Which team is more likely to make the Champions Trophy Final: Pakistan or Bangladesh?

[Imran Hasan]

None of the cricket pundit was in favor of either Bangladesh or Pakistan to get in the semifinal before the tournament. But yet they are in the semifinal.

Bangladesh started the tournament with loss against England but they posed over 300 runs. Bangladesh had their share of luck when the match against Australia got abandoned due to rain and they got one point. But they beat New Zealand chasing 266 from a difficult 33/4 position in a do or die match. When England defeated Australia in the last group match BD went through to the semifinal. On the other hand Pakistan lost to the defending champion India comprehensively in their first match. But Pakistan completed a remarkable turnaround to beat South Africa by 19 runs on the dls method in their do or die match. They beat Srilanka in a thrilling virtual quarterfinal match by three wicket. Both the brilliant performance of their captain Sarfaraz and bad fielding of the Lankans helped them sweep into the semifinal.

Bangladesh will face favorite India and Pakistan will take on red-hot England in the semifinal respectively. Technically none of the Bangladesh and Pakistan team have a chance to beat them. But Cricket is a game of glorious uncertainties.

Will unpredictable Pakistan manage to pull an upset against England?

After the 2015 WC quarterfinal defeat against India could it be the second time lucky for Bangladesh in a major ICC tournament?

 

[Executioner]

Definitely Bangladesh.

The gap between India and Bangladesh isn't mammoth. But gap between​ England and Pakistan is quite big

This just goes to show how ruthless England is. Definitely contender to win the CT. Beastly side.

 

[Destroyer88]

On paper bangladesh but pakistan has always had an outside chance to win it despite the battering in the first game. There may be a a massive gulf between england and pakistan but surely they cant be written off. Hopefully we'll have an exciting match to watch

 

[Imran Hasan]

India also defeated Bangladesh in 2016 T20 WC but I didn't count it because it was sort of group stage.

 

[CricketCartoons]

Bangladesh. I would say 50-50 chance that BD will beat India. Don't see Pakistan beating England with the kind of struggling batting unit they have.

 

[Khwaja]

BD could beat india. Pak could beat Eng. I'd say is really equal.. I wouldn't be surprises if it was a BD PAK final.

 

[Usman Chadda]

India also defeated Bangladesh in 2016 T20 WC but I didn't count it because it was sort of group stage.

Obviously you wouldn't. You wouldn't count the Quarter-Final in 2015 too since Rohit was out on that full toss, but given out. Heck, just stop counting the losses altogether.

India will run through Bangladesh. England will maul Pakistan. Predictable India v England final, with England taking it this time.

 

[arehaan]

Well if there is one team England would be most worried about it has to be Pakistan. They can be so unpredictable as found out by South Africa and tomorrow might as well be that day. We have beaten England very recently on the same ground and will be using the same pitch used for yesterdays game so spinners might have a role to play.

 

[KyoOne]

Pakistan would be through if the pitch is on the slower side (same pitch used). Even if it is not, our pacers can make game out of anything.

Bangladesh has 25% chance, Pakistan has 35

 

[bujhee kom]

Pakistan would be through if the pitch is on the slower side (same pitch used). Even if it is not, our pacers can make game out of anything.

Bangladesh has 25% chance, Pakistan has 35

Very precise %. Show your working please.

 

[Boxer]

Relax Bhai... non of them are reaching the finals rby

 

[ethan hunt]

Ask England who they would have least liked to face out of bangla and pak in the semifinal and you will get your answer.
There is a reason pakistan still has that sort of reputation that they do despite their low ODI ranking.

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

BD are better chasers than Pak. + Mustafiz is due a 5fer

 

[thehub]

Definitely Bangladesh.

The gap between India and Bangladesh isn't mammoth. But gap between​ England and Pakistan is quite big

This just goes to show how ruthless England is. Definitely contender to win the CT. Beastly side.

Lol at your delusional post.

 

[Rightarmfast]

Ask England who they would have least liked to face out of bangla and pak in the semifinal and you will get your answer.
There is a reason pakistan still has that sort of reputation that they do despite their low ODI ranking.

Seems to me you never asked the question, but gave the answer yourself. )

 

[Commander]

Pakistan without a doubt.

With Shadab in, and Pakistan having their moments with the ball, you never know.

Bangladesh will be destroyed by India

 

[ethan hunt]

Seems to me you never asked the question, but gave the answer yourself. )

Most english pundits still rate Pakiistan for whatever reason.

