Australia rebounded from their disastrous form in the Test series in Sri Lanka to take the opening ODI of five at the weekend and now they will be looking to build on that when the two sides head into battle in the second ODI in Colombo on Wednesday.
Sri Lanka will be disappointed not to put an opponent that they had the wood over away but they shouldn’t panic just yet. They know they need to win here to keep their chances of winning the series realistic.
Sri Lanka
Although they had never got away from Australia in the opening game, Sri Lanka looked like they were going fairly well when they were 124-2 in the 30th over with Dinesh Chandimal going along nicely. They had a good platform to build on and all looked good but then came a batting collapse and they never really recovered.
They fought hard with the ball but a burst from Aaron Finch always had Australia ahead of the rate and no matter what Angelo Mathews tried Sri Lanka couldn’t peg them back but there was enough in the match to encourage the home side as long as they manage the second half of their batting innings better.
Australia
The tourists will be delighted with their performance in the first match. After three savage beatings in the Test matches to respond the way they did showed their character and also how solid they are in this format no matter what the conditions are.
While they will be delighted with their performance they may have concerns that it was their seamers who took all the wickets in the first match. As the series goes on it is unlikely that conditions will favour the seamers so they need their spin twins to come into play a lot more than they did in the opener.
Team News
With Nuwan Pradeep ruled out of the series there isn’t a lot of change that Sri Lanka can make. One man who could come in to beef up the batting and solidify the bowling is Seekkuge Prasanna. He has recently been playing in county cricket so he should be sharp.
Australia are likely to field an unchanged side barring any last minute injuries. Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh and Nathan Coulter-Nile may have to wait for later in the series to get their chance.
R.Premadasa Stadium
We went through all the stats ahead of the first match here so there is little point in doing that again. Anyone who wants them just check out the preview for the first ODI.
We saw extravagant turn in the opening match and while the same wicket isn’t being used for this match it would be a surprise if this one doesn’t carry similar assistance for the spinners given how dominant spin was in the Test matches.
Betting
I’ve a feeling Sri Lanka can level the series here. I think they know what they are up against now and those who needed a match to get going like Siriwardana and Perera and the like now have that under their belts which can only be a positive.
This is generally a good ground for Sri Lanka and considering their batting collapse they weren’t too far away from winning the opening game. If they manage the second half of their innings better, and you would have to think Angelo Mathews will score some runs this time which will help, they will take plenty of beating.
The other bet I like is the performance of James Faulkner. It isn’t very often that you can take a performance on a man you think will lose but such is the impact and effect Faulkner has on matches we can here.
He will bowl at the death which is massively important because cheap wickets often come in regular supply at that stage of the innings and he is a master of picking them up. He may also pick up wickets at other points in the innings too and then with the bat in his hand he’s an excellent finisher and quite often goes up the order to perform that role.
Throw in the fact he’s an excellent fielder and is often in positions the ball is going to go and we have ourselves a 3D cricketer who is always in the game whether his team wins or loses and all of that combined can see him past a 43.5pt target.
Tips
WON – Back Sri Lanka to win 2nd ODI for a 3/10 stake at 2.75 with Skybet
Back them here:
WON – Back J.Faulkner’s Performance – Over 43.5pts for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
Back him here:
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