India v Sri Lanka ODI Betting Preview – Game 5
India v Sri Lanka: ODI Game 5, Tuesday 14/2 – 1.50pm (Local Time) at Adelaide Oval
India $1.55
Sri Lanka $2.45
INDIA’S TRI-SERIES CAMPAIGN:
Game 1 – lost to Australia by 65 runs (D/L method) at MCG (5/2)
Game 2 – defeated Sri Lanka by four wickets (with 20 balls remaining) at WACA (8/2)
Game 4 – defeated Australia by four wickets (with two balls remaining) at Adelaide Oval (12/2)
Game 5 – v Sri Lanka at Adelaide Oval (14/2)
Game 7 – v Australia at Gabba (19/2)
Game 8 – v Sri Lanka at Gabba (21/2)
Game 10 – v Australia at SCG (26/2)
Game 11 – v Sri Lanka at Blundstone Arena, Hobart (28/2)
SRI LANKA’S TRI-SERIES CAMPAIGN:
Game 2 – lost to India by four wickets (with 20 balls remaining) at WACA (8/2)
Game 3 – lost to Australia by five runs at WACA (10/2)
Game 5 – v India at Adelaide Oval (14/2)
Game 6 – v Australia at SCG (17/2)
Game 8 – v India at Gabba (21/2)
Game 9 – v Australia at Blundstone Arena, Hobart (24/2)
Game 11 – v India at Blundstone Arena, Hobart (28/2)
Game 12 – v Australia at MCG (2/3)
KEY PLAYERS:
They don’t come much cooler than MS Dhoni – both on and off the cricket field – and an innings doesn’t come much cooler than the one he played against Australia on Sunday night. The 30-year-old played the quintessential captains’ knock, finishing unbeaten on 44 from 58 balls to guide his team to a memorable four-wicket win with four balls to spare. Dhoni played a Michael Bevan-like innings, pacing his innings to perfection and raising the tempo when it needed to be lifted during the dying stages of the match. The wicketkeeper ran superbly between the wickets and topped it off with some big hitting, his biggest a towering 112 metre six over long on, which many considered one of the biggest hits ever seen on Australian soil. Dhoni’s knock on Sunday was reminiscent of his match winning 91 not out against Sri Lanka in the 2011 World Cup final. He will look to replicate that innings, as well as his most recent one against Australia, on Tuesday and lead from the front.
Sri Lankan cricket fans should be very excited about Dinesh Chandimal, clearly one of the hottest young prospects in world cricket at the moment. In his 24 ODI’s so far, the 22-year-old has shown plenty of talent, leadership and sensibility with the bat. Chandimal already has two centuries to his name, one against India in 2010 and a memorable knock of 105 not out against England at Lords – the home of cricket. He has a terrific temperament and clearly suits batting in the number four position. Chandimal has looked comfortable on the hard and fast Australian pitches so far, scoring 64 against Sri Lanka and 37 against Australia in his two matches at the WACA. The right-handed batsman has already tasted success against the Indians in his short yet successful career and he will look to continue that against them on Tuesday.
PITCH AND CONDITIONS:
Both of these teams will love playing on the Adelaide Oval wicket because it will be similar to the pitches they play on in the sub-continent. Nearly 540 runs were scored in Sunday’s match between India and Australia in Adelaide, so expect a similar number on Tuesday when the Sri Lankans try to crash the party on the flat, batsman-friendly wicket. Also expect a full 50-over match, with the Bureau of Meteorology predicting a partly cloudy day with a maximum of 34 degrees. You could not have asked for more perfect conditions for these two teams.
TEAMS:
India’s team management came under fierce scrutiny following Sunday’s match against Australia. Batting great Sachin Tendulkar was rested from the game, prompting key stakeholders at Channel Nine, namely commentator Tony Greig and Executive Producer Brad McNamara, to label the move a ‘disgrace’. A slight overreaction maybe? The cricket world has been well aware of the rotation policy involving Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag at the top of the order since the start of the series. And expect that policy to continue on Tuesday, with Tendulkar likely to come in for Sehwag, whose poor shot selection continues to bring him undone this summer. Don’t be surprised to see Vinay Kumar given a rest too. Here is how the Indians are likely to line-up:
- Sachin Tendulkar/Virender Sehwag
- Gautam Gambhir
- Virat Kohli
- Suresh Raina
- Rohit Sharma
- MS Dhoni (C/WK)
- Ravindra Jadeja
- Ravichandaran Ashwin
- Zaheer Khan
- Umesh Yadav
- Ranganath Vinay Kumar/Praveen Kumar/Irfan Pathan
Once again, the balance of the Sri Lankan side looks good, despite losing their first two games of the tri-series. Young off-spinner Sachithra Senanayake showed great poise and control against the Australians on Friday night and proved he can be just as effective as experienced left-arm spinner Ranga Herath. Expect Herath to get a game eventually, but Senanayake will be given plenty of opportunities first. Lower order batsman Lahiru Thirmanne has scored just 10 runs from his two games so far and hasn’t been brought on to bowl either. If the selectors are feeling harsh, expect him to be dropped for explosive all-rounder Thisara Perera. Here is how the Sri Lankans are likely to line-up:
- Upul Tharanga
- Tillakaratne Dilshan
- Kumar Sangakkara (WK)
- Dinesh Chandimal
- Mahela Jayawardene (C)
- Lahiru Thirimanne/Thisara Perera
- Angelo Mathews
- Nuwan Kulasekera
- Sachithra Senanayake
- Lasith Malinga
- Dhammika Prasad
WHO WINS?
It’s Valentine’s Day on Tuesday – but don’t expect a lot of love between these two arch-rivals.
The Indians should certainly be the more confident team heading into this game. They have won their past two matches against the Lankans and the Australians, with their victory over the latter perhaps the highlight of their disappointing summer so far.
Besides the skipper’s inspirational innings, it was pleasing to see opener Gautam Gambhir put together a decent total, amassing a gritty 92 runs in a man-of-the-match performance. Middle order batsmen Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina also impressed with solid scores of 33 and 38 respectively. Another encouraging sign for the Indians was the performance of young fast-bowling sensation Umesh Yadav, who took 2-49 from his allotted 10 overs in his first ODI game for the summer.
It was a case of so close yet so far for the Sri Lankans last Friday night as they fell agonisingly short against Australia by five runs. Vice captain Angelo Mathews produced a brilliant all-round performance, taking 2-37 with the ball and smashing 64 off 76 balls to give his team a genuine chance of claiming an unlikely victory, only to be dismissed on the second last ball of the match.
However there’s no doubt Sri Lanka has looked reasonably comfortable since arriving in Australia. Its two losses to India and Australia were gutsy, but perhaps only lacked polish in the dying stages of both matches.
You never know what you’re going to get with these sides, hence why it’s always a popular and entertaining contest whenever they meet in any form of the game.
One thing is guaranteed though – a run fest. The Adelaide Oval pitch is a batting goldmine and is similar to the sub-continent wickets, so expect both batting line-ups to make full use of the conditions.
However it’s hard to go past India’s recent form. Dhoni’s men will head into this game full of momentum and confidence after two consecutive victories.
With Tendulkar likely to play and the batting line-up starting to hit its straps in recent games, expect India to win this match in a tight contest.
BEST HEAD-TO-HEAD BET:
India to win ($1.55)
INDIA MOST WICKETS:
Umesh Yadav ($5.00)
HIGHEST INDIVIDUAL MATCH SCORE:
100 Runs or More ($2.25)
Dinesh Chandimal ($4.00)
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