 

[ethan hunt]

Bangladesh play with real passion against India so they have a decent chance but they havent been that good in the tournament have they ??
Only won 1 out of the 5 games ( including warmups) so far .
I am backing them against India though . A Bangldesh win would be amazing.

 

[BlueAngel]

If rain doesnt become a factor then i say Pak has better chances to reach semis.

My prediction is based on the fact that Pakistan has more experience in playing at this stage and they still have players who have played alongside with their greats. Also India has better record than England in handling pressure at the world stage.

 

[Madplayer]

BD is my second team in this tourney but really , lets be honest here, they have been abysmal from the start of warm up matches with only the match against NZ being a good performance.

I think they havent won anything else on this tour which goes to tell you what a sham group A's final outcome was.

Pakistan have a reputation which BD will take many years to acheive.

I would put money on Pakistan ahead of BD even if they were ranked 14th.

This, until BD wins matches consistently against top sides for next many years and Pak keeps deteriorating.

 

[London_Lahori]

Bangla boys have a better chance, simply because I think England is just slightly better than India at the moment.

 

[hadi123]

Bangladesh. There's a massive gap in quality between England and Pakistan whereas India aren't that much better than Bangladesh and they have lost this tournament already showing they are not unbeatable. But we all know how Pakistan play so they could upset the hosts but very much doubt it

 

[Shafi]

If we are looking for competitive final it must be England vs India.

England vs India Very competitive unless England choke like before

England vs Bangladesh- some competition

India vs Pakistan- It will worse than group stage. It will one hell of boring match

Bangladesh vs Pakistan- Good competition but we will choke because of lack of quality batsmen

 

[Nil Dhumrojal]

If we are looking for competitive final it must be England vs India.

England vs India Very competitive unless England choke like before

England vs Bangladesh- some competition

India vs Pakistan- It will worse than group stage. It will one hell of boring match

Bangladesh vs Pakistan- Good competition but we will choke because of lack of quality batsmen

Good observation.

 

[proud_pakistani]

From Pakistans perspective we need a good day with England and some luck to go our way if we really are to win. It is unlikely but not impossible. We did chase down 302 at Cardiff not so long a go in a dead rubber against England. If Pakistan can replicate that performance we are in with a chance.

Bangladesh have a better chance though. If they bat well and are given a chance to chase. With flat batting wickets and Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah and Shakib Al Hasan in form they can chase down anything in my opinion. India's bowling still remains their weak link as their game with Srilanka showed. No reason why Bangladesh can't chase down even 320 against them.

 

[Executioner]

Lol at your delusional post.

I'm sorry where do you see delusion?

Bangladesh have done fine. Infact we are the only team to have scored 300+ against the Englishmen this CT.

We did have a poor batting performance against Australia

But otherwise we have a more than decent batting and fielding unit. Also on a good day our bowling can be lethal.

 

[Rightarmfast]

Most english pundits still rate Pakiistan for whatever reason.

Who are these 'english pundits'? Can you name a few? Just curious!

 

[sadida97]

I'm sorry where do you see delusion?

Bangladesh have done fine. Infact we are the only team to have scored 300+ against the Englishmen this CT.

We did have a poor batting performance against Australia

But otherwise we have a more than decent batting and fielding unit. Also on a good day our bowling can be lethal.

sorry bro ur bowling is very weak.

 

[Pollack]

Neither.

 

[Arham_PakFan]

They have an equal chance.

 

[Executioner]

sorry bro ur bowling is very weak.

Its better than what most make it out to be. Our bowling has been our strength over the years. We have bundled out teams for sub-par totals several times in the past.

 

[saeed5646]

If we are looking for competitive final it must be England vs India.

England vs India Very competitive unless England choke like before

England vs Bangladesh- some competition

India vs Pakistan- It will worse than group stage. It will one hell of boring match

Bangladesh vs Pakistan- Good competition but we will choke because of lack of quality batsmen

still crying

Pakistan team don,t finish with 2 players only (hafeez and azhar)their are 9 other player you need to support

you should be positive we are in semis

 

[ToeCrusher2]

Both teams have similar chance, if England bat first then game over for pak, if India chase then game over for bangladesh, pak's strength is bowling, bangla's strength is batting, bangladesh can chase around 300 on a flat track while pak can bowl out England for 200 if the pitch and luck favors them, nothing much to choose between the chances of pak and bangladesh

 

[the Great Khan]

i think people are underestimating the fact that semi finals bring their own pressure. Both Baangla boys and Pakistan are underdogs. England are expected to ebat us but then they have been in this position before and we have beaten them. Same with India, I think Bangladesh can surprise them by chasing a big total like lanka did. As for us, well i can see us bowling england but we need to play shadab!

