New Zealand will take on Sri Lanka in a five-match ODI series starting in Christchurch on Saturday, 26 December, with both the sides knowing that they have an opportunity to move up the ICC ODI Championship, provided they win the series by 4-1 or better.

If fourth-ranked New Zealand wins the series by 4-1 or better, then it will move ahead of South Africa into third place. If fifth-ranked Sri Lanka wins the series by the same margin, then it will swap places with New Zealand.

New Zealand, the finalist of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, has not played ODI cricket since August and will need to revive its shorter game skills. With 22 wins and 11 defeats in 35 home ODIs against Sri Lanka, New Zealand clearly has the edge.

In contrast, Sri Lanka has been in top ODI form with a 3-0 home victory over the West Indies last month.

(ICC.com)