Tag: Afghanistan

Cricket World Cup: Day 27 Recap and Day 28 Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Day 27 Results

1. New Zealand v Bangladesh

Martin Guptill and the lower order helped New Zealand get past Bangladesh in their final Pool game of the Cricket World Cup, but only just.  Chasing 289 to win, the Black Caps looked to be cruising with Guptill and Ross Taylor controlling the chase, however, the brave Bangladeshi slow bowlers refused to give the game away and took it right down to the wire.  In the end, cameos from Corey Anderson (39), Daniel Vettori (16) and Tim Southee (12) were needed to see the locals home with seven balls to spare.

Bangladesh had earlier recovered from a poor first ten overs – they were 29/2 – to post an excellent 288.  That was largely thanks to Mohammad Mahmudullah’s second consecutive hundred.  His 128 was as good if not better than his previous knock against England.  If featured, nervy start, in which a couple f chances went down within his first few balls, but then controlled aggression and supreme patience.  He allowed others to build partnerships around him and later destroyed Mitchell McClenaghan in the final overs.

Bangladesh’s tactic of using slow bowlers to curb Brendon McCullum’s free scoring worked well.  Shakib bowled an opening over maiden and then removed McCullum and Williamson shortly after.  The plan was working and they should have been well on top had they reviewed an LBW decision against Guptill that went against them.  Guptill got to 100, Taylor to 50, and New Zealand seemed on course before allowing the late pressure to get a bit much for them.  Instead of cool heads, Guptill; Taylor; Elliot; Ronchi; and Anderson all went for wild swipes and perished.

And just when Bangladesh started to believe, Shakib, the hero of the innings with four important top order wickets, went for 12 to lose by 3 wickets.

New Zealand 289 for 7 (Guptill 105, Shakib 4-55) beat Bangladesh 288 for 7 (Mahmudullah 128*, Soumya 51) by three wickets

2. England v Afghanistan

The second match of the day was damp, dull and decidedly English in conditions and appearance.  Sydney’s persistent rain had reduced play to just 50 overs and reduced the crowd to a sparse smattering.  It was befitting of the England Cricket World Cup campaign that this was how it ended.  No bright lights, no powerful opposition and no fanfare.  Simply a final Pool game won comfortably against an associate nation.

All five bowlers took wickets for England, again there was no standout, and they chased their target of 100 easily.  Just one down, with runs to Ian Bell and Alex Hales.  Ian Bell scored another half century, his third of the tournament, but that just accentuates the problems with England.  Not enough hundreds, not enough wickets, no x-factor and carrying a captain averaging 19 in the tournament.

A comfortable win to finish for England, a disappointing final effort from Afghanistan despite bringing plenty of value to the occasion.

England 101 for 1 (Bell 52*, Hales 37) beat Afghanistan 111 for 7 (Shafiqullah 30) by nine wickets (D/L method)

Day 28 Matches

1. India v Zimbabwe

India – $1.10

Zimbabwe – $7.00

India will look to continue their unbeaten World Cup run that spans not only this edition but also 2011’s tournament.  Five from five this year and verging on ten in total, the Indians ave been mightily impressive, despite being given very little chance to do well at the onset.

So dominant have they been, they’ll relish a challenge and the chance to give more batsman game time if Zimbabwe can come to the party.  That could be too much to ask, but we hope not, especially for Brendon Taylor, who deserves a fitting farewell in his final match for Zimbabwe (he’s signed for Nottinghamshire on a Kolpack deal).

2. Australia v Scotland

Australia – $1.01

Scotland – $17.00

Australia will make short work of Scotland in the second of the day’s matches.  Scotland have been the biggest disappointment of the associate nations and you get the feeling they’ll just want to get home.  The only unanswered questions in this match are the size of the total if Australia bat first, the overs taken to chase down Scotland’s effort if they bat first, and whether Shane Watson will play (which might be a tip for who gets the quarterfinal spot).

