Zimbabwe vs Bangladesh 1st ODI Betting Tips 16/07/2021

13:20, 15 Jul 2021

Senior Author

13:20, 15 Jul 2021

Zohaib Ahmed is a sports journalist whose profession is to report and edit but whose passion is to predict and bet. He’s been in the industry for more than a decade and has worked/written for various bookmakers/tipsters. His expertise is in cricket, football, MMA, boxing and basketball.

The 1st ODI of the ICC Super League ODI series between Zimbabwe and Bangladesh will be played at the Harare Sports Club on July 16 (Friday). The match is scheduled to begin at 1pm IST.

Teams Status

Zimbabwe

Having lost the only Test to Bangladesh by a heavy margin of 220 runs, Zimbabwe will be hoping for a better showing in the shorter format. Their best bet will obviously be in the T20I series but even in the ODI series they can be expected to do better than they did in the five-day format.

The African minnows do not play too many ODIs and often they oscillate between Tests and T20Is. They did get an impressive result in the last ODI they played though. Back in November 2020, they had defeated Pakistan in Pakistan in a dead rubber of an ODI via a one-over eliminator.

Blessing Muzarabani had taken a five-for in that game and was deemed the player of the match. He has since won the PSL with Multan Sultans and grown in stature, so much so that he will be Zimbabwe’s main hope of getting something from the series.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh must have their tails up, thanks to their 2-1 ODI series win over Sri Lanka in May. On top of that, they managed to beat Zimbabwe by 220 runs in the only Test recently, which should give them a boost, even if the format has now changed.

The star of that series win was Mushfiqur Rahim, whose 84 and 125-run knocks were pivotal in Bangladesh winning the first two matches. Rahim, however, will not be available for this series as he has flown back home due to “family reasons”.

Even without Rahim, Bangladesh should find enough firepower to deal with an opponent against whom they have 21 ODI wins and just four defeats since 2014.

What do the Sportsbook Say

Brand	Zimbabwe	Bangladesh
	4.25	1.20
	4.50	1.20
	4.50	1.22

Bangladesh are the clear favourites here. 22Bet has Bangladesh priced at 1.20 and Zimbabwe at 4.50. Dafabet has Bangladesh available for 1.22 and Zimbabwe for 4.50. Lastly, Betway has Bangladesh priced at 1.20 and Zimbabwe at 4.25.

Tipster’s Angle

Tip: Highest opening partnership – Bangladesh @ 1.812

It is expected that captain Tamim Iqbal and wicketkeeper-batsman Liton Das are going to open the innings for Bangladesh. The two did not have the most fruitful of partnerships in the Sri Lanka home series but this is a different ball game. Here, Iqbal and Das, or whoever accompanies the former, will have a far easier time and can be backed to beat the opening pairing of their hosts. The play can be found on 22Bet.

Tip: Total runs for over 1 in 1st inning – Bangladesh over 3.5 @ 1.82

It is no secret that Tamim Iqbal is one of the most natural stroke players in world cricket. He never shies away from showcasing his array of strokes even if it is very early in the innings. The spread of 3.5 is quite modest if Iqbal is on song. We like this play, which can be found on Dafabet.

Conclusion

Years ago, Bangladesh used to be even weaker than Zimbabwe. Then Zimbabwe deteriorated and Bangladesh improved to an extend that the latter are now deemed heavy favourites against the former. There is a gulf in the cricketing talent of both these nations and it should show in results.