1st ODI SOUTH AFRICA v PAKISTAN: Our cricket tipster The Edge previews Friday’s first ODI between SOUTH AFRICA v PAKISTAN with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
MATCH OVERVIEW:
We kick off Pakistan’s tour of South Africa on Friday after a little bit of drama in the build-up. Most of the drama has centred around the South African players and the IPL, which is fairly understandable given how much the IPL franchises have paid for their services. Of course Pakistan players aren’t welcome in the IPL, so they would have been looking to plan a series in the break – however many eyebrows were raised when it was confirmed as South Africa.
The IPL franchises have pushed and got their way, with the South African players allowed leave the series early – with the franchises putting on a special flight for them. South Africa will have the services of Rabada, Nortje, de Kock, Miller and Ngidi for the first two ODI’s before they all fly out for the first IPL game on the 9th of April. It’s fair to say that the series will change dramatically when South Africa lose their star men, and we should see some very interesting market moves on BETDAQ Betting Exchange during the series.
This will be the start of the ‘Temba Bavuma era’ as South Africa are calling it as the new captain begins his reign. It’s obvious de Kock wasn’t enjoying the roll, and he should be free to focus on his batting and wicketkeeping now. South Africa have been under performing lately and desperately need some good things to happen. Winning the first two ODI’s is a must given they will lose all their stars. It will be very interesting to see how the younger players perform, especially against an excellent Pakistan side.
WEATHER AND PITCH WATCH:
The 1st ODI will be at Centurion – these two have recent form here with the sides meeting in January 2019. That seems like so long ago, but with Covid19 there’s only been one ODI since. South Africa won by 13 runs that day after scoring 317/6. Duckworth Lewis came into play that day too, and it’s always wise to check the radar before the off and during the game at Centurion – you never know where a storm can pop up from here. South Africa may have scored 300+ against Pakistan, but we haven’t been used to seeing 300+ here for a few years. It can be very difficult for the batsmen here but it used to be a very good track for batting. Getting a read on the pitch in the early overs will be key, and it’s very hard to know what’s coming before the off with such a big gap between games.
RECOMMENDED BET:
South Africa toured Pakistan in February and they lost the Test series 2-0 and the T20 series 2-1. They could easily lose the T20 series again on this tour given the star quality they are losing to the IPL, and it’s also fair to say the pressure is on to win the first two ODI’s with a weaker team for the 3rd ODI – especially if the series is level! The Super League has given a lot of importance to each ODI now, and Pakistan will see this as an excellent opportunity. I think we’ll have a pretty close series, but I’m happy to keep bets small for the opener to see where we stand before going forward. For today, I like Pakistan at the odds – they are 2.62 and I expect a closer game than that.
The Edge Says:
One point win Pakistan to beat South Africa at 2.62 on BETDAQ Betting Exchange
View the market here -> http://bit.ly/BDQSAPak
IN-RUNNING STRATEGY:
We move to this series from the India v England series where we had the same ground for each T20 and each ODI. We will be moving grounds in this series, and with such a big gap between games it’s hard to have a big in-running strategy before the off here. There’s certainly no real angle on the pitch, and I would definitely wait and see how it plays. I would probably get on the team bowling first because batting has been tricky here lately, but a few years back we saw scores close to 400 too.
I feel the biggest in-play angle here might be an early South African wicket – the Pakistan fast bowlers have been excellent lately and they were very successful in Pakistan against South Africa. OK, totally different conditions here but you’d assume the fast bowlers will go well and we can see big movement on early South African wickets.
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