Day 28 Multi

The Test Best Double

During the Australian Summer two batsman stood out amongst a number of fine efforts.  They were both captains of their sides at various times in the series and both made centuries for fun in the four test series.  That’s why we’re backing them to succeed today.

Virat Kohli to Top Score at $4.75 + Steven Smith to Top Score at $5.00 = $23.75

Odds from Unibet Australia.

Cricket World Cup Day 27 Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Not long now until the World Cup starts to get a little more interesting.  Until then, England and New Zealand are predicted to score comfortable wins in Hamilton and Sydney respectively.

Check out our review of today’s actions and the most pertinent questions heading into it:

The Three Big Questions?

Should Ireland be playing test cricket?

Ireland have again led the way of associate nations in this World Cup with a string of decent performances and three wins.  They’ll be pushing for a quarterfinal spot when they meet Pakistan on Sunday.  Whether they make the knockout stage or not they deserve to press their case for test status.  They certainly have the experience, the facilities and the talent to compete in the shorter format, but questions remain about their ability to last five days.  All but three of their squad have played for English counties.  Heck, even their number 11 averages 31.25 in first class cricket.  We support their inclusion on the basis that they start in a second tier comp and are not subject to top team humiliation (even though that’s how every team starts their test journey).

Are New Zealand disadvantaged having every pool game at home?

It sounds silly, but some commenters have argued that New Zealand will struggle with the bigger grounds and different surfaces in Australia if they reach the World Cup final.  Stepping out to a packed MCG could be overwhelming if they haven’t had to experience defending a total on the big ground, or been subjected to the inevitable sheep shagging jokes on the boundary.  Luckily, the conditions won’t be too dissimilar, and home advantage when the public is riding such a wave is more advantageous than not.

Shane Watson or Mitchell Marsh?

Watto will rightly play in the middle order for the rest of the tournament barring injury.  His experience is worth more than Marsh and offers a better bowling option.  Marsh did take five wickets in Australia’s opener but has since been ineffective with the ball in hand.  He must make way for Watson who revived his career with his knock against Sri Lanka.

Today’s Matchups

1. New Zealand v Bangladesh, Seddon Park (Hamilton – fine weather all day), starts 2:00pm local time

New Zealand – $1.12

Bangladesh – $6.25

You might not believe this but Bangladesh have won all of the last seven completed one day internationals against New Zealand.  Granted all of them were in Bangladesh, and when New Zealand were not at home, unbeaten in a World Cup. It’s still a damn fine record and will actually take some good cricket to put a stop to.  Shakib Al Hasan is the key to Bangladesh hopes.  He has an excellent record against the Black Caps and was surprisingly quiet against England.  Expect him to open the bowling to counteract the threat of Brendon McCullum.

Adam Milne is the only injury concern for New Zealand.  He may be replaced by Mitchell McClenaghan.

2. England v Afghanistan, Sydney Cricket Ground (Sydney – cloudy with chance of rain), starts 2:30pm local time

England – $7.00

Afghanistan – $1.10

Home-bound England must conjure up the energy to see off Afghanistan to end their World Cup campaign in style.  The English selectors may be tempted to usher in a host of new faces to plan for a post-enquiry future. That could mean more game time for Alex Hales and Chris Jordan.  James Tredwell could also feature on the traditionally turning Sydney pitch.

Afghanistan will also want to finish strongly.  Their quicks provide their best chance of springing a surprise, but they may be nullified by an unhelpful wicket.

Today’s Multi

The Shock “Bangladesh and Afghanistan Will Win” Mutli

Bangladesh outright at $6.25 + Afghanistan to Win (the toss) at $1.91 = $11.94

Odds available at William Hill Australia.

 

Cricket World Cup: Day 22 Recap

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The tournament co-hosts both got the w on day 22 of the Cricket World Cup.  Read our match repots on both of yesterday’s games below:

Day 22 Results

1. New Zealand v Afghanistan

Five from five and guaranteed top spot in Pool A for the Black Caps after their comfortable win against Afghanistan in Napier yesterday.

