THE EDGE: The Edge previews The Hundred Final on Sunday from Lord’s as Oval Invincibles clash with Trent Rockets with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
MATCH OVERVIEW:
The Final time at The Hundred on Betdaq Betting Exchange! Oval Invincibles take on Trent Rockets at Lord’s after a dramatic Eliminator on Saturday night at The Oval. As I said in my preview of that game, we were always in trouble with the weather and although the ground staff did a wonderful job to try and get a game in, eventually the rain won. Northern Superchargers managed 119/5 off 75 balls in an on-off innings, then the same happened to Trent Rockets but eventually the game was called off with Trent Rockets 12/0 after only 5 balls. Because Trent Rockets finished second, a washout meant they went through to the Final.
That leaves us here, and thankfully the weather forecast looks much better for the evening this time. Despite the drama in the Eliminator with the weather, we do have the top two sides from the group stage so we still have a fitting Final. Oval Invincibles are going to three in a row, which is a very rare feat in franchise cricket. It does possibly highlight the fact that the squads need a shake-up because we do have very strong sides and very weak sides (London Spirit and Welsh Fire). These two are used to the big stage though, and we should have a cracking Final.
It’s hard to fault both sides. They both finished with 24 points; losing only two games. When the sides met at The Oval on the 21st of August, Oval Invincibles won comfortably – chasing down 171/7 with 11 balls to spare. The Oval Invincibles batting has been on fire this tournament, and Trent Rockets will need to find a way to stop them – that will decide the game for me.
WEATHER AND PITCH WATCH:
Lord’s is always a fitting place for a Final! The scoring has improved here this season apart from the opening game of the tournament when London Spirit were 80 all out. Since then we’ve had games with scores of 162/5 (won), 135/3 (chased) and 186/4 (won). Oval Invincibles batted first in the Final here last season and won with 147/9, while in 2023 they posted 161/5 and won too. In 2022, 120/9 was chased down and in 2021, 168/5 was defended. Weather shouldn’t be a big factor here like on Saturday at The Oval, and I would bat first.
RECOMMENDED BET:
It’s no surprise to see that Oval Invincibles are the favourites here; they are going for three in a row after all! That would be a massive achievement in franchise cricket in fairness; even if The Hundred isn’t as competitive as the IPL or Big Bash. Oval Invincibles are trading 1.74 with Trent Rockets 2.32. I’m going to keep stakes small here before the off; in my opinion we have two cracking sides and Trent Rockets look just as strong as Oval Invincibles. Obviously I know the Oval Invincibles won when the sides met earlier in the season, but I still feel there’s too big of a gap between the sides in the market – I would have things a little more even and from a value point of view I’m happy with Trent Rockets at 2.32.
The Edge Says:
One point win Trent Rockets to beat Oval Invincibles at 2.32 with Betdaq Exchange
View the market here -> https://betdaq.biz/OvaTre
IN-RUNNING STRATEGY:
As I said above, I do feel we’ll see a pretty even game here and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the market bouncing around a lot in-play. I think it’s wise to not get married to a position early here; we have plenty of quality in both batting line-ups and it won’t take much to change the game. I do feel Trent Rockets are too big at 2.32 so that might be a starting point; I would happily support whoever bats first though as I feel we’ll see a decent score here, and then consider the options at the innings break as to support the chasing side or not.
