Pakistan vs. Sri Lanka Betting Tips: Two predictions for Tuesday's Cricket World Cup clash

Pakistan and Sri Lanka will clash in the second Cricket World Cup game on Tuesday, as following on from England vs Bangladesh, the heavyweight pairing will do battle in a day-night match in Hyderabad. Both had differing starts to this World Cup with Pakistan outclassing Netherlands, while Sri Lanka were handed a real thumping by South Africa.

Here at BettingOdds.com we look to point you in the right direction of some winners and our man Steve Chambers has two tips for the encounter at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium...

Pakistan recorded an 81-run victory over Netherlands in their first Cricket World Cup match, but they weren't overly impressive to warrant being installed as 8/13 favourites with BoyleSports in the betting for Tuesday's clash with Sri Lanka, who will be eager to bounce back from a poor defeat to South Africa. Posting a sensational 428-5, South Africa were stunning with the bat against Sri Lanka, who could only hit 326 in reply, but Sri Lanka could be a value play at 13/8 with William Hill to land victory here.

The Pakistan batting line-up certainly doesn't possess the quality that the South Africa line-up has to offer with most eyes on Babar Azam to score most of the runs, but if he falters - like he did against Netherlands - then Sri Lanka could capitalise. The last time the two nations locked horns in a one-day international it was Sri Lanka that won by 2 wickets thanks to the DLS method, so while Pakistan have the overall upper hand in the head-to-head record (92 wins to 59), it's Sri Lanka that could well just have a little too much firepower for Pakistan, who could be in for a tough tournament.

Pakistan are around the 10/1 mark in the outright betting, while Sri Lanka are as big as 50/1 to reign supreme at the end of the tournament, but that betting could change considerably after this encounter, as while both will struggle to deliver at the business end of the tournament, it's underestimating the chances of Sri Lanka, who could be a surprise package this tournament.

There's no shining beacon in the Sri Lankan batting line-up, but wicket-keeper batsman Kusal Mendis hit a rapid half-century in the first match against South African and the Sri Lankan number three is a good bet to top score at 18/5 with Betfred. Mendis hit a marvellous 76 off 42 balls to get Sri Lanka off to a flying start and he could well be ready to unleash more attacking brilliance against a mediocre Pakistani bowling line-up.

Smashing a whopping eight sixes during that South African innings, Mendis is sure to take the attack to the bowlers on Tuesday and if Sri Lanka lose an early wicket then he will be desperate to make the most of the fielding restrictions. Happy to go aerial with his shots, Mendis could well soar clear at the top of the six-hitting charts at this 2023 Cricket World Cup and it would be no surprise to see him launch Sri Lanka to a decent score, should they bat first.

It's likely to be a really tight match-up with both sides confident of bagging the win, but if Mendis does come off with the bat then that could be the difference between the two teams and he can inspire a shock victory for Sri Lanka, who can record their first win of the tournament.