Australia - Pakistan Predictions & Betting tips - ICC Men's Cricket World Cup

Prediction published on 18/10/2023, 13:45  by Devesh Jaganath

Match 18 of 49 in the 2023 Cricket World Cup will see Australia and Pakistan face off at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Friday morning. The Aussies are seventh in the current standings, while the Men in Green are fourth. Australia kept their hopes of qualification alive by claiming a much-needed victory over Sri Lanka in their last match. That followed losses against India and South Africa in their first two matches of the tournament. Against the Lions, Adam Zampa headlined for The Baggy Greens, bagging four wickets in just eight overs. Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins took two wickets each, restricting their opponents to 209 all out. With the bat, Mitchell Marsh and Josh Inglis scored half-centuries to guide their side to a five-wicket victory in the 36th over. However, it is still arguable that the Aussies’ performance was not up to the standard we have become accustomed to from them. Australia beat this opponent in the final ODI warm-up match before the tournament began and are the bookies' favourite in this one. 

While the Aussies may be the fancied side in this contest, Pakistan can never be counted out at the World Cup. Despite losing their last match to this opponent, they put on a very good performance, falling short of their 351-run target by just 14 runs. The Men in Green began their 2023 CWC with an 81-run victory over a plucky Netherlands side. They followed that with a six-wicket win over Sri Lanka, where they set the record for the highest run chase in World Cup history. However, they proved no match for the hosts India in their last match as their arch-rivals romped to a seven-wicket victory with almost 20 overs to spare. Muhammad Rizwan has been the standout batsman for Pakistan, currently just one run behind Devon Conway in the leading run-scorer standings. With the ball, Hassan Ali leads the way with seven wickets, currently tied for fourth place. Despite their big loss last time out, Pakistan will be quietly confident that they can upset the odds here against an Australian side that are some way from their best.