The win looked relatively comfortable on paper but was a little more protracted in reality.  New Zealand, and many of their fans would have been hoping to bat first and give crease time to Martin Guptill, Ross Taylor and Grant Elliot.  However, Afghanistan were probably reluctant to subject their bowlers to another possible 400 run humiliation, and batted first.

Immediately forced to regret the decision, Afghanistan were under all sorts of pressure at 59/6.  Daniel Vettori and Trent Boult doing the bulk of the damage.  Rather than collapsing in an almighty heap, Najibullah and Shenwari put together the only praetorship of note – one of 86.  The two went about their work in different fashion.  Najibullah was aggressive, a little lucky, but showed his potential by depositing Southee into the stands on two occasions.  Whereas, Shenwari was calm and composed.  He survived a nasty blow to the helmet to register a patient fifty.

Afghanistan kept New Zealand in the field for 47.3 overs – the longest of any side in the World Cup thus far.  They also forced McCullum to bowl Elliot, something neither Australia nor England could do.

In reply, the Black Caps got to the target 4 down.  Mccallum provided the usual powerplay aggression, and Martin Guptill made a much needed half century before being run out.  Taylor and Elliot also got to the crease, but question marks will remain over Taylor’s form and mindset (he’s incredibly cautious at the moment) heading in to the rest of the tournament.

New Zealand 188 for 4 (Guptill 57, McCullum 42) beat Afghanistan 186 (Najibullah 56, Shenwari 54, Vettori 4-18, Boult 3-34) by six wickets

2. Australia v Sri Lanka

Glenn Maxwell was the difference between the two sides in an absorbing Sydney encounter.  His hundred – coming from just 51 balls – trumped Kumar Sangakkara’s third consecutive hundred, to help Australia to a 64 run win.

Australia changed their side again, dropping Mitchell Marsh for Shane Watson, and brining in Xavier Doherty for his first run of the tournament.  The changes did not affect the momentum as Steven Smith settled in to his work at number three again and captain, Michael Clarke retuned to Sydney in style.  Smith made 72, Clarke 68; together they laid the platform for the likes of Maxwell Watson and Haddin to flourish.  Maxwell reaffirmed his importance to Australia, and outline his billing as the most dangerous player in the tournament with a sublime hundred.  He added 160 with Watson in just 13.4 overs to drive the total to 376.

Sri Lanka looked good for parts of the case.  Dilshan and Sangakkara put together an excellent counter-attack to send them on their way, but clumps of wickets in the middle overs when the asking rate was all a bit too much stifled the chase.

Both teams will make the quarterfinals and both have match-winning individuals, therefore it will be interesting to see who goes further.

Australia 376 for 9 (Maxwell 102, Smith 72, Clarke 68, Watson 67) beat Sri Lanka 312 (Sangakkara 104, Dilshan 62, Chandimal 52 retired hurt, Faulkner 3-48) by 64 runs

Cricket World Cup: Day 18 Recap

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Australia made it three scores of over 400 in just five days as they heaped all sorts of misery on a powerless Afghanistan side on day 18 of the Cricket World Cup.  In the day’s other match, Pakistan boosted their chances are quarterfinal qualification with  comfortable win over UAE in Napier.

Read on for more on the two games.

Day 18 Results

1. Pakistan v UAE

Pakistan’s batsman were under about as much pressure as naughty selector Moin Khan in the lead up to this match.  The under-performing batsman had failed to score over 240 in any of their matches prior to batting on the road that is McLean Park – a disappointing return given the ease at which sides have put big scores on the board in this World Cup.  Yesterday was different story however, as Ahmed Shehzad, Haris Sohail and Misha-ul-Haq combined to see them through to a much more respectable, and eventually game winning 339.

The total was always going to be too much for the UAE side, even though they have the tournaments leading runscorer in the midsts.  Shaiman Anwar scored 62 to take his World Cup tally to 270, but found little support from his colleagues.  A cautious approach was taken with emphasis on batting the 50 overs rather than threatening the target.

