Commonwealth Bank Series 5th ODI: India v Sri Lanka Odds and Betting Preview

Story by George Coombs on 2012-02-14 01:43:28

ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA – India will bid to secure their third consecutive Commonwealth Bank Triangular series win when they take on rivals Sri Lanka at the Adelaide Oval on Tuesday. India managed to beat Australia for only the second time in their two month tour last Sunday and having beaten today’s opposition last week they will be full of confidence heading into this game. A defeat for Sri Lanka in Adelaide would root them to the foot of the league and they would need a swift turn-around to make the final of this series.

India are the 8/13 favourites (bet £13 to make £8 profit) with Blue Square while Sri Lanka who are yet to win a game in Australia can be backed at 11/8 with bet365 and Betfred to win on their third attempt.

India finally performed like the World Champions in their last match against Australia and their failing middle order all contributed with runs. The same ground is being used again this evening and it is a very good batting track with plenty to encourage the bowlers. Vinay Kumar has shown his talent with the ball while Zaheer Khan again showed why he is held in such high regard. MS Dhoni will hope his batsmen can control their shot selection which is their major weakness and if they managed this they should continue to build momentum with a victory today.

Sri Lanka have been very unfortunate losing two tight encounters to India and Australia but face a daunting task if they do not win at the Adelaide Oval. Their experienced men at the top of the order have failed to contribute with runs and this will need to change for them to have any chance at a ground they have had little success on in the past. The Sri Lankans have only won three of their 15 matches played here with only Zimbabwe having a worse record at this venue.

In the Top India Batsman betting, the two openers Gautam Gambhir and Sachin Tendulkar are both priced up at 4/1 with Coral. Tendulakar sat out on Sunday’s win over Australia but India will continue with their rotation policy of the three openers and Virender Sehwag should make way today. Gambhir was in fine form in that game scoring an impressive 92 runs and was unfortunate in being wrongly given out when it looked like he would complete his century. Another player quoted at 4/1 is Virat Kohli while Rohit Sharma is a 6/1 chance with bet365. Suresh Raina is a 7/1 shot with the same firm while the skipper MS Dhoni can be backed at a standout 8/1 with Boylesports to top score for his side. Dhoni steered his side to victory scoring 44 runs off 58 balls as his Indian team recorded a four-wicket win over the hosts.

Kumar Sangakkara has been installed at the head of the Top Sri Lanka Batsman betting and is available at 7/2 with most firms including Skybet and Stan James. Tillakaratne Dilshan and Mahela Jayawardene are both priced up at 9/2 with Blue Square and Paddy Power respectively and Dilshan has looked far more comfortable with the burden of the captaincy. The new skipper Jayawardene has not fully settled in his role but having amassed over 10,000 ODI runs he is never one to rule out in this form of the game. Upul Tharanga is a 5/1 chance with Stan James while Dinesh Chandimal is quoted at 11/2 with bet365. Chandimal has scored 64 and 37 in his two innings to date and should love the conditions at the Adelaide Oval on Tuesday.

Only two of the 14 wickets that were taken during Sunday’s game fell to spinners and so Ravicahandran Ashwin and Zaheer Khan are quoted at 7/2 with Ladbrokes at the head of the Top India Bowler betting. Four players can be backed at 4/1 with bet365 in a very open market and these include; Praveen kumar, Rahul Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Vinay Kumar. Yadav impressed taking two wickets in his first game of the series on Sunday and most of the Sri Lankan batsmen will not have faced this talented pace bowler which should give him a crucial edge.

Lasith Malinga is the short-priced 2/1 favourite in the Top Sri Lanka Bowler betting while Chanaka Welegedara and Rangana Herath can both be backed at 89/2 with Ladbrokes. Angelo Mathews is Sri Lanka’s leading wicket taker in this competition and he is a massive 8/1 chance with Ladbrokes to top his side’s bowling charts again today.

Play begins at 03.20 GMT on Tuesday 14th February and all the action is broadcast live on Sky Sports 1.

India v Sri Lanka – Match Result Odds
India v Sri Lanka – Top India Batsman Betting
India v Sri Lanka – Top Sri Lanka Batsman Betting
India v Sri Lanka – Top India Bowler Odds
India v Sri Lanka – Top Sri Lanka Bowler Odds