Cricket World Cup tips: Pakistan vs Bangladesh predictions
Pakistan did show signs of improvement in their last game, taking South Africa all the way in a thriller.
Their bowlers battled manfully against the strongest batting line-up in the World Cup, but just came up short as the Proteas crept over the line by one wicket in their chase of 271.
So, Babar Azam and his team have something to build off to attempt to force a late run towards the semi-finals. Whereas Bangladesh look all at sea after losing to Netherlands by 87 runs.
Shakib Al-Hasan and his team have not been at the races in the tournament and are staring down the barrel of a disappointing early exit unless they can conjure a performance out of nowhere.
After looking at the Cricket World Cup odds for the game, here are our predictions for the clash at Eden Gardens.
Afridi to star for Pakistan
Shaheen Afridi has been the saving grace of the Pakistan bowling line-up.
He is their one world-class operator and rarely disappoints with white ball in hand. He kept them in the game almost single-handed against South Africa, taking three for 45 in his 10 overs.
It was no mean feat against a batting unit as powerful as the Proteas’. He not only claimed wickets, but he got important players out before they could get going, removing the batter of the tournament to date, Quinton de Kock, for only 24.
Afridi is one strike away from 100 ODI wickets after taking 99 in his previous 50 games at an average of 23.28.
The 23-year-old has a great record against Bangladesh, taking nine wickets in only three games against Al-Hasan's team, including a best of six for 35 in their meeting in the 2019 World Cup.
He put in a more sedate performance in their last contest in Lahore in September, taking one for 42. But, we’re backing Afridi to be at his best by taking three or more wickets at 2/1 with Betway.
Which Shafique will be on display at Eden Gardens?
Abdullah Shafique was left out of Pakistan’s opener against Netherlands, but he has been impressive since he came back into the side. He has either made over 50 runs or been skittled early in his innings.
In five matches at the World Cup, Shafique has a century and two fifties to his name and has arguably been his side’s best batter in the tournament.
He has scored 264 runs in just 280 balls, offering impetus at the start of the innings. When his side needed a fast start in their chase against Sri Lanka, Shafique was on point with a vital hundred.
He also scored an impressive 64 against a strong Australia attack. He has not faced Bangladesh in 50-over cricket, having only played nine matches in the format.
However, Shafique has recorded two fifties in three innings in Test matches against them. After looking at the odds through the best UK betting sites, we’re using our second bet to pick him to score over 50 runs with bet365 at 13/8.
Look out for Das boundaries
Litton Das has had an up and down experience at the World Cup. The opener has proved that he can score runs and get them quickly against high-quality opponents, scoring his two half-centuries against England and India.
However, he has also underperformed when Bangladesh have required runs from him at the top of the order against similar calibre sides such as Netherlands and Afghanistan.
Das is not a huge striker of the ball, but does know how to find the boundary.
He has scored 19 fours and three sixes in his six games, and in his scores against England and India, Das notched seven boundaries apiece.
He could have opportunities to find the fence against a Pakistan bowling attack that has been ropey outside of Afridi. We’re backing him with Unibet to score over 2.5 fours at odds of 21/20.
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.
