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New Zealand sink Zimbabwe in rain

Scott Styris and Nathan McCullum took three wickets each as New Zealand beat Zimbabwe by seven runs under Duckworth/Lewis method in a farcical rain-marred Group B match to qualify for Super Eight stage of the Twenty20 World Cup here today.

Both Styris and Nathan McCullum capitalised on some inept batting by Zimbabwe as they took all their wickets from a single over. All of McCullum's scalps came in the ninth over while Styris took his three wickets in the 13th over.

Chasing 85 for a win, New Zealand made 36 for one from 8.1 overs before rain interrupted play with Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill at the crease on 22 and six respectively.

At that time, New Zealand were seven runs ahead of par score unedr D/L method.

Rain stopped after around one hour but confusion prevailed as the target was revised twice as players were out to resume play only to end it abruptly.

After the first revision, the target for New Zealand was 45 from 11 overs but had to be changed to 40 from 10 overs.

But all of a sudden, the match ended apparently because the ground was not ready for resumption of play after the heavy rain.

With today's win, New Zealand topped Group B after winning both their matches and qualified for the Super Eight along with Sri Lanka, who finished second with one win.

Zimbabwe lost both their two group matches to crash out of the tournament. They had lost to Sri Lanka by 14 runs yesterday.

New Zealand made a slow start in their run chase and they were pegged back by the loss of Jesse Ryder (2) in the third over. Ryder ended his miserable stay at the crease, top-edging Prosper Utseya delivery while trying for a slog sweep for wicketkeeper Tatenda Taibu to pouch it easily. Ryder consumed 11 balls for his two runs.

New Zealand made 19 for one after five overs and they were 36 for one in 8.1 overs when rain interrupted play.

Earlier, Zimbabwe batsmen collapsed in a heap after a steady start as they were bundled out for a paltry 84.

Openers Tatenda Taibu and Hamilton Masakadza put on 36 runs in 4.4 overs and were 58 for two in 6.4 overs.

But after that Zimbabwe batsmen fell in a heap, losing eight wickets for just 16 runs by slumping from 58 for two in 6.4 overs to be all out for 84 in 15.1 overs.

After the opening stand of 36, Zimbabwe lost five wickets in 15 balls as they slumped from 57 for one in 6.4 overs to 63 for six in the ninth over.

Later, three wickets fell in the 13th over bowled by Styris as Zimbabwe lost eight wickets for just 16 runs.

Taibu top-scored with a breezy 14-ball 21 which included four boundaries while his opening partner Masakadza contributed run-a-ball 20. Greg Lamb (14 not out) was the only other batsman who reached double figures.

New Zealand opening bowlers Shane Bond and Tim Southee bowled a lively spell but Taibu was not the one to remain quiet. He hit two fours each off Bond and Southee.

Southee though had the last laugh as he removed Taibu with a slow bouncer and the wicketkeeper-batsman holed out to square-leg fielder Jacob Oram while trying a pull shot.

Zimbabwe were at a healthy 41 for one after five overs but five wickets in 15 balls put them in serious trouble.

First, Masakadza was run out in the seventh over while trying for a single. Oram, at deep midwicket, released the ball quickly and wicketkeeper Gareth Hopkins threw the wicket down before Masakadza could reach the crease.

Four balls later, Blignaut (8) fell to Daniel Vettori. He went for a slog sweep but completely missed it and the ball hit the stumps after kissing the gloves.

Three batsmen fell in the ninth over bowled by McCullum.

Elton Chigumbura (3) went for a big shot only to find Martin Guptill. Charles Coventry offered a tame catch to McCullum in his follow through for a duck while Craig Ervine (1) was stumped by Hopkins after he was foxed by the flight of the delivery.

There was lull for a while and Zimbabwe added 10 runs from 21 balls before Timycen Maruma (4) fell in the 13th over.

That led to another collapse as his two team-mates Graeme Cremer and Prosper Utseya fell in the same over. Both of them failed to open their account.

Ray Price (2) was the last man out LBW to Vettori as Zimbabwe folded at 84, the second lowest total in the tournament so far.

New Zealand vs Zimbabwe: Match preview

Zimbabwe will have a lot to play for today when they take on New Zealand in their 2nd encounter of ICC World T20 campaign.

