A betting preview of the first test match between England and India including match result and top first innings run scorer and wicket taker tips courtesy of @Olimp_SA
England vs. India – Wednesday 4 August 12:00
As a cricket fan you might be focusing on The Hundred or the T20s and ODIs in the build up to the T20 World Cup in October, but there is some juicy red ball cricket to enjoy in between all of this. England and India will clash in no less than five test matches, the first of which takes place at Trent Bridge.
England
All eyes will be on the English batting line-up who had a miserable time at the crease in their last test series against New Zealand. In their four innings they only managed to pass the 300 run mark on one occasion which resulted in Root’s men failing to win a match and going down 1-0 to the Black Caps. The English will be without their star all-rounder Ben Stokes who is taking a mental well-being break from cricket and his power in the middle order will be missed.
With the absence of Stokes, I see the English openers and top order putting in a much better performance this time around. Rory Burns added an impressive 81 and 132 in his last two matches and I expect him to carry this form into the first match of the new series. Although his current form is not something to get excited about Joe Root may also be due a big knock. The English captain seems to always pull through at home against the Indians and averages almost 60 on home soil against them.
I can’t say I am too excited about the bowling attack. The veterans Anderson and Broad will be expected to get the job done once again and this just might not be enough for the home side. With Moeen Ali still unavailable it leaves the English bowling attack without a specialist spinner and lacking creativity. If the decision is made to bring in Sam Curran in an all-rounder role to make up for Stokes it can provide some much-needed variation in the attack.
India
India’s last test match was the Test Championship final which they lost in a one-off test against New Zealand. It was a dismal performance from their top-order batsman to say the least and the only shining star in the line-up was Rishabh Pant at Number 6 who managed a total of 141 runs across the two innings.
Unfortunately I don’t see much improvement from the visitors in their batting line-up and unless the top order can improve dramatically from their last performance I see the Indian’s struggling to put up a big total. Pressure will be on Virat Kohli who’s average is at a measly 24 in his last 13 innings. A big score is needed from the captain in both innings in order to give the visitors a respectable total and a fighting chance. If Kohli and his top order fails to keep the scoreboard ticking it will be up to Rishabh Pant to carry the Indian batting once again – a task that may just prove to be too much for the keeper this time around.
Although the Indian bowling attack is almost as uninspiring as the English one it does have slightly more variation. The duo of Sharma and Bumrah are tasked with leading the attack, but since wickets have been hard to come by for the latter I don’t see him having much of an impact. For me the key will be how the English batsman cope with the spin of Ashwin. Ravi has the potential to create big problems for the English batsman and if he gets in his groove it could spell big trouble for the hosts.
Prediction
I expect the English to bounce-back after their defeat to New Zealand and take the first test of the series. Although the hosts’ batting line-up has room for improvement I do feel it is a big step above the current state of the Indian batting.
The lack of creativity in the English bowling is not ideal and I do expect to see better batting from the Indian top-order but ultimately I don’t think it will be enough to see the visitors through. The Indian spin has the potential to cause some problems for the hosts’ batting but I feel that the local conditions will favour the fast bowlers more in this one and of the two sides England’s fast bowlers are performing better.
BetOlimp Bets
Note, odds quoted are available at the time of writing but are subject to change
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