, with the most recent an eight-wicket win at Harare last June.

Quotes

"If we keep our wickets in hand, I'm sure we can handle them a bit better. But if we lose wickets first up then it is going to be hard for us to come back in the game."
Elton Chigumbura says it is Zimbabwe's top order that needs most improvement

"It's such a big and long tournament it's important that we be consistent and try and get better and better going forward because you get big games and tough games coming in a few weeks."
Mahela Jaywardene is keen to build some momentum ahead of the knockouts