England v India Second T20 Player Tips: The curious case of Kohli

England v India
Saturday 9th July, 14:30
TV: live on Sky Sports

Keep faith with England pair

Jos Buttler returned a golden duck in his first game as permanent England captain. It's not how he imagined it would go - likewise for those who backed him for top bat.

it's tempting to ignore him for runs in game two in a hissy fit at his failure. But a wrong price is a wrong price and he has been boosted to 12/5 with Sportsbook to lead the way for England. It's not wrong by much, though 0.6% is good enough for a player of his quality.

Dawid Malan, an old favourite, was cut from 13/2 to 5/1 before the first game. He now goes off at 7/2. That is a very bitter pill to swallow. Still, he is worthy of our support because of the huge gulf between price and his win rate. With Buttler's margin so narrow we probably have to make one selection here.

Malan is 13/2 for top match bat. With seven wins in 37 it also provides a chunk in our favour. It could be worth dutching him with our pick for most India runs. Back the Sportsbook markets here

Top bat wins/matches
Roy 6/27
Malan 9/32
Buttler 7/23
Bairstow 4/33
Moeen 5/25
Livingstone 2/16
Vince 2/9
Banton 2/14
Jordan 1/37
Billings 0/11
Rashid 0/36

Top bowler wins/matches
Jordan 5 4t/35
Rashid 5 8t/33
Mahmood 1 t/11
Moeen 1 1t/23
Mills t/7
T=ties

Kohli is value

Here's a curious thing: just because we have a strong belief that a player is value to perform in the second T20, doesn't necessarily mean we think he should be in the team. Eh?

We're talking Virat Kohli. Kohli shouldn't be anywhere near India's first-choice XI in this format. particularly at No 3. He proved in the recent IPL that his style of steady accumulation rather than outright aggression is outdated.

Maybe India know that, too. They didn't miss him against South Africa, Ireland and in game one against England. Deepak Hooda has seized his chance.

But whether Hooda retains his slot is down to the hold Kohli has on the selectors. He will expect to return, and we should bet him to do score big.

Although he is too slow and too cautious, Kohli's style is perfect for a top-bat wager. It's why he has such an impressive win rate. Fewer risks means steady accumulation. Sportsbook have boosted him to 10/3 for honours, giving us an edge of 10.3% on win rate.

Kohli has 20 wins in 97 matches in the top match bat market. That's a 4/1 chance. Sportsbook offer double that at 8/1.

Back the Sportsbook markets here

Top India bat wins/matches
KL 3/14
Dhawan 2/7
Kohli 5 t/15
Shreyas 4/19
Sky 4/17
Jadeja 1/9
Rohit 4/18
Pant t/20
Ishan 2/18
Gaikwad 1/9
Karthik 1/8
Hooda 2/6

Top bowler wins/matches
Chahal 6t/19
Kumar 2 6t/24
Harshal 3 4/15
T=ties