The T20 World Cup 2021 tournament is heating up nicely and on Sunday we have another huge double header of action which begins in Abu Dhabi where Afghanistan take on Namibia in Super 12 Group 2.
These two sides sit second and third in the group going into the match after both have put an early win on the board. That means whoever wins here will be sitting pretty in the race for a place in the semi-final.
Afghanistan
There is a real joy about watching this Afghanistan side play. They play with a passion, a freedom and while there is a bit of recklessness with it, you accept that because they take the game to the opposition and play it the way sport should be played. That served them brilliantly well in their opening match against Scotland which they won by an emphatic 130 runs and almost saw them over the line in their second outing against Pakistan where they couldn’t quite get over the line.
Afghanistan have a wonderful spin attack. It is one which is the envy of every team in the tournament so if Mohammad Nabi can utilise the seam bowlers at the right time to maximise their effectiveness than Afghanistan are going to be hard to beat. They bat deep, as we saw in their defeat to Pakistan, and there is no shortage of power as we saw in their first match against Scotland. Afghanistan have a tremendous run rate so a win here could put them on the fringes of a famous spot in the final four.
Namibia
While Afghanistan are a breath of fresh air in the game of cricket, Namibia have been a real presence to this tournament. They qualified from the first round with two very good performances and in their only match at this stage of the competition they got the better of Scotland in a match which became quite nervy. You sense they are feeling more at home at this level and they will be out to knock off a Test playing nation in this group from here on in.
The best thing about Namibia is that they are a good all-round outfit. That isn’t usually the case with these associate sides who are usually better with the bat than the ball. The Africans showed against Scotland that isn’t the case. They will be tested with the bat here. Often is there is a weakness in an associate side it comes against quality spin because they are not accustomed to facing it too often. They face plenty of that here but if their seamers can get stuck in early they might not be without a chance.
Special Offer
Sign up for a Boylesports account to get up to £25 in free bets! Perfect offer for this tournament! Click the image below for this great offer! New accounts only. 18+ T&Cs apply. Gamble Aware.
Key Men
Rashid Khan is the leading bowler in the world in this format of the game and with five wickets to his name in this tournament already you sense he is going to be a massive threat here. He has conditions which suit and a batting unit in front of him that won’t have seen much of him.
Gerhard Erasmus is seen as the best player of spin in this Namibia side so it stands to reason that he is the most important player in it. He is the captain too so he is the one they will all look towards in this match.
Betting
I expect Afghanistan to win this match and I think they will win it pretty well. There is a bit of a blueprint in this match in terms of the way Namibia were found wanting against the spin attack of Sri Lanka and you sense something similar is going to happen here, not least because the Afghan spinners keep on coming. Afghanistan are pretty short though and the handicap line is just about big enough to sway me getting involved in that too.
That makes me head to the player markets for a bet in this match. The one which catches my eye is the total wickets of Rashid Khan where we have a 1.5 line which is very attainable. He took four wickets in that demolition of Scotland and a similar haul wouldn’t surprise me here. These two nations have only met once in this format of the game and Rashid took three wickets in just over two overs. While you could argue Namibia are better now, conditions here suit Rashid perfectly and he’ll be out to put on a show. I like the over on his total wickets line.
Tips
Back R.Khan – Over 1.5 wickets for a 3/10 stake at 2.00 with Coral
Back him here:
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2021
