After a jam-packed three months of T20 in the latter stages of 2022, the shortest form of the game once again returns to screens with Sri Lanka heading to India for a three-match T20 series.
Both sides will be eager for some redemption after Sri Lanka failed to make it beyond the Super 12 phase at the T20 World Cup 2022 and India have had patchy results since exiting the tournament in the semi-finals. While India dominates the head-to-head between the two sides, Sri Lanka will back themselves to score an upset as well particularly if they play anything like they did in September’s Asia Cup.
We preview this match and look at the best bets to make ahead of the first ball being bowled with odds from bookmaker William Hill.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: January 3rd, 10:30 A.M. (GMT)
Looking at the latest odds from William Hill, India are a clear favourite to win the first T20 between the two nations this Tuesday. Odds are 1.33 to India and 3.25 for Sri Lanka, representing a reasonably significant gap in the likelihood of either side winning in the eyes of the bookmakers.
Form-wise, Sri Lanka have not had a lot of cricket since exiting the T20 World Cup 2022 in the Super 12 phase. Their World Cup campaign was disappointing, having entered off the back of an impressive Asia Cup win that saw them defeat India and Pakistan in consecutive matches to make the final where they again defeated Pakistan. At the World Cup, however, they barely scraped through qualifying, dropping their opening game to Namibia before only managing wins over Ireland and Afghanistan in the Super 12 phase. Since the World Cup, they’ve not played any T20 cricket with just two ODIs against Afghanistan where they share the honours.
For India, they went further in the T20 World Cup losing to a rampant English side in the semi-finals by 10 wickets. Since then, India have been busy playing a T20 series, two ODI series and a Test series already. Both the T20 and ODI series in New Zealand were affected by rain with only two full matches being played and a win going to either country. Against Bangladesh, India again split the results losing the ODI series 2-1 with some underwhelming performances in the first two matches before comprehensively winning the Test series.
A win in this series would mean a lot to both nations. Not only is there a significant rivalry geographically, but it would start 2023 off on a strong note for two sides that are looking to prove to their fans they can produce results.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: January 3rd, 10:30 A.M. (GMT)
Given that India are such heavy favourites, betting on an outright win is not the most lucrative betting market. Instead, betting on some of the proposition odds such as the highest scorer for each team is a strong angle. Take Suryakumar Yadav to be the top scorer for India with a return of 3.50.
Yadav has been in hot form the past 12 months and is currently ranked the No. 1 batsmen in T20 cricket. Of his last 12 T20 innings, he’s crossed 50 runs on seven different occasions. Four of these innings he batted all the way through, and once he made a century with a strike rate of 217. The 32-year-old has been one of the most consistent batsmen in the world and with a return of 3.50, he is an excellent bet to top score yet again for India.
