There is just the one match in the T20 World Cup 2021 tournament on Monday and it comes from Sharjah as England take on Sri Lanka in the latest Super 12 Group 1 contest, one which has big implications for both teams.
England go into the match knowing that a win will seal their semi-final spot and most likely win them the group. Sri Lanka know they have to win this match else their last game will be meaningless and they will be out of the competition.
England
I would imagine if you had asked Eoin Morgan how he would have liked the first three England matches to go in this tournament he would probably have answered something similar to how they actually have played out. England have not only won three out of three but they have destroyed each opponent and at no stage in any of their three games have they been behind in any contest. They have been brilliant, ruthless and highly skilled and look like the team to beat right now.
The most impressive thing about the three games England have put together is that they went into the tournament with a few questions to answer. I think it is fair to say they have been answered emphatically as their batting hasn’t had any trouble scoring at the rate they have wanted to and their bowlers are yet to concede more than 125 in any game. One thing England might want between now and the semi-final is to bat first, just so that they know they can win matches posting a score as well as chasing one down.
Sri Lanka
In the early stages of the competition Sri Lanka were every bit as dominant and emphatic as England were. They breezed through their first round group with the minimum of fuss and it looked like they were going to continue that when they took care of Bangladesh in their opening Super 12s match. They have lost two matches since then though which means they can’t afford another loss else they will be out of semi-final contention.
The thing which will have annoyed Sri Lanka the most in those two defeats is there were good periods in both where they were on top. There is no shame in losing to Australia and South Africa but when they have had both teams under pressure, to let them off the hook without ramming home their authoritative position will be annoying. There is no room for moving now so they have to make sure they finish both innings off better than they have in their last two matches.
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Key Men
Jos Buttler is beginning to warm up nicely in this tournament and you get the feeling the Sri Lanka pacemen could go a long way if they don’t get him out early. Buttler tends to keep his form for a while so the 50 he made against Australia could be emulated here.
Wanindu Hasaranga moved to the top of the wicket charts in the previous match and you sense that the only way Sri Lanka are going to slow England down in this match is if he bowls another wonderful four overs. His batting might be needed as well.
Betting
Once again these night matches are basically win the toss, bowl and win the match and we don’t know in advance who it will be who wins the toss in advance so the match outcome bets can’t really be placed until after the toss. That sends me to the side markets once again where this time I like the England sixes market, an offering where there is quite a discrepancy in the prices when you consider all bookmakers who have this market have the line at 6.5.
William Hill go 11/10 on England to cover that and that will do me. This is a very small ground and while the pitch is playing a little tougher there is just so much power on show in this England batting unit that I see no reason why they can’t keep hitting sixes. It isn’t like they need a monster target to cover this either. They were only chasing 125 on a much bigger ground than this against Australia at the weekend and smashed eight sixes. That was done with the likes of Liam Livingstone, Eoin Morgan and Moeen Ali getting nowhere near the crease. With the exception of Hasaranga, cracks are beginning to appear in this Sri Lanka bowling attack and England can punish that to the tune of at least seven sixes here.
Tips
Back England – Over 6.5 sixes for a 3/10 stake at 2.10 with William Hill
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