Run scorer bets and free tips for Australia vs. Sri Lanka 5th ODI

Match Five: Sunday, September 4, 2016, 7PM AEST, Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy.

Series: Australia wins the series three games to one

Match One: Australia (7/228) defeated Sri Lanka (8/227) by three wickets

Match Two: Sri Lanka (288) defeated Australia (206) by 82 runs

Match Three: Australia (8/227) defeated Sri Lanka (226) by two wickets

Match Four: Australia (4/217) defeated Sri Lanka (212) by six wickets

Head-to-head odds:
Sri Lanka: $2.38 with WilliamHill.com.au
Australia: $1.57 with WilliamHill.com.au

MASTER blaster Aaron Finch, stand up.

The Aussie opener put the Sri Lankans to the sword in the fourth of five One Day Internationals on the sub continent, cracking the equal fastest half century by an Australian.

Just 18 balls it took the T20 machine to reach his 50, smashing a six to raise his bat, before being trapped in front the very next ball – departing for 55.

Finch crunched eight fours and three sixes in an innings that won’t be soon forgotten by Australians, helping him join The Big Show Glenn Maxwell and Simon O’Donnell as the equal fastest to reach the half century in an innings for Australia.

He was only two balls short of the world record, held by South African legend AB de Villiers.

Maybe we have been sucked in by the big hitting, but his innings shows us the opener is in some red hot form and we are tipping him to lead the Australian run scoring list in the final match of the series in Kandy.

While he did produce the fireworks, he was not the Aussies’ top scorer in the match.

That honour belonged to result middle order man George Bailey, whose 90 off 85 balls ensured the Australians easily chased down the target of 212 set by the Sri Lankans and gave them victory in the series, three games to one, with one match to play.

Bailey hit 11 fours and a six in his innings, and was helped by Travis Head’s composed 40 off 60 balls, the 100-run partnership capitalising on the early work of Finch and Warner (74-run opening stand).

Warner was actually the third batsman to go, remarkably for just 16 as he played second fiddle to Finch. Usman Khawaja’s career looks to be at the cross roads. He only got the gig last night due to the finger injury to Shaun Marsh, but was unable to capitalise on his chance, falling for a second ball duck.

He will get another chance though, in the final dead rubber of the series and you could do worse than back him to bounce back from his failure and top score for the Aussies.

The caveat to the Australians’ win is this: They were facing a far from number one bowling attack, with captain Angelo Mathews unable to bowl a single ball after suffering an injury in the Sri Lankans’ innings.

In just his fourth One Day International, left arm spinner Sachith Pathirana again exposed the Aussies’ trepidation against spin, claiming 3/37 off his eight overs.

You would think that he will play a major role for the Sri Lankans in Kandy and he is our pick, again, to top the wicket-taking list for the home side.

Earlier in the fourth one dayer, the Sri Lankans made yet another disastrous start, once again losing a wicket in the first over to Australia’s record breaking strike bowler Mitchell Starc.

Bit it was workmanlike Victorian quick John Hastings who absolutely destroyed them, tearing the heat out of the middle order to claim 6/45 in a devastating display of fast medium bowling that should secure his spot in the one day team for the immediate future.

Given an opportunity to open the batting for the Sri Lankans, the talented Dhananjaya de Silva – who usually bats down the order – helped rescue his side from embarrassment, striking a composed 76 off 87 balls, with his team in all sorts of trouble at 3/31.

The recovery looked to be going well, with Mathews at the crease on 28, but, when he retired, the wheels fell off. Sri Lanka losing their last seven wickets for just 90 runs.

With Dinesh Chandimal and Kushal Mendis again going cheaply, the fatigue of carrying the Sri Lankans might be setting in, so we’re going to stick with the opener de Silva to reproduce his form in the final one dayer and top score for his team.

Top run scorer predictions

Sri Lanka: Dhananjaya de Silva ($4.50 with Sportsbet.com.au)

Australia: Aaron Finch ($4.33 with Sportsbet.com.au)

Match predictions

Match result: Australia to win ($1.57 with WilliamHill.com.au)

The Australians have this series signed, sealed and delivered, bouncing back from a horrible Test series that they lost 3-0 to the Sri Lankans. It will provide some comfort for the whitewash and we reckon they will want to pile it on and claim the final, dead rubber in the tournament. It appears the Sri Lankans will be without their inspirational captain Mathews for the final one dayer and that spells serious trouble for the home side. Mathews is the glue that holds them together with both bat and ball and, without him, we can’t see them challenging in Kandy. The Sri Lankans have been unable too resist Starc in the early going, all too often losing a wicket in the first over, so we can’t go past the Aussies to have the highest opening partnership.