We have a busy Saturday of cricket in the UK and this year’s World Cup steps up a notch in the first weekend. One game is played most days during this stage, but Saturday gifts followers two ties that will be played in Cardiff and Bristol, taking us from 10.30am through to the early evening. Here are our top New Zealand v Sri Lanka betting tips.
There’s plenty for supporters to get through and you can follow the action live on Sky Sports. With armchair fans catered for, major bookmakers ensure punters aren’t left out in the cold and a host of exciting betting opportunities means you can have your say on a number of markets in each match.
When the coin toss is decided and the game is underway, you’ll be glad to know many of the pre-match markets remain live throughout the contest thanks to in-play betting. That means a punt is as interesting in the final few balls as it was before the start.
England Favourites for a Home Win
You can also look further ahead and place your antepost bets, securing a better price on your selections. Bet on the outright winner, to reach the final, teams involved in the final, top batsman, top bowler and more. The outright betting has England as favourites to triumph on home turf and end as champions of world cricket this summer.
Those keen to follow the traders in on that one will get a market best price of 2/1 at Bet365. India are 10/3 with William Hill and there’s 7/2 with Ladbrokes on Australia ending on the top step. Of the two nations involved in the match previewed here, New Zealand are expected to perform better and have been priced at 12/1 (Unibet) to win the World Cup, ahead of the 80/1 of their opponents.
The top batsman market will give you a long-term interest and it’s also a value for money bet as it will keep punters glued to all games, counting runs and marking them against the tally of their player. Virat Kohli is the bookies pick to top bat and can be supported at 7/1 with William Hill. That quote places him ahead of Jonny Bairstow at 10/1 with Ladbrokes and Joe Root who is a market best price of 14/1 with William Hill.
NZ Record Stunning Warm-Up Win
New Zealand were simply stunning when recording a warm-up win over India on 25 May when smashing their way to a six-wicket upset against a team that were expected to brush past them. If this was a sign of things to come for this World Cup as a whole, we are in for a very entertaining few weeks indeed. If it’s a taster of what to expect from New Zealand, then we can say with confidence they will go much better than their outright price suggests.
Was is a good day for NZ or a bad one for India? That’s difficult to say as there’s definitely more to come from the beaten side and they are better than they showed us that day, but it would be unfair to take anything away from the victors who sizzled and grew in confidence as the match progressed. The scoreboard on 25 May read New Zealand 180-4 (37.1) against India’s 179 all out (39.2). Not only did the team benefit from beating a quality opponent, they also gained the match sharpness that came from completing a warm-up on a weekend when most other sides suffered the frustration of seeing their fixture washed out by the weather.
The win was perfect timing for New Zealand too as they had a fixture with Bangladesh fall foul of the rain on Friday and that had players and coaches panicking that they wouldn’t get the chance to have a run out before things got serious on the opening day of summer. Let’s hope June brings an extended period of warm, dry weather and we can enjoy an uninterrupted run of high-class cricket.
Traders Impressed by the Performance
New Zealand were particularly impressive when bowling India out for a measly 179 and that score came after falling to 39-4. It became obvious very quickly that day the momentum was with the underdogs and they were in a menacing mood. It was a real team effort by the winning side, but praise was heaped on Trent Boult and Jimmy Neesham who played a starring role.
Kane Williamson scored 67 and that boosted the efforts of Ross Taylor who smashed 71. Speaking to the press at the end of the match, Williamson summed up the mood in the camp by telling reporters his side took confidence from beating a team of India’s quality and scoring plenty of runs in doing so. As far as preparation for a World Cup goes, it couldn’t have gone any better for New Zealand. They must now kick-on and do it when it matters, while India should see the match for what it was – a warm-up and outing best learned from and then put to the back of their mind.
The win over India caught the attention of cricket followers and it also impressed bookmakers who wasted no time in pricing New Zealand as favourites to get off to a winning start. Backers will find Bet365 offering 1/3 and although that may look on the tight side for an opening game, it’s actually market best price. Most of the competition are stuck around the 2/7 mark on the same bet. For those after a bit more of a price, Sri Lanka are 11/4 best offer at Ladbrokes to upset the book. The first 15 overs betting has NZ at 8/15 and Sri Lanka 6/4, both quotes taken from the Ladbrokes website. That should be popular with value hunters on the lookout for a nice price.