We’re into the third leg of India and Australia’s One Day International series as the nations fly through the series in preparation for this summer’s World Cup in England. JSCA International Stadium Complex in Ranchi plays host and UK followers can view the action live from 8.00am GMT on Friday morning. The perfect way to start a busy weekend of sport. Here are our top India v Australia 3rd ODI betting tips.
Bookmakers lay on a feast of betting opportunities to allow us a stab at starting with a profit and you can have your say on the winner of the 3rd ODI, or take your pick from a number of specials, including highest first 15 overs, first ball, highest opening partnership, and plenty more besides.
Traders have India marked up as hot favourites for the win, but is there any value in that? Our tipsters trawl through the markets and return with their views on the outcome, as well as the markets worth having and the bookies offering best price.
Hosts off to a Winning Start
The hosts got off to a winning start in the One Day International series when claiming the opener by a tight six wickets, the final scores returned at India 240-4 (48.2) against 236-7 (50.0). It was a thrilling contest and one that gave us a deserving winner but there was very little between the teams for large periods of the day and it looked like it could go either way heading towards the finish line with both fighting for the result.
Australia came out of the day with plenty of positives, but the fact remains it’s another defeat on the card of a group already fragile with confidence thin on the ground. Supporters recognise the team are back moving in the right direction but its wins that are important and the Aussies must give their weary followers something to cheer as a thanks for sticking with them through a difficult year.
They did have more to cheer during a T20 series win that was achieved thanks to a superb performance from Glenn Maxwell who rattled 113 not out at the end of last month in Bangalore. That result suggested the visitors would carry their form into the One Day Internationals, but they missed the chances that came their way and, at the end of the play, Australia knew they only had themselves to blame for the loss.
Double Trouble
Seemingly annoyed by that T20 loss, India went on the attack again in the second ODI on Tuesday of this week, raging to a 2-0 series lead after two games. They edged the first and gave us more of the same in the second when getting the desired result by eight runs, the scores reading India 250 all out (48.2) against 242 all out (49.3) of Australia. Another determined effort from both sides but, like the match before, it was the home fans who were cheering.
A strong effort from every area but there’s no doubt captain Virat Kohli stood head and shoulders above the rest when leading by example. He helped himself to 10 fours during an effort that returned no less than 116 and that proved to be the major difference between the opponents on the day. That was the leader’s 40th One Day International century and he really couldn’t have timed it any better. Kohli has been the standout in this India team and we’re looking forward to seeing him carry that into the summer where he’ll be one of the stars of the show.
If India are to move into a 3-0 lead to finish the series as a contest at the earliest opportunity, they will need more of the same from their captain but we’re confident he’ll play an important role again on Friday and will be behind everything good about the locals. It’s worth mentioning Australia improved their efforts in the 2nd ODI and looked on course for the win before losing their last five wickets for a measly 24 runs. It’s fast becoming Groundhog Day for this Australian side.
Treble Expected
Despite Australia showing flashes of what they are capable of, India fully deserve their 2-0 lead and it would be no surprise to followers to see them go 3-0 ahead and wrap things up. That’s exactly what traders expect to happen, and they have priced a home win up as jolly with Coral’s 4/9 the general feeling in the betting ring at present. That’s against the 7/4 for Australia to half the deficit with the same bookmaker. As mentioned, Oz are improving and went close to winning last time, so we’ll take a punt on the better price and hope they can finally cut out the mistakes and get the win.
Keeping in mind Virat Kohli’s recent form, we’re going to be having an interest bet on him scoring more runs than any of his teammates in the top India batsman market. Follow our thinking and you’ll get a run for your money, as well as a shot at a decent price, with Bet365 giving out 2/1. That’s favourite, but we think it deserves to be and there’s still enough in the price to make it a bet worth having. Be careful who you trust, however, as many firms are as tight as 7/4 on the same outcome. We can’t afford to take less of a price.
In the top Australian batsman market, you’ll find Aaron Finch at the head of the betting with Coral giving out 7/2, placing him ahead of the likes of Darcy Short at 4/1 and Glenn Maxwell at 5/1. We’d rather have the latter carrying our stake money as he has shown flashes of his best form recently and, if getting anywhere near a repeat, he’ll have enough to top the charts in India again.