Batting worries for teams in knockout clash
The topsy-turvy league phase reaches its conclusion on Wednesday when India and New Zealand face off in an elimination match
Match Facts
Wednesday, August 25, 2010Start time 14.30 (0900 GMT)
Big Picture
The word most conspicuously absent in all press conferences this tournament is 'momentum'. The schizophrenic performances of all three teams in Dambulla - crushing opponents one day, and being crushed themselves the next - has meant no team could claim whatever advantage momentum allegedly provides. The topsy-turvy league phase reaches its conclusion on Wednesday when India and New Zealand face off in an elimination match.Form guide
(most recent first)India: LWLWL
New Zealand: LWWLL
Watch out for...
Scott Styris is enjoying a run-filled year and his 168 one-day caps will be essential to a batting unit light in international exposure. He has found the conditions in Dambulla helpful to his steady bowling, finishing with 2 for 36 in ten overs in the previous match.Team news
New Zealand welcome Martin Guptill back at the top of the order after missing a game due to injury, but Jacob Oram is headed back to New Zealand as a result of an injured knee that has not responded to treatment and is affecting his ability to bowl. A possible replacement could be left-arm seamer Andy McKay. Their other fitness concern is Kane Williamson, who has a bicep injury and couldn't bowl or throw on Monday.Pitch and conditions
A fresh pitch will be used for the match but MS Dhoni, who inspected the pitch after the Indian net session, expected it to behave similar to the ones used earlier in the tournament. "Initially, there will be a bit of help for the seamers. During the daytime, they can swing the ball with the breeze. And under the lights, it always swings here."Quotes
"It's just a game of cricket and every game you play you play to win, we don't want to put any more pressure on ourselves and that's the attitude we'll be going with."Ross Taylor isn't getting too worked up about the hype of a must-win match
Some words of advice from MS Dhoni about tackling the moving ball
Siddarth Ravindran is a sub-editor at Cricinfo