 

[thehub]

I'm sorry where do you see delusion?

Bangladesh have done fine. Infact we are the only team to have scored 300+ against the Englishmen this CT.

We did have a poor batting performance against Australia

But otherwise we have a more than decent batting and fielding unit. Also on a good day our bowling can be lethal.

Wait for odds to be released by books. Probability is higher for pak to beat eng than bangla to beat India.

They would set it something like 1/2 for England and 2/7 for India.
India is currently favourite to win this cup as per book. England is close second. Pak is third and Bangladesh is last. Books know more than what we all know about cricket and probabilities.

 

[90MPH]

I don't think Bangladesh have a much better chance - on what basis ?

It's about equal in my opinion. Pakistan still won 2 tough matches while rain saved Bangladesh against Aussies.

Pakistan will rely heavily on their bowling to restrict the opposition while Bangladesh will rely on their batting.

Let's be no doubt England and India are strong favourites but anything can happen on the day - as we have already seen in this tournament.

 

[bujhee kom]

Bd has a 50/50 chance. Fizz loves India, he can wreck them!

Pk has a very slim chance and cant even safely chase 200.

 

[Commander]

I'm sorry where do you see delusion?

Bangladesh have done fine. Infact we are the only team to have scored 300+ against the Englishmen this CT.

We did have a poor batting performance against Australia

But otherwise we have a more than decent batting and fielding unit. Also on a good day our bowling can be lethal.

One partnership and you are in the semi finals. The rain gods were very cruel to Australia. I am sorry but Bangladesh has been worse than Pakistan in this tournament so far. I can't see any way they can beat India.

99% it will be an England-India final.

 

[MMHS]

I'll have to give PAK a better chance here, though it's slim for both teams.


Simple reason is, odds are heavily stacked against both teams & history tells, in almost every such affairs, upsets were done by bowlers. You put a score & take 10 wickets or you put opponents in & get them cheaply.

On a flat batting belter BD has very little to counter Indian batting, but PAK can hurt Poms with their wicket takers - all 4 of them (Shadab & 3 pacers) actually can knock a meaningful 3for, which these days are like bowling equivalent of a century. This makes PAK potential in both ways - in batting belter bat first & post 300 or get Poms off guard under 270; on bowling condition, knock them under 200 or try to defend 250 batting first.

For us, only chance I see is to put Indians in bat in a gloomy morning & get them 4 down before 100. We can chase up to 250 later on such days. On a sunny, bright day, on Edgebaston road, either we'll need to post like 343, but I don't see that happening or restrict IND below 300 - neither I see happening with our bowling.

 

[ethan hunt]

Who are these 'english pundits'? Can you name a few? Just curious!

Nasser Hussain . Michael Atherton.
Go back to the conversation between Hussain and Bishop.
There is history there . This team is obviously not as good but Pakistan have built a reputation in England perhaps based on their past exploits

 

[dauntless]

Bangladesh have no chance their bowling is worst in the tournament.On the other hand Pakistan can restrict England to a low score and they can chase around 250.

 

[Commander]

Bangladesh have no chance their bowling is worst in the tournament.On the other hand Pakistan can restrict England to a low score and they can chase around 250.

Exactly.

In fact, Pakistan won the ODI against England by chasing a target of 300+ on the same ground in Cardiff.

 

[Abdullah]

Wait for odds to be released by books. Probability is higher for pak to beat eng than bangla to beat India.

They would set it something like 1/2 for England and 2/7 for India.
India is currently favourite to win this cup as per book. England is close second. Pak is third and Bangladesh is last. Books know more than what we all know about cricket and probabilities.

That's exactly why India are favourites for the tournament, because England have the tougher semi final

 

[Executioner]

One partnership and you are in the semi finals. The rain gods were very cruel to Australia. I am sorry but Bangladesh has been worse than Pakistan in this tournament so far. I can't see any way they can beat India.

99% it will be an England-India final.

Bangladesh have no chance their bowling is worst in the tournament.On the other hand Pakistan can restrict England to a low score and they can chase around 250.

