T20: Our cricket tipster The Edge previews Thursday’s 1st T20 between PAKISTAN v SOUTH AFRICA with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
MATCH OVERVIEW:
After a historic Test series win for Pakistan against South Africa, we move into the T20 format as we move to Lahore for three T20’s. Pakistan were definitely the best side in the Test series, and it will be interesting to see can South Africa improve now we change format. South Africa have major issues in Test cricket in Asia – they’ve lost nine in a row now – but there’s nothing like T20 cricket to free up the players and boost morale.
I’m sure there’s a lot going on behind the scenes in the South Africa side though. Quinton de Kock is no longer Test captain after this series, in news which came after the 1st Test. That was an odd time for that to break, and it’s clear they aren’t a fully happy team. You might say that has been the case for a while, as they haven’t really recovered from losing their big stars. It wasn’t so long ago they had Smith, Amla, Kallis, de Villiers and then had Steyn and Morkel running in at full pace. We’re going down memory lane here; but you look at their side now and apart from Faf du Plessis who is the star that other sides are afraid of. You can even argue du Plessis isn’t at that level either.
For Pakistan they just need to keep the momentum going. South Africa are down and although the T20’s come up thick and fast, with the bio secure bubble it will feel like a very long tour. If Pakistan can stay focused there’s definitely a big chance of a clean sweep on this tour. Conditions will definitely favour them, as the South African batters haven’t got on top of the Pakistan bowlers.
WEATHER AND PITCH WATCH:
The Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore has been Pakistan’s go to stadium in recent times. Perhaps it was viewed as the “safest” place to play cricket when sides started to tour again. Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have all played T20’s here since 2015, and we’ve had plenty of domestic cricket too. Before Covid19 hit, we actually had two T20’s here in 2020. Bangladesh batted first twice and Pakistan kept them down to 136/6 and 141/5 before chasing it down pretty easily. We have had scores of 197/5 and 183/4 but they came in the Pakistan v World XI games so it’s hard to read too much into them. Sri Lanka scored 182/6 but I would suggest a par score is around 165 and I would definitely bat first. Given all three T20’s are here, I would suggest batting conditions won’t be too bad as the groundmen will have to keep the wicket decent for the third game.
RECOMMENDED BET:
I said at the start of the tour that Pakistan would be very difficult to beat in their own conditions and I haven’t seen anything to change my mind yet. I can’t see the South African batters getting on top looking through their side; although I fully respect the fact that a Pakistan collapse is never too far away in T20 cricket. I like Pakistan at 1.5, but I will keep stakes reasonably small for the 1st T20 and see how the teams perform. I expect a pretty easy Pakistan win as they have the stronger bowlers.
The Edge Says:
Two points win Pakistan to beat South Africa at 1.5 on BETDAQ Betting Exchange
View the market here -> http://bit.ly/BDQ1stPakSA
IN-RUNNING STRATEGY:
Just because I see an easy Pakistan win here, doesn’t mean it can’t be a good game for trading on BETDAQ Betting Exchange. There are a couple of angles you definitely want to watch in-play here. Granted there hasn’t been a lot of cricket to go off here, but I’d like to be on the team batting first. If that was Pakistan; I would be confident and stakes would be higher. If that was South Africa, stakes would be lower and I wouldn’t want to be on them for too long. Perhaps a quick Pakistan lay at 1.5 out to 1.8 for example. Pakistan will handle conditions better, and they will be able to chase better given the pitch is likely to slow down.
I would definitely be aware of the fact that all three T20’s are here, so I would expect reasonably good batting conditions. That being said, I would be keen to be against the South African middle order – especially if we get to the middle overs and Pakistan can put the squeeze on. Pakistan definitely have the better bowlers than South Africa, and I also would be interested in laying South Africa at short odds if Pakistan got a below par total batting first.
Did you know that as well as checking the realtime prices on BETDAQ below – you can also log into your account and place your bets directly into BETDAQ from BETDAQ TIPS.
