New Zealand and Sri Lanka meet in Sydney on Saturday for the only T20 cricket World Cup Super 12 match of the day. We take a look at the game from a betting angle.
NEW ZEALAND
New Zealand’s last match against Afghanistan was abandoned without a ball been bowled and it certainly looks as if rain is going to have a big say in which teams make the semi-finals. They had got their Tournament off to the perfect start though with a convincing 89 run win over Australia in the opener. Australia had won the toss and sent New Zealand into bat, a decision they soon regretted as the Black Caps got off to an absolute flyer. Devon Conway with 92 not out off 58 balls and Finn Allen with 42 off 16 were the main destroyers, but there was also a quick fire contribution at the end from James Neesham with 26 off 13 balls.
The innings finished on 200 for 3 and they quickly had the Australians in trouble eventually bowling them out for 111 in the 18th over. Tim Southee had incredible figures with 3 wickets for 6 runs in 2.1 overs and Mitch Santner had 3 for 31 in his 4 overs. Trent Boult who had been my pick for top bowler had a more than respectable 2 for 24 off his 4 overs
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SRI LANKA
Sri Lanka were fortunate that they haven’t been hit by rain to date and their first Super 12 game was a comfortable 9 wicket win over Ireland. They faced a much tougher test against Australia in their second game and they managed to claw their way to a 157 for 6 in 20 overs. Pathum Nissanka scored 40, but at a strike rate of less than 100 and it was Charith Asalanka with his 38 off 25 balls that gave them something to bowl at. There were stages throughout the Australian innings where it looked like Sri Lanka were in the hunt, but a couple of dropped catches certainly cost them and just when things were getting tense Australian’s, Marcus Stoinis went crazy scoring 59 off 18 balls with Australia eventually winning by 7 wickets at with 3.5 overs to spare.
There wasn’t anything to write home about from the Sri Lanka bowlers although Chamika Karunaratne was my pick with his 1 for 21 off 3 overs.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
These sides haven’t met in a T20 since back in 2019, but in the 19 previous meetings things were pretty tight with New Zealand winning 10 and Sri Lanka 9.
BETTING – Click here to bet
New Zealand 4/10
Sri Lanka 15/8
Suggested Bet: Over 1, New Zealand total over 6.5 runs at 19/20
New Zealand have one of the more attacking sides at the top of the innings, Finn Allen is certainly not one to hand around. We need them to score 7 runs in the first over to win this bet.
Suggested Bet: Top Sri Lanka Bowler, Lahiru Kumara at 5/2
I was seriously impressed with his opening spell against Australia when he had Australian captain, Finch in all sorts of trouble and was very unlucky not to grab a few wickets. I am hoping his luck turns against New Zealand and he can deliver for us in the Top Bowler market.
Note: All prices correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
