England vs. Sri Lanka Betting Tips: Runs galore expected on Thursday

England’s hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals of the 2023 World Cup hang by a thread. Nobody anticipated before the tournament that they would have three losses after four games and now they have it all to do. The loss to Afghanistan felt like a low point but then they backed it up with an absolute drubbing at the hands of South Africa.

It’s crunch time for Jos Buttler’s men, and Matt Banks is here to preview the game and pick out his best bets…

It’s been abject by England in all phases of the game so far in this tournament For many people heading into the tournament they were at least the second-favourites but performances have been dreadful so far. Things only got worse this week when it was announced that Reece Topley would be missing the rest of the tournament with a finger injury, meaning their bowling attack looks even weaker now than it did before they shipped 399 against South Africa.

Sri Lanka have their own injury issues, losing star all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga before the tournament and captain Dusan Shanaka last week. They have really struggled so far this tournament, only beating the Netherlands so far but that does not mean they are not dangerous. Kusal Mendis can cause issues for any bowling attack and they have some tricky bowlers to face in these conditions like the mystery spin of Maheesh Theekshana and young left-arm quick Dilshan Madushanka.

This game is being played at The M Chinnaswamy Stadium, which is renowned for its flat wicket and short boundaries. In the game between Australia vs. Pakistan at this ground last week, we saw 672 runs scored across 95.3 overs.

It’s always an absolute road and runs will be flowing, particularly considering England’s bowling attack looks extremely weak.

Mendis is the star man for Sri Lanka and showed his class against Pakistan with 122 off just 77 balls. He has had two low scores since that game, so he’ll be keen to bounce back with a score here.

As mentioned previously, this ground is a dream for batsmen and we will see loads of runs in the game. Despite their weak bowling attack, England does have a gun batting line-up with loads of difference-makers and should be able to either post something out of Sri Lanka’s grasp, or chase whatever they are set.

It will likely all come crashing down again when they face India on Sunday, but for now England should be able to fight another day after this game.