Cricket World Cup 2023: Australia v Afghanistan betting tips

Australia vs Afghanistan Cricket World Cup preview

Australia have a chance to secure their place in the 2023 Cricket World Cup semi-finals when they take on the dangerous Afghanistan in Mumbai on Tuesday. With both sides on winning streaks, this is sure to be a fascinating match.

The Aussies continued on their winning ways last Saturday night as they knocked England out of finals contention with a 33-run win. While Pat Cummins’ side made only 286 in a disjointed batting effort, it was enough to see off an English outfit that has not fired a shot in its World Cup title defence. Aussie spinner Adam Zampa was exceptional, taking 3/21 and adding 29 off 19 balls with the bat to propel the Aussie score.

After some forced changes in selection last week, the Australians are now expected to bring back all-rounders Mitch Marsh and Glenn Maxwell for this clash. Cameron Green is expected to make way, while Marcus Stoinis or Marnus Labuschagne would be the other likely omission – despite all three contributing with the bat against England.

Following a slow start to the tournament, Afghanistan have now shot into semi-final contention after winning their last three matches, including a comfortable seven-wicket win over the Netherlands last weekend. The Dutch were bowled out for just 179 as they struggled against quality spin bowling. Afghanistan made light work of the total, chasing it down in just 31.3 overs as they gained some much-needed net run rate.

Needing to win both their remaining matches to secure a knockout spot, look for Afghanistan to make minimal changes given their recent form.

Australia v Afghanistan betting picks & odds

After putting up three consecutive scores of over 350, Australia showed their reliance on openers David Warner and Travis Head as they struggled somewhat with the bat against England. Against an excellent spin-bowling attack, the Aussies will need to improve or else they will once again struggle through the middle overs.

Despite this, Australia should have too much quality for Afghanistan, who are yet to make a score over 300 in this ODI World Cup. Back in the Aussies to be too strong at -500 with Bovada.

Even though he missed out last innings, it is hard to look past Warner as the top Australian runscorer. With the fifth-most runs at the tournament and his considerable experience playing white-ball cricket in India, look for Warner to lead from the front for the Aussies at +300 with the best cricket bookmakers.

For Afghanistan, it has been largely a team effort with the bat, with each of their top five scoring over 200 runs. However, one standout has been Hashmatullah Shahidi, who heads the batting charts for his country after hitting 56 not out in his last innings. At +600 with top sports betting sites, he shows great value as the top Afghanistan runscorer.

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