History
These 2 cricketing giants have faced off in 20 T20 international matches over the years, with India winning 11 of those matches and Australia winning only 8, with 1 match being declared as a No Result. 9 of those 20 matches were played in Australia, and India has won 5 of them, with Australia winning 3, and 1 being declared as a No Result. Australia are currently the top-ranked team in T20 Internationals, while India is ranked 3. Following an impressive IPL campaign for many young Indian players, this could be a huge series to discover some long-term talents.
Team News
Australia are in sublime form of late, with their batsmen in great touch. They posted mammoth totals to win the first two ODIs with comfortable margins, and Steve Smith in particular, looks to be in the form of his life with back-to-back blistering centuries in the first two matches. David Warner however, has injured his groin and will miss all 3 T20 matches, in order to be fully fit for the ever important Border-Gavaskar test series in 2 weeks. Australia have selected the same squad for the T20 as well as ODI series, as mentioned below:
Aaron Finch (capt), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Daniel Sams, Andrew Tye, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade (wicket-keeper), David Warner, Adam Zampa.
The Indian bowlers took a heavy battering in the ODI series, conceding more than 760 runs in the first two matches. Bumrah in particular was very disappointing as he couldn’t trouble the Aussie batsmen at all. A few youngsters like Varun Chakravarthy, Deepak Chahar and Washington Sundar have been named in the T20 line-up by India, based on their solid performances in the IPL. Same goes for Sanju Samson and Manish Pandey, who would be looking to make a big impact in this series after a very successful IPL season. Listed below is India’s T20 squad, which has a few changes from the ODI squad:
Virat Kohli (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul (vice-captain and wicket-keeper), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Navdeep Saini, Deepak Chahar, Varun Chakravarthy, Natarajan.
Betting Preview, Picks And Prediction
To Win The Match
Australia are the clear favourites to win the first match of this T20 series with odds of 1.76 as per LeoVegas, which is not surprising at all as they dominated the away side in all 3 ODI matches of the series so far. India would be looking to bounce back and prove a point to the ranked 1 side in T20s. They are placed at 2.04 to win this match.
Top Team Batsman
Virat Kohli is still the favourite to be India’s top batsman in this match after consecutive hald centuries in his last two matches and he has odds of 3.50. Opener Shikhar Dhawan is the 2nd favourite at 4.25, based on his immense success in the recently concluded IPL, as well as his well-made 74 in the first ODI match, while KL Rahul also has odds of 4.25, after his brilliant innings in the second match, after winning the Orange Cap in the IPL.
In the absence of their mercurial opener David Warner, Steve Smith is now the favourite to be the top scorer as he smashed back-to-back centuries in the first two matches of the series. He has odds of 4.00. Captain Aaron Finch is also 4.00 to finish as the top scorer, after his century in the first match followed up by a half century in the second.
Highest Opening Partnership
Australia are the favourites to have the highest opening partnership in this match at 1.79. Despite missing Warner, Australia are still the favourites to win this bet as Steve Smith will most likely open with Finch, and both are in sublime form. India, meanwhile, may be looking at changing their combination, with Rahul a possibility to open with Dhawan.
Top Team Bowler
Mitchell Starc is the favourite to be the top bowler in the absence of Cummins, with odds of 3.75. He is followed by the prolific leggie Adam Zampa, who has odds of 4.00. Josh Hazelwood really troubled the Indian batsmen in the previous series, specially Kohli, and he is at 4.50 to be the top bowler.
Jasprit Bumrah is still India’s favourite to be the top bowler despite a very poor ODI series. He has odds of 3.50. He is followed by Chahal, who also had a poor series, and Deepak Chahar comes in at 4.90, which could be tempting as he might make the difference for India.
Total Runs In The Match
Odds of there being more than 335 runs in this match are 1.83, as per LeoVegas. This seems highly achievable as both these teams have some brilliant batsmen and are known for posting huge T20 totals. 335 effectively means 167.5 runs per innings, which is very easily gettable for both these teams..
Individual Player Betting
- Shikhar Dhawan to score more than 26.5 runs has odds of 1.83, which is a tempting bet as he would like to continue his IPL form. Steve Smith to score more than 32.5 runs also has odds of 1.83. This is also a relatively safe bet as he scored brilliant back-to-back centuries in the first two matches and is looking ready to attack the T20 series now.
- Australia to hit the most sixes has odds of 1.95, which is understandable as they have several players who prefer the aerial route more often than not. Players such as Finch, Smith, Stoinis and Maxwell all are capable of the big hits. India to hit the most sixes has odds of 2.25, which is understandable as they don’t have as many big hitters as the home side, with only Pandya, Dhawan and occasionally Jadeja aiming for the big hits in general.
- Bumrah to take 2 or more wickets has odds of 2.32, which is very attractive as he can snap up key wickets in the beginning as well as towards the end of the innings. Starc to take 2 or more wickets also has odds of 2.23, which is attractive as he can also bowl in the powerplay as well as death overs.
Our Top Betting Picks
- Australia to win the match @1.76
- Australia to hit the most sixes @1.95
- Australia to have the Highest Opening Partnership @1.79
- Chahar to be India’s top bowler @4.90.
