THE EDGE: The Edge previews the T20 World Cup clash between USA v Pakistan with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
USA v Pakistan
MATCH OVERVIEW:
Pakistan kick off their T20 World Cup on Thursday as they take on the hosts on Betdaq Betting Exchange. We have another very short favourite with Pakistan trading 1.12 at the time of writing. Obviously it’s an endless debate between how many associates should play in a World Cup versus the competitiveness of the fixtures. I felt having a Qualifier just before the actual World Cup started was a cruel way of doing it – this format is probably the best because when we get to the Super Eight section we will have some excellent games. That’s not to say we’ll see some drama before we get there – we usually do have a shock or two!
USA got their campaign off to a winning start against Canada in the opening game of the tournament, but obviously they are hugely stepping up in class now. You never quite know what you’re going to get from Pakistan, but anything bar a comfortable win here would be a big surprise. Pakistan come into this tournament off the back of touring Ireland and England – they won all their games in Ireland and lost all their games in England, although two out of the four were washed out. The rain seems to be following England around as they had their opening World Cup game against Scotland washed out on Tuesday.
It will be fascinating how USA get on here against the best team they’ve faced. They beat Bangladesh in the build-up to the World Cup, but they have been all over the place recently. Much of the debate has been around how many Ex-International stars the USA have taken from other countries, but let’s be honest – this is nothing new in associate cricket.
WEATHER AND PITCH WATCH:
We’re back in Dallas on Thursday, and this is the third game we’ve had here. It’s fair to say that we’ve had a big range of scores already, and I would definitely go into this game with an open mind regarding what is a par score. USA chased down 194/5 from Canada here in the opening game, then on Tuesday Nepal only managed 106 all out but the Netherlands made quite hard work of chasing it. Cricket in the USA is new – especially at this level, and I wouldn’t have a set opinion on scoring conditions here yet.
RECOMMENDED BET:
We’ve had a lot of very short odds favourites so far at the start of the tournament, and Pakistan are the next cab off the rank at 1.12 here. There’s no getting away from the gulf in class between the sides, and it would be a massive shock if the USA did manage to win. However, a batting collapse is never too far away with Pakistan and the USA batting is quite strong given all their Ex-International talent. Steven Taylor and Corey Anderson have plenty for experience, and lead bowler Ali Khan will know Pakistan very well having lived there until he was 18. From a value point of view, I’m happy with a very small bet on the USA.
The Edge Says:
One point win USA to beat Pakistan at 8.6 on Betdaq Exchange
View the market here -> https://betdaq.biz/UsaPak
IN-RUNNING STRATEGY:
We don’t have enough ground data to form a strong opinion whether it’s an edge to bat or bowl first here. I’m going into this one with an open mind – I feel that approach is quite wise at the America grounds; there will be batting or bowling edges in West Indies because we have much more ground data there. I do like this USA batting line-up, and they could easily go well here. Pakistan’s bowling was hit around the park at times by Ireland, and that could be the area where we see the most market movement.
