The Champions Trophy action continues this week with a crucial fixture between Australia and South Africa on Tuesday the 25th of February. The game will be played at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium in Pakistan and we take a close look at the betting offering up a couple of potential plays.
Let’s look at the outright betting where India are the 2.30 favourites to win the Trophy with Australia in 2nd at 4.30 with New Zealand trading at 5.00, South Africa are in 4th spot at odds of 6.00 and England 13.00 while the rest of the teams are at a massive 101.00 and higher.
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AUSTRALIA vs SOUTH AFRICA – Click here to bet
AUSTRALIA
They won their first match that was held on Saturday against England. The match was played in Lahore and began with Australia winning the toss and electing to field first.
The Australian bowling attack started strong, taking 2 wickets within the first few overs, despite allowing England to score at a decent rate.
England then played themselves into the box seat with a big 3rd wicket partnership but eventually Australia broke through with the wicket of Joe Root and after this, wickets fell frequently with England reaching a total of 351/8.
Top bowling figures were claimed by Ben Dwarshuis who took 3 wickets for 66 runs in his 10 over spell.
Australia then took to the pitch to chase down the target and although they had a shaky start losing some early wickets, their middle order batsmen got the job done, resulting in a 5 wicket win with 15 balls remaining.
Top player with bat in hand for the Aussies was Josh Inglis who scored 120 runs off 86 balls.
SOUTH AFRICA
South Africa comfortably made it through their first encounter which saw them meet with Afghanistan on Friday the 21st in Karachi.
The game started with the Proteas winning the toss and choosing to bat first which seemed like a mistake early on after losing an early wicket with not many runs on the board. They were able to form some partnerships thereafter though and after losing a few more wickets they ended on a total of 315/6 after 50 overs.
The star with bat in hand for South Africa was Ryan Rickelton who scored 103 off 106 balls.
The South African bowling attack then put Afghanistan under significant pressure in the opening stages of the innings taking wickets at a rapid rate while also restricting the run rate. This early pressure let to Afghanistan crumbling and being bowled out for 208 runs.
South Africa won the match by 107 runs and top bowling honours was claimed by Kagiso Rabada who picked up 3 wickets for 36 runs across his 8.3 overs bowled.
Head-to-Head:
These sides met twice in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup, with the first match going the way of South Africa who won by 134 runs. The second match was won by Australia who were victorious by 3 wickets in the semi-final.
Prior to this they met in a 3-match series hosted in South Africa in 2023 where the Proteas won the series 3-0.
Betting and Verdict:
Australia are favourites to win at 1.75 with South Africa trading at 2.15.
Bet: South Africa win at 21.5
I think that this will be a well contested match and while Australia are worthy favourites based on current form I think that South Africa can grab the win which should put the on the brink of qualification.
Bet: Top South African Batsman – Ryan Rickelton at 5.10
When he finds his form he is dangerous and he has been performing well across various formats recently. I think he will bring confidence into this match and looks great value to top score for his team again.
Bet: Batsman Total Fours – Marnus Labuschagne over 2.5 at 2.20
He was able to put up 47 runs in his last match, topping out at 5 fours and he is the sort of player that accumulates runs steadily and if he gets his eye in this bet should land.
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Note: All prices correct at time of writing but subject to change.
