After a competitive couple of ODI matches, Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka turn their attentions to the 20 over format of the game on Wednesday when they embark on a three-match series which both teams are going to take seriously.
Both teams will want to win this series but for both of them it will act as preparation for what is to come – the T20 World Cup qualifier for Zimbabwe and a tasty looking Asia Cup for Sri Lanka so expect both teams to be at it here.
Zimbabwe
This will be the first time that we will see Zimbabwe in T20 action since they hosted a tri-series with South Africa and New Zealand back in July. They were unable to win any of their four matches in that competition and in truth were not very competitive so they will be looking to be a whole lot better here. The big question is whether they have the tools to be that but they offered up a good showing in the recent ODIs to suggest that talent isn’t the problem.
Of course in the 20 over sphere it is more about power rather than anything else and that is what Zimbabwe need to show. They probably do still have a bowling unit which can be effective in this format of the game, particularly when they get to the African qualifier for the T20 World Cup, but that won’t make much of a difference if they don’t put the runs on the board for their bowlers to be able to defend so the eyes are on the batters here.
Sri Lanka
That certainly isn’t the case for Sri Lanka. They are much more established in this format of the game, although you would suggest that right now they are better in the 50 over format than the 20 over one. If not better than certainly more comfortable in that, although there is definitely an argument to be made that they have more matchwinners in this format than they do the longer one, as they will hope to prove both in this series and then the Asia Cup later in the month.
Sri Lanka will be competing in their first T20 matches since a disappointing loss in a series with Bangladesh back in July so they certainly have something to prove and some momentum to build if they are going to have a successful Asia Cup campaign and then not long after that be competitive in home surroundings in the T20 World Cup. This is the beginning of a big six months of T20 cricket for Sri Lanka and they’ll be keen to hit the ground running.
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Team News
Ben Curran hasn’t been included in the squad for this series so Zimbabwe will line up differently to how they did in the ODI matches. Brendan Taylor is in the squad and is expected to play his first T20 international for a while.
Matheesha Pathirana has been included in the Sri Lanka squad for this series but they will be without Wanindu Hasaranga who remains injured. Kamil Mishara is in the squad but he might have to wait his turn to get into the side.
Betting
You kind of hope from a neutral perspective that Zimbabwe can be competitive here, not just because it will make betting much easier but also because we will get a much better gauge of where the two teams are at heading into their next assignments which should be good betting heats. I do think the odds are fair though and Sri Lanka are probably priced right at 1/3 so I’m looking elsewhere for a bet on this match and that comes in the run line.
That line is 308.5 which doesn’t sound too high for a T20 match but when you consider that Zimbabwe haven’t scored 150 in any of their last 13 matches in this format then suddenly it looks much higher. It isn’t like Zimbabwe have an attack which is going to go massively around the park, especially against a Sri Lanka side which doesn’t have a huge amount of power in it. There are a couple of Sri Lanka batters who might need a game to adjust to the conditions having missed the ODIs so this feels like a lower scoring match, especially when you consider that both ODIs were here so the square has been exposed.
Tips
Back Under 308.5 runs for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
