NEW ZEALAND TOUR OF SRI LANKA 2012/13

October 30th,2012 marks the start of New Zealands tour of Sri Lanka.The first match is a Twenty20 International taking place in Pallekelle and is followed by 5 ODIS and 2 test matches.

  For starters it provides the first oppurtunity for new skipper,Angelo Mathews who was selected as captain following the resignation of Mahela Jaywardene after the final match of the world T20,in which Sri Lanka lost to West Indies .

   Sri Lanka will be without Ajantha Mendis for atleast the first 3 ODIs due to a side strain he sustained during the world T20,while an achilles injury to veteran Daniel Vettori also means that he will be missing from the series.The only newcomer in the one-day squad for Sri Lanka is 19-year old off spinner Tharindu Kaushal,who is yet to make his domestic debut in any format.Kaushal was the second-highest wicket-taker for Sri Lanka at the recent U-19 World Cup in Australia,taking 11 wickets at and average of 15.45.

   Both teams possess great talent and players who are capable of providing a good competition,and since it is a fresh start after the world cup,they would love to build momentum,confidence and improve their skills in sight of climbing up the rankings and looking towards the next event on the world stage.

My prediction : Only T20 -Sri lanka.

ODIs-Sri Lanka 3 ,New Zealand 2.

Test-Sri Lanka 2,New Zealand 0.