India vs. Pakistan betting predictions
Both Teams to Score 325+ Runs at 5/1 (Paddy Power, Betfair Sportsbook) is the one-point wager.
On Saturday at 9.30 am UK time, India and Pakistan square off in Ahmedabad in the largest cricket match.
With convincing wins over Australia and Afghanistan to open their World Cup campaign and a recent victory over Pakistan in the Asia Cup, India will enter the tournament as strong favorites.
Despite Pakistan’s ultimately unsatisfactory performance in that event, it’s important to remember that they had India on the verge of defeat in their first encounter there, until the latter rallied amid the match, and then rain forced a draw.
Since then, Pakistan has had a strong start to their own World Cup challenge, winning their first two games, and even though India will be by far their biggest test yet, they will be confident of challenging the hosts for the championship.
A pitch in Ahmedabad guarantees huge runs
This venue is an excellent site to bat because New Zealand easily chased down England’s score of 282-9 in the last game there, the tournament’s opening match, losing just one wicket in the process.
And the Indian Premier League has proven that to be the case. In IPL 2023 at this location, 200 or more was merely par, and Gujarat Titans hit 214-4 while batting first in the championship game before Chennai Super Kings won on the very last ball by chasing down their revised goal of 171 in 15 overs.
233-3 played 171 in the Qualifier two days prior, which was also played in Ahmedabad, demonstrating once more how well batsmen are treated on this surface.
It’s hard to avoid betting runs when you consider how narrow some of the borders have been across India so far, perhaps to create higher scores and more entertainment.
Quotes of 9/5 for both sides to score 300+ runs in an ODI are almost unbelievable to see, but that is where we are right now. I’ve decided to forego that and cut my bets on a gamble that BOTH TEAMS WILL GET 325+ RUNSCORES EACH AT 5/1.
Those kinds of numbers are unquestionably in play if both teams continue to bat as they have done and if the conditions remain favorable for scoring runs.
King Kohli will excel on the grandest platform.
I highlighted earlier in the essay how wonderfully Kohli has begun the competition, and had it not been for a late dismissal against Australia when India was just a few yards away from victory, he would have won Man of the Match honors, just as he did against Pakistan at the T20 World Cup in 2017.
This is the sort of environment in which Kohli excels as the prototypical big-match performer. Don’t be shocked if he turns out to be the star in Saturday’s marquee cricket match.
Battle plans include strong batting lineups
Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf’s pace attack is always to be regarded, but Pakistan’s batting looked very strong when it successfully chased down 345 against Sri Lanka earlier this week to win by six wickets.
The run chase was made possible by brilliant centuries from Mohammad Rizwan and Abdullah Shafique, and Pakistan supporters should be heartened that the batting has looked so strong despite Babar Azam, the team’s captain and best player, having a quiet couple of games. The image can become even more positive as he finds his shape.
India has also performed admirably with the bat. Rohit Sharma produced a stunning century against Afghanistan, KL Rahul a wonderful, unbroken 97 against Australia, while Virat Kohli has completed a brace of half-centuries already.
There is so much batting talent on both teams that Saturday’s match will likely be a high-scoring one with opener Shubman Gill returning to the top of the order.
Big scores have been a defining characteristic of this World Cup thus far, with 300 frequently surpassed, 350, one score of 364-9, and South Africa’s 428-5 victory against Sri Lanka.
