A betting preview and tips for the 2026 T20 World Cup matches taking place on Sunday 8th February including New Zealand v Afghanistan, England v Nepal and Sri Lanka v Ireland
DANCING WITH DEATH
There is a serious number on the dance card on Sunday when Group D get’s ready to do the two-step in Chennai.
Let’s get stuck into day one action at the ICC T20 World Cup.
AFGHANISTAN v NEW ZEALAND, Chennai
New Zealand have decent balance to their squad with power at the top in Finn Allen and Tim Seifert. Phillips and Mitchell are also able to finish things off later. They have spin in Sodhi and Santner and pace with Ferguson and Henry. NZ come into this off the back of a series in India so should be well climatised.
Given their strong spin attack the Afghans probably would have preferred playing in Sri Lanka or on one of the more spin-friendly tracks. Chennai is more of a balanced track in my view.
Afghanistan are blessed with the best spin quartet in the competition but I reckon the Black Caps have more bases covered and will be the ones dancing for joy after the last ball has been bowled.
Top NZ Batsman – Glen Phillips @ 7.00 with Pokerbet
Probably the best player of spin in the camp of the Kiwis. Bats at number four and is in very good touch.
Top Match Bowler – Noor Ahmed @ 11.00 with Pokerbet
Noor Ahmad is an experienced bowler and his writ spin is likely to cause even the best players to skip a beat and miss a step.
ENGLAND v NEPAL, Wankhede
The Poms should waltz their way to victory here and given the pitch one has to hope Nepal don’t end up bowling first – for their sake. Enjoy your day on the big stage if you are Nepal but also brace yourself for a massive game of fetch!
England opening partnership – Over 31.5 runs @ 1.85 with Pokerbet
The Salt and Pepper combo forms a duet that is perfectly in sync. Whether they bat first or chase, I see this one paying out for us.
Top England Bowler – Joffra Archer @ 4.00
I’m expecting big things from Adhil Rashid for the tournament, but I think Nepal will struggle to cope with the pace and bounce that Archer will bring.
The co-hosts get their first outing in the tournament and are well fancied to get their campaign off to a winning start against Ireland.
The Irish are a feisty bunch and if they get a sniff they will take some stopping. If Sri Lanka aren’t fully switched on Irish eyes could be smiling as the visitors tap-dance over an early Sri Lankan grave.
Whilst Sri Lanka did struggle against England recently Ireland didn’t have nearly the same level of competition. So their recent record might look better, but there was a loss to Italy mixed in which doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.
I can’t see the home side not being up for this one. Sri Lanka should get the job done without too much fuss.
Top Sri Lanka Batsman – Pavan Rathnayake @ 8.00 with Pokerbet
I probably need Sri Lanka to bat first but reckon there is some value here as he is in excellent form and should bat at number four.
Sri Lanka – Over 7.5 sixes @ 2.15 with Pokerbet
350 played 300 when the Poms came to town last month. Sixes should come.