After an intense couple of weeks of ODI cricket, the 2023 Asia Cup Final has finally rolled around with India set to take on the host side Sri Lanka for ultimate glory! Both teams are in strong form, so this is sure to be an entertaining affair.
Check out our Asia Cup Final preview & betting tips below.
Asia Cup Final: India vs Sri Lanka Betting Tips
R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium, Colombo, Sri Lanka, Sunday September 17th 7:30pm AEST
India
India have bossed this tournament so far (at the time of writing, the match between India and Bangladesh has not been played), progressing to the final unbeaten from three completed matches. The bowling side of the equation has been most impressive, with India bowling the opposition out for meagre totals (230, 172, 128) in every game so far. Kuldeep Yadav has been the standout bowler, starring with a 5-fa against Sri Lanka to take his tournament total to nine wickets at an average of just over 11. Of course, Yadav has had ample support – Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja have likewise been damaging throughout the Group Stage and Super 4, taking wickets without leaking runs. It’s been a mixed bag from a batting perspective – totals of 266 and 213 against Pakistan and Sri Lanka left something to be desired, but in the other two matches India have managed to rack up 503 runs for the loss of just two wickets. Just about every player in India’s batting line-up has performed when required, with KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma sitting in the top five for batting averages. As such, it’s no surprise that India will enter the final as hot favourites.
India Predicted XI: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj
Sri Lanka
Despite playing in several nail-biting contests throughout this tournament, Sri Lanka’s 13-match ODI winning streak was only broken by India in their last Super 4 encounter. Like India, Sri Lanka have made it this far largely thanks to their bowling performances, having taken 47 out of a possible 50 wickets in the tournament thus far. In fact, two Sri Lankan’s top the wicket taker table – Matheesha Pathirana and Dunith Wellalage have taken 11 and 10 wickets, respectively, bowling their team to victory on a regular basis. A couple of the batsmen have also found form, with Kusal Mendis and Sadeera Samarawickrama chalking up 253 and 215 runs, respectively. However, do Sri Lanka have the firepower to overcome an India side that is firing on all cylinders? It remains to be seen.
Sri Lanka Predicted XI: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis (wk), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka (c), Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha, Matheesha Pathirana
Match Prediction
While Sri Lanka have been one of the form teams in the world when it comes to ODI cricket, their inexperience was exploited by India in Game 10, resulting in a 41-run defeat for the hosts. While the home side has often relied on the individual efforts of a few to score results, just about every Indian player has fired at some point in the tournament, leading to consistent performances. Therefore, with experience and consistency on their side, I think this game is India’s to lose. Unfortunately, there isn't much meat on the bone in terms of a betting price.
