Sri Lanka just need to win

Having effectively handed Australia victory on Monday by leaving out three of their best bowlers, only one through injury, Sri Lanka will be looking to return to winning ways when they play Ireland on Wednesday. Already through to the last four, victory will almost certainly ensure them a semi-final against New Zealand.

Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan are sure to return to the Sri Lanka side, while Lasith Malinga's ankle injury could improve enough to see him come back as well.

Sri Lanka are 1/50 (1.02) to win the match with Ireland 11/1 (12.00).

That spells trouble for Ireland, who are probably more than happy with themselves after their excellent win over Bangladesh.That's not to be condescending to them but their chances of beating Sri Lanka are pretty slim.

Mahela Jayawardene's side have been one of the better performers in this World Cup so far, and they ought to have way too much firepower for Ireland, especially as they need to win to ensure they avoid Australia in the semi-finals.

Sanath Jayasuriya is the 15/8 (2.87) favourite to be his side's top runscorer, with Upul Tharanga 11/4 and Kumar Sangakkara 7/2. Marvan Atapattu and Jayawardene are both 4/1, while the impressive Chamara Silva is 8/1.

For Ireland, Jeremy Bray and Niall O'Brien are joint favourites at 9/2 to be their side's top runscorer, with William Porterfield and Eoin Morgan both 5/1.

To be totally honest, I am pretty sure this will be a big win for Sri Lanka and perhaps the only bet worth taking could be Jayasuriya to be man of the match, at 5/1, as he has a habit of punishing the poorer attacks.