Sri Lanka Cricket Team – World Cup 2019 Team Preview and Betting Tips
The Sri Lankan team is one of the underdogs in the tournament, due to their recent awful form in the ODI format. Sri Lanka has slipped to 9th position in the rankings table. Sri Lanka has won only one match in their last 10 ODI matches, and that win was against the lowly ranked Scotland team. The Sri Lankan team needs to lift their spirits and put up a good show in the tournament to have any chance of causing an upset. Despite this recent form, they have reached the knock-out phase in the last four consecutive World Cups, but with the changed format this year, it looks an improbable scenario this time around. Now, let us take an in-depth analysis of their players, strengths, shortcomings, and previous records in the ICC tournaments.
ICC ODI team Rank: 9th
World Cup appearances so far: 1975-2015 (All the 11 world cups played so far)
Best World Cup result: Winners in the 1996 World Cup & Runners-up in the 2007 & 2011 World cup
Total World Cup matches: Played: 73, Won: 35, Lost: 35, No-result: 2, Tie: 1
Biggest World Cup wins:
- Sri Lanka beat Australia by seven wickets in the 1996 World Cup (Final)
- Sri Lanka beat New Zealand by five wickets in the 2011 World Cup (Semi-final)
- Sri Lanka beat New Zealand by five wickets in the 2007 World Cup (Semi-final)
Sri Lanka Squad for ICC World Cup 2019
Now, let`s analyze the team combination, squad strength, and different player options available in the Sri Lankan team for the 2019 World Cup.
The Sri Lankan team has a lot of new players and a new captain in charge of the team for the 2019 World Cup.
Captain: Dimuth Karunaratne
Dimuth Karunaratne was a surprise pick for the captaincy option by the Sri Lankan selectors. He has played just 18 ODIs so far and was out of the ODI side for the last two years. However, he is a stylish left-hand batsman and can play long innings. Karunaratne is one of the least experienced captains among all the teams in the 2019 World Cup.
Batsmen: Angelo Mathews, Lahiru Thirumanne, Avishka Fernando
Angelo Mathews and Lahiru Thirimanne are the experienced batsmen in the line-up. They should take responsibility and guide the youngsters in the team. Mathews gave up his bowling due to fitness and will be needed to keep himself free of injuries. Avishka Fernando is a promising young talent who has loads of skill and composure with the bat.
All-rounders: Dananjaya de Silva, Milinda Siriwardene, Thisara Perera, Jeevan Mendis, Isuru Udana
The Sri Lankan team has a host of all-rounders in their squad. Thisara Perera will be an essential member of their team, and his ability to strike the ball hard and long will be required for the team. Isuru Udana will be expected to slot into the starting XI as he is a pace bowling all-rounder. Dananjaya de Silva, Milinda Siriwardene, and Jeevan Mendis are the spin bowling all-rounders in the team. Jeevan Mendis will be their leading spinner in the team.
Wicket-Keepers: Kusal Mendis, Kusal Perera
Kusal Mendis will be their No.1 preferred choice for the wicket-keeper`s role and is also expected to come in at No.3 position in the batting line-up. Kusal Perera is also an excellent player who can slot in as a batsman itself in the team and will also serve as the back-up keeper in the group. Both Perera and Mendis have ample experience playing the ODI format for more than 50+ ODIs which could be vital to any Sri Lankan success this summer.
Bowlers: Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Pradeep, Suranga Lakmal, Jeffrey Vandersay
Lasith Malinga is an aging warhorse and has extensive experience of playing in the World Cup, and is the only bowler to take multiple hat-tricks in the competition's history. Suranga Lakmal is the pace spearhead of the team and the lanky pacer Nuwan Pradeep is expected to slot in as the third seamer in the team. Jeffrey Vandersay is the lone spinner in the team, and he will play a vital role in later stages of the tournament when the pitches wear.
Expected starting XI:
Dimuth Karunaratne(C), Avishka Fernando, Kusal Mendis(Wk), Thisara Perera, Angelo Mathews, Jeevan Mendis, Lahiru Thirumanne, Isuru Udana, Suranga Lakmal, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Pradeep
Remaining Players: Dananjaya de Silva, Milinda Siriwardene, Jeffrey Vandersay, Kusal Perera
Sri Lanka World Cup Schedule 2019
Sri Lanka starts their tournament against New Zealand team on June 1, and they will play a couple of warm-up matches against Australia and South Africa before kicking off the competition. The Sri Lankan team has always performed well in the ICC World Cups, and they need to believe in their team's strengths.
Warm-up matches
- Sri Lanka vs South Africa, May 24, Sophia Gardens, Cardiff
- Sri Lanka vs Australia, May 27, The Rose Bowl, Southampton
World Cup matches
- New Zealand vs Sri Lanka, June 1, Sophia Gardens, Cardiff
- Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka, June 4, Sophia Gardens, Cardiff
- Pakistan vs Sri Lanka, June 7, County Ground, Bristol
- Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka, June 11, County Ground, Bristol
- Sri Lanka vs Australia, June 15, Kennington Oval, London
- England vs Sri Lanka, June 21, Headingly, Leed`s
- Sri Lanka vs South Africa, June 28, Riverside, Chester-le-street
- Sri Lanka vs West Indies, July 1, Riverside, Chester-le-street
- Sri Lanka vs India, July 6, Headingly, Leed`s
Sri Lanka 2019 World Cup predictions & betting tips
The Sri Lankan team comes into the 2019 World Cup low on confidence, and they are not expected to win the tournament. However, Sri Lanka has a talented side that can beat superior ranked teams on their day. Sri Lanka needs string together many victories to make to it to the next stages of the tournament. We expect the Sri Lankan Zealand team to end their competition in the Group Stages. Sri Lanka is likely to end in the bottom two positions in the table unless they spring some shock defeats against the big teams.
The Sri Lankan team is not having a good time in ODI format with losses against all the nations and is low on momentum and form. We give Sri Lankan team 50-50 chances against the Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh teams. Sri Lanka will have lesser odds against top-ranked teams such as India, England, South Africa, and Australia. It won`t be a surprise if Sri Lanka ends up losing all their matches in the Group Stages.
Sri Lanka will be a team with fewer odds of winning the World Cup owing to their recent form, consistent player chopping and changing of captains.
Sri Lanka Odds of winning World Cup 2019: 61.00*
*Odds are accurate at the time of publishing and may vary
2019 World Cup Betting tips & predictions
We give betting tips and predictions for every match of the World Cup 2019. Please check the ‘Cricket tips and predictions’ columns in our site regularly. Betting can be done in different ways such as match results, player performances, scoring rate, runs, wickets taken, etc. We will try to give you small tips in betting in the following paragraph but always remember the form and momentum of the team will be the major factor to decide the outcome once the tournament begins.
If you are betting for the team winning the match, then we will have Sri Lankan team with 50-50 odds in the games against Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Sri Lanka will have 40-60 odds in the opponents favor in the matches against New Zealand, West Indies, and South Africa. Sri Lanka will be given only a little chance of winning against the top-ranked teams like India, England and Australia and the odds will be against them at 20-80.
If you are betting on player`s performances, then the players to watch out for in the New Zealand team are Angelo Mathews, Thisara Perera, and Lasith Malinga. We also expect some players like Suranga Lakmal, Lahiru Thirumanne, and Isuru Udana to give some impactful performances in this tournament.
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