India and Australia return to competitive action when taking part in the second One Day International match of the series at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur on Tuesday morning. UK followers are set for an early start with the coin expected to go up at around 8.00am. Here are our top India v Australia 2nd ODI betting tips.
The pair last faced-off on Saturday afternoon in a tight match that was eventually won by the hosts by a narrow six wickets margin. India have their noses in front in this five-game series; however, what we witnessed on Saturday suggests they won’t be allowed to sit back and admire their work. Australia rate as a dangerous opponent determined to keep things competitive.
A brief break to allow players and the coaching staff to rest up and reflect on the 1st ODI, before planning their attack on the second. However, will we see India rage into a commanding 2-0 advantage? Or will the tourists roll up their sleeves and blast their way back into contention?
Bookmakers are betting on both the series outright and the 2nd ODI with a number of exciting markets offered on each. The series betting has responded to India’s early lead. Backers looking to support the locals will find them marked up as strong favourites to build on their success and go all the way. That will appear in a fair share of selections, no doubt.
Tight Opener
The opening match of this One Day International series was as tight as you would expect. Two talented international sides face-off with the World Cup looming; the six wickets winning margin is a fair reflection of how the contest went. The final scores read India 240-4 (48.2) against the 236-7 (50.0) of their opponents.
It’ll go down as a strong team effort from the victors with match winners coming from every department. However, it wouldn’t be unfair to say two men stood head and shoulders above the rest. MS Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav glistened when putting in an eye-catching 141-run stand to catapult their teammates towards the finish line. With the match hanging in the balance, Dhoni and Jadhav broke Australian hearts with a performance way beyond anything the visitors had in their locker.
Oz couldn’t grumble; at the conclusion, they were forced to admit they were beaten by the better team on the day. The battle went to the Indian warriors; however, there’s still plenty of fight left in this war. How both teams respond to that result will be important. It will have a major say on which team goes on to claim the spoils when the series comes to a conclusion on 13 March. Attentions will then turn to the ICC World Cup where India open against Bangladesh in Cardiff and Australia get up-and-running vs England at Ageas Bowl in Southampton.
Improvement Needed
Despite the loss, the away team did come out of the match with encouragement. They also got a few pointers on what they need to work on before the 2nd ODI. Glenn Maxwell’s form has been particularly pleasing for followers of Australian cricket of late and we highlighted that in our pre-match preview. He didn’t play quite as well as expected on Saturday; however, he did have enough about him to score a strong 40 when coming in at number five.
Teammate Alex Carey was also seen doing his bit for the cause. However, it was little more than admin duties towards the end as he edged Australia’s numbers up slowly, helping limit the damage. When returning to the drawing board on Sunday the Australian players and coaches will know they didn’t do enough. Barring a few glimmers of hope, they were no where near good enough to deserve the win. They set their opponents a modest run chase of 237 – enough to see off a lesser opponent. However, it served as an invitation to a team of India’s quality to take advantage and go and win the match.
If Australia are to get themselves level and avoid India running away with the ODI series, we will have to see serious improvement from almost every member of the team. Too many failed to deliver when the pressure was on. That will disappoint fans who believed they had finally come through the storm that battered and bruised Cricket Australia for most of last year. Maxwell is one man who will be expected to lead by example. However, we know the visitors are full of fight and the fact they have a point to prove to both themselves and their fans should inspire a big performance.
Double Delight
This series isn’t over, but it looks likes bookmakers have already seen enough and traders have moved to price the home win as odds-on favourite in the 2nd One Day International series. Backers looking to support 2-0 will find Coral offering a tight 4/9 and although that looks to be on the cosy side, it’s the general feeling in the betting ring at the time of writing.
As already mentioned, we’re expecting a response from Australia in this one; we know we won’t be the only ones. The players still have a challenge on their hands to prove themselves worthy of representing the nation in the run-up to the World Cup. That’s the reason we’re backing Oz to fire back and tie things at 1-1. Follow our thinking at Coral and a cracking 7/4 will be your prize.
You can bet on this match without picking sides as bookmakers offer well over 100 markets, including top India batsman, top India bowler, top Australian run scorer and top Australian wicket taker. Glenn Maxwell is the man of the moment and you can back him to score more runs than any member of his team at 5/1. That’s value and we’re happy to put that forward as an interest bet. Maxwell to score more than 28.5 runs is 5/6, under 28.5 the same price, and the Aussie to score at least one six is 8/13.