Cricket: 1st ODI - Pakistan v Sri Lanka Odds and Betting Preview

Story by Jack Howard on 2011-11-10 16:06:30

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – Pakistan face Sri Lanka in the first game of their five match one-day series on Friday. Pakistan go into the game with all the momentum, having recently secured a 1-0 victory in their test series against Dilshan’s side, and therefore start as marginal 10/11(bet £11 to make £10 profit) favourites with William Hill. Cricket journalists, supporters and bookmakers are all anticipating a very close contest, however, as reflected by the best odds currently on offer for Sri Lanka to win the game: evens with Paddy Power.

Pakistan are a side who have been surrounded by controversy of late, as the eyes of the world watched Salman Butt, Mohammed Asif and Mohammed Amir recieve jail sentences for the parts they played in the spot fixing scandal in 2010. The Pakistan team who face Sri Lanka on Friday will desperately want to shift the emphasis away from controversy and towards cricket, and there would be no better way to do this than by securing an emphatic victory in their upcoming match.

In order to beat Sri Lanka in the shortened version of the game Pakistan’s top batsmen must make plenty of runs, a task that will certainly be made more difficult by the presence of Lasith Malinga in the Sri Lankan bowling attack. Mohammed Hafeez is currently thought to be Pakistan’s most dangerous batsman by the bookmakers, and he is currently 7/2 favourite with Ladbrokes to make the most runs for his side. Middle-order veteran Younis Khan is also deemed likely to top score at a slightly longer 4/1 with Coral, whilst Imran Farhat is on offer at 5/1 with Stan James.

Sri Lanka, however, can boast an even stronger batting line up, with a top order that includes Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardena and Tillakaratne Dilshan. Sangakkara amassed colossal scores of 211 and 144 in the test series, and is unsurprisingly 3/1 favourite with Boylesports to top score for his side. Dilshan is on offer at a slightly longer 7/2 with the same bookmakers, whilst Jayawardena can be backed to amass the most runs for Sri Lanka at 4/1 with bet365.

The Pakistani coach will hope that his bowlers can make life difficult for the Sri Lankan top order, and in particular he will look to Saeed Ajmal and Umar Gul to do so. Ajaml and Gul are currently joint favourites to finish with the best Pakistani figures, and can both be backed to do so at 3/1 with Ladbrokes. Sri Lanka’s most threatening bowler, on the other hand, is deemed to be Lasith Malinga, who can be backed to secure the best figures at 5/2 with the same bookmakers.

Play starts at 11.00 GMT

Pakistan v Sri Lanka Match Odds

Pakistan Top Batsman Odds

Sri Lanka Top Batsman Odds

Pakistan Top Bowler Odds

Sri Lanka Top Bowler Odds