The T20 World Cup continues with another double header of action on Sunday and once again we begin proceedings in New York where the blockbuster contest in Group A between India and Pakistan opens up the show.
This is a repeat of the inaugural final of this competition which India won and an India win here will all but eliminate Pakistan from the tournament before it has really got going for them. Pakistan have to win to keep their qualifying hopes in their own hands.
India
India have played just the one in this tournament but it was a match they dominated from start to finish against Ireland. There might have been some trepidation heading into that contest because the pitch was seen as potentially a leveller but that never looked like being the case and the pre-tournament favourites ran out comfortable winners without hitting top gear. They won’t want to reach top gear yet as there are still plenty of matches to come but they will be looking for some improvement.
That improvement would probably come with the bat. They didn’t let Ireland back into the match when chasing a two digit total but at the same time they did lose a couple of wickets and didn’t really respect the bowling as much as they could do. That batting unit is going to be tested more here but it is nothing they haven’t faced before. India generally come out looking to do a job on Pakistan and if they do that here then they will have one foot into the Super Eights.
Pakistan
Pakistan have also only played the one match in this competition but having lost to the USA in a super over they are already staring down the barrel of an early exit. They either need to win this match to get back on terms or they will need Ireland to beat USA later in the week and then hope that they can win their last two matches and take their chances on net run rate. If they want their qualifying hopes to remain in their own destiny then they have to win here.
If they are going to win this then it goes without saying that they have to bat so much better than they did against the United States. They went slowly in the powerplay, which isn’t so much a problem in the conditions of this tournament, but they can’t score slowly and lose wickets. They either need to set a platform with the opening pair or someone is going to have to come off at the top of the order. Their bowling should naturally improve on that opening run out but it needs to.
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Team News
India chose two spinning all-rounders in the opening match but used them as an afterthought so it will be interesting to see if they go with the extra seamer here. That would reduce their batting depth though so unless Shivam Dube bowls that probably isn’t likely.
Pakistan will be delighted that Imad Wasim has been passed fit to feature in this match having failed to return from a knock for the game with USA. He could replace Shadab Khan in a like-for-like switch or Naseem Shah could be the one to make way.
Betting
While there are signs that the pitches are slowly getting better in New York, I’m not convinced they are that much better that a run line of 302.5 can get covered here. This is a Pakistan side who only scored 159/7 on a much better Dallas pitch against USA with a much quicker outfield and smaller boundaries than they are going to find here, while India were only scoring around eight an over here against Ireland earlier in the week and face a much stronger bowling unit here. In fact, the seam attacks of both of these sides are very strong so you would imagine early wickets are going to fall and then that will lead to a rebuilding period. Throw in the extremely slow outfield and the intensity these games are played in and I think this run line is a touch high.
We’ve seen throughout the matches on this ground that batters down the order when the ball gets a little softer and the seam movement dies a bit are the ones that can prosper and so the 25/1 on Imad Wasim top scoring for Pakistan looks a huge price. Wasim can generally bat and has First-class and List A centuries under his belt and is likely to come in at seven for Pakistan here, although he could float a little if Pakistan want another leftie higher up the order. This is a man who averages a nudge under 43 with the bat in ODI cricket and if the top order get shot out like we’ve seen a number of them do on this ground then the 25/1 on the veteran all-rounder could look very big by the time he comes to the crease.
Tips
Back Under 302.5 runs for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
Back I.Wasim Top Pakistan Batter for a 1/10 stake at 26.00 with Unibet
