Tag: Pakistan

Cricket World Cup: Day 21 Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Last night’s late finish in Perth has put paid to our three questions feature, so we have only, the day’s action preview for you, with odds from BetEasy.

Today’s Matchups

1. South Africa v Pakistan, Eden Park (Auckland – windy with rain expected), starts 2:00pm local time

South Africa – $1.25

Pakistan – $4.00

Eden Park’s tiny boundaries could be in for an awful peppering if South Africa bat first and continue their 400 scoring form against Pakistan today.  Back to back 400’s have the South Africans supremely confident heading into their penultimate Pool game.  The 400 possibility is made even likely due an injury to Pakistan’s best bowler, Mohammed Irfan.

Five South Africans have already registered hundred in this World Cup and we’re expecting more today.  South Africa will hope that it comes from Quentin de Kock who is in horrible form, in fact he might not even make the side to day with Rilee Rossouw and AB de Villers both keeping options.

Pakistan probably won’t be able to chase down (or set 400) but they did muster 300 for the first time on the tournament in their last try.  Plenty of their batsman got much needed crease time in the win against UAE, but that doesn’t guarantee they’ll be able to cope with Steyn and Morkel.

The only other thing getting in the way of 400 is the Auckland weather.  It looks decidedly average on the rain radar in Auckland.

2. Zimbabwe v Ireland, Bellerive Oval (Hobart – cloudy), starts 2:30pm local time

Zimbabwe -$2.25

Ireland – $1.66

This should be one of the closest games between the second tier nations we’ve seen at the World Cup.  The teams are evenly matched on paper, and both have had their ups and downs in the tournament thus far.

Zimbabwe have batted well on most occasions, as have Ireland (bar their last effort against South Africa), but both teams are struggling big time with the ball, especially at the death.  Brendon Taylor and Sean Williams are the mainstays of the Zimbabwe batting order and their contributions and calm heads could be influential against the slow bowling options of Ireland.

We think this will go right down to the wire, and the team that wins is the team that finds their bowling lengths at the death.

Today’s Multi

The Imitation Multi

Both the names of Brendon Taylor and Haris Sohail feature the names of other international crickets.  For instance there is a host of other Taylors at the World Cup (Ross, James, Jerome).  And Haris is also the name of an Australia quickie not currently playing but well know.  So this is the imitation multi.

Haris Sohail to Top Score at $5 + Brendon Taylor to Outscore (Joyce and Sterling) at $2.60 = $13.

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 16 Recap

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Day 16 Results

1. Sri Lanka v England

Being better but still losing by ten wickets is wonderfully bittersweet.  Especially when you’re the England skipper and your own form is horrendous, your getting grief for not singing the side’s national anthem, and if you’re out of the Cricket World Cup if you don’t beat Afghanistan and Bangladesh in your last two games.

That’s what Eoin Morgan’s going through. Piling on three hundred he would’ve gone to lunch pretty satisfied with his teams work.  Joe Root laid the platform with a well controlled hundred, and Jos Buttler finished it off with the death over impetus that the situation demanded.  Lunch would have gone down well, with Morgan assuming his band of quicks would have no trouble defending the huge total.

But they couldn’t.  They were never a chance as Sri Lanka waltzed to an imperious victory – by nine wickets and with 16 balls remaining.  Centuries to Kumar Sangakkara and Lahiru Thirimanne suddenly making Morgan’s position as captain looking shaky.  Sangakkara was particularly masterful.  His hundred coming from just 70 balls and upping the ante just when required.  In fact, the hundred was Sangakkara’s quickest ever, and outlines the ominous form he is currently in (near his very best).  Thirimanne also enjoyed the flat pitch as he looks more assured in his role at the tope of the order.  His hundred means all of Sri Lanka’s top four have crossed the hundred mark in this Cricket World Cup.

England’s bowlers look dreadfully off the pace and are unlikely to worry any opposition batsman on these surfaces.  Their two best bowlers (over a long period of time), Stuart Broad and James Anderson are averaging 92 and 91 respectively with the ball in the four games they have completed in the Cricket World Cup.  They need to get the Kookaburra ball swinging and quickly if they are any chance to make the quarterfinals and then surprise someone in them.

