THE EDGE: The Edge previews the T20 World Cup clash between ENGLAND v INDIA with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
Semi-Final 2: England v India
MATCH OVERVIEW:
Some fixtures are bigger than others! All eyes of the cricketing world will turn to Providence Stadium in Guyana on Thursday as England meet India in the second T20 World Cup Semi-Final. This should be a fascinating game, and we have a very interesting market on Betdaq Betting Exchange. India come into the game as the favourites, which isn’t a surprise, but England have a squad loaded with match winners that could win the game on their own if they come off. You could say the same about India – even when Virat Kohli failed with a duck against Australia, his opening partner Rohit Sharma took the game away from Australia with a wonderful 92 off 41 balls.
The major difference between the sides is that India are far more consistent compared to England. With England, they are never far away from a batting collapse or the bowlers going around the park. They’ve lost twice at this World Cup already; the bowlers conceded over 200 against Australia in the group stage and then the batters lost the game against South Africa in the first ten overs of the chase. To beat India, England will need to be perfect but we all know that they can deliver that type of performance. That’s what makes this game so interesting; I feel most cricket fans will feel whoever wins here will go on to win the tournament.
While England have lost twice, India are unbeaten. This tournament has felt pretty much like the ODI World Cup in India where India just cruised through to the knockout stage before losing the Final to Australia. They have been put under pressure; especially against Pakistan at the group stage but the reality is they just tick every box. They can seemingly pull any game out of the fire with top class batting or bowling. They seem to have every base covered; England will need a world class innings from Jos Buttler or Jonny Bairstow! Can they deliver?
WEATHER AND PITCH WATCH:
The venue of the second Semi-Final has been one of the hottest topics at this World Cup. Regardless of where they finished in the Super Eights, India were booked into this Semi-Final. That is definitely an advantage; they knew where they would be playing and that is an edge for prep work while England only found out after the Super Eight stage. The reality is both sides will know conditions well from all their tours to West Indies in the past, but it was still “unfair” in terms of a World Cup. As we all know in cricket though, the BCCI calls the shots. We’ve had plenty of cricket in Guyana already at this World Cup, but the games have mostly involved associates. The first inning scores have been; 136/8 (chased), 183/5 (won), 77 all out (chased), 159/6 (won) and 173/5 (won). The two highest scores were Afghanistan and West Indies v Uganda. I feel the fact they didn’t pass 200 might suggest we don’t have an easy batting surface here.
RECOMMENDED BET:
A fascinating game in store, and it’s no surprise to see India as the favourites as I said above. They are trading 1.69 at the time of writing, and although they have been the better side at this World Cup, I do feel that is a little short. I feel we’re going to have a tricky batting wicket here, and that will aid the England bowlers – bowling has definitely been the weak point for England in my opinion. Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow are going to be absolutely massive wickets, but they both look in good touch. I’m going to keep stakes small because I have maximum respect for this India side, however the 2.4 on England is a little too big to ignore in my opinion. They have the talent to go close.
The Edge Says:
One point win England to beat India at 2.4 on Betdaq Exchange
View the market here -> https://betdaq.biz/EngIni
IN-RUNNING STRATEGY:
Given we had a lot of associate cricket here, it is hard to fully judge conditions. We can get a range of scores depending on who bats or bowls first. As I said above, Afghanistan and West Indies staying in that 175-185 range against Uganda probably highlights the fact that batting hasn’t been very easy here. I feel we’re going to have a game where the bowlers are on top; Afghanistan defended their 159/6 very easily against New Zealand here too. In such a big game, I do feel batting first will offer an edge – I would happily support either batting side first but at the same time, it feels the shrewd play would be the wait and support the bowlers in the second innings in case we get a pretty low score batting first. I wouldn’t go into this game expecting a high scoring game based on what we have watched; however the ICC would have asked for a good wicket for a Semi-Final in fairness. The England top order is going to be very important, but I would worry about the middle order and that is the area to support India in the market. I do expect a close game here, and we should see the market bounce around quite a lot.