Zimbabwe had lost to Sri Lanka yesterday and somehow the rain added insult to their injury and today New Zealand can very easily put them in the grave when take on Taibu's team in Guyana. If Zimbabwe can beat New Zealand without rain affecting the match then Sri Lanka can have a tough time as the run-rate may play a big poker game to favor Zimbabwe.

New Zealand is surely the dominant team going into this match. They have defeated Lanka in tournament opener. Jesse Ryder is in a good form and he will surely look to exploit the Zimbabwe attack. The likes of Ross Taylor, Scott Styris and Jacob Oram are yet to score some big runs in this tournament and hope today they does it to entertain their fans. Wicket Keeper Brendon McCullum also needs runs to get his form back but it will be interesting to see how their opponents bowl at them.

The likes of Ray Price, Greg Lamb and Prosper Utseya had a decent match yesterday and I hope they can repeat the same performance today. But Zimbabwe batsmen’s will face an uphill task facing the Kiwi bowling attack as Shane Bond is in good form and Captain Daniel Vettori is also looking very dangerous.

It will be up to the likes of Hamilton Masakadza and co. to make the difference. The Zimbabwe batsmen have to do it for their team. The likes of Taibu, Charles Coventry, Brendon Taylor has a lot of talent and today is the day to unleash it. Andy Blignaut may play in today’s match. He is a good all-rounder and will be a big boost for his team.

Lanka refusing to give up on Murali

Muttiah Muralitharan could still feature for Sri Lanka in the World Twenty20, according to captain Kumar Sangakkara, after officials said he'd been ruled out with a groin injury.

A statement released by Sri Lanka Cricket in Colombo earlier yesterday said the star off-spinner had been "advised to rest for two or three weeks" following a groin problem he suffered during the team's two-wicket opening match defeat by New Zealand here on Friday.

That would rule him out of the rest of the World Twenty20.

But Sangakkara, speaking after Sri Lanka's 14-run, rain-affected, win over Zimbabwe here yesterday, said Muralitharan - whose place against the Africans was taken by 25-year-old off-spinner Suraj Randiv - would be given a chance to prove his fitness.

"We haven't ruled him out completely," Sangakkara told reporters. This stance signifies that even this late in his career, Murali is still very much part of Sri Lankan plan.

Lanka win rain curtailed match, Zim caught napping

Zimbabwe's inexperience got exposed in rain today, as they squandered a chance to go through to Super 8 group of World T20.

In the end, it may seem that Zimbabwe did not have luck, but they knew what they had to do. However, Zimbabwe's batsmen never seemed to realize that they are standing on a pot of gold. All they needed was to have a mad dash to 44 but in the end fell short by 15. It was senseless sweeps by Taibu and company to fine short leg for singles that frustrated everyone except Lankans and Zimbabwe players. Taibu in particular should not have been there in the center purely on merit. It's been Chigumbura who has done the damage in their warm up games and was fit to try and achieve the target. Taibu seemed unaware of the task and was simply going through the motions (of a test match).

Credit must go to Mahela who scored maiden century in World T20 to take Lanka to 173. Zimbabwe came out to bat but the innings lasted only 1 over when rain forced suspension of play. When Zimbabwe came out again, the match was shortened to 11 over, and Zimbabwe had to score less than 100 in remaining 10 overs. However, they should have realized that the match can end with minimum 5 overs bowled in the innings.

It started raining again towards end of 3rd over, but Zimbabwe never made an attempt to reach target of 45, nor tried to ensure that 5th over of the match is not completed. In the end, Sri Lankan players were already running towards dressing room as last bowl of 5th over was being bowled. For Zimbabwe, it was "Baby's day out".

Mahela scores century, Lanka post challenging total

Mahela Jayawardene continued his fine form in the Twenty20 cricket with an outstanding century as Sri Lanka made 173 for seven against Zimbabwe in their final Group B match here Monday.

Jayawardene, who made 81 in the islanders' opening two-wicket loss to New Zealand, scored exactly 100 in a match they had to win to stay in the tournament. He is now the tournament's leading scorer.