A batting order change around is probably necessary too.  We’d have Ali, Hales, Bell, Root, Buttler, Taylor, Morgan…

Sri Lanka 312 for 1 (Thirimanne 139*, Sangakkara 117*) beat England 309 for 6 (Root 121, Bell 49) by nine wickets

2. Pakistan v Zimbabwe

Pakistan finally got on the board at the Cricket World Cup with a gritty win over underdogs Zimbabwe in Canberra.  Zimbabwe’s known achilles heal – their inability to contain run rates at the death – and their Betcirca predicted second achilles heal – inability to handle the bounce of Mohammed Irfan – ultimately cost them the game, despite being competitive throughout.

Pakistan are developing some fragilities of their own.  The batting unit look well below par, and they were indebted to Misbah-ul-Haq and Wahab Riaz for bringing some respectability to the total and ensuring the bowlers had something to defend.  At 127/5 and 155/6 Pakistan looked to be sliding towards another World Cup defeat, and their place in the knockout stages was looking dicey.  However, the ever patient ul-Haq and Riaz managed to put together a partnership of 47, and Riaz was able to continue the momentum in the final overs to help his team post 235.  Zimbabwe conceded 73 from the last ten overs and put down two of the easiest outfield catches you’ll ever see, in a further example of the reason they can’t quite get wins at this level.

Zimbabwe’s chase started poorly.  They lost three early wickets to Mohammed Irfan which derailed any chance of early momentum and meant they would always be chasing the game.  Brendon Taylor did his best to hold the innings together, and Elton Chigumbura batted bravely in the face of a significant injury concern, but they still fell 20 runs short.  Irfan added a fourth wicket, and Riaz matched his haul, while Umar Akmal had a hand in six dismissals.

Pakistan 235 for 7 (Misbah 73, Wahab 54*, Chatara 3-35) beat Zimbabwe 215 (Taylor 50, Irfan 4-30, Wahab 4-45) by 20 runs

Cricket World Cup: Day 16 Preview

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The Three Big Questions

What does New Zealand’s win mean for the World Cup?

The Black Caps win was highly entertaining but doesn’t mean all that much for the rest of the World Cup.  They will probably top Pool A now and have a home quarterfinal and semifinal if they get that far.  It makes  Australia’s road slightly harder and they may face the difficult prospect of South Africa in the semi-final; possibly a little earlier than anticipated.  The win proves low totals are defendable, showcases swing bowling as a very serious weapon against the power hitting approach, but also shows New Zealand’s susceptibility to quality pace bowling.  Taylor, Elliot and Anderson all looked vulnerable to real pace, and their form will be a concern.

How will Australia respond?

By dominating all of their opponents in the lead up to the semifinals.  It was certainly a wake up call and we expect them to bounce back with huge performances against Scotland, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.  Big wins against the raining Pool companions will return them to confidence and remove any demons from their Eden Park performance – they won’t bat this badly again in the tournament.

What did the win do to the tournament winner odds?

Australia – $2.90, South Africa – $4.00, New Zealand – $4.25.

No change to the outright market after the unexpected win.  While New Zealand may shorten over the next few days, there was no flurry of money on New Zealand after their nervy batting performance.  Australia still big favourites (as expected).

Today’s Matchups

1. England v Sri Lanka, Wellington Regional Stadium (Wellington – mostly sunny), starts 11:00am local time

England – $1.85

Sri Lanka – $1.95

Bookies are having a hard time separating two evenly matched teams in the day’s first encounter in Wellington.  Both teams have had their share of disappointment in the tournament thus far, but both are coming off big wins against Scotland and Bangladesh respectively.  This game should give a good indication of the merits of each teams Cricket World Cup chances.

Look for plenty of runs on a quick Wellington surface and expect this one to go deep into the last overs to find a winner.

