Sri Lanka v Scotland World Cup Match Prediction & Betting Tips

Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

After Bangladesh’s win against England, the quarterfinalists from this Group have already been decided. What has not been adjudicated yet though is their positions. Also, Scotland have a couple of games to stake a claim for themselves and the associates generally as they take on two strong teams in Australia & Sri Lanka before hopping onto their flight home. Scotland have not had a proud moment to share as they are still to win a World Cup game despite making their WC debut way back in the 1999 edition.

Sri Lanka on the other hand seem to be losing more players than matches they are playing at the moment. Every game has resulted in an injury to one of their players. The latest casualty is Dinesh Chandimal. Chandimal who pulled his hamstring against Australia has been ruled out of the tournament. The way he was batting, a few more overs and Sri Lanka would have really run Australia close. Things quickly changed after his injury.

Head to Head

Sri Lanka and Scotland have only met once before. Sri Lanka drubbing the Scots on that occasion by a handsome 183 runs at Edinburgh back in July 2011.

They have never met in a World Cup encounter.

At this Ground

Sri Lanka have played 9 One Day International games at Hobart and have won just 4 of them. They will look to correct that in tomorrow’s encounter.

Scotland on the other hand are yet to play at this particular venue. In fact, this is Scotland’s first game of this World Cup in Australia. Their previous 4 encounters were all played in New Zealand.

Tournament Records

Scotland have been awful. However, Kyle Coetzer has been their shining light. He recently in the game against Bangladesh made the highest score by a Scottish batsman.

Kumar Sangakkara has looked pristine this tournament. He & Shikhar Dhawan (After today’s heroics) are the only two cricketers with 2 or more centuries this World Cup. Kumar Sangakkara has 3 to his name.

Current Form

Scotland have been woeful this World Cup. With all the Associate nations putting their hand up and flying the minnow flag high in some form or the other; Scotland has deterred the cause. A win tomorrow could be a huge boost to the nation and the team. With Sri Lanka’s depleted lineup this could be their best chance. Playing the Aussies would definitely be intimidating.

Sri Lanka as they say have been peaking at the right time. After losing their first game to New Zealand convincingly, they have bounced back strongly. They ran Australia close too and had it not been for Chandimal’s hamstring, the game would have gone right down to the wire. Despite injury concerns, the Lankans are always in the there and thereabouts in ICC events. Sri Lanka will look to get back to winning ways after the minor hiccup against the hosts.

Scotland (1/5 games won) - Scotland have lost all their World Cup games
Sri Lanka (3/5 games won)

Pitch & Conditions

The Bellerive pitch is straw coloured and perfect for batting. Historically, it has been full of runs. And the same has been the case this World Cup. There have already been 4 scores over 300 at this same wicket this Australian summer. The same can be expected tomorrow at least from the Lankan end. Scotland may find it difficult to pick a revived Lasith Malinga.

The forecast is partly cloudy but we should get a full game.

Players to watch out for

Kyle Coetzer made the highest score by a Scottish batsman earlier this World Cup. If he can repeat his fireworks against Sri Lanka, Scotland may surprise. It is imperative for Scotland that he does get them off to a flier.

What do you say about Kumar Sangakkara! The man has been in stupendous form this World Cup. 3 back to back centuries and we definitely won’t be surprised if he gets another one. Will the law of averages catch up? Well, time will tell.

Lasith Malinga looked a lot better against Australia relative to his ginger beginning. His rhythm has looked better & speeds are getting closer to the 140 mark we are used to. If he cranks it up, Scotland could be blown away in a jiffy.

Prediction

A. Sri Lanka should have an easy game. They do have injury concerns but I do not expect Scotland to fight as hard as the Irish have done. Sri Lanka will win easily. Could be over very quickly.

B. Kumar Sangakkara will look to continue on his merry way. We could get another century from the run machine. However, this will only be possible if Sri Lanka bat first. I don’t see Scotland getting a score big enough to give Sanga time to get a century.