The win may well ease the tension amongst Pakistan fans, but could also set them up for heartache if they can not carry the form on to the knockout stages. Mohammad Irfan is a concern, he  bowled just three overs  before leaving the field.

Pakistan 339 for 6 (Shehzad 93, Sohail 70, Misbah 65, Guruge 4-56) beat UAE 210 for 8 (Anwar 62, Afridi 2-35) by 129 runs

2. Australia v Afghanistan

Australia set the record for the highest ever World Cup total in their huge win over Afghanistan in Perth in the day’s second game.  Led by breathtaking efforts from David Warner and Glenn Maxwell, the Australians  reached new levels of freakishness, and after a stop start campaign thus far, built some important World Cup momentum.  With Warner at the crease a team total of 500 was looking possible, and an individual 250 on offer, even with some useful yorkers being fired in at times by the inexperienced Afghanistan bowlers.  Warner departed f0r 178, but that just brought Maxwell to the crease who smashed and reversed his way to a brutal 88.  Much like AB de Villiers, the Big Show can score all round the park and outlined his credentials as a quality one day international finisher.

He was aptly supported by Steven Smith, who made the most of his promotion to 3 at the expense of Shane Watson with a composed 95.

Starc, Johnson and Hazlewood then took most of the wickets as Australia skittles out their opponents for just 142.  A 275 run winning margin – the second biggest winning margin in the history of ODI cricket.

Australia 417 for 6 (Warner 178, Smith 95, Maxwell 88) beat Afghanistan 142 (Mangal 33, Johnson 4-22) by 275 runs

Cricket World Cup: Day 13 Recap

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

No upsets on Day 13 of the Cricket World Cup, but for the second day in a row and associate nation matchup made for compelling cricket.  The Afghanistan / Scotland nail biter was in stark contrast to the one-sided matchup across the Tasman between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Check out our take on the two games:

Day 13 Results

1. Afghanistan v Scotland

Afghanistan justified their favourites tag and created World Cup history when they beat Scotland by one wicket.  Their first ever World Cup win was a nervous affair that had more twists and turns than an NRL cocaine scandal.  A fine 96 from Samiullah Shenwari saw them bounce back from a precarious 97/7 to deliver an emotional win that justified their involvement in world cricket.

Earlier, Scotland had again struggled with the bat on a zesty Dunedin surface.  Happy to throw the bat at any width, but reluctant to tighten their games in accordance with the movement on offer, the Scots just got to 200 for the first time in a World Cup.  The innings featured plenty of 20’s and 30’s on the scorecard but no standouts.  In fairness, 210 could have been much worse when they were 132/6, but Alasdair Evans and Majid Haq hung around to see out the overs.  The Afghanistan quicks, who are in actuality a formidable opening pair shared seven wickets between them in a Boult / Southee like performance.

In response Afghanistan almost made an alright hash of their run chase.  Starting aggressively, perhaps in the pursuit of a net run rate improvement, they raced to 40 in just 7 overs, mainly thanks to Javed Ahmadi, before their first lost wicket derailed their momentum.  Royally so too.  They lost 7/55 to leave their pursuit of a first win nigh on impossible.  Shenwari finally found some support in Hassan and Zadran to get them home.  His three consecutive sixes of Haq broke the back of the chase and although he couldn’t see them all the way home, was the obvious man of the match.

Afghanistan 211 for 9 (Shenwari 96, Ahmadi 51, Berrington 4-40) beat Scotland 210 (Shapoor 4-38, Dawlat 3-29) by one wicket

2. Sri Lanka v Bangladesh

Big second wicket partnerships are all the rage in 2015 Cricket World Cup and Sri Lanka didn’t want to be left behind.  Hence Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara combined for a baby mammoth 210 run stand to end Bangladesh’s hopes of causing an upset.  We say baby mammoth, because Gayle and Samuels have redefined the levels of mammoth.

