Who will win Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh 1st T20?
After drawing level the test and ODI series, Bangladesh will now take on hosts Sri Lanka in a two-match T20 international series. The first of the two T20s is scheduled to be played on April 4 at the R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo. Live action will begin at 7 PM local time.
SL vs Ban 1st T20: Where to watch/Live streaming
TV channels: Ten Sports, Channel 9
Live streaming: Sky Sports, Bet365
Toss Prediction
There is a huge toss bias at the R. Premadasa as 8 of the last 10 T20 internationals at this ground have been won by the side batting first. Moreover, since the toss-winning team generally prefers batting first here, the team that wins the toss in this match is more likely to bat first.
Read on for team previews, latest odds, betting tips and match prediction for Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh 1st T20....
Sri Lanka Team News & Playing 11
Team News
Upul Tharanga will continue to lead the Sri Lankan team in the absence of regular skipper Angelo Mathews. While the selectors have omitted Kusal Mendis from the T20 squad, they have called up allrounder Shehan Jayasuriya who will boost their spin stocks. Danushka Gunathilaka will also make a comeback after recuperating from injury.
Key Players
Chamara Kapugedera and Asela Gunaratne will be the key batsmen for Sri Lanka. While the former is the leading run-scorer for the side in T20 cricket from the current squad, the latter scored the most runs for the side in the recently played T20 internationals series in Australia in February. Lasith Malinga and Nuwan Kulasekara were the most impressive of the Sri Lankan bowlers on that tour of Australia and they will be the ones to watch out for with the ball.
Recent Form
Sri Lanka have shown good form in T20s of late, winning four out of their six matches they have played this year. They first defeated South Africa in South Africa 2-1 and then beat Australia in their own backyard 2-1.
Sri Lanka Predicted Playing 11
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EMDY Munaweera, WU Tharanga (c/wk), Danushka Gunathilaka, DAS Gunaratne, TAM Siriwardana, CK Kapugedera, MD Shanaka, S Prasanna, KMDN Kulasekara, SL Malinga, JRMVB Sanjaya.
Bangladesh Team News & Playing 11
Team News
Uncapped allrounder Mohammad Saifuddin has been drafted into the T20 squad in addition to Mushfiqur Rahim, Mehedi Hasan and Sunzamul Islam. Rubel Hossain, Shuvagata Hom and Taijul Islam are the ones to have been dropped for this series.
Key Players
Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan are the leading run-getters for Bangladesh in T20 internationals. Both were also among the top three batsmen in the recently concluded ODI series and they will be relied upon heavily when it comes to batting. Apart from Shakib, Bangladesh will expect a good bowling performance from Mashrafe Mortaza. The fast bowler has taken 39 wickets in T20s and he also picked up 6 in the ODI series to finish as the second highest wicket-taker.
Recent Form
Bangladesh have been very sloppy in the shortest format of the game in recent times. They have suffered defeats in their past seven T20 internationals of which the last four have all come at the hands of New Zealand. They last won a T20 game in a World T20 fixture against Oman in India.
Bangladesh Predicted Playing 11
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Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Sabbir Rahman, Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah, Mosaddek Hossain, Nurul Hasan (wk), Mehedi Hasan, Imrul Kayes, Mashrafe Mortaza (c), Taskin Ahmed.
Team Form in Last Five Matches (most recent first)
Sri Lanka: L W W W W
Bangladesh: L L L L L
Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh Head to Head
Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have played five T20 internationals against each other in the past with the former winning four of them. The last time these two teams met in this format was in Dhaka last year where Bangladesh ended up winning by 23 runs. Sri Lanka have never faced Bangladesh in a T20 game at the R. Premadasa before.
Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh 1st T20 Betting Odds
Sri Lanka would have regained their confidence after their crushing 70-run win over Bangladesh in the third one-day international and so bookmakers have them as favorites to start off the T20 international series with a win. They are 1.69 with Betfair and 1.66 each with Bet365 and Betway. Bangladesh have been really impressive on this tour and they have given the hosts a good run for their money. But they are still outsiders for this one with 1xbet having them as high as 2.4. The tourists are 2.20 with bet365.
Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh 1st T20 Prediction
Bangladesh will be coming into this game having faced defeats in their last seven T20 internationals and so they are going to be short on confidence. They have never played a game in this format at the R. Premadasa which also could work in favor of Sri Lanka. The hosts have been doing well in T20 cricket with four wins from their last five matches and they also have an upper hand in the fact that they have beaten Bangladesh four times out of five. The only major concern for Sri Lanka is that they have just 1 win from 11 matches at this ground. A close contest therefore seems likely on the cards and we predict Sri Lanka to prevail in the end.
Final Verdict: Back Sri Lanka to beat Bangladesh in the first T20 at 1.69 with 1xbet and 1.66 with bet365.
Apr 04, 2017
19:00 IST / 13:30 GMT
R. Premadasa Stadium - Colombo, Sri Lanka
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