When Australia plays Sri Lanka on Monday morning in the Cricket World Cup, Richard Mann believes that Australia might be in for more heartbreak.
Tips for betting on cricket: Australia vs. Sri Lanka
2pts Australia will lose versus Sri Lanka at 11/4 (general)
2pts Top Australian batsman Steve Smith is listed at 7/2 (Sky Bet).
After having a disastrous start to their World Cup campaign, when they lost badly to South Africa and India in their first two games, Australia has already arrived at the Last Chance Saloon bar.
When Pat Cummins’ team takes on Sri Lanka on Monday at 9.30 am UK time in Lucknow, they may be hoping that things will become easier, but so far, their opponents have performed admirably despite losing to South Africa and Pakistan.
Sri Lanka’s batting has performed brilliantly on both occasions—326 against the Proteas and 344 against Pakistan—but the bowling has fallen short.
The issues in Australia are more pervasive. Except for Josh Hazlewood’s outstanding opening stint against India, their bowling has been mishandled twice, while their batting has only managed 199 and 177 runs in two tries.
The Australian top six already has a different makeup than the one we anticipated to see in India just a few weeks ago, and the choice to prioritize Marcus Stoinis over Cameron Green in the middle order is another point of dispute. Travis Head is still sidelined, and Alex Carey has now been dismissed.
Despite Steve Smith’s impressive 46 against India, no one in Australia’s batting lineup has yet to reach 50 runs at this World Cup.
He appeared to be in fine condition during both innings and given that the pitch at this venue often favors spinners, this superb spinner would appear to have the most impressive resume out of an Australian lineup that was out of shape.
The top Sri Lankan batter market looks to be too competitive to be involved in with so many Sri Lankans in strong form with the bat with the top six having produced two hundreds and four fifties in the first two matches.
However, given that batting unit’s performance, there is interest in the 11/4 outsiders in the match market, especially when compared to Australia’s batting woes. Kusal Mendis has already scored 198 runs in the competition, but Sri Lanka is far from relying only on him.
Though their opponents haven’t exactly uprooted any trees, Sri Lanka’s bowling poses more of a threat, and Adam Zampa, Australia’s lone frontline spinner, hasn’t performed up to expectations. Glenn Maxwell has so far outbowled him.
Although the loss of skipper Dasun Shanaka for the duration of the tournament is disappointing, his previous, modest performance patterns indicate that his absence may be compensated for. Sri Lanka is undoubtedly more equipped in the spin department.
Fast improvement is required from Australia, and given the odds, Sri Lanka must be the best wager on value reasons at 11/4.
