Sharjah holds today (Tuesday) the last league match in the ARY Gold Cup One-Day competition. It would be the second encounter between Sri Lanka and New Zealand in the prestigious tournament. In the 1st match, Sri Lanka trounced the Black Caps by a convincing margin of 106 runs. It was Sri Lanka's 5th victory against New Zealand in the six encounters that they had between them during the current season.

One may agree that the victory at Sharjah was against a new look New Zealand team because they had left at least half a dozen key players behind. But the previous four victories were against the full strength Black Caps. Going by the result and the performance Sri Lanka enjoys a definite edge over the Black Caps. The position will certainly influence the psychological and mental strength of the two teams , when they face each other today.

Reigning supreme Pakistan leads the points-table with 8 points as against Sri Lanka (2) and New Zealand (0). While Pakistan is already in the final, Sri Lanka is tipped to be its opponent. A miracle only can alter the position. If even the Black Caps win and the two teams are tied on points, Sri Lanka shall enter the final on the basis of a better run-rate. To snatch this position from them, the Black Caps will have to defeat Sri Lanka by a ver very big margin.

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