NZ vs SL 1st ODI Match Prediction: Who Will Win Today’s 1st ODI Match Between New Zealand And Sri Lanka?

Mitchell Santner and Charith Asalanka [Source: @BLACKCAPS/x]

New Zealand and Sri Lanka cricket teams will continue their white-ball rivalry with the ODI segment of the tour, slated to commence from January 5 with the first match. The much-awaited contest will be played at the Basin Reserve in Wellington and the kick-off time for the same is 3:30 AM IST. Earlier during Sri Lanka’s ongoing tour of New Zealand, the hosts won the three-match T20I rubber by a 2-1 margin.

New Zealand

The New Zealand cricket team recently upstaged Sri Lanka by a 2-1 margin at home, albeit in T20Is. In their previous ODI assignment from a couple of months ago, the ‘Black Caps’ lost the ODI series to Sri Lanka in the island nation 0-2. The impending series against the visitor’s marks some of New Zealand’s final set of fixtures before the 2025 Champions Trophy next month.

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka clinched some positive white-ball momentum with a win in the third T20I a couple of days ago. Under the leadership of Charith Asalanka, Sri Lanka also secured emphatic ODI series wins over West Indies and New Zealand in succession back in October and November.

NZ vs SL Head-to-Head Records in ODIs

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How Will The Basin Reserve Pitch Behave?

While the surface at Wellington’s Basin Reserve is historically proven to be conducive for fast bowlers, some of recent men’s ODI matches hosted by the venue have turned out to be high-scoring crackers. The average first innings total here in men’s ODIs since 2016 has amounted to a staggering 296. Fast bowlers can still make early inroads with the new ball early in the innings. In each of last four men’s ODI matches played at the Basin Reserve, the team batting first has emerged victorious.

Players To Watch Out For In NZ vs SL 1st ODI

New Zealand

Will Young

New Zealand top-order batter Will Young has listed 383 runs in his last seven ODIs at a prolific average of 63.83. Overall, the cricketer holds a batting average of 45.80 in the format.

Jacob Duffy

Jacob Duffy has been in exceptional touch with the ball in white-ball cricket for New Zealand. In the recently-concluded T20I series against Sri Lanka, the speedster picked up eight wickets in three innings to bag the ‘Player of the Series’ award.

Daryl Mitchell

Daryl Mitchell has amassed 230 runs in his last four ODI innings at an average of 57.5. The senior New Zealand all-rounder can also lend his arm to bowl a few overs.

Mitchell Santner

New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner, a veteran of over 100 ODIs, has taken 108 wickets in his career and has maintained an economy of just 4.86. Through his cunning left-arm spin trade, Santner can trouble Sri Lanka’s scoring rate, especially during the middle overs of the innings.

Sri Lanka

Kusal Mendis

Nominated for the ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year award, Kusal Mendis had a prolific 2024 for Sri Lanka. The dashing top-order batter tallied 742 runs throughout the year, including 421 in his last nine matches at an average of 60.14.

Wanindu Hasaranga

Sri Lankan all-rounder and fellow ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year contender Wanindu Hasaranga nabbed 26 wickets in 2024, and 11 in his past five matches at a strike rate of just 19.09.

Charith Asalanka

Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka has hauled over 2,000 runs at an astonishing average of 42.45 and with a strike rate of 90.73. The all-rounder can also bowl a few economical overs during the middle stages of an innings.

Avishka Fernando

Explosive Sri Lankan batter Avishka Fernando holds a strike rate of 90.01 in ODIs. In his last 10 matches, the right-hander has tallied 294 runs to emerge as one of Sri Lanka’s leading run-getters off late.

Today's Match Prediction: NZ vs SL 1st ODI

Predicted Top Performers

New Zealand – Will Young, Jacob Duffy, Mitchell Santner

Sri Lanka – Kusal Mendis, Wanindu Hasaranga, Avishka Fernando

NZ vs SL NZ vs SL 1st ODI: Predicted Score

Predicted first innings score: 270-290
Predicted second innings score: 230-250

Predicted Result: The team batting first will likely have an edge in this match.

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