South Africa will be looking to bounce back from the disappointment of a 2-1 series defeat in the ODI’s when they take on Sri Lanka in the first of 3 T20’s in Colombo on Friday. We take a look at the game from a betting angle.
Let’s start with a look at the squads which have been named for the series.
South Africa: Quinton de Kock, David Miller, Rassie van der Dussen , Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, George Linde, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Anrich Nortje, Dwaine Pretorius, Wiaan Mulder, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Lizaad Williams, Lungi Ngidi, Bjorn Fortuin, Sisanda Magala, Beuran Hendricks
Sri Lanka: Dasun Shanaka (c), Dhananjaya De Silva, Kusal Perera, Dinesh Chandimal, Avishka Fernando, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Pathum Nissanka, Charith Asalanka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Kamindu Mendis, Minod Bhanuka, Ramesh Mendis, Chamika Karunaratne, Nuwan Pradeep, Binura Fernando, Dushmantha Chameera, Akhila Dananjaya, Praveen Jayawickrama, Lahiru Kumara, Lahiru Madushanka, Pulina Tharanga, Maheesh Theekshana
The Proteas get a nice injection into their squad with de Kock, Miller, Ngidi and Fortuin all joining up.
Sri Lanka were in poor ODI form heading into the 3 match series and the Proteas would have been very disappointed to lose that one going down in the decider by 78 runs in a low scoring match.
The Proteas most recent action was in July when they beat Ireland 3-0 on the road and they also surprised many when they came away from the West Indies with a 3-2 series win. They played Pakistan home and away earlier in the year losing both series.
Sri Lanka had an impressive victory over India in their last 3 match series losing the opener before coming back to win the next 2. They had previously been on the road losing to England and the West Indies .
1st T20 BETTING – Click here to bet
Sri Lanka 13/10
South Africa 13/20
Suggested Bet: 1st Innings Score under 166.5 at 17/20
I think both teams have question marks over their batting and their strengths probably lie more in the bowling department. I can recall in the West Indies the 1st innings consistently fell between 160 and 170 so the bookies understandably set the line in that range, but I think we may get a low scoring opener.
Suggested Bet: Top Away Batsman, Markram at 33/10
De Kock heads this market at 22/10, but he is coming back after a layoff and I am backing Markram who has had more recent time at the crease to have a good one.
Suggested Bet: Top Away Bowler, Shamsi at 3/1
Shamsi continues to bowl brilliant spells and with batsmen forced to chase him, he is always likely to get amongst the wickets.
Note: All prices correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