Jayawardene's hundred was only the fourth in all Twenty20 internationals but the second in this competition in as many days after India's Suresh Raina scored 101 against South Africa in Saint Lucia on Sunday.

Stylish right-hander Jayawardene faced 63 balls with 4 sixes and 10 fours.

Zimbabwe, who stunned both defending champions Pakistan and Australia in the warm-up matches, kept taking wickets at the other end but could do little about opening batsman Jayawardene.

Tillakaratne Dilshan, player of the tournament at last year's World Twenty20 in England, has not looked anything like the same player at this edition and he made just two before a miscued drive off Elton Chigumbura went straight to mid-off.

Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara, Dinesh Chandinal and Angelo Mathews all failed to get going but Jayawardene, looking as if he was on a different plane, kept going serenely before he was finally caught at long-on off left-arm spinner Ray Price.

Lanka nervous before their game with Zimbabwe

Sri Lanka will be looking to avoid becoming the first high-profile casualty of the 2010 World Twenty20 when they play Zimbabwe in Guyana today.

Runners-up at the 2009 tournament in England, Sri Lanka started their Caribbean campaign with an unexpected loss to New Zealand, and what should have been a straightforward group for Kumar Sanggakara’s team has suddenly become a little tricky.

Perhaps Sri Lanka can count themselves a little unlucky to find themselves in the current predicament after Blackcap’s batsman Nathan McCullum carted Lasith Malinga (pictured) for six with one ball of the innings remaining to seal the upset win for New Zealand in the first Group B match.

In a double blow for Sri Lanka, off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan sustained a groin injury during the match and has been ruled out of the remainder of the tournament.

So, without one of their spin lynchpins, and with their backs against the wall, Sri Lanka cannot afford to let this one slide against Zimbabwe, who today play their first match of the World Twenty20. What makes the outcome of the match all the more unpredictable is that Zimbabwe has defeated defending champoins Pakistan, and Australia in warm-up to the competition.

There’s no doubt the African side will enter this match with their tails up, yet without the pressure of expectation that may be starting to weigh on Sri Lankan minds. Quite simply, Zimbabwe have absolutely nothing to lose; Sri Lanka everything.

If the warm-ups are any guide, Elton Chigumbura is proving to be the danger man for Zimbabwe. The 24-year-old took just 35 balls for his 76 against Australia, and the same number of deliveries for his 49 against Pakistan in the warm-ups.

Chigumbura has not played a lone hand in Zimbabwe’s batting so far either, and though Tatenda Taibu barely got started before he was run-out against Pakistan in his sole warm-up innings the former Zimbabwe captain is another who could cause headaches for Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka’s batting card, on paper at least, is more than a match for Zimbabwe’s. Opener Mahela Jayawardene is fresh from a 51-ball 81 against New Zealand, and we all know how exciting Tillakaratne Dilshan is at his best.

That’s the problem for Sri Lanka though, Dilshan hasn’t reached the heights of 2009 either in the recently concluded IPL or in their first match of the World Twenty20 this year. Along with the skipper, Dilshan will be looking to lift against Zimbabwe. Muralitharan’s absence will also be felt by Sri Lanka, although they’ve still got Ajantha Mendis to call on among their slow bowling options.

In England during 2009, it was Australia who were held winless and made an embarrassing group stage departure from the World Twenty20. Sri Lanka will need to lift against what will be a confident Zimbabwe outfit to ensure they don’t suffer that fate in 2010.

Murali out of World T20

Sri Lanka's campaign in the Twenty20 World Cup today suffered a blow with off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan being ruled out of the entire tournament due to a groin strain.

Muralitharan sustained the injury during his side's two-wicket defeat against New Zealand in the tournament opener here on April 30.

Team physiotherapist Tommy Simsek said Muralitharan has sustained a grade one strain on his right adductor muscle and will need up to three weeks' rest.

No replacement for 38-year-old spin wizard has been named by Sri Lankan team management. He took two wickets for 25 runs against New Zealand.

Muralitharan has more international wickets than any other cricketer with 792 in 132 Tests and 512 in 334 ODIs. He has 13 wickets in 10 Twenty20 Internationals.

Sri Lanka take on Zimbabwe today in a must-win encounter to have any chance of advancing to the Super Eight stage.

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