India v Sri Lanka ODI Game 8 Betting Preview
India v Sri Lanka: ODI Game 8, Tuesday 21/2 – 1.20pm (Local Time) at Gabba, Brisbane
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 – tied with Sri Lanka at Adelaide Oval (14/2)
Game 7 – lost to Australia by 110 runs 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 – tied with India at Adelaide Oval (14/2)
Game 6 – defeated Australia by eight wickets (with 101 balls remaining) under D/L method 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:
Before December 2011, Irfan Pathan hadn’t represented his country since June 2009. But since being reintroduced into the side, the 27-year-old has looked comfortable on the big stage and shown signs of the same bowler that burst onto the international scene with a bang in 2003. Pathan has come back into the Indian ODI line-up as an opening bowler and impressed in his two games in this tri-series so far. The left-arm paceman bamboozled the Sri Lankan batsmen in Adelaide a week ago, taking 1-38 from nine overs in an impressive display of swing bowling. Pathan was also his side’s best bowler against Australia on Sunday, taking 3-61 from his allotted 10 overs. He will enjoy the green and humid Gabba conditions today and should cause a few Sri Lankan batsmen some headaches.
Angelo Mathews has been around the international cricket scene for two and a half years now and looks incredibly comfortable in the limelight for a man of his age. The 24-year-old not only has enormous talent, he also shows incredible leadership out on the field, hence why he was named vice-captain of the Sri Lankan side for this ODI tour. While Mathews is more than capable with the ball – he has taken 40 wickets from his 67 ODI’s – his ability with the bat is the facet of his game that sticks out the most. The right-handed batsman was in scintillating touch against Australia in third match of this tri-series, smashing 64 off 76 balls to bring Sri Lanka within five runs of victory, only to be dismissed on the second last ball of the innings. If Mathews is given plenty of time and opportunities at the crease today, expect him to build an important innings.
PITCH AND CONDITIONS:
The forecast for Brisbane today doesn’t look too flash, with an afternoon thunderstorm and a top of 30 degrees expected. Therefore either captain could make the gutsy call to bowl first, mainly because of the extra moisture, both in the air and on the ground. It will accentuate the swing in the wicket and cause headaches for top-order batsmen during the afternoon session.
TEAMS:
India has lost skipper MS Dhoni to suspension for the second time this summer. The Indian captain was banned for one ODI and fined 40 percent of his match fee for his team’s slow over-rate against Australia on Sunday. Vice captain Virender Sehwag now has to come back into the side for either Sachin Tendulkar or Gautam Gambhir and lead from the front. Reserve wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel will definitely come into the side, but where he bats remains to be seen. From a bowling perspective, expect Ravi Ashwin to come back into the side, possibly in favour of Ravindra Jadeja, who has continued to struggle this summer. And if Praveen Kumar is right to play, expect him to play on his beloved Gabba wicket and replace Umesh Yadav, who is struggling for accuracy at the moment. Here is how the Indians are likely to line-up:
- Sachin Tendulkar/Virender Sehwag (C)
- Gautam Gambhir
- Virat Kohli
- Suresh Raina
- Rohit Sharma
- Parthiv Patel (WK)
- Ravindra Jadeja/Ravichandaran Ashwin
- Irfan Pathan
- Zaheer Khan
- Umesh Yadav/Praveen Kumar
- Ranganath Vinay Kumar
After such a comprehensive performance against Australia last Friday night, don’t expect the Sri Lankan selectors to make too many changes to the side. The opening combination of Mahela Jayawardene and Tillakaratne Dilshan worked superbly together in Sydney, so don’t expect the out-of-sorts Upul Tharanga to come back into the side anytime soon. And you would think off-spinner Sachithra Senanayake would miss out on this occasion due to the swing-friendly Gabba wicket. Here is how the Sri Lankans are likely to line-up:
- Mahela Jayawardene (C)
- Tillakaratne Dilshan
- Kumar Sangakkara (WK)
- Dinesh Chandimal
- Lahiru Thirimanne
- Angelo Mathews
- Thisara Perera
- Farveez Maharoof
- Nuwan Kulasekera
- Lasith Malinga
- Rangana Herath
WHO WINS?
With Australia losing to Sri Lanka on Friday night but bouncing back with a huge win against India on Sunday night, this game today is crucial in terms of the direction for the rest of this tri-series.
A Sri Lankan victory means they would leapfrog India and slot into second place on the points table. That would put the Indians severely behind the eight ball, because they would have one less game remaining than Sri Lanka in the series.
India’s bowlers showed a real lack of maturity and fitness on Sunday, particularly in the final 10 overs of Australia’s innings where 101 runs were scored. It seemed as if they were not ready, or couldn’t handle, the humid and swing-friendly Brisbane conditions. Perhaps they will be better off after their experience on Sunday.
However, Dhoni is a huge loss for the Indians. In fact he is probably the last guy they wanted to leave the side.
The Indian skipper has clearly been his side’s most consistent batsmen this series with scores of 44 not out, 58 not out and 56 in his past three matches. Patel, Dhoni’s replacement, is a class player and a more than adequate replacement, but Dhoni’s leadership, as well as his explosive yet considered hitting, will be dearly missed.
It’s simple for Sri Lanka: its batsmen must stand up. Dinesh Chandimal has had an excellent series to date, scoring 188 runs at 62.66. But he hasn’t had consistent support from his fellow top-order batsmen, such as Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara.
However if all of the batsmen can stand up and produce a team innings similar to the one Australia did on Sunday night, India will certainly be on the back foot.
Expect Sri Lanka to make the most of Dhoni’s absence and expose India’s out-of-touch batting line-up on the green Gabba wicket.
BEST HEAD-TO-HEAD BET:
Sri Lanka to win ($1.93)
MOST SIXES:
Sri Lanka ($2.50)
SRI LANKA HIGH BAT:
Kumar Sangakkara ($4.50)
INDIA MOST WICKETS:
Zaheer Khan ($4.50)
700 views
Recent Comments