The Cricket World Cup continues across the weekend with a string of important matches.
India take centre stage on Saturday when they face Pakistan while Afghanistan are in action against defending champions England.
Australia and Sri Lanka face each other on Monday with both desperate for a win.
South Africa will be out to avenge defeat to Netherlands at the T20 World Cup when they put their unbeaten record on the line on Tuesday.
Saturday 14 October
India | Tie | Pakistan (10:30)
The huge clash will hope for a far better crowd than the opening match in Ahmedabad and doubtless will considering the interest in the fixture.
Something will have to give with India and Pakistan heading into the match unbeaten.
Mohammad Rizwan has piled on the runs for Pakistan and will be key to his team’s efforts to upstage the hosts.
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have already sent reminders of their ability in this tournament so far but India do have an embarrassment of top-order riches.
Verdict: India
The Indians should have the edge here.
Sunday 15 October
England 1/9 | Tie 25/1 | Afghanistan 57/10 (10:30)
England bounced back well from their opening match loss to wallop Bangladesh last time out.
Considering that Bangladesh had the beating of Afghanistan, the maths is pretty simple on this one.
England’s steady hands Joe Root and Dawid Malan have been their stars but this match might offer opportunities for the more explosive players.
Hashmatullah Shahidi has been a slow-burner across his career to date but could be about to put in a star turn in India.
Verdict: England 1/9
After a shaky tournament opener, the English appear to be getting back into the swing of things. This much spells bad news for Afghanistan.
Monday 16 October
Australia 3/10 | Tie 25/1 | Sri Lanka 51/20 (10:30)
Australia need to rally after a couple of big defeats to start their ICC Cricket World Cup campaign.
Their decision to carry an injured Travis Head through the early phase of the tournament is looking suspect and Australia might already feel that this match is must-win.
Australia’s batting failures have been their undoing as they sit without a batter in the top 25 run scorers.
Sri Lanka have also lost both of their matches and they need to get on the board as well.
Verdict: Australia 3/10
This really could go either way, but I think – on paper at least – the Australians hold the edge.
Tuesday 17 October
South Africa | Tie 25/1 | Netherlands (10:30)
Unbeaten South Africa tackle the Netherlands at high altitude on Tuesday at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala.
The form of Quinton de Kock has powered the Proteas’ great start to the Cricket World Cup backed up by Aiden Markram and a generally in-form top order.
The Netherlands have had some moments and Colin Ackermann has looked good but they will struggle to match the Proteas firepower.
Happily for the South Africans, Kagiso Rabada also looked to be getting back to his best in the World Cup.
Verdict: South Africa to get the highest opening partnership 4/10
Bavuma and de Kock have looked good at the top of the order and should be able to outgun O’Dowd and Singh.
