The ICC World T20 has barely got over, and the New Zealand and the Sri Lankan side will be off to USA to play a two T20I series. The first of the two games between the two sides will be played at Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground in Florida, and it will be played on Saturday.
Both sides are coming off a World T20 to forget. Sri Lanka did get to the semi-finals but would be the first to admit that they probably did not deserve to be there, whereas New Zealand had a golden chance to get there as they needed only to beat England in the last game and they would have qualified, but a rather abysmal show with the bat sent them packing. 
The two sides also played in the first game of the ICC World T20 and New Zealand had stunned everyone by beating Sri Lanka.
In the game, the biggest factor that could influence the game would be the pitch. The game will be played in USA and it is not known to have the best of the tracks with every chance that the game will not be a big-scoring one. The teams will look to make changes to their playing eleven accordingly, and not expect that the big-hitters of the ball will come good.
For Sri Lanka, this could be the chance to try out some new blokes in the middle-order after consistent failures from Sanath Jayasuriya, and from Tillakaratne Dilshan. Apart from Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, there was only Angelo Mathews’ batting that clicked, while the rest of them all struggled to get the move on.
New Zealand will also go in without Jesse Ryder who has suffered from another injury and that should allow someone like an Aaron Redmond a chance at the top of the order.
Spin could play a big enough role in the game, and without bowlers who can bowl at a raw pace, the sides will rely on the slower bowlers to do the damage.
Sri Lanka start as series favourites, with Ladbrokes offering 15/8 for their win, as compared to Sky Bet’s 10/3 for New Zealand to clinch the series. A 1-1 draw – or in case of a rained off series, a 0-0 raw – will earn the punters 11/10 for their bets.