After defeat in a match they had every chance of winning Pakistan go into Sunday’s fourth ODI against Australia in Sydney knowing they have to win the match or else they will have lost the series.
On the flip side of that Australia have won the last game despite struggling a fair bit and if they can follow that up with a win in this match then they will have the series in the bag long before they reach Adelaide for the final match.
Australia
Once again their bowlers did the business for Australia in Perth. They restricted Pakistan to a relatively low total for this modern era and then while they rode their luck with the bat they got the job done to take command of the series and be in a position where they only need to win one of their last two matches to claim the series.
In an ideal world Australia will find a settled batting line up which is firing fully in the next two matches but you get the feeling they are not sure of their best players with the bat or the best order to use them in so their struggles in that department may well continue.
Pakistan
The tourists will be smarting from missed chances in Perth. They dropped Peter Handscomb early on in his innings in Perth and the Melbourne man went on to take the match away from them. That will have annoyed them because they were just building up some positive vibes to take through the series.
Pakistan now know they have to win their final two matches to win the series and if they are going to do that then they need to find a way to eek out a few more runs especially towards the end of the innings. If they can do that then with their bowling attack they aren’t dead in the series just yet but they need their best form now.
Team News
Australia will have Mitchell Starc back for this match while Adam Zampa could also come into the side too. Billy Stanlake might take a blow to allow Starc to return.
Pakistan will have their captain Azhar Ali back from the injury he sustained in the first ODI. He could come in for Asad Shafiq given the indifferent form of the middle order batsman.
Betting
If Pakistan wanted a venue to get back into the series they have landed with it because the Sydney Cricket Ground has taken spin all season and Pakistan’s slow bowlers can strangle Australia in this match and allow the seamers to bowl aggressively with the run rate rising.
I would expect the Pakistan batsmen to fare better in these conditions too where the ball doesn’t bounce as high as some in the country so there is plenty to like about the tourists in this one. At 3/1 there is enough value in them to warrant a bet.
Tips
Back Pakistan to win 4th ODI for a 3/10 stake at 4.00 with Betfred
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