Sri Lanka vs Netherlands Prediction: Dutch victory may not be enough

Netherlands will hope to keep their Super 8s hopes alive by convincingly beating already-eliminated Sri Lanka in the T20 World Cup. The Dutch, who have just one win from their three matches, also need Bangladesh to lose to Nepal on Sunday evening, when the outcome of a tight Group D would then be decided by net run rate.

Before the final games in the group, Bangladesh have a NRR of 0.478, compared to the Netherlands’ inferior -0.408.

Team News

Changes are expected to be kept to a minimum in both camps, but there is more scope for Sri Lanka to make alterations considering they know their fate is sealed already.

Reports suggest all-rounder Dunith Wellalage could be handed his T20I debut to offer Sri Lanka an extra spin option at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium in Gros Islet.

Meanwhile, for the Dutch, spin-bowling all-rounder Saqib Zulfiqar could come into their line-up for this final group fixture.

Sri Lanka vs Netherlands Odds

Despite playing only for pride, Sri Lanka are the favourites to win at 3/10, with Netherlands a 5/2 chance.

Kusal Mendis and Pathum Nissanka are both 11/4 to be the top Sri Lankan runscorer, while Max O'Dowd is 100/30 to top-score for the Dutch, ahead of Michael Levitt, Sybrand Engelbrecht and Vikramjit Singh (all 4/1).

Netherlands to win @ 5/2

Considering Netherlands’ need is much the greater of the two sides in this clash, they look very backable at 5/2 to see off Sri Lanka, who already know they have no chance of making the Super 8s.

Admittedly, Sri Lanka usually dominate when these two meet in limited-overs cricket as they have won all nine previous short-format games, but rarely have they come when one side has already been knocked out of a high-profile tournament.

A rare victory for the Dutch may well be on the cards, then, although it still might not be enough for them to go through, as they also need a big favour from the already-eliminated Nepal in their match with Bangladesh.

Ryan Cook’s side should at least be able to deliver their side of the bargain.

Netherlands have struggled in the competition so far, with their only victory coming against Nepal in their opening game before going down to South Africa and Bangladesh in Group D.

It leaves them with a mountain to climb if they are to progress, but they should be confident of getting the better of an off-colour Sri Lanka outfit, who have yet to win a game in the tournament, instead slipping to defeats against the Proteas and Bangladesh before their clash with Nepal was abandoned.

Sybrand Engelbrecht top Netherlands runscorer @ 4/1

The Dutch have struggled in two successive games, losing to South Africa by four wickets and then, potentially crucially, to Bangladesh by 25 runs.

However, in the two defeats at least 35-year-old Engelbrecht has delivered with the bat, posting scores of 40 and 33 to be his team’s top runscorer on both occasions.

Engelbrecht, who fired in three fours and one six in the most recent loss to Bangladesh, also made 14 in the opening victory over Nepal so seems to be generally in good nick at the tournament.

At 4/1 he looks a good option to once again be the main batting threat for the Dutch in this must-win game.

Check out our other Cricket Betting Tips here.