It is a battle of the top teams in the T20 World Cup Group 1 as Australia and Sri Lanka lock horns to cement their position at the top of the table. Match no. 22 will take place at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai, on Thursday, October 27, at7:30 pm IST.
As part of our online cricket betting analysis, find the best Australia vs Sri Lanka betting tips and predictions below.
Let’s move on to the top cricket betting tips and predictions ahead of today’s World Cup match.
Both teams are coming off a win in this game. Australia trumped South Africa in a low-scoring affair while Sri Lanka made a strong statement by defeating Bangladesh and chasing down the gigantic target of 172 runs.
If this were a few years ago when Australia were at their clinical best, we would have pegged them as the favourites for this match. However, they have been shaky this year and other teams can smell blood.
This is a fixture that can quite likely go either way but if we’re to back a winner, it would have to be the Lankans in our Australia vs Sri Lanka predictions and betting tips.
Australia started their T20 World Cup campaign with a five-wicket win over South Africa in Abu Dhabi. Bowling first, the Baggy Greens restricted the Proteas to a meagre total of 118-9.
The bowlers had a field day as the fast-paced triumvirate of Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, and Pat Cummins got five wickets between them. Adam Zampa got a couple while the prolific all-rounder Glenn Maxwell got one to his name.
With the bat, they were a bit shaky and it was touch and go for a while. Aaron Finch got out for a duck, David Warner finally added some runs but left soon, scoring just 14 runs. It was Australia’s middle-order in the likes of Steven Smith, Marcus Stoinis, and Maxwell that contributed to the chase and sealed the win, reaching 121-5 with tw0 balls to spare.
Needless to say, Australia will be brimming with confidence after that win but they know it was a close match. They haven’t been at their clinical best in quite some time, seeing that they fell to India in the warm-ups. Moreover, the visitors from the land down under have not won a T20 series since February.
Between then and now, they have lost series to India, England, New Zealand, West Indies, and Bangladesh. Australia have been rather inconsistent of late and will need to do a lot more if they want to reach the final.
Australia’s Likely XI
Aaron Finch, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Steven Smith, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
Sri Lanka Team News
Sri Lanka are on fire as they continue to outclass every rival they meet in the T20 World Cup. However, it is safe to say that the match against Australia will be their toughest challenge yet in the United Arab Emirates.
The Lions won both their matches in the warm-up and all three fixtures in the qualifiers although, the latter came against the likes of Namibia, Ireland, and the Netherlands. Nonetheless, those wins will count towards building confidence and momentum.
In the Super 12 opener against Bangladesh, the Lankans delivered one of their most impressive results in the format in recent history. Batting first, Bangladesh put up 171-4 on the board on the tricky pitch in Sharjah. In response, Sri Lanka chased it down with 172-5 and seven balls to spare, thanks to the heroics of Charith Asalanka (80 off 49) and Bhanuka Rajapaksa (53 off 31).
That said, the likes of Avishka Fernando, Kusal Perera, and Wanindu Hasaranga got out in single digits. If these players can also start firing with the bat, then the Sri Lankan unit becomes absolutely unstoppable.
With the ball, Chamika Karunaratne, Hasaranga, and Lahiru Kumara will lead the charge. Shanaka has got a few additional bowlers at his disposal to shake things up for the Aussie batsmen.
We are in Dubai for this one where the pitch is favourable for batting and bowling. However, the larger boundaries mean batsmen will have to put in more effort to score big runs. That said, a first-inning score upwards of 150-160 would certainly be competitive.
This being a day affair, dew will have very little role to play.
Things have been neck and neck between the two teams. In the Australia-Sri Lanka H2H tally in T20 cricket, it is 8-8.
Australia, however, have won their last four T20 encounters.
Australia vs Sri Lanka Toss Prediction
Looking at the coin toss stats between the two teams, Sri Lanka have had a much better time here. They lead 9-7 in the coin toss department, having won seven of the last eight times.
In our Australia vs Sri Lanka toss prediction, let’s back Australia to win the toss.
Sri Lanka have not beaten Australia in the 20-over format since February 2017 so a win here for them is certainly long overdue. After months of uncertainty and rocky developments in Sri Lankan cricket, the side is finally starting to believe in themselves.
Looking at the performance of the Lions so far, they have inspired more confidence than their counterparts and are heading into this fixture with a solid chance of winning and carving a massive upset. The fact that the odds on them winning are so high compared to Australia (1.4) tells us that this is one of those value bets to make.
Of course, Australia make for a safer bet but given their inconsistencies and form woes, Sri Lanka will fancy their chances here.
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Among the many bowlers who are familiar with the pitch in Dubai, Josh Hazlewood comes out on the top. His stint with Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League this season ended with the winner’s trophy. In the final in Dubai, he picked up 2-29 and has proven himself to be a reliable, consistent performer.
He also picked up a couple against South Africa a few days back to emerge as the best bowler for the team. He is likely to bowl his full spell and may very well repeat the feat again.
