England vs Sri Lanka 3rd Test Location: The Oval, London
England vs Sri Lanka 3rd Test Date: Fri, September 6 to Tue, September 10
BetXchange England vs Sri Lanka 3rd Test Odds:
History
This is the third and final Test in a series that England has dominated so far. There are several reasons for this, including the tourists batting on unfamiliar surfaces and in conditions they are not used to. Arguably, the main reason is that the Sri Lankans are one of several countries that have moved away from Test cricket in favor of the white ball game. This means the format is a difficult challenge, especially against an England side that currently plays as much Test cricket as anybody.
England
England continues under the leadership of Ollie Pope after Ben Stokes was ruled out before the series began due to a hamstring injury. The English team will also be missing Mark Wood, who was ruled out of the final two Tests of the series. He was replaced in the squad by Josh Hull.
The work of Joe Root shows England’s dominance in this series in the second Test. In a Test that England would win by 190 runs, Root hit a pair of centuries. He went for 143 runs in the first innings, then followed that up with 103 (from just 121 balls) in England’s second time at bat. Despite this impressive batting display, Root wasn’t even named Man of the Match.
This was because as good as Root was, and he was outstanding, Gus Atkinson was better. Atkinson batted his maiden Test century, racking up 118 runs off of 115 balls after coming in to partner Root at a point where England wobbled. He then took a five-for in Sri Lanka’s second spell at the crease, with his five wickets coming at the cost of just 62 runs.
Sri Lanka
Kamindu Mendis has been the star of the series for Sri Lanka. He put up 113 runs off of 183 balls in the second innings of the first Test, showing a cultured shot selection against a pacy England bowling attack. He then batted 74 more runs in the first innings of the second Test, providing the only resistance as Sri Lanka was bowled out for 196 inside 56 overs. If the tourists have any chance of victory, he will have to put up another Test ton in at least one of his innings.
The series is lost for Sri Lanka, but the battle to not be whitewashed is a solid incentive. They will see two changes to their XI, with Kusal Mendis back behind the wicket and left-arm pacer Vishwa Fernando back in their bowling attack. This sees the tourists go with four seamers, with spinner Prabath Jayasuriya the man to miss out.
Best Bets
Kamindu is priced at 5/1 to lead the Sri Lankan batting despite averaging over 50 runs across his four innings in this series. Better known as a bowler, the 5/1 price is certainly attractive if you like to play the hot hand.
Root (29/10) and Atkinson (12/5) lead their respective batting and bowling markets for England. A double laid on those two is another attractive bet in my eyes.
