THE EDGE: Our cricket tipster The Edge previews Thursday’s 1st ODI between India v South Africa with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
MATCH OVERVIEW:
As we tick down to the T20 World Cup on BETDAQ Betting Exchange, the cricket calendar throws out an ODI series! I’m sure we’re going to have plenty of debate on the International calendar being too packed with this series, and I would question what these sides gain from playing three ODI’s so close to the World Cup. Most other sides around the world have been preparing for the T20 World Cup for a while now – we saw a seven T20 series between Pakistan and England recently, while most sides have been playing practice matches whether they have been official or non-official.
The reality is these two sides had to play their ODI Super League games at some stage, and with South Africa touring this was the best time. It’s still not ideal though, and South Africa won’t want to lose their rhythm after landing the T20 series. Their batters looked in superb touch, and although conditions obviously were very good for batting they took full advantage. If South Africa are to have a chance in the World Cup, they need Quinton de Kock, Rilee Rossouw and David Miller to fire and they have been absolutely superb this season. Although Rossouw took the headlines in the deciding T20 game on Tuesday, don’t forget Miller hit 19 runs off just 5 balls and he looks full of confidence again after a poor time in the Hundred in England.
India come into this series needing a better performance from their bowlers. They are going to be without their star bowler Jasprit Bumrah for the World Cup, and they need to try and plug that gap. They will definitely struggle with the ball, but the question is can they fire with the bat to make up for it?
WEATHER AND PITCH WATCH:
We continue to move around India which is fantastic after Covid19 for the last two years. We start the ODI series in Lucknow, and to be honest it is hard to know what kind of score to expect here. I’m assuming both sides will want to almost stay in T20 mode so soon before the World Cup so I wouldn’t be surprised if they were both a little more attacking. We had a T20 here this year and India posted 199/2 against Sri Lanka – I know Sri Lanka won the Asia Cup recently but at the time Sri Lanka looked poor. We have to go back to 2019 for the last ODI here, and I’m not sure what those scores are worth given the big gap. It also didn’t involve India as they hosted Afghanistan v West Indies because Afghanistan obviously can’t play at home. I would keep an open mind on conditions, but I would lean towards runs.
RECOMMENDED BET:
It paid to take the value on South Africa on Tuesday, and I feel that they are worth a small bet again here at the odds, even though they are now favourites. 1.85 is too big to turn down given their batters look in superb touch, and you’d also have to say that they have marginally the better bowling attack too. I know India’s home conditions level the playing field in that department, but I would expect another even game here as the T20 series was – a moment or two of brilliance from either side will decide the game, and I’m happy with a small position on South Africa at the odds. Obviously both sides have opted to rest players for this series, but South Africa have left de Kock and Miller in the squad and all of their key bowlers so it’s now clear they have the better squad.
The Edge Says:
One point win South Africa to beat India at 1.85 with Betdaq Exchange.
View the market here -> https://betdaq.biz/IndSA1
IN-RUNNING STRATEGY:
Sometimes the best trade is no trade. It’s hard to know what type of conditions we’ll see here, and I wouldn’t go into this game with a set idea on either the bat or ball winning the argument. We have had some very high scoring games recently between these two, and as I said above I wouldn’t be surprised to see these ODI’s played in a very attacking manner – neither side will want to go backwards with intent given the World Cup is so close. In that sense it might pay to support the batting side as the market moves – this Indian bowling line-up looks to be struggling at the moment, and the best trade might be supporting South Africa when batting.
