THE EDGE: The Edge previews the 5th Test between INDIA v ENGLAND with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
India v England 5th Test
MATCH OVERVIEW:
The 5th and final Test match between India and England is upon us, and it’s just a shame that the series isn’t on the line on Betdaq Betting Exchange. After losing the 1st Test, India have roared back to win three Tests in a row and already have the series in the bag. A 3-2 series loss wouldn’t be any shame for England though, especially as we all know India away from home is the hardest place to play cricket. There’s still a lot on the line here; from an England point of view it is a shame that the series isn’t locked at 2-2. We can’t say they didn’t have a great chance in the 4th Test!
After posting 353 in the first innings of the 4th Test, England had India 177/7 in their first innings but a 90 from Dhruv Jurel steadied the ship for India – they were behind going into the second innings but England’s batting flopped for an all out 145. I suppose that’s where it’s all gone wrong for England this series, their batting has got them into superb positions at times but nobody has gone on. It looked like they might actually get into a good position in the 2nd Test as well – you have to say to trade odds on in two Tests and lose, while also winning once is a great performance from England on reflection. The harsh reality of sport is it’s still losing. Starting a game at 4.0+ and trading odds on means you’ve played well as anyone who bets/trades knows, but nobody remembers second as they say!
The 4th Test was actually the first Test of the series that the side batting first didn’t win, and we had another spinning track too. It will be interesting to see conditions here. India will be pleased to have Bumrah back but RL Rahul is still out with injury and obviously Mohammed Shami given he has Achilles surgery this week. As expected, the English media questioned Bazball after the series loss; I don’t see England changing their approach which has brought them so much success. It should be another entertaining Test match!
WEATHER AND PITCH WATCH:
We’re in Dharamsala for the 5th Test. This is an iconic Test venue with the mountains in the background giving the perfect backdrop. It will provide interesting conditions too; you wouldn’t say that was the most spin friendly venue. To be honest though, that’s going through white ball cricket because there’s only been one Test here. India hosted Australia here back in 2017; cricket has changed so much I don’t see the scores being important knowledge but India won in a low scoring game – the first innings of the match was 300.
RECOMMENDED BET:
Although we didn’t land our ‘back the side who bats first’ bet in the 4th Test, it did put us in a good position for trading the Test. I don’t see that being as good of an option here at this ground. I know India have ordered spinning wickets to drive home their advantage but Dharamsala could easily see a quick wicket. It’s interesting to see the draw price trading the shortest it’s been for this series at 6.2. The logic behind that I’m sure it the wicket flattens out after some early morning movement. I still don’t see a draw between these two, not the way England play. I’m going to keep stakes small and have an England position at 4.4 – I just feel the sides are closer together than the market suggests and we should have another excellent Test.
The Edge Says:
One point win England to beat India at 4.4 with Betdaq Exchange
View the market here -> https://betdaq.biz/5IndEng
IN-RUNNING STRATEGY:
The first four Test matches have been “easy” to trade in the sense that you knew what was coming with conditions. We knew the wickets would be tough and it would pay to support the bowlers most of the time, and batting first might provide an edge too. I don’t see this Test following that pattern – it could but we just don’t have enough ground data to form a set in-running strategy. I would definitely want to see how the wicket plays here before going forward with things. The only thing to note is India’s batting has definitely been more reliable than England’s so if the wicket is flatter than we’ve had this series, it will pay to support India batting rather than England because of how many collapses they’ve had. I still feel we’ll see plenty of drama and market swings though! These two just make for great cricket.
