Australia v Pakistan Draftstars Preview

Australia v Pakistan Draftstars Preview

Match Preview – 1AM ADST Friday 12 November

The Australian T20 team wasn’t expected to make the Semi Finals of the 2021 edition of the T20 World Cup. A 2-8 record against Bangladesh and West Indies, an out of form senior batting group and slow and low conditions in the UAE all seemed to be a recipe for disaster for the Aussies. However, they’ve shown much better form in the World Cup and their win against South Africa in a close contest ultimately got them over the line and through to a semi final. The Pakistan team has traditionally been wildly inconsistent but went through undefeated in the group stages. This included a historic 10 wicket defeat of India in their first game. If you took both teams’ reputations away, the Pakistani team has looked significantly better than the Aussies so far. Their only close game was against Afghanistan however they have shown they have a strong batting order, excellent pace and spin options and have won games in different ways throughout the tournament.

If you’re going to take a punt on someone in this contest, we think it should be the ‘Big Show’.

Draftstars Preview

Draftstars have a $6,000 contest for Australia’s Semi Final with first prize collecting just over $750. The first thing that comes to mind is that this will likely be a different style of game to the group games. Both teams will likely play a slightly different brand of cricket given that this is an elimination final. Both sets of openers have feasted on some of the minnows so far, however they will be up against some of the best bowlers in the world in Starc, Hazlewood, Afridi & Rauf. Adam Zampa has the highest average across his 5 games this WC for this contest (88), however even he struggled against England when Australia were convincingly beaten.

Value Plays

Mohammad Rizwan $17,500. Rizwan opens the batting with Azam and also shown off his skills this World Cup, including an excellent 79 off 55 balls in the first game against India. Choosing him instead of Babar Azam allows you to choose our second value play, Glenn Maxwell. Two top price range players instead of one with the added upside Rizwan provides by being a wicket keeper sounds like a much better option to us!

Glenn Maxwell $19,500. Hear us out! With a high score of 18 with the bat and 82 Draftstars points, Maxwell definitely hasn’t impressed so far this tournament. But if you think back to a month ago, Maxwell was dominant for RCB in the IPL. In the same conditions as in this World Cup. Another positive is that he’s bowled 8 overs in the group stages as Ashton Agar has been left out. It’s a bold move but if you think he can go back to his IPL form with the bat, he’s capable of picking up a wicket and a catch at any stage in a T20 game. If you’re going to take a punt on someone in this contest, we think it should be the ‘Big Show’.

Fades

Haris Rauf $13,900. He has been the most highly owned player in Pakistan’s last three games. He is an impressive bowler and definitely seems underpriced, but considering many DFS players would know him due to his BBL exploits, it could be a sneaky tactical ploy to leave him out. The Aussies generally bat better against pace and Pakistan have six strong bowling options so Rauf’s output could be limited compared to the group stages.

Babar Azam $21,000. He is a class batsman and arguably on the verge of cracking into the ‘big four’ soon, however, this is the perfect chance to leave him out of your side. Australia will know they need to strike early with their pace attack if they are any chance against Pakistan. Azam has been on fire this tournament, scoring 50+ runs in 4/5 innings so far. However, choosing him in your team means you almost definitely won’t be able to afford anyone else in the top price bracket above $16,000.

 

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