Pakistan v Afghanistan preview, player tips & predictions

The enigmatic Pakistan should pack too many guns for the winless Afghanistan in their cricket World Cup clash, but it is the one team that is prone to collapse when you least expect it.

Afghanistan has been competitive throughout the tournament and always entertaining, but simply has not made enough runs when it has counted to get a positive result.

These teams have met only three times in one-day international cricket and Pakistan has won all three fairly comfortably.

In this tournament Pakistan has bounced between sublime and sub par. The wins against England, South Africa and New Zealand were from the top shelf. At the other end of the spectrum was the dismal showing against the West Indies that set it off to such a poor start.

Still, given Pakistan’s penchant for mixing form, we will avoid the $1.17 available with leading cricket bookmaker William Hill and focus on some of the markets within the game to try to turn a profit on this clash.

This Pakistan v Afghanistan betting preview will run you through betting options for match 36 of 48 of the ICC World Cup 2019.

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MATCH INFO
Pakistan v Afghanistan
Venue: Headingley, Leeds, Saturday, June 29, 10.30am (British time)
Head to head odds: Pakistan $1.17; Afghanistan $5
Last time they met: Pakistan 7-258 (49.3 overs) d Afghanistan 6-257 (50 overs) in Abu Dhabi, September 21, 2018.

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Pakistan v Afghanistan odds:

For full markets visit the William Hill website.

HEAD TO HEAD BETTING:
Pakistan $1.17, Afghanistan $5
Prediction: Pakistan look like good things here, but we want to seek out a little more value.

TOP RUN-SCORER BETTING:

Pakistan:
Top five in betting: Babar Azam $3.75, Fakhar Zaman $4, Imam-ul-Haq $4.33, Mohammad Hafeez $6, Haris Sohail $7.50.

Top scorers from past five ODIs:

v New Zealand: Babar Azam 101no
v South Africa: Haris Sohail 89
v India: Fakhar Zaman 62
v Australia: Imam-ul-Haq 53
v Sri Lanka: Match abandoned

Afghanistan:
Top five in betting: Hazratullah Zazai $4.50, Rahmat Shah $5.50, Noor Ali Zadran $5.50, Hashmatullah Shahidi $6, Asghar Afghan $6.50.

Top scorers from past five ODIs:
v Bangladesh: Samiullah Shinwari 49no
v India: Mohammad Nabi 52
v England: Hashmatullah Shahidi 76
v South Africa: Rashid Khan 35
v New Zealand: Hashmatullah Shahidi 59

Top batter prediction: Runs were hard to come by in the only previous match at Headingley in this tournament: England’s shock loss to Sri Lanka, and it was especially difficult early on. We believe Babar Azam has the best technique of the Pakistan batsmen and will stick with the class youngster to make the most runs for his team at $3.75. We tipped Babar Azam to top score against the Kiwis on Wednesday and he came to the party with an unbeaten ton. Check the William Hill website on match day to see if enhanced odds include Azam. Afghanistan’s batsmen have managed only four half-centuries between them for the tournament and two of those belong to Hashmatullah Shahidi. The $6 about the young left-hander seems good value so will tip him to top the charts for his team.

TOP WICKET-TAKER BETTING:

Pakistan:
Top five in betting: Mohammad Amir $3.75, Wahab Riaz $4, Hasan Ali $4.50, Shadab Khan $4.50, Shaheen Afridi $5, Imad Wasim $5.

Top wicket-takers from past five ODIs:
v New Zealand: Shaheen Afridi 3-28
v South Africa: Wahab Riaz 3-46, Shadab Khan 3-50
v India: Mohammad Amir 3-47
v Australia: Mohammad Amir 5-30
v Sri Lanka: Match abandoned

Afghanistan:
Top five in betting: Rashid Khan $3, Mujeeb Ur Rahman $4.50, Mohammad Nabi $4.50, Dawlat Zadran $6, Gulbadin Naib $6, Aftab Alam $6.

Top wicket-takers from past five ODIs:
v Bangladesh: Mujeeb Ur Rahman 3-39
v India: Mohammad Nabi 2-33, Gulbadin Naib 2-51
v England: Dawlat Zadran 3-85, Gulbadin Naib 3-68
v South Africa: Gulbadin Naib 1-29
v New Zealand: Aftab Alam 3-45

Top bowler tip: Mohammad Amir has carried the Pakistan bowling for much of this event and we have been lucky to have jumped on him early and had a couple of collects. We can’t bail out now so we will have a good bet on the left-arm quick. He has had the best batsmen in the world jumping around so he could cause havoc in this match. Rashid Khan has had a forgettable World Cup with the ball but he has also not had much luck. If the Pakistan batsmen take him on, this could be his chance to finally grab a bag of wickets.

WGL best bets: Pakistan v Afghanistan

Each of our ICC World Cup betting previews will highlight some potential wins for punters, or where our cricket tipsters think there is value to be found.

Babar Azam man of the match at $8

He has looked classy all tournament and finally went on with the job against New Zealand. He will want to make his mark here in England and Wales and another big ton would put him the frame to get the nod as best player in this clash.

Pakistan to hit most sixes and win

The Pakistanis have much more firepower in their batting line-up. Expect them to rack up big numbers if they bet first and this bet should net you somewhere around $1.60.

Pakistan v Afghanistan prediction

As always factor in the weather before making any bets on this match. And remember it’s Pakistan you are dealing with so nothing is out of the question. Making predictions is too hard for us. Sit back and enjoy the show!

ALSO READ:
ICC World Cup 2019 betting guide
ICC World Cup 2019 leading wicket-taker
Cricket betting sites
ICC World Cup 2019 leading run-scorer
ICC World Cup 2019 player of tournament

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