Bangladesh bowling is more than decent. Look at our performances in the last two three years

 

[mhraja]

Bangladesh have come closer to beating India recently in World Cups so may be it's the time they actually win.

I had some optimism about our chance until first 10 overs of our innings yesterday.

 

[Executioner]

Wait for odds to be released by books. Probability is higher for pak to beat eng than bangla to beat India.

They would set it something like 1/2 for England and 2/7 for India.
India is currently favourite to win this cup as per book. England is close second. Pak is third and Bangladesh is last. Books know more than what we all know about cricket and probabilities.

I think you don't understand how bets work do you? Well the bets don't give an idea about who should win. It gives an idea about what the targeted people believe/want to happen. And Indian, will most likely bet for an Indian win. Now Indians are out there in big numbers. So even if the possibility of Bangladesh winning is 1-4. I.e 25% around 90% Indians are going to vote for India.

Does that mean the chances of BD winning is only 10 percent? No. The odds are adjusted according to what the common people believe

The common people would obviously vote for Pakistan over Bangladesh even though the latter has performed better recently. That I can guarantee.

 

[Executioner]

http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/en...7;team=8;team=9;template=results;type=bowling

The above stat here shows the bowling average of teams since the WC. As you can see Bangladesh has the lowest bowling average - 30.86 among all the test playing nations and the 2nd best Economy rate after Zimbabwe, i.e - 5.04. So not only have we done well with out bowling but also have been among the top bowling units in recent times! I know we did play a few matches against Zim and Afg, 6 in total infact in the last 2.5 years.

On the contrary, Pakistan's bowling average is, well, 39.76 and er is 5.52. So 30.86 @5.04 VS 39.76@5.52 as it stands when it comes to bowling.

 

[Rightarmfast]

Nasser Hussain . Michael Atherton.
Go back to the conversation between Hussain and Bishop.
There is history there . This team is obviously not as good but Pakistan have built a reputation in England perhaps based on their past exploits

When did they say this? And what it just a casual comment so as to not make the junta unhappy?

 

[MMHS]

Bookies hardly loose money - they do lots of home work before setting the odds.

What's the odds of PAK beating ENG & BD beating IND? That should be a clear indication.

 

[bujhee kom]

Post odds.

 

[light]

The way I look at it, it's BD's batting V PAK's bowling. BD's bowling sucks, PAK's batting sucks. India's bowling is weaker than England where as ENG's batting is slighty weaker than India's. Also don't forget to take into account what the previous generation did for Pakistan (they did win couple of major ICC tournaments) where as for Bangladesh, this is the generation that will be spoken about by their future players. That mental strength and belief advantage goes to Pakistan.

Advantage: PAK (just a bit more than BD)

 

[Buffet]

Pakistan has higher odds here.

 

[Buffet]

Pakistan has 5/2 and BD has 21/5.

 

[ToeCrusher2]

Pakistan has 5/2 and BD has 21/5.

[MENTION=130260]Executioner[/MENTION] So the gap between India and Bangladesh is way higher than the gap between England and Pakistan

 

[Mp812]

In past..Wc2015...India probably did not take BD and although as per BD fans they were robbed of the game by umpire...the margin of victory does not suggest so.
Rohit was not out..contrary to belief of Bd fans.... if at all anythnig it was 50-50 chance lbw and in such cases batter gets benefit of doubt.
Nazmul Hassan, the BCB president, wanted to lodge an appeal. ICC president Mustafa Kamal said: "There was no quality in the umpiring. It seemed as if they had gone into the match with something in mind." Kamal was given a soft rap by

ICC chief executive David Richardson who said, "The no-ball decision was a 50-50 call. The spirit of the game dictates that the umpire's decision is final and must be respected."

If one leaves aside obvious bias and immaturity of the of BD fans ...when the incident happened...India still had 4 proper batters yet to bat ,so I doubt the even if givenout, would have made a difference to end result. It is not that if rohit had

been out, a collapse was inevitable.Rohit was 90 off 101 when he was "reprieved". India were 196 in the 40th over. Eventually Bangladesh were all out 193 and lost by by 109 runs ( hardly can be classified as a close game).

Anyway after that India defeated BD in Asia cup final and did not even bother to celeberate after a comprehensive victory... thats says a lot on what value they placed on the victory.

The T20 Wc2016 game was close but BD messed it up under cool calm captaincy by Dhoni. That was the only close game per say.

