New Zealand v Scotland World Cup Prediction & Betting Tips

New Zealand took of bravely in their opening game of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, by winning against Sri Lanka with a hefty margin of 98 runs. The Kiwis hammered 331 runs for the loss of six wickets in the allotted 50 overs and bowled out the Lankan Lions for 233 runs with 23 balls to spare. The winners of the opening match will take over Scotland who has proved as a strong competitor for their rival teams on numerous occasions. The latter clinched their opening Warm-up match against Ireland by 179 runs, fought well in the second one vs. West Indies but lost it by three mere runs in a high scoring game of over 300 runs. Scotland has proved to be a tough team in their recent encounters and the home side should not take them easy when they meet next time.

Players to watch

The skipper of the Black Caps, Brendon McCullum, led from the front and shared a 111 runs sizzling partnership off 95 mere balls for the opening wicket with Martin Guptill in the first match of the tournament against Sri Lanka. The former dispatched the first four and a six off the event, hit 65 and the latter scored 49 runs. Corey Anderson was the highest run getter with 75, Kane Williamson registered his 16^th ODI fifty while Grant Elliott and Luke Ronchi contributed useful runs. Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Adam Milne, Daniel Vettori and Corey Anderson bowled excellently, grabbed two wickets each and will anticipate same performance in the remaining games.

Matt Machan smashed 103 for Scotland vs. Ireland and Preston Mommsen along with Richie Berrington got fifties. Kyle Coetzer powered 96 runs for Scotland against West Indies in the Warm-up match whereas Berrington added another fifty to his records as Matthew Cross and Freddie Coleman are fine middle order batsmen. Alasdair Evans, Josh Davey and Majid Haq are in great form with the ball while Iain Wardlaw and Rob Taylor know how to use the new ball at its best.

Time & Venue

Tuesday, February 17, 2015 @ 22:00 GMT (previous day), 11:00 local at University Oval, Dunedin.

Weather

A bright and sunny day with the temperatures around 11-22ᵒC.

Toss

The winner will prefer to bat first.

The Pitch

The wicket proved to be equally good for the home batsmen who posted more than 300 runs and their bowlers bowled out the Islanders twice in two ODIs recently and won the games comprehensively.

Teams

New Zealand –  Brendon McCullum (C), Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Grant Elliott, Luke Ronchi, Corey Anderson, Daniel Vettori, Adam Milne, Tim Southee, Trent Boult.

Scotland – (From) Preston Mommsen (C), Kyle Coetzer, Richie Berrington, Freddie Coleman, Matthew Cross, Josh Davey, Alasdair Evans, Hamsih Gardiner, Majid Haq, Michael Leask, Matt Machan, Calum Macleod, Safyaan Sharif, Rob Taylor, Iain Wardlaw.

Prediction

Team New Zealand is in superb form and will win the match.