New Zealand and Sri Lanka will play two Tests. The series starts on March 9th. The first game will happen at the Hagley Oval. Here, we look at the pitch report of Hagley Oval and the weather conditions in Christchurch for NZ vs SL 2023.
There will be the context for this series. Sri Lanka needs two wins against New Zealand and they would also want India to lose at Ahmedabad to gain entry to the finals of the World Test Championship. Hence, we can expect them to come hard.
However, it won’t be easy against the Kiwis. New Zealand is a strong team at home and they recently won a thriller against England. They will be high on confidence and Sri Lanka anyways would have some issues with the pitch. Therefore, New Zealand will be the firm favourite to win the game and the series. That said, a few months ago, Bangladesh handed a defeat to New Zealand at their den. Sri Lanka must do something similar to stay relevant for the WTC finals.
Hagley Oval, Christchurch pitch report for NZ vs SL 2023
It all starts tomorrow at Hagley Oval in Christchurch! Follow play LIVE in NZ with @sparknzsport or @TodayFM_nz and with Supreme TV in Sri Lanka. #NZvSL pic.twitter.com/nzfRFqT2qn
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) March 8, 2023
Like most other pitches in New Zealand, this track also offers a lot of assistance to the pacers. Especially in the beginning, we can expect a few wickets to fall.
On the other hand, Hagley Oval has traditionally been a good surface for the batters, too. If they can tackle the bounce on offer, they will be in good shape.
Christchurch weather conditions for NZ vs SL 2023
An update from Matt Henry ahead of the 1st Test against Sri Lanka after he spent time off the field on Day 5 against England in Wellington. #NZvSL pic.twitter.com/aKH2gTadf7
Advertisement— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) March 8, 2023
On all five days of the game, we can expect a cloudy weather. On Day 2 and Day 5, there are predictions of rainfall, too. Hence, there would be some sessions that will be interrupted.
Temperatures would hit a maximum of 24 degrees Celsius during the day. At the night, they could drop down to as low as 9 degrees Celsius.
