New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming won the toss and elected to bat against Sri Lanka in a Group B match of the ICC Champions Trophy, at the Brabourne stadium in Mumbai on Friday.
New Zealand made two changes in their side, including pacer Shane Bond and all-rounder Scott Styris in place of Peter Fulton and James Franklin.
Fast bowler Bond did not play in the team's opening match against South Africa, in Mumbai on Monday, because of a back problem.
For Sri Lanka, 19-year-old all-rounder Chamara Kapugedera replaced Dilhara Fernando.
Favourites Sri Lanka were shocked in their opening group match by Pakistan, while New Zealand beat South Africa in a low-scoring encounter.
The Brabourne pitch has once again become the focus of all eyes. The International Cricket Council's pitch consultant, Andy Atkinson, has used a commonly used builders' glue -- PVA (Poly Vinyl Acetate) -- on the pitch for extra binding of the playing rectangle after it was criticized in the last two matches. It will be interesting to see how the pitch behaves and whether it remains even throughout the match.
Teams:
New Zealand: Stephen Fleming (captain), Lou Vincent, Nathan Astle, Hamish Marshall, Scott Styris, Jacob Oram, Brendon McCullum, Daniel Vettori, Kyle Mills, Shane Bond, Jeetan Patel.
Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardene (captain), Sanath Jayasuriya, Upul Tharanga, Kumara Sangakkara, Marvan Atapattu, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Farveez Maharoof, Chamara Kapugedera, Chaminda Vaas, Lasith Malinga, Muttiah Muralitharan.
