Black Caps return to scene of stunning win in T20 World Cup opener to face Sri Lanka

Daryl Mitchell is available for selection for the Black Caps as they face Sri Lanka at the T20 World Cup.

Twenty20 World Cup: Black Caps v Sri Lanka

Where: Sydney Cricket Ground; When: Saturday 9pm [NZ time]

Live coverage: Sky Sport 3, live updates on Stuff

Mark Kolbe/Getty Images The Black Caps are back at the Sydney Cricket Ground to play Sri Lanka on Saturday, a week after stunning Australia there in their T20 World Cup opener.

A week can be a long time in cricket.

But the Black Caps will be hoping the script remains the same on Saturday when they return to the Sydney Cricket Ground – the venue where they stunned Australia last weekend.

In posting 200-3 then bowling the hosts out for 111 to win by 89 runs, Kane Williamson and his men delivered a near-perfect performance in their opening match at the Twenty20 World Cup.

They’ve had to be patient since then, however, as rain meant they never got on the field against Afghanistan on Wednesday night in Melbourne and had to settle for one point instead of a possible two.

Now back in Sydney, they have Sri Lanka in their path as they look for a win that will leave them with one foot in the semifinals – a stage they reached at the last two T20 World Cups, in India in 2016 and the United Arab Emirates last year.

Sri Lanka had to navigate the first round to make it to the Super 12 phase at this year’s tournament and didn’t do so smoothly, losing to Namibia before beating the UAE and the Netherlands.

They then accounted for Ireland easily in their first match of the Super 12s, but went down to Australia on Tuesday while losing seamer Binura Fernando to injury and will likely have to beat all three of the Black Caps, Afghanistan and England to make it any further in this tournament.

Inclement weather has been one of the big talking points of the first week of the World Cup, but the forecast is for clear skies in Sydney on Saturday, so neither team should have any worries there.

The other has been upsets, with Ireland beating England in a rain-hit match in Melbourne on Wednesday and Zimbabwe pipping Pakistan in Perth on Thursday.

That will leave the Black Caps wary of Sri Lanka, who won the Asia Cup in September, but all things being equal, they should have little to worry about when it comes to getting their second win of the World Cup.

These two teams haven’t played a T20 for more than three years and only five players from their last meeting are present in Australia – Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee and Daryl Mitchell for New Zealand and Dasun Shanaka and Wanindu Hasaranga for Sri Lanka.

Finn Allen is one of the Black Caps’ new additions since then and he will be looking for a repeat performance at the SCG after scoring 42 off 16 there against Australia to ignite New Zealand’s campaign.

Everyone involved will have happy memories from last weekend to try to recreate, except for Daryl Mitchell, who missed that match while his broken pinky finger healed, but is now available for selection.

Southee said as much at the pre-match press conference on Friday: “It's always nice when you come back to a ground where you've had fond memories, but we know it's a completely different challenge in playing Sri Lanka.”

Two more washouts on Friday meant the points were shared in the matches between Afghanistan and Ireland and Australia and England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

The Black Caps sit atop the ladder in group one with three points from two matches, followed by England, Ireland and Australia, who all have three from three; Sri Lanka who have two from two; and Afghanistan who have two from three courtesy of a pair of abandonments.

Two wins out of three against Sri Lanka; England, who they play on Tuesday; and Ireland, who they play on Friday, will likely be needed for New Zealand to make the semifinals.

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