Rain threat adds element of unknown: Williamson

A forecast for rain has added an unknown element to New Zealand’s final World Cup group stage match against Sri Lanka in Chennai today, captain Kane Williamson said.
New Zealand occupy the last semi-final slot available but only by virtue of having a better net run rate than Pakistan and Afghanistan, with all three teams tied on eight points after eight games.
“We’ll still have to very much see what the pitch is like. There’s been a lot of weather around and it could look different tomorrow,” said Williamson.
“There’s lots of things that we can’t control and the weather is one of those. There may be a thought in the back of your mind, but at the end of the day, our focus will be on the cricket that we want to play.”
New Zealand, finalists in 2019, won their first four matches in India before losing the next four.
“There were also some really close games and ones that we lost,” Williamson said. “I think if we look at the cricket on a whole, there has been a lot of good cricket.
“The beauty of this type of layout is that you do play everybody, you are challenged by everybody in different ways, so the focus is much more about your own cricket and how you look to try and handle that.”
New Zealand similarly struggled to make the semis in 2019 but were able to turn things around and reach the final.
“I suppose guys have had some of those experiences, but it’s another game on another day and four years later,” Williamson said. “So, the focus is here and now and on the conditions, and how we want to adjust.”
Williamson’s team lost a rain-hit match at the same Bengaluru venue last weekend against Pakistan despite posting a mammoth 401. Pakistan won by 21 runs via the DLS method after scoring 200-1 in 25.3 overs, edging ahead on the required run rate when the game was halted due to the weather.
The defeat was a fourth successive loss for the Kiwis who had won their opening four games.
New Zealand, runners-up in the last two editions of the World Cup, are fourth in the table and need a win today to push their bid to secure a semi-final spot.
A washout could open the door for either Pakistan or Afghanistan to leapfrog them and grab the remaining last-four place.
Williamson returned in the previous match after recovering from a broken thumb to make a valiant 95 in a 180-run stand with Rachin Ravindra, who hit 108.
Lockie Ferguson, who has claimed eight wickets in five matches, missed the previous two games with an Achilles injury has now recovered to be available for selection. Williamson said Ferguson “balances out our attack nicely” but did not reveal the team for the all-important match.
Fast bowler Matt Henry was ruled out of the rest of the tournament last week with a torn hamstring and Kyle Jamieson has taken his place in the squad.
Ravindra has stood out with 523 runs including three centuries to boost his team’s run-making ability despite recent losses. Ravindra, a Wellington-born Kiwi of Indian-origin, played a key role in the team’s opening four victories and Williamson lauded the run-machine for his “amazing talent”.
“We sort of knew the talent was there, but to come out and repeat and be one of the players of the tournament so far, not only with the bat, but he’s also making really valuable contributions with the ball,” said Williamson.
“Very special player and great that he’s on our side.”
Meanwhile Dilshan Madushanka’s World Cup ends today with the Sri Lanka fast bowler on top of the wicket-taking charts, the latest highlight in a career which began in borrowed shoes.
The son of a fisherman, Madushanka goes into the game against New Zealand with 21 wickets, more than celebrated fellow fast bowlers Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohamed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah.
Amongst the left-armer’s collection were the marquee dismissals of India’s Virat Kohli and Australian duo, David Warner and Steve Smith. Sadly for Madushanka, he found little support from the other end during the tournament - fellow quick Kasun Rajitha is the next best Sri Lankan on the list with eight wickets.
“We would have liked to have somebody to support and back up Dilshan (who’s had) a brilliant tournament,” said Sri Lanka assistant coach Naveed Nawaz on Wednesday. “So, it’s a disappointment, I should say.”
Madushanka’s journey has been nothing short of a fairytale.
He had to drop out of serious cricket early on as he and his school could not afford the luxuries of the game including pads and balls.
He then turned to the less expensive soft-ball cricket where he was spotted by a district coach who helped him get selected as a net bowler for the India and Sri Lanka Under-19 teams. Madushanka went through the sessions with borrowed shoes that hurt him. He still impressed with his performance and soon received a call from former Sri Lanka left-arm quick Chaminda Vaas who is now part of the squad’s coaching set-up.
“He can go far and emerge as one of the greatest fast bowlers ever produced in Sri Lanka,” Vaas confidently predicted to Indian magazine Sportstar. “If he can work on these things, I am sure, Madushanka made his international Twenty20 debut in last year’s Asia Cup in Dubai and played a key part in the team’s title win.
His ODI bow in India followed earlier this year before injuries to Dushmantha Chameera and Wanindu Hasaranga meant he became the pivot of the Sri Lankan attack in the World Cup.
So far, he has 31 wickets in 14 ODIs with a decent average of just over 22. He also enjoyed a maiden five-wicket haul against India in this World Cup although that game ended in embarrassment with Sri Lanka bowled out for just 55 in a 302-run rout.The 1996 champions only have two wins from eight games against Netherlands and England.

Head-to-head record
Last 10 meetings
(DATE. VENUE, RESULT)
28/12/2015; Christchurch - New Zealand won by 10 wickets
31/12/2015; Nelson - Sri Lanka won by 8 wickets
02/01/2016; Nelson - No Result
05/01/2016; Mount Maunganui - New Zealand won by 36 runs
03/01/2019; Mount Maunganui - New Zealand won by 45 runs
05/01/2019; Mount Maunganui - New Zealand won by 21 runs
08/01/2019; Nelson - New Zealand won by 115 runs
01/06/2019; Cardiff - New Zealand won by 10 wickets
25/03/2023; Auckland - New Zealand won by 198 runs
31/03/2023; Hamilton - New Zealand won by 6 wickets

Overall
New Zealand wins: 51
Sri Lanka wins: 41
Tied: 1
No result: 8