Anyway after the rude wakeup call given by SL recently, India will not be complacent , so BD chances of catching them by surprise do not seem so bright ...despite the strides they have made in recent past.

As for Eng-PK game....if PK bowling fails....the batting class between the two teams is as deep as the Pacific ocean. I mean Eng on a bad day still can manage to get 250- 270 and Pakistan on really good day can drag themselves to 250- 270.
The only chance PK has if its bowlers get the line-length right and take regular wickets and bowl out Eng by 220 at most.

 

[Gubol123]

Pak has a very good chance of winning this match. they should go with Shadab and use him alongside Hafiz, Mailk and Imad to time England during the middle overs.there is no point playing four seamers against england who will be more comfortable facing them. Also, law of averages might play against England and who knows some complacency might step in. Pakistan chances are 40% not 10% or 20% as others are making it out to be.

India will be wary of Bangaldesh. BD has won against India multiple times and i am sure Indians will not take them for granted.

 

[thehub]

That's exactly why India are favourites for the tournament, because England have the tougher semi final

Yes I agree.

 

[thehub]

I think you don't understand how bets work do you? Well the bets don't give an idea about who should win. It gives an idea about what the targeted people believe/want to happen. And Indian, will most likely bet for an Indian win. Now Indians are out there in big numbers. So even if the possibility of Bangladesh winning is 1-4. I.e 25% around 90% Indians are going to vote for India.

Does that mean the chances of BD winning is only 10 percent? No. The odds are adjusted according to what the common people believe

The common people would obviously vote for Pakistan over Bangladesh even though the latter has performed better recently. That I can guarantee.

I agree with you partly. But check the difference in odds between bangla and pak. It's huge. Anyway you can continue to think Bangladesh is better than Pakistan. Books don't think so and general public don't think so.

 

[Balthazar]

Pakistan has like 30% chance against England and Bangladesh 20% against India. So Pakistan it is.

 

[Executioner]

I agree with you partly. But check the difference in odds between bangla and pak. It's huge. Anyway you can continue to think Bangladesh is better than Pakistan. Books don't think so and general public don't think so.

Rankings suggests otherwise

Regardless both teams are in the semi finals. Let's see how things pan out from here onwards

 

[thehub]

That's exactly why India are favourites for the tournament, because England have the tougher semi final

This is what I am trying to explain to Bangladesh fans. Still they feel India has a tougher semi than England.

 

[Dead Ball]

Pakistan defeated SA not even a week back!

It would be a bugger surprise if Bangladesh defeated India, given India has almost all of its top 5 batsmen in great form.

Would love to see an INDIA-PAKISTAN final

 

[thehub]

Rankings suggests otherwise

Regardless both teams are in the semi finals. Let's see how things pan out from here onwards

Don't just go by ranking. SL was higher ranked team but they were underdogs against Pak. If there was a match tomorrow between Pakistan and Bangladesh, Pakistan will be the favourite.

 

[Usman Chadda]

Nasser Hussain . Michael Atherton.
Go back to the conversation between Hussain and Bishop.
There is history there . This team is obviously not as good but Pakistan have built a reputation in England perhaps based on their past exploits

I believe his 'pundits' team starts off and finishes off with Virender Sehwag, hence the implied arrogance. And then Indians wonder why the world lays into them if they lose a match. God forbid they lose a crucial semi to Bangladesh, all hell will break loose.

 

[thehub]

I believe his 'pundits' team starts off and finishes off with Virender Sehwag, hence the implied arrogance. And then Indians wonder why the world lays into them if they lose a match. God forbid they lose a crucial semi to Bangladesh, all hell will break loose.

You guys seem to be proud when somebody says you are unpredictable, dangerous on their day, etc. It only show you are an average team and you can't win consistently. You can only surprise once in a while. In reality same England pundits are way more scared of India than Pakistan. That's the reputation you would want to build.

 

[IndYeah1]

Both teams are massive underdogs. And deservedly so. If you took bangladesh batting and Pak bowling together, maybe that combined team would have a decent chance against either opponent.

Actually a better question would be, if there was a Pak vs BD semi-final, who would have a better chance?

 

[big_gamer007]

Pakistan has an excellent chance of reaching the finals provided they dump Hafeez and being in Harris sohail..

 

[srh]

What will be your reaction if its Pakistan vs Bangladesh final in CT?

Pakistan is heavy underdog in its semi-final match against England. I would think its 90% England and 10% Pakistan.

