THE EDGE: The Edge previews the Cricket World Cup clash between AUSTRALIA v SOUTH AFRICA with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
Australia v South Africa
MATCH OVERVIEW:
We have a cracker at the Cricket World Cup on Thursday on BETDAQ Betting Exchange! Australia take on South Africa needing a bounce back win after losing to India at the weekend. The way the tournament is done, a loss or two in the group stage really is no big deal. However, two early losses for Australia would be a massive worry and South Africa are a dangerous opponent. They aren’t quite the force of old, but the batting order arrives in excellent form after posting a whopping 428/5 against Sri Lanka in their opening game.
The big question for Australia coming into this tournament was how they would deal with spin in Indian conditions. They could only manage 199 on Sunday against India, and had another middle order collapse once Steven Smith got out. You get the feeling that once Warner, Smith and Labuschagne get out then Australia are really struggling. Glenn Maxwell has to hold down the middle order, but he’s so attacking that’s a struggle when they have to dig in. It will be fascinating to see how they perform against South Africa though; their bowling won’t be as strong and that could be the key difference.
We all know the massive problems for South Africa come when the pressure is on. You hate to say it, but they always choke! They might not even reach the Semi-Finals this time around with that bowling line-up though. However, their batting top order is superb and they could carry the side. A fascinating, and very competitive game here!
WEATHER AND PITCH WATCH:
It’s very interesting to see this fixture in Lucknow. I would suggest scoring conditions will be very tricky. We’ve only have four ODI’s here; and three of those were an Afghanistan v West Indies series because Afghanistan can’t play at home. The last ODI here was in 2022 when South Africa toured India, so they should know conditions well and they actually won that game too. They posted 249/4 in 40 overs and defended it by 9 runs. Usually scores are quite low here and the spinners do well – I wouldn’t go into this game expecting a high score.
RECOMMENDED BET:
A fascinating game whatever angle you look at it. There’s so many interesting clashes here; can Australia deal with conditions? Will the South African bowlers be good enough to expose them is the big question. I feel if this game was somewhere else I would be confident on Australia, however I give South Africa an excellent chance here. I think batting conditions will be tricky and that helps the South African attack – plus the South African batting is very solid on paper, and have started the tournament on fire too. Australia’s pace attack might give away a few runs on this wicket as well. South Africa at 2.28 are worth backing.
The Edge Says:
Two points win South Africa to beat Australia at 2.28 with Betdaq Exchange
View the market here -> https://betdaq.biz/AusSou
IN-RUNNING STRATEGY:
Generally we get tricky batting conditions at Lucknow. I would spend the early part of the game just confirming we do have a slow and low wicket, and then go from there. I wouldn’t go into this game expecting a high score and I wouldn’t spend long on either batting side in the market. I am worried about the South African bowling, but this Australian middle order looks worth taking on in the conditions. I would be keen to support the South African top order against the Aussie pace attack too; however low stakes there because this shouldn’t be a run fest.
