Cricket betting tips: India v South Africa
2pts South Africa to beat India at 6/4 (General)
1pt Suryakumar Yadav top India batsman at 10/1 (General)
In a potential dress rehearsal for the final, India and South Africa will meet in a mouthwatering clash at the Cricket World Cup on Sunday, 8.30am, UK time.
Eden Gardens will host a duel between the two best teams in the tournament so far, India yet to break sweat in going unbeaten in seven, South Africa mightily impressive bar one slip-up when losing to the Netherlands.
On what we’ve seen so far, India look bombproof. Their batting has skill, power and depth, and is especially ruthless in a run chase. The three frontline seamers have been outstanding, and there is guile and variety from the spinners. It’s hard to knock the heavy tournament favourites.
Big guns clash in potential final
The unique pressure of the knockout stages will ask different questions of them, and the same can be said of South Africa who are well placed, along with India, to claim one of the top two finishing positions from the group stage. That would mean an India/South Africa final remains a strong possibility.
Sunday provides an opportunity for both teams to lay down a marker, but in isolation, remains a big a match and occasion, one which both sides will be desperate to win.
For all their obvious strengths, India are awfully short (4/7 best) to win the match, with the general 6/4 available about South Africa, or 2.62 currently available on Betfair, looking too big.
While India are rock-solid, South Africa’s batting in particular has genuine X-Factor, and if batting first, it’s hard to know where their ceiling lays. Already, they have posted scores of scores of 428-5, 311-7, 399-7 and 357-4, and if anyone can push India out of their comfort zone, it could be the Proteas.
When Anrich Nortje was ruled out tournament before it began, it appeared that South Africa’s bowling would come up short, but Kagiso Rabada has returned to his best in emphatic fashion, and no bowler has taken more wickets in the first powerplay than Marco Jansen.
South Africa attack can hurt India
Jansen's battle with Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill up front should make for fascinating viewing, given his ability to swing the new ball back into the right handers, something both Indian openers have struggled with in the past.
Another match-up that could potentially play into South Africa’s hands is Keshav Maharaj up against India’s middle order that is packed with right handers. Maharaj has enjoyed a fine tournament so far, and the left arm orthodox spinner will fancy he will be able to exert a level of control in the middle overs that isn’t quite as easy when having a left hander or two in opposition posing different questions.
That’s not to say India don’t boast some exceptional players of spin – they clearly do. Virat Kohli and Rohit have already passed 400 runs in the tournament each, and KL Rahul has impressed in the middle order.
But South Africa will believe they have the right match-ups with the ball to hurt India, and this game might well be decided by how Proteas’ own batting is able to cope with the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami.
South Africa’s strength is their batting, and their approach has been to keep wickets in hand and allow the likes of Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller to finish strongly in the final 15 overs of their innings. If the top order can keep Bumrah and co quiet, they have the middle order to put India under real pressure.
I’ve long thought that South Africa are the one team in this tournament with tools to take India down, and I can’t resist playing at the current prices.
In the side markets, I’ll leave the aforementioned Jansen alone after three wickets wasn’t enough to bring home the money against New Zealand earlier in the week. He should go well again, but he has feasted on left handers throughout the tournament and doesn’t get many to go at here.
Sky is the limit for Yadav
Instead, I’ll finish by advising a small bet on SURYAKUMAR YADAV in top India batsman market at 10/1.
Despite confirming himself as one of the best T20 batsmen in the world, Yadav has come in for plenty of criticism for not yet scaling the same heights in ODIs. Yadav averages 46.02 in T20Is and has a strike-rate of 172.70, while his ODI average is only 27.03, with a strike-rate of 105.64.
Nevertheless, India have been keen to stick with a player who is clearly a special talent, and his 49 against England was a terrific innings that should have done his confidence plenty of good. In fact, Yadav was the only player on either side to strike at over 100 in that match, scoring fluently off pace and spin alike on a surface that was a real challenge for batting.
I’m not getting too hung up on those ODI career numbers. His exploits at last year’s T20 World Cup in Australia and consistently at the IPL show that Yadav is a high-class operator, and I fully expect him to crack this format if given enough rope.
With my belief that South Africa’s bowling could enjoy some early success, the Indian middle order could be in the game relatively early here. As such, 10/1 quotes about Yadav are worth taking to small stakes.
Preview published at 1400 GMT on 03/11/23
Related links
- Click here for Sky Bet's World Cup odds
- Paul Krishnamurty's cricket betting masterclass
- Latest cricket Only Bettor podcast
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