New Zealand vs Sri Lanka Predictions: New Zealand to get the job done

New Zealand will welcome Sri Lanka in the second game of the three-game ODI series held at Hagley Oval. Sri Lanka is going into the series with the motivation of getting direct entry to the 50-over World Cup which will be played this year. New Zealand were on a whole different level in the first game of the series and now leads the three-game series by 1-0. Who will win?

The black caps are going into the game on the back of six back-to-back wins in the ODIs. They won the first game of the series by a huge margin of 198 runs. Nine of the first team members of New Zealand will not be playing in this game and the series as they have travelled for IPL. The squad is young and ready to make a name for themselves in the upcoming ODI world cup and they had their say in the first game. After scoring 274 runs in their 50 overs, New Zealand bowlers impressively bowled out Sri Lankans for only 76 runs. Shipley was the star performer with his five wickets. The kiwis will be looking for pretty much the same in the second game of the series and win the series. 

Finn Allen, Chad Bowes, Will Young, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (c), Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Blair Tickner/Ben Lister, Henry Shipley, Matt Henry, Ish Sodhi

Sri Lanka is coming into this series with the hopes of direct qualification into the World cup. They will not be getting a better chance as most of the New Zealand senior members are not playing this series but they fell short even against New Zealand's second team in the first ODI. Their record does not give them a lot of hope. The Sri Lankans have won only one of their last six games. Wanindu Hasaranga will again be the go-to bowler for captain Shanaka when looking for wickets and hopefully, restrict the kiwi batters to low scores. The Sri Lankan batting order is deep and they will have to put the woes of the first ODI defeat behind them and get the job done. 

Pathum Nissanka, Nuwanidu Fernando, Kusal Mendis (wk), Charith Asalanka, Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya De Silva, Dasun Shanaka (c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Lahiru Kumara, Kasun Rajitha, Maheesh Theekshana

The series means different things to the two teams involved. The Oval pitch has offered great assistance to the batters and bowlers in the white ball cricket format. The average first innings score is 248 runs which are on the lower side. Win the toss to bowl will be the way ahead for the two captains. With the possibility of rain, we can expect a shortened game. Expect a low-scoring game at this venue and New Zealand are the favourites to win the game.