THE EDGE: Our cricket tipster The Edge previews Wednesday’s 1st semi-final in the T20 World Cup between New Zealand v Pakistan with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
Semi-Final 1: New Zealand v Pakistan
MATCH OVERVIEW:
After a dramatic group stage, we have the T20 World Cup Semi-Finals this week on BETDAQ Betting Exchange. The group stage basically had everything you could ask for – shock results, bad weather, superb performances and close finishes. Pakistan being here is a classic example of that, they lost to India in dramatic fashion in the final over, then lost to Zimbabwe in a complete shock result and then roared back with a win over South Africa. Even with that win over South Africa, they still needed help from other sides and they got that in dramatic fashion too! Not many cricket fans would have called Netherlands beating South Africa on the final day on Sunday, but I’m afraid South Africa will still have the tag of “chokers” in the major tournaments.
For New Zealand the road here has been pretty clear. They started the tournament in the first game against the hosts Australia and absolutely hammered them. They shaped their whole group with New Zealand in a strong position net run rate wise and Australia never recovering. After Ireland shocked everyone and beat England, the chance was there for Australia but unfortunately we lost the Australia v England game due to bad weather and then we were always likely to see a net run rate situation. We have a fascinating Semi-Final here though, and it will be intriguing to see who comes out on top.
Both sides have excellent bowling attacks, and I would suggest whoever bats better and is able to cope with the top class bowling will win the game. The New Zealand batters have been much better in my opinion, it’s hard to forget the Pakistan batting against Zimbabwe and they always seem to have issues with their middle order. With the New Zealand bowling in good form, early wickets could easily decide this game. Get the Pakistan top order early and win the game will be the plan.
WEATHER AND PITCH WATCH:
The first Semi-Final takes place at the SCG where we have had a pretty big edge batting first. We’ve had some high scores batting first here – New Zealand posted 200/3 against England in the opening game and they also played very well against Sri Lanka here. Pakistan will also have found memories of the SCG however because this is the ground where they beat South Africa to really get back into the tournament. Batting first has definitely been an edge here, and I would say the toss will be massive here. After having so much rain during the tournament, thankfully the forecast looks OK for Sydney but watching the radar is a must.
RECOMMENDED BET:
Because of the edge batting first here, I would definitely keep stakes small until we see the toss news. We did see England chase down a score here against Sri Lanka at the weekend, but that was the first successful chase and Sri Lanka fell away in the latter part of their innings. In the big games here, batting first has seemingly made the difference so it’s a no brainer to bat first here. Leaving that aside, I feel backing New Zealand is a nice option before we see the toss news. We have two fantastic bowling attacks here, but the New Zealand batting looks better and they have such a stronger middle order too. Glenn Phillips scoring 100 against Sri Lanka here is a classic example of when the top order fall the middle order can chip in and win the game. With Pakistan that doesn’t happen, or happens rarely, and they end up in situations like the loss to Zimbabwe. I’m keeping stakes small, but New Zealand at 1.86 is my selection.
The Edge Says:
One point win New Zealand to beat Pakistan at 1.86 with Betdaq Exchange.
View the market here -> https://betdaq.biz/NZPak
IN-RUNNING STRATEGY:
From an in-running point of view, I’m very happy to get on the side batting first here. However, I will play it differently based on who is batting. If it’s Pakistan I would reduce stakes because I’d be very worried if they lost early wickets. That wouldn’t apply to New Zealand though as their batting is stronger, and I would expect to see a match winning score if New Zealand bat first. Both bowling attacks are impressive, so batting first might be the key to winning the game here. Also, I know the forecast is good at the moment but given all the rain in Australia it’s a good idea to keep an eye on the radar and see what opportunities arise from that. We saw the rain have a huge impact on a lot of games at this World Cup – don’t take the eye off it now!
