Kane Williamson, the captain of New Zealand, won the toss and decided to field first against Sri Lanka in their ICC Cricket World Cup match on Thursday against Bengaluru. The game pits Sri Lanka’s hopes of qualifying for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 against New Zealand’s aspirations to reach the World Cup semifinals. After four victories, the Kiwis have lost their last four games and now have eight points. Their net run-rate is keeping them in fourth place. Sri Lanka, with two victories and six defeats, is ranked ninth. Four points for SL. They will qualify for the Champions Trophy if they are able to place among the top eight teams.
NZ skipper Williamson said at the toss, “We will have a bowl first. A little bit of weather around. A little bit of unknowns. By and large we have won a few and lost a few. Been there and there abouts. Some close ones that could have gone either ways. Here we are here today, would want to address the issue infront of us. Lockie comes in for Ish Sodhi. Adjust to what is in front of us. Make use of the ball first up.”
SL skipper Kusal Mendis also said at the toss, “KM: I was looking to bowl. But unfortunately, we are batting first. Very important game today. If we do the basics well, we should do well. NZ is a calm team. We played here against and played well. One change for us. Kasun Rajitha is not playing but Chamika Karunaratne is playing.”