Christchurch, New Zealand--The World Cup opener between Sri Lanka and New Zealand in Christchurch faced a rain delay Saturday with a light shower sweeping in just after Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bowl.
The covers were immediately placed on the pitch although the drizzle was barely noticeable
Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews, who has a preference for batting first, said he opted to bowl because he could not overlook a wicket "that looks fresh".
New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum, who would have preferred to bowl first, said batting was not a setback.
"The wicket looks good, but we have batted here first in the past with success."
Sri Lanka omitted Dinesh Chandimal, Thisara Perera, Dushmantha Chameera and Sachithra Senanayake from their side while New Zealand left out Kyle Mills, Mitchell McClenaghan, Tom Latham and Nathan McCullum.
Play was scheduled to start at 11:00am local time Saturday (2200 GMT Friday)
Teams
New Zealand
Brendon McCullum (capt), Trent Boult, Grant Elliott, Martin Guptill, Adam Milne, Daniel Vettori, Kane Williamson, Corey Anderson, Tim Southee, Luke Ronchi (wkt), Ross Taylor
Sri Lanka
Angelo Mathews (capt), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara (wkt), Mahela Jayawardene, Lahiru Thirimanne, Dimuth Karunaratne, Jeevan Mendis, Suranga Lakmal, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Kulasekara, Rangana Herath
Umpires: Nigel Llong (ENG), Marais Erasmus (RSA)
TV umpire: S. Ravi (IND)
Match referee: David Boon (AUS)
Weather forecast: Overcast with light rain.
AFP
