Australia drew first blood in the ODI series with Pakistan on Friday and they can take a real stranglehold on proceedings when the two sides meet for the second time at the Sharjah venue on Sunday.
Pakistan were left to rue a sloppy performance in that opening game and will be eager to put that right in this second match and attempt to level the series and set the final three games up nicely for us neutrals.
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Australia
The Australians should be very pleased with how they went in the first match of the series. Although there was a lack of intent from Pakistan initially, they made sure that when the onslaught came they had the tools to cope with it and then when it came to chasing a total down they did it extremely ruthlessly and efficiently which will give them plenty of confidence for what is to come.
The other thing that will give Australia a good feeling moving forward is that there might still be a bit to come from them in the series. Although they played well in that first match they were not flawless so there are improvements in them which is never a bad thing this early in the piece. If they find what is to come then they should take some stopping.
Pakistan
I wouldn’t say that Pakistan played badly in that opening match but they were far too timid initially and they paid a huge price for that. When they did start teeing off it was clear to see that their 280 score was never enough and as a result their bowlers never really had a chance, which is probably the most disappointing thing for them.
The positive is that they will know they don’t have to adjust too much to be more competitive here. They just have to show more of an intent from the outset, or lay their platform a little quicker and propel themselves up to the sort of score that will challenge the Australians. That will then bring their bowlers into play and they should be much more challenging.
Team News
Australia are managing some of their players to keep them fit and fresh for the World Cup. Pat Cummins sat out the opening game but it could be his turn to play here with Nathan Coulter-Nile potentially the one to miss out.
Pakistan made no secret of the fact that this series is largely to experiment to make sure that they look at every possibility ahead of naming their World Cup squad. With that in mind we could see Saad Ali, Mohammad Hussain and Abid Ali get their debuts.
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Betting
There is probably more to come from Australia in this series given who never even got to the crease in the previous match so I’ve got to think that their margin of victory could increase where which would be quite something. Pakistan have made it very clear where their priority lies in this series and nobody can really argue with that this close to a World Cup.
Those messages send out a bit of a sign to a squad though so I’m expecting Pakistan to labour their way through this series which probably isn’t going to get them very far all things being equal. Australia have to give up 3.5 wickets or 15.5 runs in this one but I don’t think that is asking too much of them. I expect this to be covered by the tourists.
Tips
WON – Back Australia (-3.5wickets/15.5runs) to win 2nd ODI for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
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