England vs. Afghanistan Betting Tips: Best bets for Sunday's Cricket World Cup match

England continue in their attempt to retain the Cricket World Cup when they take on Afghanistan on Sunday.

England recovered from their opening game loss to New Zealand by running out convincing winners against Bangladesh, while Afghanistan have yet to pick up a point from their matches with Bangladesh and India. 

Here at BettingOdds.com we preview the clash between Matthew Mott’s side and Afghanistan, with Andy Francis picking out his two best bets for the match…

England come into the game as heavy favourites, but Afghanistan will be primed to spring a surprise and keep their hopes of knockout stage qualification alive.

The group stage match, taking place at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Dehli, could see England jump into the top four, gaining the advantage in qualifying for the semi-final stage. 

Mott’s side have a perfect ODI record against Afghanistan, winning both of their previous encounters, and expectations will be that they keep that record going. It’s no surprise to see England as small as 1/11 in the market, or Afghanistan as big as 6/1 with most bookmakers. 

England got back to their best against Bangladesh, showing their power at the crease with Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root both hitting more than a half century.

It’s hard to look past the skills of Dawid Malan when it comes to the top run scorer market, though.

Sitting at the top of the order, Malan faced 107 balls against Bangladesh and scored an impressive 140 runs.

Perhaps most telling was his ability to find the boundary, with the rope being hit 16 times and cleared five in an impressive display of power.

You can find Malan to be England’s top run scorer at 3/1 at BoyleSports, an attractive price against an Afghanistan side that could find it hard to displace the 36-year-old. 
 

Setting a big target of 364 against Bangladesh was key to England’s success in their last match and, if they win the toss, they could well put themselves in a dominant position by batting first.

A win is vital, with upcoming clashes with South Africa, and Sri Lanka, providing potential stumbling blocks, while a loss here - which would not only be a major shock - but would also give England a massive hill to climb to secure qualification. 

Much has been made of their ability with the bat but England’s bowlers also enjoyed their day against Bangladesh. None more so than Reece Topley, who took four wickets and conceded a run rate of just 4.3 per over. His ability with the ball in hand could prove to be vital in skittling Afghanistan, and keeping the run rate as low as possible.

It’s a surprise, then, to see him as high as 12/1 in the Man of the Match market with BoyleSports.

He could prove to be a match-winner when England are bowling, especially if he’s given the full 10 overs to get the ball moving.

Mark Wood (14/1 with Unibet) and Jos Buttler (10/1 with Coral) also appeal in the market but Topley represents real value in the hunt for the Man of the Match. 

It’s a pivotal match for England on their route to the knockout stage, but this is a match they should win, inflicting a third straight defeat on Afghanistan in the process.