T20 World Cup: NZ v Sri Lanka best bets & top odds

New Zealand will look to advance their T20 World Cup credentials when they face Sri Lanka under lights at the SCG this Saturday night.

The Kiwis kicked off their World Cup campaign with a big win over early tournament favourites Australia. The performance was a powerful statement of intent and New Zealand dominated every facet of the game. The sputtering Aussies had no answer to a red-hot opening stand in which Finn Allen belted 42 from 16 balls and Devon Conway smashed 92 from 58 balls. The strength of this win saw the Kiwis’ odds to hoist the silverware trimmed to around the +350 mark with Bovada – second only to India, who currently hold favouritism at +210.

In addition to Allen and Conway, Kane Williamson appears to be in good touch with the bat, and the Kiwis will be looking to post another big total if the toss falls their way. Tim Southee and Mitchell Santner looked dangerous with ball in hand against the Aussies, collecting three wickets apiece, with support coming from Trent Boult and Lockie Ferguson.

Sri Lanka were held to 6/157 by Australia at their most recent outing and were overrun in the 16th over by the big-hitting heroics of Marcus Stoinis. Pathum Nissanka top scored with a steady 40 runs from 45 balls, with support coming from Charith Asalanka and Dhananjaya de Silva. Another 20-odd runs would have proven very handy and might have been enough for the Sri Lankans to scrape home.

Prior to that, the Dasun Shanaka-led squad was far to strong for Ireland, easily completing a 128-run chase with nine wickets and five overs to spare. Kusal Mendis was the destroyer on that occasion, smashing 68 runs from 43 balls. The Sri Lankans are certainly capable of producing a big performance on occasion, but the Kiwis might have too much depth for them here.

Sunny Sydney conditions are forecast with a pleasant 25C expected. If the Kiwis win the toss and bat first, they might be able to close this contest out very early with some heavy hitting in the first five overs.