Richard Mann is enjoying a fine T20 World Cup so far, and has a strong bet for England's clash with Pakistan on Tuesday.
Cricket tips: England v Pakistan
2pts Sahibzada Farhan under 23.5 match runs at 5/6 (bet365, BoyleSports)
England again failed to impress when battling to victory over Sri Lanka on Sunday, but Harry Brook’s side keep on winning, and can take one step closer to the title if able to beat Pakistan in Pallekele on Tuesday (13:30).
Sunday was another tough day at the office for the batters, Jos Buttler’s poor run of form becoming a particular cause for concern, but a defiant half-century from Phil Salt and more heroics from Will Jacks with bat and ball helped England pull off an unlikely heist.
Brook really does need more from his top three, especially if this ground throws up another two-paced pitch that offers plenty of assistance to the spinners.
Pakistan have an abundance of spin bowling options in their squad, using as many as six spinners on occasion at this World Cup already, and one suspects that is how the men in green will feel they can take down England.
We are guessing on conditions to some extent, because more generally Pallekele has proven a good ground for batting in white-ball cricket. But now deeper into the tournament, the prospect of more and more wickets being recycled clearly puts that theory to the test.
Under normal circumstances, I’d favour England, whose batting is stronger and more dynamic in this format, but conditions are always the biggest leveller in cricket.
To England’s advantage is their is own spin attack, headed by Adil Rashid and ably supported by Jacks and Liam Dawson.
Rashid’s record in Asia is such that he was seriously considered at 3/1 for top England bowler honours.
However, this market has become much more complicated with so many, though not all, firms now settling a dead-heat on least number of runs conceded. Rashid almost always delivering his full quota of overs can sometimes be a hindrance in this scenario.
One thing I’m much more confident in playing is UNDER 23.5 SAHIBZADA FARHAN MATCH RUNS.
The aggressive opening batsman has been one of the bright spots of Pakistan’s campaign thus far, and is currently their leading tournament runscorcer.
But I’m firmly of the view that Farhan has enjoyed the rub of the green in a fair few of his innings, and when coming up against stronger opposition, namely India, he made a duck.
In fact, his three scores, as impressive as they were, all came against associate sides, and I note with interest that he only managed a total of five runs across two knocks against Australia prior to the World Cup.
Up against Jofra Archer with the new ball, and a strong cartel of England spinners, things won’t be easy for Farhan, and I’m happy to go low on his runs.
Posted at 21:10 GMT on 22/02/26
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