After another dominant performance from the Australians who cruised to a nine wicket win at the Gabba on Wednesday, a series sweep looks inevitable as the series moves to Melbourne for the third and final T20. David Warner picked up where he left off from in the first game in Adelaide, making 60* from 41 deliveries on his way to his second consecutive man of the match performance. Steve Smith starred in his first T20I innings in more than three years, smashing 53* from 36 deliveries in as his incredible return to international cricket continues on.
The MCG surface should suit the Sri Lankan spinners more than the Gabba, but their out of sorts batting line up simply does not look capable of putting together a score that their bowlers can bowl at.
Australia vs Sri Lanka 3rd T20 Betting Tips:
Fri Nov 1, MCG, 7:10pm (AEDT)
Australia
David Warner has 160 runs from 97 deliveries without being dismissed this series and looks an obvious choice for most runs, but if you are looking for a better value option, Steve Smith is the way to go. Smith has been dominant in his return to international cricket and given a likely slow MCG pitch, Sri Lanka will look to bowl a lot of spin. Smith is Australia’s best player of spin and will look to dominant an attack that has struggled in the series so far. At $5 with SportsBet, Smith is an excellent value pick for the top Australian run scorer.
Four Australian bowlers tied for most wickets at two a piece in the second match of the series, Adam Zampa overall was the pick of the bowlers taking 2/20 from his four overs. Zampa is in great form and again is providing great value to be the leading Australian wicket taker. Zampa has played a lot of T20 cricket at the MCG with the Melbourne Stars and slow wicket with long square boundaries will give him a great opportunity to exploit an underperforming Sri Lankan batting line up. At $4 with SportsBet, Zampa is a solid choice for most Australian wickets.
Zampa top AUS wickets
$4.00
Sri Lanka
Betting on Sri Lanka is a risky prospect given how poorly they have performed throughout the series so far, however Kusal Perera’s 27 from 19 deliveries on Wednesday was the most a Sri Lankan had with either bat or ball in the series to date. His technique is well suited to facing the Australian fast bowlers and at $5 with SportsBet, he is excellent value for the most Sri Lankan runs.
Sri Lanka’s bowlers have been non-existent in the series so far, so this is a difficult area to predict. Lasith Malinga was the leading wicket taker for Sri Lanka in the second T20, with a measly one wicket. The Sri Lankan spinners will need to have an impact in this match if they are any chance to win. Left arm chinaman bowlers have had great success in T20 cricket in the last 2 years. Lakshan Sandakan looks the man to trouble the Australian batsmen, providing solid value at $4 with SportsBet.
Sandakan top SL wickets
$4.00
Prediction
A clean sweep looks inevitable for a Sri Lankan side that has shown nothing with bat or ball. The Australians are firing on all cylinders with bat and ball, with Glenn Maxwell’s unfortunate absence with provide an opportunity for batsmen like Ashton Turner who hasn’t yet seen an opportunity with the bat in the series. Australia will cruise to a clean sweep in Melbourne and at $1.08 with SportsBet won’t provide any individual value, but can provide an option to anchor your multi.
