NZ vs SL, ICC World Cup 2019, Toss: New Zealand win toss, opt to bowl first

Sri Lanka are in dire need of motivation and captain Karunaratne himself has to inspire the unit. They have lost both of their warm-up fixtures

New Zealand and Sri Lanka begin their ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 campaign on Saturday at the Sophia Gardens in Cardiff. Both the sides had vivid experiences in the warm-up games. Kane Williamson & Co were mauled by West Indies in their final warm-up match where they squandered 421 runs and eventually lost the match by 91 runs. However, they would draw confidence from their victorious outing against India. On the other hand, Sri Lanka are in dire need of motivation and captain Karunaratne himself has to inspire the unit. They have lost both of their warm-up fixtures (against South Africa and Australia) and would be looking for a fresh and positive start against the Kiwis. Toss Update: New Zealand have won the toss and they will be fielding first. “We are gonna have a bowl. It's a fresh wicket with a green tinge. Blundell is out. It's a day-by-day thing. Quite not ready today. Just one spinner and two all-rounders. That helps with the balance. For us it's about adapting,” said Kiwi captain Kane Williamson. Sri Lanka have benched Jeffrey Vandersay, Milinda Siriwardana, Nuwan Pradeep, Avishka Fernando for today’s clash. “I would have bowled as well. We wanted to take advantage. We don't have much pressure. We want to do well. We want to show what we can do,” said Lanka skipper Karunaratne. Here are the teams: Sri Lanka: Dimuth Karunaratne(c), Lahiru Thirimanne, Kusal Perera(w), Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva, Thisara Perera, Jeevan Mendis, Suranga Lakmal, Isuru Udana, Lasith Malinga New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Kane Williamson(c), Tom Latham(w), Ross Taylor, James Neesham, Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Trent Boult