T20 World Cup Tips Matches 20 & 21: Can Saffers skirt another shock?

• Scots short favs

• Zeeshan value

• Bangladesh not ruled out

• Taskin a big price

Oman v Scotland
Sunday 9 June, 18:00
TV: Live on Sky Sports

Oman v Scotland T20 World Cup match prediction

Scotland need a big win against Oman to keep pressure on England with the second-qualifying spot likely to be decided by net run rate. The head-to-head record suggests they are more than capable.

The Scots have won all four encounters and although the most recent was in 2021 (by eight wickets) the encounters should provide a good indicator of a balance of power.

Also in Scotland's favour is a new venue - and something of an unknown wicket. The North Sound pitch has not hosted a CPL match since 2014.

We always reckon we need a leveller in that regard for a shock. It is hard to say with confidence what the wicket will be like. It is therefore not surprising that Scotland are as short as 1.412/5.

Oman v Scotland T20 World Cup pitch report

The last six T20 matches played at North Sound have been women's internationals. The highest score in all of them was 111. Men's and women's matches are very different, however, so it may not be a reliable pointer. We might be looking at 150-160 as par.

In 2021 there were nine men's regional qualifiers for the previous World Cup. More than 170 was busted three times in nine. But many were mismatches so it's not a formbook which we can trust. The unders 127.5 line keeps an Oman collapse inside.

Oman v Scotland T20 World Cup player bets

George Munsey was unlucky not to cop versus England. This could be his time. He has a win rate of 31% in the last two years. We'll take the 3/14.00 from Sportsbook. At 9/25.50 Zeeshan Maqsood is the man to follow for top Oman bat with a win rate in our favour and a decent hit against the Scots last time. With the ball we'll have half-point stakes on Brad Currie at 7/24.50 for the Scots and Aqib Ilyas at 9/25.50.

Bangladesh v South Africa
Monday 10 June, 15:30
TV: Live on Sky Sports

Bangladesh v South Africa T20 World Cup match prediction

Bangladesh produced a strong performance against Sri Lanka to take the points in a result which must rank as one of the upsets of the tournament. South Africa have dodged two bullets now against Sri Lanka and Netherlands. Can they put together a more complete performance?

In eight matches against Bangladesh they have never lost. Contests in 2020 and 2021 were the most recent and contest is doing a lot of heavy lifting. The Saffers won by six wickets and 104 runs respectively.

But we know the New York surface is a great leveller and on that basis the 3.7511/4 about Bangladesh isn't the worse option.

Bangladesh v South Africa T20 World Cup pitch report

We expect the New York wicket to get harder to bat on, not better. There are only four strips available and this game will almost certainly be played on a used wicket. South Africa's struggle chasing Netherlands' 103 (they were reduced to 12 for four) make it something of a lottery. To that end a short on Bangladesh runs batting first at 110, 115 and 120 are good options.

Bangladesh v South Africa T20 World Cup player bets

Do we keep plugging away at Reeza Hendricks with a win rate of 33%? Sportsbook go [4/1]. Shakib al Hasan will be all the rage for top Bangladesh bat at 11/26.50 but be aware his win rate is just 12.5%. Taskin Ahmed with the ball (a 31% win rate) is outstanding value at 4/15.00 with pacers doing much of the damage on this surface.

T20 World Cup outright market

We need to be aware of South Africa's golden opportunity to go deep in this tournament considering what is happening elsewhere. With England and Pakistan in a dire battle for progression, the Saffers are lined up for an easy route to the semis. Regardless of group finishing positions, if qualification is achieved they will face West Indies, USA and Namibia. The 13/53.60 that they reach the final looks a very good price.

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