Pakistan	-303.03 at William Hill	Place Bet
Sri Lanka	+240 at William Hill	Place Bet

The 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup returns to Bristol this week with a fascinating tussle between two teams that lifted the trophy back in the 1990s.

Things could only get better for Pakistan after their horrific effort against the West Indies, who sealed out last Friday’s clash in Nottingham with less than 35 overs bowled in the match.

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Nobody could have predicted that the men in green would bounce back by beating England, the tournament hosts and title favourites, only three days later.

Patient batting was the key to that result, with openers Imam-ul-Haq and Fakhar Zaman setting the tone as every man in the top five passed 30.

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The bowling could have been tighter, as Joe Root and Jos Buttler both notched tons for England, but star quicks Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz did enough damage to seal a 14-run win.

Sri Lanka have followed a similar script in the first week of CWC 2019, albeit against less daunting opposition.

They were hammered by New Zealand in their opening game, crashing out for 136 and then failing to take a wicket in the 16 brutal overs that followed.

The batters fared little better in their next outing, scrambling to 201 against Afghanistan, but Lasith Malinga and Nuwan Pradeep starred with the ball as the Lankans defended an adjusted target of 187 under the Duckworth-Lewis method.

Another loss for either team would leave them well back in the race to the semi-finals, so there is plenty on the line.

Pakistan vs Sri Lanka top runscorer betting

Babar Azam – +333 at BetOnline

Babar is fast emerging as one of the very best white-ball batsmen in world cricket. He anchored the innings against England with a well-paced 63 and should fancy himself for triple figures here.

Kusal Perera – +400 at BetOnline

A huge percentage of Sri Lanka’s runs so far have come from only two players. One of those is Perera, who stroked 78 against Afghanistan and looks the best of a pretty ordinary bunch.

Pakistan vs Sri Lanka top wicket-taker odds

Shadab Khan – +375 at BetOnline

The Sri Lankan bats could not handle New Zealand’s quicks or Afghanistan’s spinners, so the field is wide open for this one. Shadab is a genuine wicket-taker and might even open the bowling.

Lasith Malinga – +300 at BetOnline

The highlight of the win over Afghanistan was the vintage form of Malinga, who threw down some signature yorkers at serious pace. It has not gone unnoticed that Pakistan struggled with the speed of the West Indies quicks.

Pakistan vs Sri Lanka CWC betting predictions

Pakistan to win – -303.03 at BetOnline

We know that Pakistan have a special talent for engineering defeat from any situation and against any team, but they cannot afford to lose this one. This Sri Lanka side is running on fumes and should wind up in the bottom three.