Pakistan v Bangladesh preview, player tips & predictions

Welcome to our ICC World Cup predictions for Pakistan v Bangladesh being played at Lord’s on Friday. Our Cricket World Cup betting expert runs the rule over the two teams and finds some potentially lucrative wagers.

At the time of writing Pakistan were still alive in this tournament pending the result of the England-New Zealand match on Wednesday. Bangladesh’s hopes of reaching the semi-finals ended with their fighting loss to India on Tuesday.

The Pakistanis have two ways of advancing:

If New Zealand win against England, Pakistan simply need to win the match against Bangladesh and they will be through to the semis.

If England win against New Zealand, Pakistan must hope England have smashed the Kiwis and lowered their net run rate, and then score a huge win over Bangladesh to lift their net run rate above that of the Kiwis. This latter scenario is extremely unlikely.

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So to the match, and it won’t be easy for Pakistan against Bangladesh, who have been a revelation in this tournament and oh so close to advancing.

The Tigers’ batting has been outstanding, led by the wonderful Shakib Al Hasan; if their bowlers had been able to contain teams a little better it might have been a different story altogether regarding the semis.

Of course, do not wager on this match without understanding whether or not Pakistan are in with a chance, as they are the sort of team who could drop away if their semi-final chances are dashed.

Pakistan won 31 of the first 32 ODIs but since that barren run, Bangladesh have won the four most recent matches between the sides in convincing style.

It pays to check leading cricket bookies William Hill on the day of the match to spot any late specials on offer. Your tip for top wicket-taker could be among the enhanced odds offering.

This Pakistan v Bangladesh betting preview will run you through betting options for match 43 of 48 of the ICC World Cup 2019.

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MATCH INFO
Pakistan v Bangladesh
Venue: Lord’s, London, Friday, July 5, 10.30am (British time)
Head to head odds: Pakistan $1.44; Bangladesh $2.75
Last time they met: Bangladesh 239 (48.5 overs) d Pakistan 9-202 (50 overs) at Abu Dhabi, September 26, 2018.

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Pakistan v Bangladesh odds:

For full odds visit the William Hill website.

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HEAD TO HEAD BETTING:

Pakistan $1.44, Bangladesh $2.75
Prediction: Wait to see the result of the England match. If Pakistan cannot realistically make the semi-finals, the Tigers are worth backing at good odds. They will want to finish in style.

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TOP RUN-SCORER BETTING PREDICTIONS:

Pakistan:
Top five in betting: Babar Azam $3.75, Fakhar Zaman $4.50, Imam-ul-Haq $4.50, Mohammad Hafeez $6.50, Haris Sohail $6.50.

Top scorers from past five ODIs:
v Afghanistan: Imad Wasim 49no
v New Zealand: Babar Azam 101no
v South Africa: Haris Sohail 89
v India: Fakhar Zaman 62
v Australia: Imam-ul-Haq 53

Bangladesh:
Top five in betting: Shakib Al Hasan $3.75, Mushfiqur Rahim $4.33, Tamim Iqbal $4.50, Liton Das $5.50, Soumya Sarkar $8.

Top scorers from past five ODIs:
v India: Shakib Al Hasan 66
v Afghanistan: Mushfiqur Rahim 83
v Australia: Mushfiqur Rahim 102no
v West Indies: Shakib Al Hasan 124no
v Sri Lanka: Match abandoned

Top batter prediction: Shakib Al Hasan has made 542 runs to this point at an average above 90! A big score could leave him as the leading run-scorer in the series, which would be a monumental achievement for the great all-rounder. He is the obvious choice, though we think Liton Das is on the cusp of a big score too at attractive odds. Babar Azam has been a standout for Pakistan in terms of consistency so we will bet on the rising star to top score for his team.

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TOP WICKET-TAKER BETTING PREDICTION:

Pakistan:
Top five in betting: Mohammad Amir $3.50, Shaheen Afridi $4, Shadab Khan $4.50, Wahab Riaz $4.50, Hasan Ali $5, Mohammad Hasnain $5.

Top wicket-takers from past five ODIs:
v Afghanistan: Shaheen Afridi 4-47
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

Bangladesh:
Top five in betting: Mustafizur Rahman $3.75, Shakib Al Hasan $4.33, Mohammad Saifuddin $4.50, Rubel Hossain $5, Mehidy Hasan $5, Mashrafa Mortaza $5.

Top wicket-takers from past five ODIs:
v India: Mustafizur Rahman 5-59
v Afghanistan: Shakib Al Hasan 5-29
v Australia: Soumya Sarkar 3-58
v West Indies: Mohammad Saifuddin 3-72, Mustafizur Rahman 3-59
v Sri Lanka: Match abandoned

Top bowler tip: Young all-rounder Mohammad Saifuddin has been tidy with his medium-fast bowling and he could wind up with a few wickets as the Pakistan batsmen are more likely to target his bowling than that of Shakib Al Hasan and left-arm spearhead Mustafizur Rahman. We will have a small interest on Saifuddin. Pakistan paceman Mohammad Amir has gone off the boil a little in recent matches (perhaps the rival batsmen are, rightly, treating him with great caution). We predict Wahab Riaz to get among the wickets this time.

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Best bets: Pakistan v Bangladesh

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.

Shakib Al Hasan man of the match at $8

The Bangladesh great would be close to the top in discussion for man of the series so no reason he can’t be the best player in this match. We have had success previously tipping him for man of the match so we will try again here. Check the William Hill website for enhanced odds offerings on the day of the match. Shakib is one player you can always back with confidence.

Each team over 3 runs in each of their opening 3 overs at $11

This sounds like a crazy bet… and it is! But bear with us and we will explain our reasoning. We expect this to be something of a wild-scoring match regardless of the outcome of the England-NZ match. We can see lots of aggression and flashing blades from the openers here as they seek to finish the tournament in a flurry.

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Pakistan v Bangladesh predictions

Of course, check the weather forecast, though it’s looking good a few days out. Check the NZ-England match and what it means for Pakistan. We think these sides are evenly matched, with a couple of superstars thrown into the mix. As such we can’t back Pakistan at the short quote, but we will revise this preview after seeing whether England win on Wednesday. Stay tuned!

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