Pakistan vs New Zealand 1st ODI – Betting Tips

Pakistan will face New Zealand in the three-match ODI series, starting from Friday at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. 

The series is an historic one as it is the first time the Black Caps have travelled to the South Asian country in more than 15 years. 

Due to non-availability of the Decision Review System (DRS), the matches will not be a part of the ICC World Cup Super League. 

Even then, both teams will be eager to produce the goods and prepare for the upcoming matches. 

Both teams have competed in 107 matches in the history of the 50-over format where the Men-in-Green have a slight edge with 55 wins compared to the Kiwis’ 48 victories. 

However, in the last decade, New Zealand have been a far dominant teams in the contests where they went on to win 13 out of 18 matches whereas the Green Caps only secured four victories. 

Pakistan Form and Team News: 

Pakistan cricket team will be coming in this series slightly favorites, not because of their own preparations or the recent record but because of their opponent’s poor performance in their recently concluded tour of Bangladesh. 

The series will be the beginning of Ramiz Raja’s era as the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and since his arrival, a lot of things have been changed. 

Misbah-ul-Haq and Waqar Younis are no longer a part of the team’s coaching staff and they’ve been replaced by legendary leg-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq and former all-rounder Abdul Razzaq. 

The series will also be seen as the test case of Babar Azam’s captaincy who was reportedly unhappy with the squad announced. 

In the batting department, the side will be relying on the likes of skipper Babar, in-form wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan, veteran opening pair of Imam-ul-Haq and Fakhar Zaman and left-handed batter Saud Shakeel 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 star pacers Shaheen Shah Afridi, Hasan Ali, Haris Rauf along with the spin trio of Usman Qadir, Zahid Mehmood and Shadab Khan. 

New Zealand Form and Team News: 

New Zealand will be coming in this series as underdogs, largely because they’ve arrived in the country with a depleted squad with most of the first XI players missing. 

However, the management will be hoping to see the players part of the current contingent to showcase their talent. 

In the batting department, the Black Caps will be heavily relying on their captain Tom Latham, explosive top-order batter Finn Allen, veteran left-hander Henry Nicholls and explosive all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme to score bulk of the runs. 

On the bowling front, the onus will be on the likes of pacers Doug Bracewell, Matt Henry, Hamish Bennett along with left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel to produce timely breakthroughs. 

Odds by Casumo

According to the Casumo sportsbook, Pakistan will be the favorites to win the opening game of the ODI series at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. For the series opener, Pakistan is placed at 1.28 odds, while New Zealand is at 3.45 odds. 

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Our Tipster’s Angle

Both teams are coming in this series in an experimentation mode where the focus will be on trying players who usually struggle to get the taste of international cricket. Despite the off-field chaos, Pakistan look a far solid unit compared to the away team. 

Therefore, the prediction is for Babar-led unit to secure a comfortable win. 

Tip 1- Babar Azam’s excellent record at Rawalpindi

Babar Azam’s form in white-ball cricket has been exceptional so far this season.  In three matches played at Rawalpindi, Babar Azam has accumulated 221 runs at an average of 110.50 with one century and one half-century.

Given his splendid form in the 50-over format, we can expect Babar Azam to score 40 runs or more in this opening [email protected]

Tip 2- Tom Latham to lead from the front with the bat

Since September 2019, Tom Latham has made limited appearances for New Zealand in the 50-over format. In seven matches played during this period, Latham has accumulated 274 runs at an average of 68.50 with one century and one half-century to his name.

Despite not doing so well in the Bangladesh series, wicket-keeper batsman will be determined to do well in this three-match one-day series. So we can expect opener Tom Latham to score 20 runs or more against [email protected]

Conclusion

Expect Pakistan to register a comfortable win over Pakistan at Rawalpindi and take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

1. Babar Azam to score 40 runs or more in this opening fixture- [email protected]
2. Opener Tom Latham to score 20 runs or more against Pakistan- New [email protected]

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