THE EDGE: The Edge previews the Champions Trophy clash between INDIA v PAKISTAN with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
India v Pakistan
MATCH OVERVIEW:
All eyes are on the Champions Trophy on BETDAQ Betting Exchange! It’s the game that stops the cricketing world on Sunday as India meet Pakistan. There’s always a huge amount of build up around this fixture because the sides only meet at ICC tournaments. We’ve already had a major drama between the Nations with India refusing to play in Pakistan – obviously there was a bit of a stand-off for a while but in the end the BCCI was always going to get their way so this fixture lands in Dubai. We can debate the decision all we like, but I do have the say not knowing where a Final is going to be until the Semi-Finals at an ICC tournament isn’t an ideal situation.
With Pakistan fans having to wait so long to see an ICC tournament in their home country, the first game couldn’t have gone worse. They were firmly put in their place by New Zealand in what everyone was calling a de-facto Quarter-Final. That’s because everyone is expecting India to beat Pakistan and New Zealand, then everyone to beat Bangladesh. With Pakistan losing to New Zealand, they have to turn the Group on its head now and beat India. Ironically given the situation, the conditions in Dubai might actually suit Pakistan better. We had a reasonably low scoring game here as India beat Bangladesh in the opener – they bowled Bangladesh out for 228 and then took 46.3 overs to chase it.
Scoring conditions in Pakistan have been much better, and you get the feeling that if we get a flat wicket then India’s batters would just pile on the runs. I do feel the surface might bring Pakistan into things more, but then their batting line-up is never far away from disaster. Say what you want about Pakistan, there’s never a dull moment anyway. A fascinating game awaits.
WEATHER AND PITCH WATCH:
As I said above, conditions for batting could be a little tricky here. I actually feel we’ll see lower scores in Dubai than Pakistan. Obviously it’s hard to read too much into the India v Bangladesh game, but India did make hard work of chasing 228 – it’s not like they blew it away making it look 150 runs short of par for example. The ICC have hosted a lot of cricket in Dubai, but recently it has mainly been associate sides and obviously the batting standard is a lot lower. I would go into the game with an open mind on scoring, but I wouldn’t be expecting a run-fest.
RECOMMENDED BET:
It’s no surprise to see India as the favourites here – they are tournament favourites after all and Pakistan haven’t been at their best recently. Their bowling came up well short in the opening game conceding 320/5 to New Zealand and their batters weren’t able to live with that. As I said above, ironically conditions in Dubai could suit Pakistan more. Obviously you’re always taking a chance backing Pakistan because they can be brilliant or woeful – however I do feel this game will be closer than odds of 3.35 suggest on Pakistan and from a value point of view, I’m happy with a small bet on the underdogs.
The Edge Says:
One point win Pakistan to beat India at 3.35 with BETDAQ Betting Exchange
View the market here -> https://betdaq.biz/CTPaIn
IN-RUNNING STRATEGY:
I’d have an open mind on conditions so I could easily be wrong here; but I wouldn’t go into this game expecting a run-fest. If India were to bat first it’ll be interesting to see what the market expects – I don’t think 300+ is a given here even allowing for the fact that they have a superb batting line-up. I do feel the Pakistan bowlers can go well here, and obviously it’s hard to trust their batting but I would lean towards taking India on when they bat. With that in mind, you’re going up against the tournament favourites so it’s a position for low stakes but I wouldn’t be surprised if we get a very even market at some stage so the India short odds lay could be a nice option early in the game.