2. Pakistan v Zimbabwe, The Gabba (Brisbane – parlty cloudy), starts 1:30pm local time

Pakistan – $1.25

Zimbabwe – $4.00

Pakistan have the chance to ease the nerves of their entire nation, and in the process save a few effigies from the predictable burning.  Their easiest matchup of the World Cup thus far gives them an opportunity to build confidence, find some form, and settle on the combinations that will hopefully compete in the knockout stages.  Zimbabwe haven’t played a bad game yet so they’ll target this one as a genuine upset chance.  How they handle the uncomfortable bounce of Mohammed Irfan will ultimately determine how they go.  Oh and their death bowling needs to improve too.

Today’s Multi

The Sexual Innuendo Multi

Joe Root to Top Score – $5.00 + ‘Boom Boom’ Afridi to Win Man of the Match Award – $12.00

Pays – $60.00

Odds from BetEasy.

Cricket World Cup: Weekend Recap

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A bumper weekend of quality cricket has seen a number of teams rip up the form book and reemerge as genuine World Cup threats.  India and the West Indies both scored unexpected wins to again confuse punters as to who will make up the crucial semi-final spots of the lucrative tournament.

Although Cyclone Marcia prevented the favourites Australia from playing, New Zealand and Melbourne stayed dry to allow some cricket.  Check out the weekend results below:

Day 8 Results

1. West Indies v Pakistan

The enigma that is West Indies cricket got the better the woefulness that is Pakistan cricket in a one-sided encounter in Christchurch.  Fans wanting a more interesting World Cup will hope that the win will prompt a change in fortune for the men from the Caribbean, whereas fans supporting Pakistan will be drastically worried.  The West Indies posted 300 batting first for the second game in succession.  Handy contributions from most of their men precluded a dazzling Andre Russell finish who slammed 42 from just 13 balls.  Earlier, Dinesh Ramdin and Lendl Simmons both scored fifties in a crucial middle over partnership that solidified a precious position of 152/3, which could have initiated a wobble.

A middle order wobble may not have mattered anyway as Pakistan crumbled to just 160 in reply.  Jerome Taylor’s fast start reduced Pakistan to a remarkable 1/4.  Just to be clear, that is, 4 wickets down for a solitary run.  There was no way back.  Pakistan did get to 160 – Umar Akmal scored an overdue half centre as did Maqsood, but there was never a contest.  Andre Russell also picked up three wickets to take man of the match honours.

The West Indies will be satisfied with their day’s work but await anxiously news on Darren Bravo’s injured hamstring.

West Indies 310 for 6 (Ramdin 51, Simmons 50, Russell 42) beat Pakistan 160 (Akmal 59, Maqsood 50, Taylor 3-15, Russell 3-33) by 150 runs

2. Australia v Bangladesh

Day 9 Results

1. Afghanistan v Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka overcame another minnow led scare in the Cricket World Cup on Sunday.  Not for the first time, an associate nation looked to be getting the better of test playing nation before class, luck and composure got the Sri Lankans (in this case) home.

Afghanistan were at one stage 128/2 and looking good for a handsome first innings total.  But before they could build any real momentum, Matthews, Malinga and Lakmal removed their key men before they could make the big scores that win games.  Mohammad Stanikzai was Afghanistan’s best with a well made 54, but his wicket was the catalyst of the slide.

Sri Lanka made very hard work of the gettable total.  At 18/3, with Dilshan, Thirimanne and Sangakkara all back in the pavilion, an upset looked possible.  It looked likely even when Karunaratne also fell, in a wicket that had the Afghan’s doing cartwheels (literally).  The fairytale wasn’t forthcoming mind you.  The guile of Mahlea Jayawardene and the power of Thisara Perera steering Sri Lanka home to win by 4 wickets.  Jayawardene scored an even hundred, while Perara made a brutal unbeaten 47 to wrap things up with 10 balls to spare.

Sri Lanka 236 for 6 (Jayawardene 100, Perera 47*, Hamid 3-45) beat Afghanistan 232 (Stanikzai 54) by four wickets

2. India v South Africa

Wow! We didn’t see this one coming.  India gave a huge MCG crowd every reason to cheer by knocking over a strong South Africa in emphatic fashion.  Cast aside at the start of the tournament after a disappointing tour down under, the Indians are now emerging as genuine title contenders after a pair of excellent wins.  Led by Shikhar Dhawan, who scored a well-paced 137, full of hooks and pulls, India cruised along to 307.  Virat Kohli contributed too, he scored 46, but Ajinkya Rahane’s 60 ball 79 was the real supporting act gem at the tail the innings.

