Big picture
Fatigue-wise, New Zealand have had a kind start to the tournament. They thrashed Australia in Sydney, then took the short flight to Melbourne, where their match against Afghanistan was rained out without a ball being bowled. They'd have preferred to play that match, of course, but they've not had to contend with crazy schedules or serious changes in timezone.
Sri Lanka tend to find grievance in high-profile assignments, however, but perhaps more importantly, they have a history of weaponising that grievance, to blast their way to good results. Test tours of South Africa in 2019, England in 2014, the T20 World Cup in 2014, and of course the big one - the 1996 World Cup - are some examples. But here they are up against a side that seems much-better drilled, and way more settled than they are.
Sri Lanka have to dig deep and find a new gear to overcome their cricketing, and fatigue-related circumstances. New Zealand merely have to build on what they've already been doing.
Form guide
New Zealand WLWWW (completed matches, most recent first)
Sri Lanka LWWWL
In the spotlight
That the likes of Trent Boult, Tim Southee, and Lockie Ferguson are good at turning it on is known, but don't sleep on Mitchell Santner, who has put up some impressive stats this year. Against Australia, he took 3 for 31 bowling inside the powerplay, and then through the middle overs. In T20Is this year, he has 17 wickets from 12 games, with an economy rate of 6.69.
Pitch and conditions
Thankfully, after two rained-out games on Friday, the forecast looks good in Sydney. This match will be played on a fresh pitch, and there will likely be a short side of the ground. The SCG has generally been the best batting surface so far in the tournament.
Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Kusal Mendis (wk), 2 Pathum Nissanka, 3 Dhananjaya de Silva, 4 Charith Asalanka, 5 Bhanuka Rajapaksa, 6 Dasun Shanaka (capt), 7 Wanindu Hasaranga, 8 Chamika Karunaratne, 9 Maheesh Theekshana, 10 Pramod Madushan, 11 Lahiru Kumara
New Zealand (possible): 1 Finn Allen, 2 Devon Conway (wk), 3 Kane Williamson (capt.), 4 Glenn Phillipps, 5 James Neesham, 6 Mark Chapman, 7 Mitchell Santner, 8 Ish Sodhi, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Lockie Ferguson, 11 Trent Boult
Quotes
"If it's a good batting wicket and a fast outfield, the runs are there for taking. We need to go with a different game plan on a pitch like this.."
Sri Lanka assistant coach Naveed Nawaz on needing to adjust to Sydney, having played in three other venues in the past 12 days.
"Feels like it's been a while since we've played, but we've had a couple of good trainings in between."
New Zealand fast bowler Tim Southee on the entirely different kind of challenge that his team faces.
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