Cricket World Cup predictions: India vs Sri Lanka tips

Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah then skittled England’s batters, sharing seven wickets between them as Liam Livingstone top scored for Buttler’s side with 27. 

India look primed and ready to go for another win against a Sri Lanka team that have struggled at the tournament too. 

After losing their opening three games, Sri Lanka found life with a win over Netherlands before defeating England by eight wickets. But, it proved to be a false dawn as Kusal Mendis’ team were well beaten by Afghanistan last time out. 

India are the overwhelming favourites for this game in the Cricket World Cup odds, and many of their key men feature in our predictions for the contest. 

Sharma continues to produce 

India have not had many issues at the World Cup, but there was a slight wobble against England as their top order outside of the skipper collapsed.  

Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli were dismissed cheaply in the early overs, and rather than take his swashbuckling approach, Sharma was forced to react to the situation and usher his side towards a competitive total.  

He still scored his 87 runs in 101 deliveries, notching 10 fours and three sixes in the process. Even when his team were under pressure, Sharma was still able to find the boundary and keep the scoreboard ticking.

The 36-year-old is still well in the race to top the run chart at the World Cup for the second tournament in a row and is priced at 11/4 with UK betting sites to achieve the feat. 

Sharma has faced Sri Lanka more than any other nation in ODI cricket with 51 appearances, and has six centuries and seven fifties to his name.  

He blasted his career-high 208 against Sri Lanka in 2017 and scored a ton against them in the 2019 World Cup at Headingley. We’re taking him to be the top batter in the match with BoyleSports at 3/1. 

Will Shami press his case? 

Shami was controversially left out of India’s line-up for their opening four games of the tournament, but an injury to Hardik Pandya paved the way for him to start against New Zealand. 

He dominated with the ball against the Black Caps, claiming a five-wicket haul to keep them to a manageable total. Shami picked up where he left off in India's triumph over New Zealand with a mesmeric spell against England.  

Although Buttler and his team were bereft of confidence, Shami was relentless with his line and length. He tormented Ben Stokes before he prised him out for a 10-ball duck on his way to finishing with figures of four for 22. 

Despite missing the opening four games of the World Cup, Shami is well in the race with new betting sites to finish as the top bowler at odds of 10/1.  

The 33-year-old has not performed too well against Sri Lanka in his previous five games, taking only six wickets at an average of 46.50. But, we’re willing to back him to take three wickets or more at 2/1 with Betway.

Century to be scored by India

Despite their talented batting unit, only two India players have scored centuries at the tournament. 

It could be because the hosts have enjoyed chasing at the World Cup and the quality of their bowling attack has meant those chases have been relatively small totals by modern standards.  

England exposed a potential weakness in the ranks if India have to bat first, especially for later in the competition where South Africa and Australia could punish them if they fail to put meaningful runs on the board.

Sharma and Kohli have been the two players to make three figures so far and Sharma has fallen short in the 80s twice, while Kohli made 95 against New Zealand. 

They’ve threatened to get there, but it could be time for another player to step forward such as Gill or Shreyas Iyer. With our final bet, we’re taking for an India batter to score a hundred at 6/4 with bet365. 

Simon Sinclair is an experienced sports journalist, who has written for national publications for football, cricket, NFL and many more. He contributes tips on a wide range of sports for The Independent.