Bangladesh is even heavier underdog in its semi-final match against India. I would think its 95% India and 5% Bangladesh.

So its extremely unlikely that Pakistan will beat England AND Bangladesh will beat India.

But for the sake of arguments lets suppose Pakistan beat England and Bangladesh beat India. What will be your reaction to a Pakistan vs Bangladesh final?

 

[bujhee kom]

Joy Bangla as easy win.

 

[yasir]

One thing people have to accept that Pakistan bowling is top notch, they did not get two teams out under 250 by fluke, we have quality bowlers and varied attack...Pakistan bowling can easily be top 2/3 bowling of the tournament, again not by fluke but actual substance...Against India, we lost two main bowler in last 4/5 overs that cost us 80 runs, that's not going to happen everyday...Scoring 300+ runs against Pakistan will not be cake walk...

Lot is banking on Pakistan bowling again tomorrow. Its asking too much to keep getting team out under 250 in this day and age, but with used pitch, spin and reverse can come into play and force errors, if English bat first, since they like to play aggressively, that's the time when our bowlers can take wickets...

For Pakistan to win, winning toss is very important(hopefully bowl first). Its easy to bowl at English team, bowling first, they can give you wickets... Most of them cannot play spin that well, reverse swing is also very crucial for us...Interestingly reverse is only happening from 28-45 overs not before or after(ball is getting scuffed up after that), its very important Pakistani Captain is aware of that and use seamers smartly in those overs to fetch wickets!!

 

[srh]

Grand Battle of minnows?

 

[New Yorker]

None of the cricket pundit was in favor of either Bangladesh or Pakistan to get in the semifinal before the tournament. But yet they are in the semifinal.

Bangladesh started the tournament with loss against England but they posed over 300 runs. Bangladesh had their share of luck when the match against Australia got abandoned due to rain and they got one point. But they beat New Zealand chasing 266 from a difficult 33/4 position in a do or die match. When England defeated Australia in the last group match BD went through to the semifinal. On the other hand Pakistan lost to the defending champion India comprehensively in their first match. But Pakistan completed a remarkable turnaround to beat South Africa by 19 runs on the dls method in their do or die match. They beat Srilanka in a thrilling virtual quarterfinal match by three wicket. Both the brilliant performance of their captain Sarfaraz and bad fielding of the Lankans helped them sweep into the semifinal.

Bangladesh will face favorite India and Pakistan will take on red-hot England in the semifinal respectively. Technically none of the Bangladesh and Pakistan team have a chance to beat them. But Cricket is a game of glorious uncertainties.

Will unpredictable Pakistan manage to pull an upset against England?

After the 2015 WC quarterfinal defeat against India could it be the second time lucky for Bangladesh in a major ICC tournament?

About equal chance. Bangla know how to play ODI cricket, the batting is better than Pakistan's and if
the Fizz has a good day who knows. England can afford to bat a bit conservatively; Pakistan needs to
take all 10 wickets, if the Poms post just 300-320 or thereabouts its done and dusted. Pakistan only
chased that once against an England B side. Azhar and Hafeez will be there to oversee their customary
slow motion implosion

 

[New Yorker]

One thing people have to accept that Pakistan bowling is top notch, they did not get two teams out under 250 by fluke, we have quality bowlers and varied attack...Pakistan bowling can easily be top 2/3 bowling of the tournament, again not by fluke but actual substance...Against India, we lost two main bowler in last 4/5 overs that cost us 80 runs, that's not going to happen everyday...Scoring 300+ runs against Pakistan will not be cake walk...

Lot is banking on Pakistan bowling again tomorrow. Its asking too much to keep getting team out under 250 in this day and age, but with used pitch, spin and reverse can come into play and force errors, if English bat first, since they like to play aggressively, that's the time when our bowlers can take wickets...

For Pakistan to win, winning toss is very important(hopefully bowl first). Its easy to bowl at English team, bowling first, they can give you wickets... Most of them cannot play spin that well, reverse swing is also very crucial for us...Interestingly reverse is only happening from 28-45 overs not before or after(ball is getting scuffed up after that), its very important Pakistani Captain is aware of that and use seamers smartly in those overs to fetch wickets!!

we didnt bowl out safrica but we kept them below 250 because they dont have england's depth.
also if england is smart they wont go all guns blazing; 300 will be too much for azhar, hafeez and
co.

