Match 18 of the Cricket World Cup is a crunch match between Australia and Pakistan. Both sides are off the pace at the top of the World Cup table, making this fixture vitally important. Australia managed to secure their first win of the competition against Sri Lanka on Monday. Pakistan will be looking to bounce back from the thrashing they received from India last Saturday.
As a result, the pressure will be on both sides when they line up at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Friday. Babar Azam will be feeling the heat after such a heavy loss to India. While Pat Cummins and the Aussie team know one more slip-up will almost certainly spell the end of their 2023 World Cup campaign.
📝 Australia vs Pakistan odds
Despite sitting behind Pakistan in the points table, the Australians go into this match as the strong betting favourites. The online cricket bookies also feel the Aussies are more likely to win the Cricket World Cup, as they make Australia 5.50 to win the trophy, with Pakistan at 11.0. Match odds for the first 2023 World Cup fixture to be played at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium can be found below.
10CRIC
- Australia to win at 1.57 with 10CRIC -> Bet now!
- Pakistan to win at 2.47 with 10CRIC -> Bet now!
LiliBet
- Australia to win at 1.55 with LiliBet -> Bet now!
- Pakistan to win at 2.40 with LiliBet -> Bet now!
Bettilt
- Australia to win at 1.57 with Bettilt -> Bet now!
- Pakistan to win at 2.40 with Bettilt -> Bet now!
Australia vs Pakistan predictions
Although Australia recorded their first victory of the competition over Sri Lanka on Monday, it was still far from an impressive performance. Batting first, Sri Lanka was 121/0 at the end of the 21st over before Pat Cummins made the all-important breakthrough. Then when it was the Aussies’ turn to bat, they managed to get themselves into slight tangles at 24/2 and 81/3 when chasing a smallish target of 210 for victory.
Nevertheless, a win is a win, and it was a much-needed victory. But Australia needed a Sri Lankan batting collapse to assist them, and not all teams will be as accommodating as the Lions were throughout the remainder of the competition. Put bluntly, it wasn’t a confidence-inspiring victory, and much better will be required to beat stronger opposition.
Pakistan will be bitterly disappointed after their eighth successive World Cup defeat to India. And it wasn’t just the defeat, it was the manner of the loss that will hurt the most.
Similar to Sri Lanka, Pakistan capitulated in the face of a top-quality bowling attack. Facing Bumrah and co is difficult. But if Pakistan have ambitions to win the World Cup, they need to fight fire with fire.
Instead, they simply wilted under the pressure, with only Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan offering any resistance. When Babar Azam departed, the score was 155/3. To then get bowled out for just 191 simply isn’t good enough.
This has been Pakistan’s Achilles heel for a long time now. If Azam and Rizwan don’t get the runs, the team tends to fail. And if they can’t get runs against Bumrah, Siraj and Hardik, then what chance have they got of getting runs against Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood?
📊 Australia vs Pakistan key stats
- In ODI cricket matches, Australia and Pakistan have met 107 times. Australia has had the better with 69 wins, to Pakistan’s 34. There have been three no results and one tie.
- On neutral grounds, the two nations have met 36 times. Australia has won 25, Pakistan 11.
- At World Cups, the records are a lot closer. Australia has six wins, and Pakistan has four.
- Australia has won four of the last five matches, including the 1999 World Cup final. Pakistan’s last World Cup win over Australia was in 2011.
- Australia’s top run scorer at the 2023 World Cup is Marnus Labuschagne with 113 runs. Mohammad Rizwan leads the way for Pakistan with 248.
- Mitchell Starc and Adam Zampa both have five wickets for the Aussies at the World Cup. For Pakistan, Hasan Ali has seven and Haris Rauf has five.
Australia vs Pakistan betting tips
This is the first 2023 Cricket World Cup fixture to be held at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, meaning we have no immediate up-to-date information about how the wicket is playing. But what we do have for our tips is plenty of form to go on with both sides having played three matches.
Pakistan to have the most sixes – 2.88 odds (Bettilt)
Pakistan Director Mickey Arthur had plenty to say after he watched his team get dismantled by India last weekend. One of the things Arthur mentioned was being too timid with the bat.
It’s widely thought that this was aimed in the direction of Babar Azam and Mohammed Rizwan for not taking the game to India when Pakistan were having a good period. But the remarks also appear to be giving the Pakistan batters free rein to play attacking shots in future matches.
While this tactic may not pay off against guys like Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood, it may not stop Pakistan trying. Australia have been similarly timid with the bat. And with Labuschagne and Smith in their top four, we feel they may not take the game to Pakistan with the bat.
All this makes a bet on Pakistan to hit more sixes at 2.88 good value.
Marnus Labuschagne to be the top Australia batter – 5.20 odds (LiliBet)
Marnus Labuschagne can count himself lucky to be even in the squad, never mind the team. But since being given a reprieve, he has taken his opportunity.
Being Australia’s top batter at the World Cup isn’t a major achievement. The bar is very low. The 2015 winners have only managed scores of 199, 177 and 215/5 in this competition. Their batters have struggled. But of those batters, Labuschagne is their top scorer with 113 runs.
The Aussie game plan appears to be relying on the bowlers to limit the opposition, and bat in a reserved manner (when possible) to get the runs. This suits Marnus down to the ground.
Josh Hazlewood to be Australia’s top bowler – 4.10 odds (Rajabets)
The Aussie pace trio of Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood are pivotal to the success of the team. When all three perform, the Aussies can beat anybody. But even if one is having an off day, the other two usually step up to the mark.
Josh Hazlewood was the only one of the trio not to pick up a wicket against Sri Lanka. His figures were 0/36 from seven overs at a run rate of 5.14. Not shocking figures by any stretch of the imagination.
The M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru also happens to be the home ground of Hazlewood’s IPL team, the Royal Challengers Bangalore, meaning he will know the conditions here as well as anyone.
Throw into the mix that top players like Hazlewood rarely have two successive bad games (not that his Sri Lanka performance was that bad), and that makes Hazlewood a good bet at 4.10 to be Australia’s top bowler.
📺 How to watch Australia vs Pakistan
- Location: M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, India
- Date and time: Friday, 20th October 2023, 14:00 IST
- How to watch: Star Sports or live streaming via Disney+, ESPN+, and Switch TV
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