New Zealand hope to be lucky against Sri Lanka

New Zealand hope to be lucky the fifth time Tuesday when they play the 1996 champions Sri Lanka in the first semi-final of the cricket World Cup here.

New Zealand have played four semi-finals in eight tournaments so far, but they have never progressed beyond that stage. Stephen Fleming's good-looking side will, however, attempt to make history against an equally solid Sri Lanka led by Mahela Jayawardene.

Sri Lanka will start with a slight psychological edge as they have defeated New Zealand in the second round, or Super Eight, that concluded Saturday. Jayawardene's side won that match April 12 by six wickets in Grenada.

The Sri Lankan team will also look back at the one-day international (ODI) series in New Zealand earlier this year to gain confidence and encouragement. The islanders drew that series 2-2.

Sri Lanka would also look back at the Super Eight points table on which they finished second only to defending champions Australia.

Although both Sri Lanka and New Zealand finished with 10 points each to Australia's 14, the emerald islanders finished second on better net run rate than the Kiwis.

Another similarity between the first semi-final opponents was that both teams lost two matches each.

All in all, it promises to be a cracker of a match at the Sabina Park. And the two captains acknowledged as much.

Fleming acknowledged the "balance" of the Sri Lankan side.

"They're the most balanced bowling attack here. They're very unorthodox and provide massive challenges to our batters," he said on the eve of the match.

"But the flip side is that their batting's probably not as strong as other teams around. If we can get through their top order, there're a couple of players they rely heavily upon."

Fleming was referring generally to Sri Lankan batting and not to Sanath Jayasuriya and Jayawardene, who have scored over 400 runs in the tournament. The other batsmen, however, have not hit the right form so far.

Jayawardene said that his predecessor Marvan Atapattu, who has not played a single match in this tournament, could be considered as a replacement for opener Upul Tharanga, who has managed only 219 runs in nine Cup matches.

"That's something we'll have to think about. Marvan is an experienced player in our ranks who can step into the shoes if it's necessary," Jayawardene said.

Off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan (19) and fast bowlers Lasith Malinga (15) and left-armer Chaminda Vaas (14) have been the most successful Sri Lankan bowlers.

Apart from the loss to Sri Lanka, Fleming will also need to help his players recover from the 215-run drubbing the team received from Australia in their final Super Eight match in Grenada Friday. The Kiwis were without fast bowler Shane Bond and Jacob Oram in that match.

The captain, however, put up a brave face.

"We're a dangerous side and even more dangerous when we've got two games to win," thundered Fleming.

"We hope we can get past Sri Lanka and create a better game for them in the final," he said referring to Ricky Ponting's Australian team.

New Zealand's most successful batsmen in this World Cup have been Scott Styris (462 runs) and Fleming (352) while left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori (15 wickets) and Bond (12) have been the top wicket takers.

The second semi-final will be played between Australia and South Africa at the Beausejour Stadium in Gros Islet, St. Lucia, Wednesday.

The final is slated for Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, Saturday.

Teams:

Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardene (captain), Kumar Sangakkara (wicket-keeper), Sanath Jayasuriya, Upul Tharanga, Marvan Atapattu, Russel Arnold, Tilekeratne Dilshan, Chamara Silva, Malinga Bandara, Farveez Maharoof, Chaminda Vaas, Muttiah Muralitharan, Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando and Nuwan Kulasekera

New Zealand: Stephen Fleming (captain), Lou Vincent, Peter Fulton, Ross Taylor, Scott Styris, Jacob Oram, Craig McMillan, Brendon McCullum (wicket-keeper), Daniel Vettori, James Franklin, Jeetan Patel, Shane Bond, Mark Gillespie, Michael Mason and Daryl Tuffey

Umpires: Rudi Koertzen (South Africa) and Simon Taufel (Australia)TV umpire: Daryl Harper (Australia)Reserve umpire: Asad Rauf (Pakistan)Match referee: Mike Procter (South Africa)

(IANS)

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