The 2nd Test between Pakistan and England gets underway on Friday afternoon from 4.00pm and is set to be a cracker from Multan. Check out our preview and betting tips for the clash below.
Pakistan vs England 2nd Test Betting Tips
1st Test Review
The dominant Baz Ball era in English cricket continued throughout last week as the Poms recorded a historic 1st Test victory in Rawalpindi. In the first innings, England put on a record breaking display as they piled on a whopping 657 in just 101 overs. Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope and Harry Brook all smashed centuries at a combined strike rate of 111.1.
The only downside to their ridiculous run rate was the fact that it kept all three results, including a Pakistan win, in the picture. In reply, the home side piled on 579 for their first innings on the back of centuries from Abdullah Shafique, Imam ul-Haq and Babar Azam. Spinner Will Jacks was the pick of the bowlers in this innings, claiming 6/161 for the English.
The Poms came out to bat with one goal in mind, score quickly to set up a chance to win on the final day. The travelling side put up 264 in just 35.5 overs to take a lead of 342 into the final innings.
Pakistan fought bravely through the early stages of their 2nd innings but once the ball finally started to reverse swing for England, Jimmy Anderson and Ollie Robinson were able to rip through the lower order, picking up 4 wickets each.
England
Predicted XI: Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Harry Brook, Ben Foakes, Ollie Robinson, Jack Leach, Mark Wood, Jimmy Anderson
England opted for two spinners in the 1st Test but I think they revert to the three pronged pace attack plus Ben Stokes for this one. Reverse swing seems to be playing a much bigger part in this series than swing, so the extra pace option in Wood will be handy.
Ben Foakes, who was ruled out of the 1st Test through illness, will likely come back into the line-up at the expense of the injured Liam Livingstone.
Pakistan
Predicted XI: Abdullah Shafique, Imam ul-Haq, Azhar Ali, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Agha Salman, Naseem Shah, Zahid Mahmood, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Ali
The Pakistanis could be forced into making a change with Azhar Ali suffering a hand injury late on the fourth day. However, he did go on to bat on the fifth day, so we are expecting him to take place in this Test.
Can’t really see the home side making any other changes to their squad, outside of the potential exclusion of spinner Zahid Mahmood, who the English batsmen took a particular liking to in the 1st Test, smashing 235 off his 33 overs in the first innings. OTher spin options they have include Nauman Ali and 24 year old Abrar Ahmed.
Betting Tips
Having the confidence to bet this game comes down to one thing, are you a real believer in Baz Ball? Do you think that this style of play is sustainable or will it come undone somewhere in the near future? Since McCullum and Stokes were given the keys to the English Test side, they have been near perfect, but I’m a firm believer that this batting line-up just isn’t good enough to sustain this level of play.
Outside of Joe Root and Ben Stokes, there is a lot of unproven talent in the top six for England, and I’m happy to take them on against any top tier international bowling attack, of which Pakistan definitely is. Back the home side to bounce back here.
Prop Bets
Babar Azam 50+ 1st Innings ($2.10 at Ladbrokes)
Zak Crawley Under 28.5 Runs 1st Innings ($1.83 at Ladbrokes)
Ben Stokes Over 1.5 1st Innings Wickets ($2.10 at Ladbrokes)
