The Christchurch Opener

Come Valentines day, the biggest clash among the cricketing nations will tick off. For all the cricketing fans around the globe, Feb 14 will carve a different schedule for the first time. 3:30 AM IST will be set as the alarm for many. The clash takes off in the beautiful Hagley Oval between the homeside and the Lankan lions at Christchurch. ICC and NZC, in particular have paid the perfect tribute to all the 2011 earthquake victims who lost lives and everything they had by building a new stadium amidst the protests by Hagley Park commuters and scheduling the 1^st match of the World Cup. The cool breeze continues to flow and weather could prove to be a spoilsport as forecasted.

Its high time to preview both the teams. New Zealand look to be the team of the tournament and have got huge hopes for uplifting that much awaited trophy for the first time on March 29, 2015. The squad looks perfectly balanced. Three world class batsmen in the form of McCullum, Ross Taylor and the challenging Kane Williamson and two pinch hitters of the likes of Luke Ronchi and Corey Anderson make look the side more dangerous. Raw pace by Adam Milne and consistent line and length bowling by McClenaghan, Southee and Trent Boult and the ever dependable spin duo imparted by Vettori  and Nathan McCullum complete the balance. New Zealand have the team to do it this time but the nerves and butterflies in the stomach will determine how far they could sail.

Sri Lanka, on the other hand, look unsettled . Few surprise selections in the form of Jeewan Mendis and Dimuth Karunaratne and crucial omissions of the likes of Upul Tharanga and Kusal Perera might make way for their early exit. Having said that, the lions will take plenty of solace from their earlier World Cup campaigns. They somehow cruise to the finals of ICC tournaments which is perhaps the result of not dealing with the pressure of being tagged as the favourites before the journey. If you are a Sri Lankan fan, you would not be the most happiest given the thrashing in the bilateral series against the kiwis and a shock loss on the hands of Zimbabwe in the warm-ups but that will be equalised by the return of Lasith Malinga into the side. The side looks the most experienced among the lot on paper and minor shuffle in the batting positions will make them an extremely dangerous side to play against. The experience of Sangakkara, Jayawardena and Dilshan, a cool leader and decent finisher in the form of Angelo Mathews, death bowling by Lasith Malinga, swing by Nuwan Kulasekara and spin in the armoury by Rangana Herath and Senanayake will be the team to beat.

My NZ XI:- 1. Martin Guptill 2. Brendon McCullum 3.Kane Williamson 4. Ross Taylor 5. Grant Elliott 6. Corey Anderson 7. Luke Ronchi 8. Daniel Vettori 9. Tim Southee 10. Trent Boult 11. Adam Milne

My SL XI:- 1. Lahiru Thirimanne 2. Tillekaratne Dilshan 3. Kumar Sangakkara 4. Dinesh Chandimal 5. Mahela Jayawardene 6. Angelo Mathews 7. Dimuth Karunaratne 8. Thisara Perera 9. Nuwan Kulasekara 10. Rangana Herath 11. Lasith Malinga