Kiwis favourites to carry on winning

Chris Cairns offers some value at 11/1 to be Man of the Match © Getty Images

Having crushed the opposition in the opening two matches, New Zealand are understandably big favourites for Friday's third one-day international against Sri Lanka in Wellington. The Black Caps are 1/3 (1.33) to win again, while Sri Lanka, thoroughly outplayed in the opening two contests, are 9/4 (3.25) to win it and salvage some pride (they have already lost the series as New Zealand won the first match on the eve of the tsunami just over a year ago).

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It will take a big effort from Sri Lanka to get back into the series but New Zealand are no value at 1/3, even if they don't have a great record there. Therefore, value-hunters might be better off looking to the Man of the Match market on this one, not something I would normally advise, but there's always a first time.

In particular, Chris Cairns makes plenty of appeal at 11/1 (13.00). New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming, coming back from injury, tops the list at 9/1 (10.00), along with fast bowler Shane Bond, but Cairns has more to play for, since he is just 80 runs from reaching the magic mark of 5,000 one-day runs. Having just taken his 200th one-day wicket, if he gets the 80 required, he'll be only the third man to do the double, so expect a big performance from him, not least because he is still a superb all-rounder.

For Sri Lanka, Kumar Sangakkara is the most likely, at 11/1 (12.00) but, as I've already said, I'd be surprised if Sri Lanka play to their potential - they were hammered by India in their last series and things aren't going much better here.

Please note that odds are correct at time of publication and are subject to change.

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