On Sunday, it's India vs. Pakistan as the 2017 ICC Final takes place at The Oval. On one side is a dominant Indian team who are the defending champions. On the opposing side is a Pakistani team that has been hanging tough to battle back to the finals. Will they be able to overthrow the champions or will Team India repeat in the role? Here is the latest ICC Final matchup preview including cricket odds, start time, and how to watch it live streaming online this Sunday.
ICC Finals preview
At the start of the competition, Pakistan found themselves heavily defeated by Team India.
After battling back in the next games against their opponents, the Pakistan team has managed to reach the final now. However, they will still have the role of underdogs in this matchup against the defending champions.
Pakistan followed up their opening loss against India with a 19-run (D/L method) victory over South Africa and then a three-wicket win over Sri Lanka on June 12th. Meanwhile, India defeated Pakistan by 124 runs, Sri Lanka by seven wickets, and South Africa by eight wickets. To get to the finals India defeated Bangladesh in one semifinals matchup by nine wickets, while Pakistan defeated England in the other semis match by eight wickets at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff.
As Heavy reported, India has won 12 of 15 meetings against Pakistan in their ICC competitions.
One of those was a 124-run victory earlier in this year's tournament. Pakistan's strong point is bowling, though, and fans are hoping they will be able to contain the powerful bats of this Indian team. Pakistan has give up just 4.46 runs since their opener against India. Now they'll try to work some magic against the bats of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Shekhar Dhawan.
Oddsmakers have Pakistan priced at +200 on the moneyline. India will be the favorites in this matchup, with amoneyline price of -250. A number of other bets are floating around at various sportsbooks including Paddy Power. These include a bet for Kohl to take a catch at 13 to 8 odds, a bet for India to win with Rohit Sharma as top Indian Batsman at 6 to 1 odds, and a bet for Babar Azam (3 to 1) to be the top Pakistan run scorer.
How to watch it live
The India vs. Pakistan ICC Final gets started at 5:30 a.m. Eastern Time on Sunday morning for United States viewers, or 10:30 local time for those in the game region. Live streaming will be available for viewers through the Willow.TV streaming cricket subscription channel. This special service is available through SlingTV and online through a number of compatible devices. These include Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Apple TV, smartphones, tablets, laptops and smart TVs. See more details at Willow.TV for how to subscribe and watch all of the latest cricket action!