THE EDGE: The Edge previews the Cricket World Cup clash between INDIA v AUSTRALIA with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
India v Australia
MATCH OVERVIEW:
Come Sunday, we’ll be well into the World Cup on BETDAQ Betting Exchange. We’ll have saw the early conditions, had a look at most of the teams and finally got a feel for what the tournament will be like in India – after all, we don’t have much ODI cricket these days. Sunday will be the first blockbuster event however as India clash with Australia. While New Zealand against England and Sri Lanka and South Africa are decent matchups, cricket accepts there is a ‘Big Three” these days in England, India and Australia – there’s quite a gap between those three and the rest on who wins the World Cup, and now two of them clash in a game that could set the tone for the whole tournament.
With India being at home, all the pressure is on them. In fairness, they are pretty much certain of a Semi-Final spot such in the format of the tournament. Their win rate at home over the last two years is nearly 80% – they don’t even need to keep that level to get into the Semi-Finals to be honest. They definitely have the best bowling attack, and they will know conditions exceptionally well. Their batters have no fear thanks to the IPL experience over the years, and they will be very hard to stop. Australia will be thinking that if they can win here, maybe it will knock the Indian confidence and that will be an edge down the line.
For Australia, you’d have to worry about their ability to play spin. Their fixture list doesn’t help either; Chennai and Lucknow for their first three games will probably be the slowest of the wickets early in the World Cup. They have had recent success in India though, and if their batters can handle the spin they have the talent to go big. Conditions might not suit their pace bowling attack, but there has been rain in India recently and if there’s any zip in the wicket then Australia can do damage. What a fascinating game ahead!
WEATHER AND PITCH WATCH:
Chennai is a wonderful place to play cricket, but it is going to be very tough for visiting sides. It usually plays slow and in general you definitely want to bat first. We can get dew here; hence why we see some big scores in the IPL. Australia would have got a feel for conditions by playing an ODI here in March – they scored 269 all out and managed to defend it with India only managing 248. Even with possible dew, I think you have to bat first here unless absolutely certain of a heavy dew later. Batting will be tough in my opinion; but let’s not forget this is the first week of the World Cup and the wicket will be at its best so don’t just go into the game blindly expecting a low score.
RECOMMENDED BET:
While both sides are long odds on to reach the Semi-Finals given the format, there’s a huge amount at stake here. As I said above, mental edges are on offer – the sides will likely meet again later in the tournament plus it puts one side on the backfoot. I would give Australia a decent chance, but I feel with the game being at Chennai that gives India the edge. Their bowling is just exceptionally talented in home conditions and I can see Australia struggling. That being said, I’m keen to keep stakes small here as I feel the toss will be big. I would be very confident on India if they bat first, and I would give Australia a decent chance if they bat first – after all they won doing that here in March. I’m going to recommend an India back; but only if they bat first.
The Edge Says:
Three points win India (if they bat first) to beat Australia at 1.69 with Betdaq Exchange
View the market here -> https://betdaq.biz/IndAst
IN-RUNNING STRATEGY:
In general you want to avoid being on the batting side in Chennai, unless there is major dew and that is less likely in an ODI. We’ve also had rain around India that badly hampered the warm-up games, so keeping an eye on the radar is a must. As I mentioned above, I would give a big edge to the side who bats first here. I also think Australia will struggle against spin – but this is the first week of the tournament so the wickets might not take much spin yet. That weakness could be more exposed later in the tournament. For today though, I see the biggest in-running strategy being supporting the side who bats first. And also, 270 might be a good score here so don’t get carried away seeing 350+ from ODI’s these days; conditions in Chennai could make this a throwback ODI where 260 is competitive and it’s hard to find the singles!
