THE EDGE: The Edge previews the T20 World Cup Final between SOUTH AFRICA v INDIA with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
Final: South Africa v India
MATCH OVERVIEW:
The T20 World Cup Final arrives on Betdaq Betting Exchange as South Africa meet India on Saturday. While there will be plenty of narratives coming into this Final; you can say that these two have played the best cricket in the tournament. South Africa have had their moments of worry, but they have gone through the tournament unbeaten thus far. So have India though, and given they came into the tournament as the favourites it’s no surprise to see them trading 1.55 here. South Africa have carried the tag of “chokers” for many years now in major tournament, and unfortunately for them that tag is going to stick with them until they actually win.
The win over Afghanistan was only South Africa’s second knockout win at a major tournament. Quite an incredible stat – and so much Semi-Final heart break given the format of cricket. This side definitely feels different – most of the comments after the Semi-Final win was that they weren’t celebrating “just” getting to the final. Maybe this is the South African side that can finally break the chokers tag; but in their way stand the best side in the world. I have said countless times through this tournament that India have every base covered. They tick every box you could want in a cricket team. They have a superb bowling unit that got the batting out of trouble on tricky wickets in America, and then their batting has really fired in the West Indies. The 171 against England in the Semi-Final was a massive score on that wicket.
While it is an achievement for South Africa to win a knockout game given their history, they did go into that game as heavy favourites to beat Afghanistan. On paper, they had the easiest group because of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka going through a difficult period. Their win over England was the highlight, but England’s batting in the first ten overs of the chase lost the game for them. The jury will always be out on South Africa in pressure situations, while it’s not for India. They have been exposed to every pressure situation you could imagine with all their IPL experience too. They did stream roll their way into the ODI World Cup Final only to come up short at the last hurdle though. A fascinating game awaits, with so much at stake too. For South Africa, it’s a chance to finally get rid of that chokers tag. For India, they have a billion people expecting a win and nothing else will do.
WEATHER AND PITCH WATCH:
The final is in Bridgetown in Barbados, and this is always a great place for cricket. India have played here in the Super Eights, but this will be South Africa’s first experience of the ground at this tournament. They will know conditions well though; this is a popular ground for sides touring the West Indies given it’s a tourist hotspot. We’ve had a range of scores from the games here, mainly due to the associates being involved. The first inning scores have been; 109 all out (tied), 90/0 after ten overs when rain came, 164/5 (won), 155/9 (chased), 201/7 (won), 181/8 (won), 128 all out (chased) and 115 all out (chased). Australia posted the 201 when they played England here, and India scored 181 – I would expect a reasonably high scoring game but anything 175+ batting first is going to be a great score. Generally you want to bat first here.
RECOMMENDED BET:
It’s fitting that the two unbeaten sides have made it to the final. As I said above, it’s not a surprise to see India as the clear favourites here. They came into the tournament as the favourites, and to be honest if you said they’d meet South Africa in the final their backers would have been very happy given Australia and England made up the next two spots in the betting. India have beat the two of those sides comfortably, and they are a level above South Africa. I feel the 1.55 offers value here – South Africa have had some hairy moments with their batting against the weaker sides at the group stage, and now they face the best bowling attack in the world. I feel the Indian bowling against the South African batting will be the difference in my opinion.
The Edge Says:
Three points win India to beat South Africa at 1.55 on Betdaq Exchange
View the market here -> https://betdaq.biz/SouInd
IN-RUNNING STRATEGY:
There’s been quite a bit of associate cricket at this venue, so it’s hard to form a very strong view on what is an edge over the tournament. However, we’ve had plenty of cricket at Barbados and in general you want to bat first here. In a final, it’s a no brainer to bat first given the history here if you win the toss – I do expect the side that bats first to have a little edge. If India batted first, I would be very happy to support their batting and possibly hold onto the position for them to defend it. For South Africa, I am definitely less confident on their batting so the best play in that situation would be to support them to defend a score over 175 if that does happen. As I said above though, I do see the difference in this game being the Indian bowling against the South African batting.
