One day after the first T20 international between Pakistan and West Indies was played out, the second game of the three will take place in Karachi on a day where the series could potentially be won with a match to spare.
Pakistan dominated that opening match and will secure the series with a game to play if they win here. West Indies will hope to come on for the run though and if they do that they know a win will set up a decider.
Pakistan
We saw a lot of the Pakistan side which made it to the semi-final of the T20 World Cup last month in the opening match of the series. They blasted their way to an emphatic score with the bat and then the quality in their bowling attack did the rest. The only thing you would say about that first performance is it was so good you just wonder if there is any improvement in them. That is quite rare in these series these days with little build-up. The simple fact is they don’t need to improve to win here.
If there is improvement then it will probably come with the bat incredibly enough. Babar Azam was out early in the opening game and he doesn’t fail very often so that is something that Pakistan have up their sleeve. One or two chances went down in that first game as well so that is an area they can improve but they were so in control of that game by then it was probably understandable for complacency to step in at some point.
West Indies
When you consider the lead up that West Indies had to the opening match it probably isn’t a big surprise that they came up short. You would expect them to come on for the run with both the bat and the ball now that they have had a taste of the conditions and an outing on the park. They will need to improve though because although their plans looked to be understandable, the execution of them failed a little too often.
The big thing West Indies need to improve on if they are going to level the series is the way they play spin. The Pakistan spin duo took 4-37 from eight overs in that opening game and when that happens the batting side is always going to struggle. The other thing West Indies can look to do is build partnerships to leave themselves with some wickets in hand at the end of the innings as we know the power they have and this ground certainly isn’t big enough to contain them.
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Team News
Pakistan played pretty well right through the order in the opening match so they might well stick with the same side until the series is won unless there is someone who hasn’t pulled up well and might struggle to back up the next day.
Oshane Thomas was a little expensive in the opening game and with West Indies likely to bring Hayden Walsh Jr into the side he might be vulnerable. Others went for more runs than he did but they all add batting depth.
Betting
You would imagine Pakistan will win this match as well but there were enough signs that West Indies could be dangerous in that opening game and I’m not really in a rush to sweat it out on a 1/4 shot if I’m honest so I’ll look at the side markets for a bet on this game. The sixes tempt me but I’m concerned that this is a second game in as many days on this pitch so I’ll side with a player performance bet to keep me entertained here.
That comes in the form of Mohammad Nawaz, who showed all sides to his game in that opening match. He came in at seven and clubbed his way to 30 from just 10 balls and then bowled his four overs taking 1-24. It is his bowling which interests me in this one because there were signs this pitch was turning in the second innings on Monday and that trend is only likely to continue throughout this match. We know West Indies don’t play spin particularly well so he might well improve on those bowling figures. With a pitch that suits his bowling and batting to fall back on if he comes up short with the ball I like the all-rounder to cover 24.5pts.
Tips
Back M.Nawaz’s Performance – Over 24.5pts for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
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