THE EDGE: Our cricket tipster The Edge previews Sunday’s Final in the T20 World Cup between Pakistan v England with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
Final: Pakistan v England
MATCH OVERVIEW:
After a wonderful tournament, Pakistan and England meet on Sunday in the T20 World Cup Final. England absolutely blew India away in the Semi-Final, and they come into the game as favourites on BETDAQ Betting Exchange. At the time of writing, they are rock solid favourites at 1.66 to add another World Cup to their collection. They meet an unpredictable Pakistan side, who have reached the Final through a series of events even the most optimistic Bollywood script writer wouldn’t write.
It’s been a dramatic tournament. It’s had everything, and we’re going to have even more drama heading into the final because the weather forecast for Melbourne is very poor! We do have a reserve day, but even the reserve day has showers forecast. At the moment, the Australia Bureau of Meteorology has between 15 and 25mm falling and their description of the day is “Very high (near 100%) chance of showers. The chance of a thunderstorm, possible severe, with heavy falls possible.” Oh dear. The only positive there is that showers could miss the MCG, and we do have the reserve day too. We’ll just have to wait and hope for the best!
Both sides have had been involved in some of the biggest shocks of the tournament. Pakistan looked completely dead and buried when they lost to Zimbabwe, while the way things worked out for England after losing to Ireland was good. They basically had a knockout game against Australia but that was rained off meaning it was always likely we’d go to net run rate, and of course Australia were in such a bad position after losing heavily to New Zealand.
I think the task for both sides is simple. For Pakistan, they must take early wickets. Buttler and Hales have been in great form at the top of the order, but if Pakistan can break that partnership early they might have a lot of success against the middle order – Ben Stokes hasn’t been in the runs and while not losing a wicket is an impressive Semi-Final win, it means the middle order comes into this game cold. For England, they also need early wickets because the Pakistan middle order is very dodgy; however the main task for England will be how they deal with the excellent Pakistan bowling attack. A fascinating match awaits!
WEATHER AND PITCH WATCH:
With such a good game ahead, it would be a massive shame if the weather got in the way. With the forecast, it seems we will have rain at some stage. The best thing to do is just keep an eye on the radar and see how it plays out – we had a very poor forecast for India v Pakistan at the MCG and we actually got the full 20 overs in that day but we have also lost games here. For the rules, we need 10 overs per side for a game instead of the usual 5 overs. Once we have a toss, the game is live and IF it rains Sunday and can’t be completed, the game will resume on the reserve day from the position it was stopped. Plus don’t forget every effort will be made to get the game in on Sunday, so we’ll likely see a shortened game in some way shape or form. We lost three games here because of the weather, and of course Ireland beat England will help from the rain in a dramatic market. The first inning scores have been; 159/8 (chased), 157 (won) and 186/5 (won). I would suggest 160 might be enough.
RECOMMENDED BET:
We have two top teams here, and it’s going to be a very close game. With the weather worries, it’s hard to back England at 1.66 because I feel we’ll see a closer game than those odds suggest. We saw how much of an impact the rain had here in the England v Ireland game, and it could really change the game. Obviously my main worry is how good the England openers have been, but if Pakistan can take early wickets then they have a superb chance here. The batting is always the dodgy part of their game, so I’ll be keeping stakes reasonably small but Pakistan at 2.4 or bigger looks a nice value play. They have been through so much in this World Cup, it would be quite incredible if they won it – they’ll have to send their thanks to Netherlands for beating South Africa too!
The Edge Says:
One point win Pakistan to beat England at 2.4 with Betdaq Exchange.
View the market here -> https://betdaq.biz/PakEngWC
IN-RUNNING STRATEGY:
Although we have a lot of big hitting at the top of the order from both sides, with the massive boundaries at the MCG I wouldn’t expect too many sixes. That might favour Pakistan, because England like to attack so much. I would happily take on the England middle order if they lost early wickets, and you could say the same about the Pakistan middle order too – however Pakistan have the better bowling attack. To be honest a lot of the in-running trading could focus on the weather here, and in that respect it’s just a case of keeping an eye on the radar and reacting to any situations that arise.
