Cricket in-play betting tips: India v England first Test latest odds and advice
Richard Mann has already bagged two winners in his first Test preview – but he's keeping the powder dry ahead of day four in Hyderabad.
Day four betting update
No recommended bets
Ollie Pope's coming-of-age century, surely among the finest overseas hundreds by an England player, is a good sign for England's prospects of getting something from their series in India - but they'll need more from him if they're to salvage the first Test.
Pope will resume on 148 having batted beautifully, scoring at a good rate, but the close probably came at a good time for India and they'll fancy starting again on day five. England may need to more than double their lead of 126 runs to feel like they can pull this off and at 9/2 they look about the right price, a comment which applies everywhere you look.
A deteriorating pitch will give England hope, even if they can put on another 50 or so runs, but they look short on quality spin and that may prove their undoing.
It's unclear just how bad Jack Leach's injury is but England will want to start off with Joe Root against Yashasvi Jaiswal regardless. Failure to do that in the first innings cost them and could ultimately prove the difference in a Test match which is far closer than it appeared set to be, yet nevertheless looks like it'll go India's way.
If Pope can go on to complete a double-century then India will be at least forced to answer a difficult question. That must be the aim for England but with no top bowler markets on offer, and the match market seemingly an accurate reflection of the state of play, there are no bets to be struck at this stage.
Day three betting update
0.5pt Mark Wood top England second innings batsman at 100/1 (Paddy Power, Betfair Sportsbook)
0.5pt Tom Hartley top England second innings batsman at 100/1 (Paddy Power, Betfair Sportsbook)
India flexed their muscles on day two of the second Test, recovering from 288-5 to close on 421-7 as their impressive batting depth came to the fore.
England toiled hard and in the main, caught well, but India know the value of big first innings runs in these conditions and now 175 ahead, they are around 1/33 to win the match. England are 22/1.
Don’t be surprised if the Test finishes on Saturday, with England facing a monumental task staring down such a sizeable deficit against the likes of Ravi Ashwin and Ravi Jadeja on a turning pitch.
Expect that pair to bowl India to victory, and England’s second innings could end quickly if this dry pitch begins to further deteriorate as many predicted it would beforehand. Those playing innings runs might want to look at backing the extremes here.
In the expectation that conditions will become much tougher as the day wears on, I really do think England’s second innings will be such a struggle that 20 of 30 might well win the top batsman market.
Joe Root and Ben Stokes, top scorer with 70 in the first innings, are patently the best-equipped of England’s batsmen to cope with such demands, but the market reflects that, and I'll be interested to see how the latter holds up after his first long day in the field following knee surgery.
All things considered, I'm happier to take a couple of swings at big prices.
I’ve been an advocate of MARK WOOD’s improved batting in the last 18 months or so, and in addition to a couple of crucial knocks at Headingley in last summer’s Ashes, Wood has often shown himself to be a natural timer of the ball and more than just a slogger.
At the recent Cricket World Cup in India, Wood blasted an unbeaten 43 against South Africa to top score for England, and he does have a half-century in Test cricket to his name already.
At 100/1, I’m happy to chance that he delivers a another quickfire cameo when India are smelling victory and offering up a few free boundaries with overly attacking fields in the hope of a quick kill.
At the same price, I’ll also throw a few quid at debutant TOM HARTLEY whose introduction to Test cricket with the ball has been chastening, but who made a punchy 23 from 24 balls with the bat in the first innings.
We shouldn’t be surprised. Hartley is a handy batsman who has been batting at number eight for Lancashire in the County Championship where his average is nudging 30. He has a top score of 73* for the Red Rose.
This is an altogether tougher challenge, but he acquitted himself really well in the first innings when it took a beauty from Jadeja to end his promising stay. Something similar from Hartley might not be far off winning this market second time around.
Preview published at 1210 GMT on 26/01/24
Day two betting update
1pt under 350 first innings India runs at 11/4 (Sky Bet)
They say there is no greater challenge for an international team than playing Test cricket in India, and England were given some harsh lessons on an absorbing opening day of the first Test in Hyderabad.
Having won the toss and elected to bat, England’s final score of 246 was probably 100 short of where they would like to have been, though in the end, they were once again indebted to captain Ben Stokes whose smart 70 helped them recover from 155-7.
There was plenty in the pitch, particularly for the spinners, but Stokes and to a lesser degree Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root, demonstrated there were runs to be made if good enough.
Things looked even easier for batting when it was India’s turn, and Yashasvi Jaiswal took a particular liking to Tom Hartley who was tasked with opening the bowling on debut and saw his first ball hit for six.
Jaiswal had raced to 76 not out from only 70 balls by the close of play, but he is an ultra-aggressive player who has dominated bowling attacks in the IPL over the last few years. If ever anyone was going to score quickly, it was Jaiswal and opening partner Rohit Sharma, and I’m not sure batting will looks quite as easy on day two.
With Rohit gone, dismissed by Jack Leach, the scoring did slow, and the usually fluent Shubman Gill had to work hard for his 14 not out (43 balls). And as well as Jaiswal batted, he enjoyed some good fortune, Rohit too, as England burned three reviews in 14 overs.
Jaiswal and Gill will need to start again in the morning when India resume on 119-1, and as England’s innings demonstrated, that is the hardest time to bat on a pitch like this. England need early wickets but there were some encouraging signs from Leach (9-2-24-1) and Hartley, who bowled some very good balls in among some poor stuff.
Jaiswal is clearly the key because Leach and Hartley would much prefer bowling to India’s right-hand-heavy middle order, but if they can prize him out early, don’t bank on India going big. There is certainly enough happening and enough assistance from the pitch to keep England’s bowlers in the game.
One of the oldest adages about cricket in the subcontinent is that things can happen very quickly, and that has consistently been the case with this England team under Ben Stokes. 400 is still a long way away, so too is 350 against an India batting line-up missing Virat Kohli and having recently axed Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane.
There could certainly be an opening for England if they start well in the morning, so I’m happy to chance UNDER 350 INDIA FIRST INNINGS RUNS at 11/4 with Sky Bet.
Preview published at 1305 GMT on 25/01/24
Related links
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.
MOST READ
Next Off
Fixtures & Results
