Couch Critic provides his betting tips for the first ODI between India and Australia which takes place in Mumbai on Tuesday 14th January
INDIA VS AUSTRALIA, 1st ODI Mumbai @ 10:00
SETTING THE SCENE
Australia embark on a whirlwind three match ODI tour of India this week. Australia come into this series off the back of disposing of Pakistan and New Zealand thus far in their summer but those were both in the white gear format – they have yet to don the coloured kit since the World Cup (apart from three T20’s against Sri Lanka). India had the measure of the Windies, South Africa and Bangladesh in test cricket but have also fitted in a handful of 50 over matches versus the Windies.
India, especially in their home conditions, remain one of the strongest sides in World Cricket and their star players are mostly ready for duty. Buvi Kumar and the Pandya brothers are regulars missing from this squad. Australia have exposed some new blood to their ODI ranks of late but now have a rather settled looking squad. It is however big news that Glen Maxwell has not travelled to India as he would have been a valuable asset in conditions he knows well. But Starc, Cummins, Smith and Warner are all still present.
LET’S TALK TACTICS
The visitors mostly have a settled squad of experienced warriors mixed in with a few newer faces like Alex Carey and AJ Turner who have quite clearly settled into the setup now. In the bowling department it’s the regulars of Starc, Cummins and Hazlewood who have Zampa as spinning back-up.
India can not only match but possibly even trump the top 3 the Aussies if they roll out their formidable trio of Dhawan, Sharma and Kohli. In the bowling department they also have the experience of Jadeja and cunning ability of Chahal and Kuldeep to maximise the home advantage. Mohammed Shami is one of the form bowlers of the past twelve months and then there is of course Bumrah.
The Wankhede hasn’t seen a lot of international action of late with only one T20 in the past 24 months. The T20 hosted here in December saw the Indian batsmen dine out as they posted an impressive 240/3. Thus whilst there are two strong bowling units on display we should still see plenty of runs scored.
HOW I SEE IT PLAYING OUT
India should rightly be given the edge considering that the majority of Australian players haven’t seen a lot of short format action in recent times. Given the fact that we are in Mumbai for this match I am throwing my weight behind a few of the local lads to deliver. Bumrah and Rohit Sharma are players that catch the eye and its just a case of deciding how to back them. Adam Zampa is one of the squad members who comes into this series off the back of the Big Bash League (where he’s form has also been very good) and he should enjoy Indian conditions.
Best Bets with BETOLIMP:
Top India Bowler – Bumrah @3.50
Top Australian Bowler – A Zampa @4.33
Man of the Match – R Sharma @10.00
Note, odds quoted are available at the time of writing but are subject to change
Couch Critic
