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CricBattle Daily Fantasy Cricket League Tips

Sri Lanka vs New Zealand on August 14

New Zealand are currently preparing to face Sri Lanka in a two-match Test series which will be followed by three T20Is. After a disheartening loss in the 2019 World Cup final, the Kiwis will be looking to bounce back when they take on Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka come into this Test series against New Zealand in good spirits in this format of the game as they beat South Africa in a two-test series back in February after recently being in the doldrums, and that 2-0 victory along with some positive results in the World Cup see them come into this home series in good shape. New Zealand played Sri Lanka Board President’s XI last week and, while the match was disrupted by rain and bad light, it was a good test for them in the field as their pace bowlers toiled and left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel took 5/41, showing just how different conditions will be during this tour for them.

Best economical pick – Mitchell Santner will likely return as the first-choice spinner in the team and also adds batting depth to the playing XI. His control and accuracy with the ball will ensure that pressure will constantly be built from one end, leaving bowlers to freely hunt for wickets from the other end.

Top captains & vice captains – Kane Williamson is one among the top four leading batsmen across all formats currently and is coming off a sensational World Cup. In the recently concluded World Cup, he was awarded the player of the tournament award for his outstanding batting. He churned out 578 runs at an average of 82.57. Williamson literally carried the New Zealand batting line-up on his shoulders. Angelo Mathews is presently in a jaw-dropping form in international cricket. He played a couple of decent knocks of unbeaten 85 and 113 in the World Cup and was recently the Player of the Series against Bangladesh. In the 3-match series, Mathews was the leading run-scorer with 187 runs at an average of 93.50 with a couple of half-centuries. Lanka comfortably won the series 3-0 without dropping much sweat. He will be looking to translate the form in Test cricket as well.

Smart pick – Ajaz Patel has 13 wickets from 2 matches so far with all 13 of them coming against Pakistan in conditions conducive to spin bowling in the United Arab Emirates. Patel is likely to play as the second spinner should New Zealand go with only 2 spin bowlers.

Cautions Pick – Dinesh Chandimal last played in the format against Australia and then was left out for the series versus South Africa due to poor form. The right-handed batsman couldn’t make the final squad for the 2019 World Cup as well.

My XI – Kane Williamson (Captain), Angelo Mathews (Vice-Captain), Ajaz Patel, Mitchell Santner, Jeet Raval, Akila Dananjaya, Lakshan Sandakan, Tom Latham, Colin de Grandhomme, Ross Taylor, Dimuth Karunaratne