Cricket World Cup Betting Tips: Afghanistan vs Netherlands
Afghanistan vs Netherlands betting tips:
Afghanistan can give themselves a major boost in their bid to qualify for the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup semi-finals in Friday’s showdown with Netherlands.
Hashmatullah Shahidi’s men have punched above their weight at the tournament, taking the scalps of holders England, Sri Lanka and Pakistan to put themselves in a great position in the round-robin stage.
There is still fierce competition, but coach Jonathan Trott's team are well drilled and they will be prepared for the challenge of Netherlands, who they have fared well against in previous meetings.
Netherlands bounced back from a heavy defeat to Australia to beat Bangladesh by a comfortable margin.
Scott Edwards’ team are still in the running for the knockout phase, but they need a result against Afghanistan to keep their hopes alive.
It will be a tense showdown, and Afghanistan are narrow favourites with UK betting sites to win, although the World Cup has been anything but predictable.
Here are our betting tips after looking at the Cricket World Cup odds for the showdown.
Khan to return to his best?
Afghanistan’s victories over Sri Lanka and Pakistan have been made all the more impressive considering Rashid Khan has been off the boil.
He took only one wicket in those two matches, which has seen his odds drift dramatically to 33/1 in the race to be top wicket taker at the tournament.
But, Khan has kept the runs off the board and has, at the least, offered control for his skipper. Shahidi would like to see his strike bowler back in the wickets against Netherlands.
Khan has a good record against them in three ODI matches, taking six wickets at an average of 16.50.
The 25-year-old is too much of a quality operator, especially in favourable conditions, to not make the wicket column in this game. We’re predicting him to take over 1.5 wickets at 4/5 with bet365.
Shah form to continue
Rahmat Shah’s form has been crucial in keeping Afghanistan in the tournament. After a slow start to his World Cup, the 30-year-old has come to the fore for his team, scoring an unbeaten 77 against Pakistan in a composed knock.
He followed that with his second half-century on the bounce to post 62 in their win over Sri Lanka. Shah is in a solid spot at No.3 in the order and has displayed the versatility to either absorb pressure after losing early wickets or go on the attack.
In three innings against Netherlands in 2022, Shah passed 35 every time and notched a top-score of 70. He could be primed for another substantial knock for his team.
Netherlands have a steady bowling unit, but Afghanistan have managed to nullify the threats from Pakistan and Sri Lanka in their last two outings.
Unibet have taken a line of 28.5 for Shah on its over/under, and we’re going to back the Afghani batter to go over at evens given his recent form.
Will De Leede take two wickets?
Bas de Leede’s brilliance was one of the crucial factors in securing Netherlands’ place at the World Cup.
He scored a century and claimed five wickets in their qualifier against Scotland in July to join a select company of players, including Sir Viv Richards, to achieve the feat in an ODI.
The Durham all-rounder has endured an up and down time at the World Cup, taking a hammering at the hands of Australia when his 10 overs were dispatched for a mammoth 115 runs.
But, De Leede has taken a team-high 11 wickets so far at the tournament, including a best of four for 62 against Pakistan.
Betway have priced him at 7/5 to take two or more wickets, which he has done on four occasions at the World Cup to date.
Simon Sinclair is an experienced sports journalist, who has written for national publications for football, cricket, NFL and many more. He contributes tips on a wide range of sports for The Independent.
