Cricket Betting Tips: Even money India underrated for second ODI

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Thursday 16 July, 13:00
TV: Sky Sports

England v India second ODI team news

England's poor run in ODI continued with disappointing performance against India in game one at Edgbaston. Sacking Brendon McCullum as Test coach only may, in the next few months, transpire to be a halfway house.

There is nothing wrong with the ability, it is the application of it. once again England's batters were gung-ho, failing to recognise the need to earn the right to play the expansive way. That is unlikely to change under McCullum. There is no fear of failure with England. Often in pro sport that is a good thing. But as we saw with 'Bazball' it becomes an excuse.

Hence there may not be any changes to the XI. There was nothing wrong with the balance of the team. Jacob Bethell is the latest to try as opener. An argument could be made for an extra batter in the form of Tom Banton or Jordan Cox but that would mean losing one of two all-rounders, Liam Dawson or Will Jacks.

Possible XI: Duckett, Bethell, Root, Brook, Buttler, Jacks, S Curran, Dawson, Archer, Rashid, Tongue

India will expect Shubman Gill, the skip, to be available after he retired hurt due to cramp in the first match. It says a lot about the balance of power in that contest that this was the only moment where England had a chink of hope. If Gill is not fit, Ishan Kishan would most likely come in.

They did spring a surprise in selection otherwise. There was no spot for Kuldeep Yadav, the master spinner. He may have enjoyed playing against England.

Instead Washington Sundar and Axar Patel combined in the spin roles, with the latter picking up four wickets. If they want to find room for Kuldeep, and it would be wise, Shivam Dube could sit out, At some stage they may swap out one pacer for another for a rest so Arshdeep Singh stands by.

Possible XI: Gill, Rohit, Kohli, Shreyas, Rahul, Sundar, Axar, Dube, Brar, Prasidh, Bumrah

England v India second ODI pitch report

There have been just two ODI in Cardiff in the last five years; one in 2023 and one last year. England were beaten by New Zealand in the first when they failed to defend 291. The Kiwis got up for the loss of just two wickets and more than four overs to spare. Last summer West Indies' 308 was chased by England in the 49th with three wickets left.

It is fair to expect a decent batting wicket which holds true. As stated previously, 'outgrounds' like Cardiff cannot afford to have poorly contested matches which are over in quick time. So we suspect durable, flat wickets are the order of the day.

But expecting runs and getting some are two different things. Look at England in Edgbaston. That was an excellent batting track, exposed by Dawson hitting 68 and then india trotting up. The both teams to score market is of interest but the gamble is whether England can actually produce. The Betfair Sportsbook offers 13/102.30 that both hit 300. We can take England out of the equation by going long of India runs batting first at around 315-320.5 on the Betfair Exchange par line.

Often the inclement Cardiff weather plays spoilsport but the forecast is excellent. No cloud is even expected at the time of writing.

England v India second ODI match prediction

There is an extremely reliable strategy to follow for England in this format. They have to be taken on if batting first. They have lost 13 of their last 17 when defending a target, suggesting there is an absence of nous when it comes to their strategy in the field, too.

On the Betfair Exchange we don't expect a huge shift in India's price south if they were to get first use. But even if they went down to 1.9110/11 from 2.01/1 they would still be a bet.

The in-play strategy, if that's your bag, is to take on England at the break. India could be substantially bigger if the home batters manage a performance. We have no qualms about India, the best chasing side in the world, getting after a big total.

For a straight pre-toss wager there is no evidence whatsoever that this is a choice affair. India are the better team. England have lost seven of their last 10.

England v India second ODI player bets

Joe Root delivered early in the series on his impressive win rate on top bat, taking him to 36.8% in the last two years. Ben Duckett may be cosnidered the next cab off the rank at more than 17%. Sportsbook's 9/25.50 is wrong by a few clicks. The focus, though, may best be on India's elites. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are going to deliver at some stage. They are fine for top-bat bets but we do like to take others out of the equation on decent tracks, identifying nmilestone prices. Kohli is 6/52.20 and Rohit 7/42.75.

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