After a really entertaining and in the end very competitive T20 series, Sri Lanka and West Indies head to Pallekele on Sunday to begin a three match ODI series, one which has little context to it but will hopefully be as good as the T20 matches.
Usually we would be looking at these two sides to be using this series as their preparation for the Champions Trophy but with neither of them having qualified for that event it shows that there is a lot of improvement to be made in this format for both sides.
Sri Lanka
After dropping the opening game, Sri Lanka won that T20 series and will be looking to get off to a winning start in the ODI matches. They go into them as the favourites but they didn’t have a good World Cup last year so they do have something to prove. To their credit, they went a little way to doing that when they overcame India in a series in August and you would think this wouldn’t be as tough as that on paper so the home side should feel good about their chances.
I think the one thing we want to see from Sri Lanka in this series and moving forward is that we see them pacing a batting innings well and that they can put a top six together which can put up big scores. Their next global 50 over assignment will be the 2027 World Cup in South Africa where 300+ scores will be a requirement. In these conditions we know their spinners will get the job done but if some seamers can appear and make themselves known that will be no bad thing either.
West Indies
West Indies didn’t even get a chance to qualify for the Champions Trophy because their fall from grace in this format of the game has been so stark that they didn’t even make it to the World Cup so it goes without saying that a huge improvement is needed from them in the next few years if they are going to get themselves in a position to be in South Africa in 2027. You would think they have the tools to do that, although conditions here might not be to their liking.
This will be the first ODI series that West Indies will have played since February when they went to Australia and were beaten 3-0 but they did win a home series against England prior to that so there are shoots of life. West Indies are in the same boat as Sri Lanka in that they are guilty of not putting big enough scores on the board. The finishers that they are loaded with in the T20 format aren’t in as deep a supply in ODI cricket which doesn’t help them.
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Team News
Sri Lanka have recalled Dilshan Madushanka to the squad for this match but Matheesha Pathirana has been left out. Jeffrey Vandersay and Chaminda Wickramasinghe are also in the party for these three matches.
West Indies have called up young sensation Jewel Andrew to their squad for the first time and he could make his debut in this match. Matthew Forde wasn’t in the T20 squad but he is in the ODI one as is Hayden Walsh Jr.
Betting
Pallekele is generally a high scoring ground but I wonder if the West Indies are strong enough to contribute enough to the scoring for a relatively juicy run line to be covered. It isn’t like Sri Lanka are guaranteed to go deep with the bat either. I certainly think that the longer the series goes on the lower scoring it will get with all three matches being played on this ground. While West Indies don’t need to smack the Sri Lanka spinners out of the park, their strike rotation against spin is very poor and that is a concern.
The run line for this match is up at 536.5 so if the chasing team wins, which with the dew and everything could be the case, the first innings score would need to be in the 268 ball park and I’m not convinced West Indies would get there. West Indies have the bowling resources to keep Sri Lanka honest, especially if they can break the opening partnership up relatively early. I’m not convinced this will be as high scoring as previous matches here so I’ll play the under.
Tips
Back Under 536.5 runs for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
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