Time for the India v Australia 1st T20 Betting Tips… It’s the opening match of what promises to be a thrilling Twenty20 series between India and Australia. The curtain goes up on the two-leg series on Sunday 24 February with the decider played three days later.
The ACA-VDCA Stadium in Visakhapatnam plays hosts this weekend as both teams involved look to lay down a marker for a fascinating tour that’ll gift followers the two T20 matches, as well as five One Day Internationals between 2 March and 13 March. Attentions then turn to the ICC World Cup in May.
As well as a chance to land a blow on a major rival, this will also give both sets of coaches and captains the opportunity to finetune their squads for bigger and better tests on the schedule. Who will get off to a winning start? Bookmakers give us the chance to call the victor and make a profit at the same time, offering odds on the T20 series winner and 1st T20 match.
Traders Stuck on the Fence
Rather surprisingly, the money men have taken up position on the fence, showing they are at a loss to predict who will win the series, offering good prices on each of the two possible outcomes and allowing punters to make their own mind up and get their bets down. That indecisiveness is great news for backers, but it’ll also catch the attention of value hunters eager to make the most of any slip-ups from their great rivals on the trading floors.
India to win the series is 23/20 with Unibet against the 21/4 of Australia. Those looking to get in early and secure the value, we’d suggest getting your cash down on this impressive India side to send out a statement of intent. There’s also the correct score betting, available to those looking to take a bit more of a risk in the hope of landing a better price. The 1-1 draw can be backed at 11/8 through Coral, the London betting giant also offering 2-0 India at 11/10 and 2-0 Australia at 9/2.
Let’s take a look at the form of both sides in the run-up to this match…
India Aiming to Fight Back
India set-up for the 1st T20 match against Australia on the back of a narrow defeat to New Zealand on 10 February when four runs was the difference. The final scores in that T20 encounter were New Zealand 212-4 (20.0) against the 208-6 (20.0) of India. That was a painful one to take for all concerned and was the final part of a three-game series that had them 2-1 losers, but the squad took plenty of positives from the trip, including a stunning win in the One Day International format.
Each of the three T20 matches vs NZ were tight, the hosts winning the first by 80 runs before India battled back to level things at 1-1 with a seven wickets cheer. That had the series hanging in the balance and we were convinced they had what it takes to kick-on and win the T20, but it wasn’t to be. A bit of a shock for us, and money was lost, but we won’t hold that against India as they are more than good enough to dust themselves down and make a quickfire return to winning ways.
We plan on backing the local cheer and punters who agree can get 1/2 at bet365. That may be a little on the tight side, but it will do a job in accumulators and is, in fact, value when compared to the 4/9 you’ll get with most of the competition. India are favourites, yes, but it’s encouraging to see traders agree so strongly with our thinking.
Australia out for Revenge
We last spotted Australia in Twenty20 action in November of last year when they were beaten by six wickets by India. The scores that day read India 168-4 (19.4) vs Australia 164-6 (20.0) and that should be kept in mind when placing your bets in this match. Since then the Aussies have endured no end of off-field troubles and that has shown in a run of poor form across all types of cricket.
Since that T20 loss to India, the underdogs dropped a Test Match series to the same opponent before losing a 2-1 ODI series to India. Australia made a long overdue return to winning ways when beating Sri Lanka in Test cricket over two legs in January, getting the desired result by an innings and 40 runs first time before waltzing to a 366-run success on the next occasion. They may have taken their time about it, but it was exactly what was needed for the team who took a bit of a battering in the Australian press in the build-up. It’ll also set Australia up nicely for this match as they aim to kick-on and get supporters back believing.
Australia will come here determined to get their revenge and supporters who fancy them to do that with a 1st T20 win should back the upset at Unibet as they are giving out market best price of 17/10 while most of the competition go 6/4 on the same bet. Not a bet for us, but it’s sure to attract bits and pieces of attention, especially from those planning on following the match and would prefer to have the better price in what should be a competitive encounter.
Sharma Favourite to Top Score
Bookmakers have laid on a feast of betting markets which allow punters an interest without coming down on either side. For example, you can predict who will score most runs for India, with Virat Kohli 5/2 favourite, top price with Bet365. Rohit Sharma is rated as the main danger at 10/3 with Shikhar Dhawan making up the top-three at 18/5.
Top India bowler gives Jasprit Bumrah as 5/2 leader, ahead of Yuzvendra Chahal at 3/1 and Umesh Yadav’s 4/1. Other markets of note are man of the match betting which is dominated by Virat Kohli who can be followed at an attractive 6/1 through Bet365.