The second ODI of the three to be played between Sri Lanka and West Indies will play out on Wednesday when the two sides do battle in Pallekele again with the home side looking to seal the series at the first time of asking.
Sri Lanka won a rain impacted opening match but they were in relative control of the situation before the rain arrived. West Indies will need to respond if they are going to take the series white ball series of two to a deciding game.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka continued the momentum that they built up in the T20 matches in the opening game of the series and a win here would have them claiming the series with a match to spare and they might then have the chance to try a few players out as they look to build a squad they can move forward with ahead of the World Cup in 2027. They have New Zealand in this part of the world next month too so it would make sense to be all out to win this and then rotate players for the decider.
Sri Lanka have dominated largely since the moment West Indies landed on the island and the reason for that is their spinners have had the wood on the touring batters and they have either ripped through the batting order or when they haven’t taken wickets they have stemmed the flow of runs. The big surprise for me has been how well they have batted throughout both series and it would be a surprise if they don’t come out on top here.
West Indies
To be fair to West Indies, they have been more competitive than I thought that they would be. They have been beaten in the last three matches going back to the second T20 but when they have batted first they have put up creditable totals, or were in the process of doing it in the case of the first ODI. They haven’t been quite as solid at all times when they have batted second but they have been in Sri Lanka long enough to have acclimatised to the conditions now.
The problem West Indies have is that their attack doesn’t really suit these conditions. Their spinners aren’t really good enough to maintain the pressure on the Sri Lanka batters and the seamers bowl a length which generally stands up on these pitches and look to be hit. You get the feeling that West Indies might need to chase a score in this match if they are going to win, especially if some rain comes and makes the run chase a nudge easier.
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Team News
Sri Lanka loaded their side with spinners in the opening game and it wouldn’t make much sense to change that approach so it might be that they rotate the seamers with Dilshan Madushanka and Chamindu Wickramasinghe waiting to come in.
West Indies chose not to play Jewel Andrew in the opening match but their batting order looked a batter light so it might be that he comes in here. Jayden Seales went at nearly nine per over in the first game so Matthew Forde could come in for him.
Betting
When I look at the Sri Lanka side and see that Kamindu Mendis was batting at seven in the opening game they look a lot stronger on paper than West Indies and I would expect that to play out over the course of the game. The home side are plenty short enough here though and I’m not one for betting short prices so that brings us to the handicap which for this one is 4.5 wickets and 33.5 runs. That sounds quite high but I’m not convinced that it is.
Admittedly the rain and DRS had changed the landscape a little in the first ODI but Sri Lanka were scoring at 7.35 an over which over 50 overs would translate into a score of around 318 but they could have built on that. I’m not convinced West Indies would be certain to get 300 batting second chasing a big score so that side of the handicap feels within range for Sri Lanka and with Mendis in the form of his life at seven they are not short of batters to get the job done in a run chase. I think the home side on the handicap is the way forward here.
Tips
Back Sri Lanka (-4.5wickets/33.5runs) to beat West Indies for a 3/10 stake at 1.91 with Bet365
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