Afghanistan vs Scotland – ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Betting Tips

Afghanistan will face Scotland in the International Cricket Council (ICC) T20 World Cup 2021 Group 2 fixture at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Monday.

The game is an important one for both teams who will be eager to start their campaign on a winning note.

Therefore, the managements will be hoping that their players will hit the ground running from the very start.

Both teams have competed six times in the history of the 20-over format and on each occasion, Afghanistan came out on top.

So far, 15 T20Is have been played at the venue where nine times teams batting first won whereas on six occasions, teams chasing came out on top.

Afghanistan Form and Team News

Afghanistan will enter the Monday’s contest as favorites, largely because of their impressive record against Scotland where they are unbeaten in the T20Is.

Another reason for Mohammad Nabi-led unit to start the fixture on Monday as favourites is their outstanding record while playing in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) where they’ve won 26 out of 33 matches.

However, the management will be wary of the opposition considering that they won all three matches in the qualifying round.

In the batting department, Afghanistan will be heavily relying on the likes of captain Nabi, experienced Asghar Afghan, Hashmatullah Shahidi, explosive Hazratullah Zazai, middle-order batter Najibullah Zadran and veteran wicketkeeper Mohammad Shahzad to score bulk of the runs and put the opposition under pressure.

On the bowling front, the onus will be on the likes of pacers Naveen-ul-Haq, Gulbadin Naib, Hamid Hassan, Fareed Ahmad along with the spin trio of Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Nabi to dismantle the opposition’s batting lineup.

Scotland Form and Team News

After producing outstanding performances in the qualifying round, Scotland will enter the match against Afghanistan with high confidence.

The management will be extremely pleased with how the players coped up in difficult conditions and will be hoping for much of the same in the coming matches.

However, there will be some concern regarding the form of experienced Calum MacLeod who has so far only managed to score 15 runs in two innings.

In the batting department, Scotland will be heavily relying on their captain Kyle Coetzer, experienced opener Richie Berrington, wicketkeeper-batter Matthew Cross and George Munsey to score bulk of the runs and give the bowlers something to bowl with.

On the bowling front, the onus will be on the likes of pacers Josh Davey, Safyaan Sharif, Brad Wheal along with the spin duo of Mark Watt and Michael Leask to claim timely breakthroughs which will help in restricting the opposition.

Odds by Casumo

According to the Casumo sportsbook, Afghanistan will be favorites to win the 17th game of the 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup played at Sharjah Cricket Stadium. For this 17^th T20 World Cup game, Afghanistan are placed at 1.28 odds, while Scotland placed at 3.45 odds.

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Our Tipster’s Angle

It will be the first time in more than five years when both teams will compete in the 20-over format and therefore, it is hard to predict who will eventually come out on top.

Even though Scotland showed really good form in the qualifying round, winning three out of three, but on paper at least, Afghanistan look a far solid unit, in terms of talent available as well as looking at the playing conditions.

Therefore, the prediction is for Mohammad Nabi-led unit to secure an important win on Monday.

Tip 1: Rahmanullah Gurbaz to continue his excellent form for Afghanistan

Since October 2019, wicket-keeper opening batsman has been a consistent performer for Afghanistan in the T20 format. In nine matches, Rahmanullah Gurbaz has accumulated 313 runs at an average of 34.77 with two fifties to his name. Given his consistency at the top of the order, we can expect wicket-keeper Rahmanullah Gurbaz to score 20 runs or more against [email protected]

Tip 2: Kyle Coetzer look to break his run drought against Afghanistan

Skipper Kyle Coetzer has struggled to make notable scores in the preliminary stages of the competition. In three matches played, Coetzer has accumulated 47 runs at an average of 15.66. Given his credible performances in the past, we can expect Kyle Coetzer to score 15 runs or more against [email protected].

Conclusion

Expect Afghanistan to register a hard-fought win over Scotland.

1. Wicket-keeper Rahmanullah Gurbaz to score 20 runs or more against [email protected]
2. Kyle Coetzer to score 15 runs or more against Afghanistan- [email protected]

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