TUESDAY T20 WORLD CUP: The Edge previews England v Pakistan with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
England v Pakistan
MATCH OVERVIEW:
The T20 World Cup Super 8 stage serves up a blockbuster on Tuesday as England face Pakistan on Betdaq Exchange ! . England come in flying after an impressive win over co-hosts Sri Lanka on Sunday, while Pakistan are coming off a washout against New Zealand which obviously puts them under pressure. It’s a massive game for both sides, and maybe both sides (and everyone else in the tournament) might start to believe they can actually lift the trophy after South Africa absolutely demolished India by 76 runs in Ahmedabad on Sunday evening! India, who had a twelve match winning streak at T20 World Cups, were bowled out for just 111 chasing 188. It wasn’t just a win for South Africa, it was a hammering.
Obviously these two sides are in the other Super 8 Group, but it should absolutely provide a psychological boost for both sides here. If India can be beaten like that, anyone can. It shows the tournament is a little bit more open than we thought – England’s outright price came in off the back of it with India on the drift. England’s win over Sri Lanka on Sunday was far more convincing than their group stage performances too; we all know that England are superb when they have momentum behind them and it would be the perfect time to go on a run. However, they were much the better side against Sri Lanka when they toured here just before the World Cup so it’s not like we learned anything new. Pakistan will be a bigger test.
Pakistan didn’t even get a ball bowled against New Zealand in Colombo on Saturday. Incessant rain at the Premadasa meant the game was abandoned; the jury is still out on this Pakistan side. Hammered by India and given a scare by the Netherlands at the Group stage. A defeat here would need them needing other results to go their way already to stay alive, so I suppose you could say the stakes couldn’t be any higher!
WEATHER AND PITCH WATCH:
We’re at Pallekele in Kandy – the same venue where England dismantled Sri Lanka on Sunday. Rain has been a worry in Sri Lanka throughout this tournament; it goes without saying that the forecast for Tuesday needs monitoring very closely – as always in Sri Lanka, conditions can change very quickly and Sri Lankan weather is notoriously hit-and-miss. As for the wicket, we saw on Sunday that it’s far from a road – Sri Lanka’s spinners restricted England to 146/9, and then England’s spinners tore through Sri Lanka on the same surface. The pitch tends to offer decent pace and carry early but slows down considerably as the match progresses, bringing the spinners into play. It’s probably a pitch where you’d want to bat first and you’d expect the spinners to do a lot of damage again.
RECOMMENDED BET:
This should be a very competitive game, but it’s no surprise to see England as the favourites. They are in much better form, they won on this very ground just two days ago and they know exactly what this pitch does. They have momentum after Sunday too – Pakistan have a lot of questions to answer and their performances have been a little lacklustre. They could have actually been beaten by the Netherlands if they caught their chances! Pakistan can never be written off, and they perform better with their backs against the wall of course, but the 1.73 on England is a little big here in my opinion. This should be a compelling contest but I’m happy to back England here.
The Edge Says:
Two points win England to beat Pakistan at 1.73 with Betdaq Exchange
View the market here -> https://betdaq.biz/WCEnPa
IN-RUNNING STRATEGY:
The absolute first priority here – as it has been for every game in Sri Lanka – is to keep an eye on the weather radar. I actually don’t have a strong opinion on who a shortened game would suit more – probably England because they are used to swinging from ball one! It would also take away from Pakistan’s spinners possibly. Given what we saw on Sunday, the side batting first has an advantage on this surface – the pitch slows down significantly and makes run-scoring harder in the second innings. Even though it’s an edge batting first, it’s still tricky to support the batting side on a tough wicket – it might be better to wait until the innings break and then support them to defend.
