Both of from are from Group A, which was meant to be the weaker of the two groups, and yet is the group that has produced 3 of the 4 semi finalists, and it could easily have been 4 had Australia won the close match against India. These two teams have met before in this World Cup, in the final group match, when Sri Lanka won by some 120 runs, to absolutely destroy New Zealand.
There are a few patterns to look at. Firstly, Sri Lanka have never lost a World Cup knockout match in the subcontinent let alone at home. Secondly, Sri Lanka have made it to two finals before, winning one.
New Zealand, while they are in their sixth semi final from 10 appearances, have never made it to the final. All of this suggests that Sri Lanka will win. Add to that the fact that Sri Lanka beat New Zealand by 120 runs in their previous encounter in this World Cup, in the final group match, and New Zealand don’t seem to have much of a chance.
And yet New Zealand never seem to have much of a chance. They didn’t have any chance against South Africa, especially after getting such a low total, but they won that one. They didn’t have any chance against Pakistan, especially after losing early wickets and then scoring so slowly; but thanks to a Ross Taylor special they won that one too. New Zealand were meant to be a chance to miss the quarter finals yet here they are in the semi finals. They will think themselves some kind of a chance here.
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