MONDAY T20 WORLD CUP: The Edge previews Zimbabwe v West Indies with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
Zimbabwe v West Indies
MATCH OVERVIEW:
A new week begins at the T20 World Cup on Betdaq Exchange , and Super 8 stage continues with Zimbabwe facing West Indies in Ahmedabad. This is a game that mot cricket fans might just gloss over compared to some of the other Super 8 fixtures, however this is a moment of history for Zimbabwe. The fact that Zimbabwe are even playing in the Super 8 stage of a T20 World Cup is nothing short of extraordinary, it comes off the back of arguably one of the greatest upsets in T20 World Cup history with Zimbabwe beating Australia and knocking them out of the tournament at the Group stage.
Zimbabwe missed the 2024 T20 World Cup entirely after losing to Uganda in qualifying. They didn’t qualify for the 2019 or 2023 ODI World Cups either – it has been a brutal eight years for Zimbabwe cricket. It’s quite the turnaround! We actually have quite a similar team in West Indies here too given all their recent troubles – they have missed out on World Cup’s and haven’t been the force of old for many years either. Franchise cricket has really hit them badly with a lot of their stars taking contracts around the world rather than playing International cricket. West Indies still have that boom-or-bust tag; but will that ever change!?
Shimron Hetmyer’s 64 off 36 balls against Scotland was a reminder of what they are capable of – the fastest fifty by a West Indies player at a T20 World Cup. They still make far too many errors, in the field and batting. You can never write off West Indies when they have the firepower they do, but it always feels like they are hard to trust too when a collapse can come from anywhere. This is a fascinating game really; it’s must win for both sides too in a Group with India and South Africa!
WEATHER AND PITCH WATCH:
We’re back at the biggest cricket ground in the world in Ahmedabad. Conditions here have been very good for batting throughout the tournament. South Africa posted 213 against Canada, then we had that incredible double Super Over between South Africa and Afghanistan with Gurbaz smashing 84 off 42 balls. New Zealand and South Africa played here on Saturday with South Africa chasing down 178 comfortably. Conditions have definitely favoured the batters over the bowlers and it’s hard to see that changing. The pitch rewards aggression, and we’ve consistently seen high first-innings scores. Dew is a factor to watch out for; I’d expect a high-scoring game, and conditions should be very good for batting in both innings to be honest.
RECOMMENDED BET:
West Indies are the favourites here and it’s not hard to see why – on paper they have the superior batting firepower and the experience of big T20 occasions. This is Zimbabwe’s first Super 8s after all. West Indies are trading around 1.42 at the time of writing. However, Zimbabwe have been absolutely brilliant in this tournament and deserve enormous respect after what they’ve done. I feel Zimbabwe are capable of making this very competitive and at the odds, I’m happy to have a small bet on Zimbabwe here as the outsiders. OK they produced a massive shock against Australia, but they were very controlled in the successful chase against Sri Lanka – that game showed they have what it takes to get very close here. West Indies will have to be more boom than bust and the 1.42 looks a little short!
The Edge Says:
One point win Zimbabwe to beat West Indies at 3.3 with Betdaq Exchange
View the market here -> https://betdaq.biz/WCZiWi
IN-RUNNING STRATEGY:
Given the dew factor, you’ll have to watch closely to see how heavy that is – obviously that will have a big impact for the chasing side and how easy it gets. West Indies are dangerous when they get into a rhythm with their big hitters, and they are going to get very good batting conditions here too. To be honest, I’d be looking to support the batting side in both innings and see how the game develops – this is a venue where you want to support the batters rather than the bowlers in both innings. I wouldn’t be surprised to see this market bounce around a lot in-play.