Dilshan and Sangakkara used all of their experience to manoeuvre their side to a competitive total and register personal milestones of their own.  Sangakkara celebrated his 400th ODI with another ODI century, and Dilshan recorded his 21st.  In posting the challenging target, they took advantage of sloppy fielding and catching from the Tigers, something their captain, Mashrafe Mortaza, said was the losing of the game.

Bangladesh were 92 short of the target when they were bowled out in the 47th over.  At 100/5 the match was essentially over, however Shakib, Mushfiqur and Sabbir were able to get some late batting practice in.

Sri Lanka couldn’t afford a loss and didn’t.  It may have been nice to get Matthews, Karunaratne and Chandimal some batting practice to ease the reliance on their big three.  But a win is a win.

Sri Lanka 332 for 1 (Dilshan 161*, Sangakkara 105*) beat Bangladesh 240 (Sabbir 53, Shakib 46, Malinga 3-35) by 92 runs

Cricket World Cup: Day 13 Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The Three Big Questions

Next big upset at the Cup?

See our suggested multi today featuring upsets in both today’s games.  They’re probably more heart than head, so we’re looking at the West Indies as the side most capable of upsetting more favoured opponents.  Their next two matches are against South Africa and India and they could spring a surprise in one or both of those.  In particular, the match against India at the WACA is a great opportunity for their tall timbers to make things uncomfortable for their batsman.

Who is the most frugal bowler in the World Cup so far?

There are a few one games conceding only two runs per over, but of the bowlers who have bowed more than 10 overs, New Zealand’s Danile Vettori leads the way, giving away only 3.03 runs per over.  He’s followed by Mirwais Ashraf (3.66), Paul Stirling (3.75) and Mohammed Shami (3.82) in a list that gives no indication as to which type of bowler is having the greatest run-rate impact in the tournament whatsoever.

Which batsman is doing the most damage per balls faced?

Our weird way of asking who has the highest strike rate in the tournament is answered by the name, Andre Russell.  The West Indian Mr T lookalike is striking at an impressive 265.38 from his 26 balls thus far; proving a real point of difference at the end of an innings for a West Indian tam that have scored in excess of 300 in all of their efforts to date.  Brad Haddin (221.42), last night’s hero Kevin O’Brien (192.3) and Brendon McCullum (182.55) finish off the list.

Today’s Matchup

1. Scotland v Afghanistan, University Oval (Dunedin – partly cloudy), starts 11:00am local time

Scotland – $2.35

Afghanistan – $1.59

Afghanistan start as favourites for match 17 of the Cricket World Cup, against the struggling Scotland lads. They’re favourites because they lead the head to head 5-3, although Scotland got the better of them at the time of last trying, a big win by 150 runs in Abu Dhabi.  Scotland’s World Cup woes against England and NZ have also seen them lose popularity amongst punters and bookies.  Scotland are desperate to overturn their disappointing returns with the willow, and may have been eyeing a sub-continent side as a reducing their concerns against pace bowling.  But, Afghanistan quickies are some of the best going around so it won’t be easy to escape the barrage.

2. Sri Lanka v Bangladesh

Sri Lanka – $1.22

Bangladesh – $4.35

The World Cup tale of the two Asian sides in the day’s second match has been vastly different.  Bangladesh were impressive in their only appearance in the tournament, whereas their rivals have been very poor.  A loss to New Zealand was followed up with a nail-fittingly close win over Afghanistan; a win that failed to instill confidence in anyone watching.  Mahela Jayawardene was the obvious plus, but he always is and always has been.  They have always (perhaps too much so) relied on Jayawardene, Sangakkara and Dilshan, and that reliance is proving to be to their detriment.  Sri Lanka need contributions from more of the squad if they are to get up and beat a Bangladesh side desperate to get into the quarter-finals and buoyed after the bonus point they gained from the Brisbane washout.

Today’s Bet

The Day 13 Double Upset Multi

Bangladesh and Scotland To Win – $9.57

Odds from Luxbet.