The First Round of the World Cup was not one for favourite-backers
- Two-time champions West Indies leaving Australia too early
- Injuries mounting up in Sri Lanka’s camp
- Wanindu Hasaranga could be Sri Lanka’s Top Bowler against Australia this Tuesday
The West Indies went in as hot favourites to win their Group but in the end they didn’t even manage to qualify for the Super 12 stage. Losses to Scotland and Ireland cost them dearly and there will be no third T20 World Cup win for them.
The one team West Indies did beat, Zimbabwe, beat Ireland and Scotland to top the group and have in key man Sikandar Raza – the stand-out player of the competition so far. The veteran all-rounder has been scoring plenty of runs and picking up vital wickets and if he can take that form into the next round, Sikandar Raza could be a potential Player of the Tournament.
Find the best cricket odds on 10CRIC! Bet now!
The other team who qualified from Group B, Ireland, aced two chases against Scotland and the West Indies but came crashing down to earth in their first Super 12 match, going down to Sri Lanka. The 2022 Asia Cup winners did it the hard way to even get this far.
A shock loss as heavy favourites against Namibia put them under huge pressure, but spinner Wanindu Hasaranga de Silva and opener Kusal Mendis were the stars with ball and bat respectively as they won their remaining two matches to make it safely through.
That’s the good news, but the bad news is that injuries are mounting up in Sri Lanka’s camp with star bowler Dushmantha Chameera already ruled out of the tournament with injury. As are Dilshan Madushanka and Danushka Gunathilaka, slightly lesser losses, but their resources are starting to be seriously stretched…
The other team that qualified from Group A with them were the Netherlands. Netherlands won their first two games but have the UAE to thank for beating Namibia, which allowed them to progress with a better net run rate.
Australia under pressure
Defending champions, on home soil, with a star-studded line-up
Expectedly, Australia were the favourites going into the competition. Could they become just the second side to win two World Cups, in the process also becoming the first team to win at home and the first team to successfully defend their title? Well, they may still do it, but they couldn’t have got off to a worse start.
Against rivals New Zealand, the Aussies were totally outplayed from the first over onwards. Openers Finn Allen and Devon Conway put on an explosive first wicket partnership and they never looked back after that. Tim Southee and Mitchell Santner then finished the job off with the ball as the Black Caps, ever the dark horses, secured a priceless win.
The margin of their win means they’re now the favourites to progress from Group 1, alongside England.
Jos Buttler’s men had to grind it out to beat Afghanistan in a low-scoring match, but they got there in the end. They’re the new tournament favourites at 3.25.
Australia will probably have to win all their remaining matches from hereon to make the semis or hope other results go their way. That’s why they’re out to odds of 6.5, having started at around the 3.5 mark.
India edge Pakistan in thriller
India are just behind England in the outright betting with 3.5
Just behind England in the outright betting are India at 3.5. But those odds could well have been far bigger if they’d lost Sunday’s match against Pakistan, which for much of the second innings, they looked like losing. It was a match that had everything.
A poor start by Pakistan saw them lose star duo Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam early, followed by fine knocks from Shan Masood (52) and Iftikhar Ahmed (51) that got them back on track as they posted what was a competitive looking 159/8.
It was a total that looked even better once India’s KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma and Sky Yadav had all got out without troubling the scorers too much. But the man who didn’t get out was Virat Kohli. And ultimately that proved to be the difference and Pakistan’s downfall. Hardik Pandya (40 off 37) played his part, but this was a match won pretty much single-handedly by Kohli. He finished unbeaten on 82, his back-to-back sixes off Haris Rauf off the last two balls of the 19th over making it almost a 50/50 game going into the last over.
And when Mohammad Nawaz bowled a no-ball that went for six, it was pretty much game over, although there was still some late drama before India eventually got over the line. With the scores tied, Ravi Ashwin hit the last ball of the match for four to clinch what has so far been the match of the tournament.
Top tip: Pakistan are now 13.0 but don’t rule them out just yet…
Best bets for the next few days
Bangladesh are a really poor T20 side these days, yet go into their match against the Netherlands on Monday morning as hot favourites. The Netherlands won back-to-back matches in the first round and crucially, they were at Hobart, the venue for this one. So, the Dutch will be familiar with the conditions on the day. And what they lack in talent and experience, they certainly have in determination, hard work, team ethos and desire.
A win for the Netherlands at 3.34 could be the best bet of the coming week.
On Tuesday it’s Australia looking to bounce back against Sri Lanka
The Aussies should get the win as hot favourites, but we can expect another big showing from the tournament’s top wicket-taker in that one.
Wanindu Hasaranga de Silva has enjoyed success against Australia in the past. The odds of 3.87 that he’s Sri Lanka’s top bowler on the day are pretty good, especially given they’re missing two of their first-choice bowlers. Back Wanindu Hasaranga at 3.87 to be Sri Lanka’s Top Bowler!
