ENG vs PAK Test Day match prediction 5 Aug 2020

England and Pakistan will go head on in the first Test of the three-match series at the Emirates Old Trafford from August 5, Wednesday.

England have been in the hunting mode in the last couple of Test matches and they bounced back brilliantly against West Indies in the last series to lift The Wisden Trophy. The hosts will be banking on the momentum they have gained and they will be far more dangerous than before. Having lost the first Test against West Indies, Joe Root led the way for his side and for the rest of the series, it was all England. Pakistan will be coming into this series on the back of a hiatus of almost 150 days and they are likely to be scratchy from the word go. But as the series progresses they could turn out to be a team to beat as England do not have fond memories against Pakistan in the past 14 head to head matches. England have lost nine out of those 14 matches against Pakistan and four of them were on the English soil. Therefore, Root and co. will be wary of those facts and come hard at the visitors right from the word go. Now that you are aware of what is coming your way, let me take you through three of the best markets I have picked for you to bet on:

Betting Tips

Test matches and sixes do not go hand-in-hand and I am pretty much aware of it! But in this case, there’s money involved which you can get it in your pocket for sure, so what do you think we should do? I think I can read your mind so let’s get straight to the point - England have managed to clear the ropes on 33 occasions in the last five Test matches, and, on the other hand, Pakistan have done it just 13 times in as many matches. At the Emirates Old Trafford, England have managed to clobber 16 sixes in the last five matches and, on the other hand, Pakistan have hit 14 of them. However, in the last five head-to-head encounters, Pakistan have had their noses ahead in this six-hitting battle as they are winning it by 16 to 9 against England. But we need to remember that England have plenty of hitters in their ranks and they can hit those sixes at will even if it is the longest format of the game and moreover, it is their home! Bet 365 is being super generous and has offered odds of 1.61 for England to hit more sixes in the match - Go bet!

Just like the last time during the series against West Indies, I have brought along these interesting markets for you where you actually can make a lot of money and it looks almost certain. Here in this section, we are going to talk about a couple of players who can make you quite a lot of cash tomorrow - Ben Stokes and Shaheen Afridi! We need Stokes to score just 34 runs and I have the guts that he is going to make it happen as he has been in scintillating form. In this calendar year, Stokes has featured in six matches and he has racked up 632 runs at an incredible average of 70.22 including two hundreds and two half centuries. When he is playing at home, Stokesy maintains an average of 40.25 scoring 2053 runs including six centuries and 11 half tons. In the ICC World Test Championship, the left-hander has featured in 12 matches and has managed to add 1122 runs to his tally at an average of 59.05 including four tons and four fifties. Now let’s head to the next part of this section where Shaheen Afridi’s numbers matter to us! The Pakistani seamer has picked up 30 wickets in 12 innings in his Test career and that is an average of over two wickets per innings. Afridi has added 14 scalps to his tally in five innings when he has played away from home and that is an average of almost three wickets per innings. Under the leadership of Azhar Ali, Afridi has managed to pick up 18 wickets in seven innings and that again is an average of more than two wickets per innings. The numbers are screaming out aloud for you to not miss out on this market!

For us to win we need the England skipper to score just 39 runs but take it from me, Joe Root is going to score a lot more than that! Not to forget, Stuart Broad’s form too, he too, is likely to take more than two wickets for sure! The skipper has played nine matches against Pakistan and has managed to rack up a whopping 961 runs at an incredible average of 61.06 including one double hundred and six half tons. Believe it or not, Joe Root has an average of 72.50 at the Emirates Old Trafford and the last time he played against Pakistan at this very venue, the Three Lions skipper registered his career best high score of 254* runs. Not only that, he amassed 325 runs in that match as he added yet another 71 runs in the second innings as well. Now that we are pretty much sure about one half of this market, let’s get to the other half of it - Stuart Broad has been in scintillating form in this calendar year! The second highest wicket taker of England has played five matches in 2020 and has picked up freaking 25 wickets at a jaw-dropping average of 13.88 including one five-wicket and one 10-wicket haul. He has played 16 matches against Pakistan and has managed to pick up 54 wickets and that is an average of more than two wickets per game. While playing at home, Broad has gone on to play 79 matches and he has added 321 wickets, which is clearly more than what we need him to do in this forthcoming match. So, don’t waste your time!