England VS Pakistan / Super 8s / Pallekele / Tuesday 24th of February

Back England to Win Super 8s Group(2) 3 Pts @10/11
Back England for Highest Opening Partnership 2Pts @4/5
Back Sahibzada Farhan for Top Pakistan Bat 0.5Pt @12/5
Back Usman Tariq for Top Pakistan Bowler 0.5Pt @10/3

(*odds accurate at the time of publishing)

In Pole position to Advance for England

Many people forget that these two sides last met in a T20 World cup game in the Final of the
2022 tournament. That night in Melbourne came about after a storming run from the
Pakistan side culminating in the showpiece game.

Once again, this clash at Pallekele on Tuesday will hold great significance moving forwards in the tournament. With Pakistan's first Super 8s game washed out they are carefully priced @5/4 with BetWright in what is technically a must win game.

England on Form

England on the other hand have the chance to extend their 5 match winning run against
Pakistan at a ground there now 4 from 4 in recent times. If they win here the semi's will be in
touching distance and I think with the recent record of defending sub par scores with stellar
showings from Jacks, Rashid and Dawson they should win this. Making the @10/11 with
BetWright to win Group 2 a certainty in my opinion.

Dependency Vs Slow Burners

As previously mentioned on these blogs Sahibzada Farhan is an exceptional T20 Player
who's record is right up there with the world's best. In night matches too he has 9 50s in 36
innings at a decent rate of 25%. Leading the charts with 220 runs this tournament (100*
against the USA) you have to look back to find the all rounder Shadab Khan on 88 runs for
the next best for the team.

This highlights the massive burden on Pakistan's top 3 over the
last 12 months and if Salman Agha / Saim Ayub and the obvious top bat play in Farhan
@12/5 don't fire then they are struggling.

Phil Salt played a great knock against Sri Lanka and finally converted a start and batted
beyond the Powerplay having not done so in the Group stages. He only averages 23 in the
Subcontinent and funnily enough 12 in the PSL against many of the bowlers he'll face in
Palekelle.

England Eye Fast Start

However the 62 last time up and 46 in the 1st T20I at this venue show a liking to the
ground's dimensions and in what could be again a tight scoring affair I suspect Salt will be
crucial in getting England off to a good start. Of course the form of Buttler is under huge
scrutiny but with Salt finding a rhythm and Buttler sure to find something soon I'm once again
backing England for Highest Opening partnership @4/5 with BetWright (2/2).

The Mystery Spinner

This will be Usman Tariq’s first outing against England and he could go very well given his
record of rattling big Nations batting lineups , most notably Australia and South Africa Thus
far. In addition to this are his impressive efforts in Sri Lankan conditions with an Economy of
Sub 6 and a SR of 8.6 this tournament. He finds himself too in an illustrious list of taking a
wicket in his last 25 T20 innings and I suspect the towering turner to cause England some
issues with that action.

It’s unorthodox and the slight pause in delivery is what causes the questions however it's
completely legal in my eyes and @10/3 Tariq is plenty value for Top Pakistan Bowler.