Australia vs Pakistan 1st T20I Venue: The Gabba, Brisbane
Australia vs Pakistan 1st T20I Date: Thursday, November 14
BetXchange Australia vs Pakistan 1st T20I Odds:
History
Pakistan is in Australia this November to play a two-format white ball cricket tour. The two countries have already played three ODIs, and they will finish their matches for the year with three T20Is over a week at The Gabba in Brisbane, the SCG in Sydney, and the Bellerive Oval in Hobart.
Australia was favored to win the ODIs on home soil, but that is not how the three-match series played out. The hosts took the first ODI at the MCG in Melbourne, winning by two wickets after chasing Pakistan’s total of 203 in 33.3 overs.
The final two matches saw Australia’s batting form completely desert them. In the second ODI, they were only able to post a target of 163 before being bowled out, with Haris Rauf causing havoc on his way to figures of 5/29. Saim Ayub then smashed 82 off 71 balls as Pakistan chased down that total for the loss of just one wicket, winning by nine wickets at Adelaide Oval.
The third ODI saw Australia even more wasteful with their wickets, as they were bowled out for just 140. Only Sean Abbott (30) and Matthew Short (22) were able to surpass 13 runs individually. Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi each took three wickets in the destruction. Pakistan again ran down the total in just over half the overs at their disposal, this time speaking the scoring equally behind top scorer Ayub and his 42 from 52 balls.
Australia
This is a far from full-strength Australia side heading into the T20I portion of the tour. Josh Inglis has been named interim captain, with regular white ball skipper Pat Cummins out of the squad. Cummins, along with frontline players Steve Smith, Josh Hazelwood, Marnus Labuschagne, and Mitchell Starc, have all been rested for the five-Test marathon between Australia and India that starts later this month as the two countries battle for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Australia is further depleted, with Cooper Connolly ruled out of the T20I series thanks to a fractured hand that forced him to retire hurt in the final ODI. There is still talent in the squad, players like Inglis, Marcus Stonis, and Glenn Maxwell, but it is not the team that the Aussies would pick if everyone were available.
Pakistan
The power struggle that saw highly regarded South African Gary Kirsten leave his post as Pakistan’s white-ball coach meant that the tourists headed into the ODI series under a cloud of uncertainty. It is fair to say that they overachieved expectations in the 50-over format and will look to deal another blow to Australia by shocking them in the T20Is.
The most significant difference between the two countries is the performance of the fast bowlers in this series. Pakistan has traditionally struggled down under, with their last ODI series win before this one coming back in 2002. They have often been too reliant on spinners attacking wickets that don’t provide movement, so their ability to get wickets with pace will set them up nicely for the T20Is.
Best Bets
Backing Pakistan straight up at 37/20 makes plenty of sense in this one. The Aussie bats have lost form, while Babar Azam seems to have found his stroke, and Rauf was unplayable at times as he took ten wickets over the three ODIs. Rauf is 21/10 to be the best bowler on show for Pakistan, while Azam is 2/1 to be the top bat. I like them both, but remember, it wouldn’t be unlike Pakistan to implode completely after big back-to-back wins.
