Dubai will be the venue for the 2nd Semi-final of the T20 World between Australia and Pakistan to be played on Thursday night. Australia sneaked in to grab 2nd position in Group 1 over South Africa due to a superior net run rate. Pakistan finished at the top of Group 2 by winning all its 5 matches in the Super 12 stage.
Team Analysis: Australia
888 Sportsbook Cricket Betting Odds: 2.00
Australia tried out different combinations and has managed out to find its best team for the conditions in the UAE. After suffering its only defeat of the competition, the Aussies have bounced back with a couple of big victories.
David Warner will open the innings alongside Aaron Finch and both have a good amount of runs under the belt in the tournament. Steve Smith will come in at no.3 in case of an early wicket or Mitchell Marsh will take the spot if the team needs need to step on the pedal. Matthew Wade, Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell add plenty of power to the middle-order as well.
The Australian bowling-unit has done a pretty good job although there is room for a bit more. Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc have had decent success in terms of wickets and Pat Cummins will also like to join the party in the knockout matches. Adam Zampa has been the pick of the bowlers with Glenn Maxwell and Mitch Marsh sharing the role of the 5th option.
Team Analysis: Pakistan
888 Sportsbook Cricket Betting Odds: 1.80
Pakistan has been the standout team of the tournament defying the modest expectations from the team. They have kept the same players throughout the tournament with each member delivering the goods for the team.
The opening-partnership between Babar Azam and Mohammed Rizwan has been crucial with both players scoring more than 200 runs. The middle-order also looks in good knick with Mohammed Hafeez, Shoaib Malik and Fakhar Zaman all making some handy contributions. And in Asif Ali, they have a devastating finisher down the batting-card.
The consistency of the Pakistan bowling-unit has been the setting-stone for the team in this T20 World Cup. The two main seamers Shaheen Shah Afridi and Hasan Ali have been solid while Haris Rauf can be a match-winner with his fearsome pace. Meanwhile, the two spin-bowlers Shadab Khan and Imad Wasim have excelled at stemming the flow of runs.
T20 World Cup Betting Tips
Most Match Sixes: Pakistan
Pakistan has some explosive batters in the line-up having smashed 30 sixes in the 5 matches till now. Australia has not opted for the aerial route that often and has hit just 19 sixes in their 5 games in the tournament.
Highest Opening Partnership: Pakistan
Despite a couple of 50-run stands, Australia has lost the 1st wicket for less than 10 runs in 2 of its 5 matches. The opening-pair has scored more than 25 runs in 4 of the 5 matches including a couple of 100- run partnerships.
Highest Score 6 Overs: Australia
Australia has managed to score more than 50 runs during the Powerplay in 3 of the 5 matches. In contrast, Pakistan has surprisingly scored less than 40 runs in every match of the tournament thus far.
Extra Cricket Betting Tips
Top Australia Run Scorer: Aaron Finch (3.90)
Top Pakistan Wicket Taker: Shadab Khan (5.00)
T20 World Cup Semi-Finals Predictions
Pakistan is obviously the favourite among the bookmakers with their perfect record in the tournament. However, it remains to be seen how this young and relatively inexperienced team handles the pressure of knockout contest.
Australia has comparatively less expectations to deal with but the loads of experience the team carries within the squad will stand in good stead here.
Australia
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