South Africa struggled; they’ll be talk of the dreaded ‘choke’ term entering their minds / becoming a possibility.  The case never really got going, and surprisingly, none of their big game players Amla, du Plessis or de Villiers have managed to score the expected big runs.  Certainly not on the Dhawan scale.  The scale that put bowlers under pressures and becomes the difference between 200 scores and 300 scores.  Dhawan was the difference, and South Africa need confidence.  (They’ll also monitor an injury to Vernon Philander.)

South Africa have gone out to $5.00 to win the World Cup at Bet365.

India 307 for 7 (Dhawan 137, Rahane 79) beat South Africa 177 (Du Plessis 55, Ashwin 3-41) by 130 runs

Cricket World Cup: Day 2 Recap

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Who said this was going to be batsman World Cup?  Four matches and four first innings totals over 300 has made chasing very difficult in the early stages of this World Cup.  All of the favourites have flexed some muscle in their opening wins, even if coming in slightly different circumstances.  Let’s have a look at the day 2 results.

Day 2 Results

1. South Africa v Zimbabwe

It’s pretty rare that a side can bounce back from losing Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis and Quintin de Kock each for 25 runs or less and still go on to post 339/4 in their 50 overs.  But that’s exactly what South Africa managed against Zimbabwe in Hamilton in their World Cup opener.  Batting first on a sticky wicket, South Africa lost the plot against accurate but unthreatening bowling, plummeting to 83/4 before a record breaking partnership ensued between JP Duminy and David Miller.  Miller made a masterful 138* proving he’s much more than a late over finisher, and Duminy proved his value to the side with an equally well-paced hundred in one of his first games back from a long injury layoff.  South Africa set a 2015 tournament record of 89 from the final overs to post the third consecutive total of over 300 from teams batting first in the Cup.

Zimbabwe showed plenty of character in their chase, but eventually fell some 62 runs short.  They were close for a large portion of the run-chase and in particular with Brendon Taylor still in the middle had a chance, however, as the asking rate increased the pressure did too and Zimbabwe found fewer boundaries and resorted to calculated slogs to try and get their.  It was a valiant effort mind you, and their form over 7o off the hundred overs, outlines just how dangerous they’ll be against others in their pool.  Zimbabwe will (and deserve too) take great heart from their effort; South Africa will just be grateful their blushes were spared (mainly by Miller and Duminy).

South Africa 339 for 4 (Miller 138*, Duminy 115*) beat Zimbabwe 277 (Masakadza 80, Chibhabha 64, Tahir 3-36) by 62 runs

2. India v Pakistan

Adelaide Oval seemed a world away from Australia as over 50,000 Indian and Pakistan fans packed in to watch the latest editions of one of sports great rivalries.  In stark contrast to the sedate Hamilton ground in the earlier game, Adelaide was a cauldron of noise and excitement as the two Asian heavyweights launched their World Cup campaigns.  India would get the better of the occasion thanks to another Adelaide Oval hundred from Virat Kohli.  India posted 300/7 with Kohl’s and Suresh Raina’s 75 the difference between an above par and below par score.  In fairness, they actually should have scored more and their return of 27 from the final five overs is easily the worst in the competition thus far.

Pakistan’s mecurail batting lineup never threatened the total.  The Indian bowlers finally seemed to appreciate the length to bowl in Australia and masterfully mixed a fuller regular length with excellent directed short balls – used sparingly.  The seamers combined well with spinners Ashwin and Jadeja to restrict runs and take wickets.  Pakistan look to be struggling without Mohammad Hafeez and will need to figure out their best use of Umar Akmal and Sarfraz (even if Akmal was unfairly adjudged caught behind – in my view).  Misbah was again the rock of the flailing chase, he managed another ODI half century and could be a good fantasy banker on today’s evidence.

India 300 for 7 (Kohli 107, Raina 74, Dhawan 73, Sohail 5-55) beat Pakistan 224 (Misbah 76, Shehzad 47, Shami 4-35) by 76 runs