New Zealand and Sri Lanka compete in the first ODI of their three match series in the early hours of Thursday morning for those of us in the UK with the pair of them looking to draw first blood and take immediate control heading into the final two games.
New Zealand go into the series as the warm favourites to come out on top in it and if they are to justify that position they need to get off to a fast start. Sri Lanka are getting used to the role of underdogs which probably suits them at the minute so both should be capable of winning here.
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New Zealand
I get the feeling this is the start of a big six months for New Zealand. They have a real shot at the World Cup later in the year and with Trent Boult and Tim Southee unlikely to be around in four years and Ross Taylor definitely not, this could be their last top chance of global glory for a while so they should be out to be as strong as possible both in this match, the series and the matches leading up to heading to England.
There isn’t really a weakness in this New Zealand side which is why they are so strongly fancied for the World Cup. I guess in an ideal world they would have a standout spin option but if Ish Sodhi finds form then that box is ticked. They have a solid batting line up and excellent seam attack so it is just about keeping everyone fit and in form from here on in.
Sri Lanka
Things are not quite as rosy in the garden of the Sri Lankans it has to be said. They have really struggled since their two great batsmen Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene retired and injuries, a regular change of coach and other goings on have meant they haven’t really had a settled batting line up since then. That has led to a huge inconsistency in their displays and their results.
The other problem Sri Lanka have had is a lack of those mystery spinners that often restrict the opposition when they are looking to attack. The good news is that Lasith Malinga is back for them and appears as fit as he once was but he is going to need a lot of support from the rest of the attack both as a leader of the bowling and as the captain.
Team News
New Zealand are to give Tim Seifert a debut with the gloves in this opening ODI with Tom Latham rested after filling his boots in the Test series. James Neesham is set to get a chance to play himself into the World Cup plans with Tim Southee possibly being rested.
Angelo Mathews has been ruled out of the series for Sri Lanka which will be a big blow for Lasith Malinga. Predicting the Sri Lanka side has been tough for far too long and no combination wouldn’t be much of a surprise although it appears the aggressive Kusal Perera and Niroshan Dickwella will open the batting.
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Betting
I’ll go with a couple of bets over the course of the first ODI with the first bet being on Martin Guptill to make it to 50. He goes into this series off the back of a 70 odd in the Super Smash last week and he has a decent record against Sri Lanka in this format. His last six scores have been 102, 27, 30, 93*, 79 and 49 and that will have been against better attacks than this one. His last two ODI knocks here have been that 102 and 50 against England so there is a lot to like about Guptill here. 13/8 that he makes 50 looks good enough to me.
Regular readers will know that I’m a big fan of Asela Gunaratne and with Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal out of the way someone unfancied may well top score for Sri Lanka in this opening match. Gunaratne shot to life with a couple of decent series in South Africa and Australia so we know that he can handle the bouncier conditions which isn’t something that can be said about all of his teammates. Given his form in the Test series, Kusal Mendis is a worthy favourite but certainly not an unbeatable one. At double figures I’ll play Gunaratne here.
Tips
WON – Back M.Guptill to score 50+ for a 3/10 stake at 2.63 with Coral
Back him here:
Back A.Gunaratne Top Sri Lanka Batsman for a 1/10 stake at 11.00 with William Hill
Back him here:
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