 

[darksher]

Without a shadow of a doubt, its Pakistan. I believe England is highly overrated side and somewhere in far outreaches of their psyches rests the dormant choking genes that they were notorious for not too long ago in their cricketing history, Pakistan just has to find a way to activate them through disciplined performance and the real England behind the fake bravado will show up. Inspite of England's recent emergence in LOI cricket, they're still a vulnerable outfit underpressure in crunch situations and Pakistan will do well to exploit it to their advantage. Now people will mention their victory against Australia from a precarious situation, well it was dead rubber as they had already qualified for Semis and a loss their won't have affected their position on table, so they played fearless cricket and came on top. However facing Pakistan in a knockout Semifinal is a different kettle of fish and it won't be easy for them sleepwalk their way to the final. So Pakistan is in with a big chance to make the Finals.
No chance for BD though, the gulf in class is huge.

 

[New Yorker]

Bangladesh have no chance their bowling is worst in the tournament.On the other hand Pakistan can restrict England to a low score and they can chase around 250.

pakistan didnt manage to restrict england below 250 even once during the bilateral series. people may feel encouraged that we chased 300 in the last game, but what this suggests is that will only win if we yet again
chase 300. which very few teams do regularly, let alone pakistan. unfortunately our batting is thinner and in worse form now.

 

[Pakpak]

Rankings suggests otherwise

Regardless both teams are in the semi finals. Let's see how things pan out from here onwards

What is the BD obsession of rankings? The way BD supporters go on about it you'd think they're 50 points ahead. No other team cries about rankings like you people do. Sri Lanka is ranked above Pakistan for a long long while now yet have lost all their ODIs, T20s and Test series to us home and away literally in the last 1.5 years. And they have lost all their recent World Cup games to us. Rankings mean zilch in big tournament games when the pressure is on.

 

[MMHS]

Pakistan has 5/2 and BD has 21/5.

So, roughly, they are expecting PAK to win 2 out of 7 times, that's around 29%, which is a bit high for me. I would have taken 1 out of 4 (25%) at most. This is probably factoring 3 things - 1. resurgence of PAK from a horrible start, which actually indicates team is progressing in right direction 2. Few stunning individual performance - cricket at the end is the best game for individuals dominating the outcome of a match 3. Some where down the line, ENG is bound to find a bad day. So far they have countered whatever thrown to them, but they could have lost any of the 3 matches without such fight back - both with bat & ball. If they find their nemesis, they'll lose to PAK.

For BD, they have put 4 out of 25 (16%), which I think is right. Apart from obvious gaps, one big factor here is big match temperament & experience.

However, this has nothing to do with what will be the odd between PAK - VS BD. Mathematically, it stands at 42:25 in favor of PAK from this 2 bets, which to me is correct when it comes to PAK vs ENG & BD vs IND; but not necessarily PAK vs BD.

 

[thehub]

Without a shadow of a doubt, its Pakistan. I believe England is highly overrated side and somewhere in far outreaches of their psyches rests the dormant choking genes that they were notorious for not too long ago in their cricketing history, Pakistan just has to find a way to activate them through disciplined performance and the real England behind the fake bravado will show up. Inspite of England's recent emergence in LOI cricket, they're still a vulnerable outfit underpressure in crunch situations and Pakistan will do well to exploit it to their advantage. Now people will mention their victory against Australia from a precarious situation, well it was dead rubber as they had already qualified for Semis and a loss their won't have affected their position on table, so they played fearless cricket and came on top. However facing Pakistan in a knockout Semifinal is a different kettle of fish and it won't be easy for them sleepwalk their way to the final. So Pakistan is in with a big chance to make the Finals.
No chance for BD though, the gulf in class is huge.

Absolutely spot on. England are getting overhyped here. If Pakistan don't beat them in semi, I see India beating them.

 

[Misia]

Bengali tigers roar to the title

 

[Executioner]

What is the BD obsession of rankings? The way BD supporters go on about it you'd think they're 50 points ahead. No other team cries about rankings like you people do. Sri Lanka is ranked above Pakistan for a long long while now yet have lost all their ODIs, T20s and Test series to us home and away literally in the last 1.5 years. And they have lost all their recent World Cup games to us. Rankings mean zilch in big tournament games when the pressure is on.

A few people have the impression that Pakistan/WI are much better than us which is why we bring the arguement of the rankings and such. People also mention the importance of performing in big match.

But here we are, in the semi-finals of the champions trophy. Fans claimed we would be annihilated in the CT without a fight, but hey we made it.