Sri Lanka v Australia betting tips and predictions
Australia’s T20 World Cup campaign could be dealt a devastating blow when they clash with Sri Lanka in Kandy on Monday.
The Australians were stunned in their second clash of the tournament when they were beaten by Zimbabwe and now must win their remaining Group matches to proceed into the knockout stage.
The undefeated Sri Lankans have defeated Oman and Ireland to put themselves in the box seat to qualify top, and a victory over Australia would ensure their safe passage.
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Australia must be seriously considering rushing star batsman Steve Smith into the line-up, but he remains outside the 15-man squad officially, and with captain Mitch Marsh (who has overcome a testicle injury) almost certain to play after injury, the veteran could be left on the sidelines.
There is a slight injury cloud over Marcus Stoinis after he received a blow to his hand against Zimbabwe, but he batted relatively freely in the nets, and is likely to play, although with Matt Renshaw batting well and in-form Smith in the wings, they could rest him.
Sri Lanka are unlikely to make wholesale changes for the clash, although Dushan Hemantha was flayed against Oman, and could be dropped against the stronger Australian line-up.
Below are our free Sri Lanka v Australia betting tips and winner prediction.
Sri Lanka v Australia odds
Match Betting
- Australia $1.47
- Sri Lanka $2.70
Sri Lanka Top Runscorer
- Pathum Nissanka$3.50
- Kusal Mendis$4.20
- Kusal Perera$4.80
- Kamil Mishara$5.00
- Pavan Rathnayake$6.00
Australia Top Runscorer
- Travis Head$3.50
- Mitchell Marsh$3.75
- Steve Smith$4.40
- Josh Inglis$4.80
- Tim David$5.00
Top Bowler
- Adam Zampa (AUS)$4.50
- Nathan Ellis (AUS)$5.80
- Xavier Bartlett (AUS)$7.25
- Matheesha Pathirana (SL)$8.50
- Pramod Madushan (SL)$9.00
- Eshan Malinga (SL)$10.00
Sri Lanka v Australia betting tips
Our cricket betting expert has cast their eye over the markets and found some value Sri Lanka v Australia betting tips:
Tim David to top-score for Australia
David is explosive when on song but there are major gaps (on the international stage, at least) between his best and worst. David has not played much cricket recently after suffering a hamstring injury, while playing for Hobart on Boxing Day, and he holed out early against Zimbabwe, but he desperately needs to fire for the Aussies. David is paying 5.50 with Aussie betting sites to top-score in the Australians innings.
Matheesha Pathirana to take most wickets
We have seen what Lasith Malinga could do to a T20 match and Pathirana has that same slinging action, which can cause batsmen plenty of grief. We think he could trouble the somewhat fragile Australian top-order. He is paying 4.00 to top the wickets for the home team, or 8.50 to top the wickets in the match, and the Kandy pitch looks more suited to pace.
Nathan Ellis most wickets for Australia
Ellis looks to be a leader of the next generation of Australia’s pace attack at T20 level, and he will enjoy the extra bounce in Kandy, although the runs have flowed at this ground. If Ellis can jag early wickets and not be belted around the park, he will go a long way to helping his team keep their T20 World Cup hopes alive. He is paying 5.80 to top the wickets.
Sri Lanka v Australia prediction
Sri Lanka is in a better spot in this tournament than the Australians after winning their opening two games, and should play with freedom, which can be difficult to counter. Australia will be feeling the weight of the world after the loss to Zimbabwe (but they will be safe in the knowledge nobody back home is watching) and must win to keep their dreams alive. While Sri Lanka is not without hope in this game, we just think Australia is too good not to fight it out, and should have too much depth in their line-up. Our final Sri Lanka v Australia prediction? Australia to win.
