Pakistan and Australia are fresh off battling out a hotly contested Test series, but now the attention turns towards the three match ODI series starting on Tuesday night. We will be bringing you a preview and betting tips for all three games, kicking off with the first from Gaddafi Stadium.
Pakistan vs Australia 1st ODI Betting Tips
Gaddafi Stadium, Tuesday 29th March, 9.00pm (AEDT)
Pakistan
Predicted XI: Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Asif Ali, Abdullah Shafique, Shadab Khan, Usman Qadir, Hasan Ali, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Shah Afridi
Pakistan has not played a ODI match since all the way back in July of 2021 so it’s a bi difficult to predict how they are going to line-up for the first match against Australia on Tuesday night.
Abdullah Shafique hasn’t been a regular in the white ball setup for Pakistan, but his brilliant form through the Tests has earned him a spot in the squad. I think it’s likely that he’ll slide down to five if he plays, allowing Imam-ul-Haq and Fakhar Zaman to open the batting.
The three pronged pace attack of Afridi, Rauf and Ali looks to be a damaging one while Usman Qadir could get first crack as their frontline spinner.
Australia
Predicted XI: Aaron Finch, Ben McDermott, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitch Marsh, Travis Head, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey, Sean Abbott, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Jason Behrendorff
I expect the Aussies to go pretty safe at the selection table for the first game, but I’d love to see them experiment later in the series. They have so many capable all-rounders in their squad, they could potentially play someone like Cameron Green as a front-line paceman and bat him as low as No.9 to strengthen the batting line-up.
Imagine the freedom you could give the likes of Finch, McDermott and Marsh at the top of the order if they know that Carey, Green and Agar are listed to come in at seven, eight and nine. I think Cameron Green is the type of player that could revolutionise the way a limited overs side is picked, much like Ravi Jadeja did a few years ago.
Match Prediction
The Aussies have a long list of standard ODI stars out for this series. No Warner, Smith, Maxwell, Cummins, Starc or Hazlewood. They are probably the best six ODI players in Australia, so it’s no wonder the home side have opened as slight $1.73 favourites.
I’m siding with Pakistan for this opening game. I just can’t get past the form of Babar Azam in the Test matches, and to think the superstar gets even better in limited overs is a scary prospect. Azam is the No.1 ranked ODI batsman in the world and is coming off four scores of 90+ in his last seven ODI innings.
The Pakistani captain and No.3 should have absolutely no trouble against what basically a 2nd XI Australian bowling attack without it’s key weapons. Back him to go big and Pakistan to win.
Prop Bets:
Babar Azam Top PAK Runscorer ($3.25 at Ladbrokes)
Azam Zampa Top AUS Wicket-Taker ($3.75 at Ladbrokes)
