Sri Lanka v India: World Cup betting preview, tips, team news & TV details

TV: Sky Sports Cricket & Main Event, 10.30am Saturday

Headingley, Leeds

The indestructible gloss was taken off India's Cricket World Cup campaign following defeat to England but they responded by swatting aside Bangladesh and have booked their spot in the semi-finals.

Should Virat Kohli's men triumph at Headingley and Australia justify favouritism against South Africa, there will be a second showdown between the Men in Blue and England in the last four.

It is fair to say Sri Lanka have performed as expected in this tournament but their one prize scalp - a shock 20-run defeat of Eoin Morgan's side - came at Headingley and they will be eager to put up a fight at the Yorkshire venue before flying home.

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A lack of top-order power has proved to be Sri Lanka's Achilles heel on more than one occasion this World Cup and their top runscorer Kusal Perera is outside the top 20 in the overall standings.

But in recent fixtures a promising willow-wielder has emerged in the form of 21-year-old Avishka Fernando.

Angelo Mathews top-scored with an unbeaten 85 in Sri Lanka's last visit to Headingley but Fernando looked in good nick, posting 49 runs from 39 balls.

He followed that up with a score of 30 in a dismal defeat to South Africa, finishing as his side's joint-top scorer that day, before putting in a match-winning performance against the West Indies.

A breathtaking knock of 104 from Fernando, featuring 11 boundaries, led the Lankans to only their third victory of the tournament as he became the third youngest player to make a century in a World Cup fixture.

The number three is hitting form at just the wrong time but he can leave England with his head held high by top-scoring against arguably the best bowling attack in the tournament.

India have already had to bring Rishabh Pant into the first-team frame and they could tinker with their starting line-up before the knockout phase, with Ravindra Jadeja and Mayank Agarwal both yet to make an appearance.

One player assured of a starting spot, though, is paceman Jasprit Bumrah, who is starting to go through the gears with figures of 4-55 and 2-9 in recent matches. He could once again be a good bet to claim the most wickets for his team.

Recommendations
A Fernando top Sri Lanka runscorer
2pts 4-1 bet365, Betfair, Paddy Power
J Bumrah top India wicket-taker
1pt 11-4 bet365, Hills

Back Avishka Fernando to top score for Sri Lanka with bet365

Team news
Sri Lanka
The Lankans are expected to name the same team who beat the West Indies.

India
Kedar Jadhav may return, having been kept out of the side by Dinesh Karthik.

Venue
Matches at Headingley in this World Cup have been relatively low-scoring, with no side having breached the 250-run mark before Afghanistan's defeat to the West Indies on Thursday. However, England set a new record for the highest ODI total in Leeds earlier this year. It tends to encourage seamers.

Weather
Partly cloudy with highs of 21C.

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