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World Test Championship Final – India Vs New Zealand Betting Preview

Edgbaston Cricket Ground

The inaugural World Test Championship Final is finally upon us, and India take on table-toppers New Zealand in this highly anticipated match. The match will be held on 18th June 2021 at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton, England. Let’s take a look at this test match from a betting perspective, with odds exclusively provided by LeoVegas.

Our Top Betting Picks

  • India to win this match @2.50
  • Virat Kohli to be India’s top scorer in first innings @3.60
  • Southee to be New Zealand’s top bowler in the first innings @3.00 

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 FAQ’s  

Q1. Why should I bet on India to win this match @2.50? 

Ans – India are riding high on confidence after beating Australia in their own backyard with a famous 2-1 series victory. The fact that they did it with plenty of injuries and without captain Virat Kohli makes it even more impressive. They then followed it with another brilliant win over England to qualify for this WTC final. The team is in excellent form, and with all major players returning from injuries, especially fast bowlers, India are favourites to win this match.

Q2. Why should I bet on Southee to be New Zealand’s top bowler in the first innings @3.00?

 Ans –  Tim Southee is the most experienced bowler in the Kiwi ranks currently, and also the most in-form seamer they have. He absolutely rattled the England batsmen in the recent series between the two countries, and has taken to the English conditions like a duck to water. He would definitely be a handful for the Indian top order.

History

Since 1955, India and New Zealand have played 59 Tests against each other. India has won 21, New Zealand has won 12, and the remaining 26 matches have been drawn. As per recent form, in the past seven Test matches between India and New Zealand, both teams won three and drew one each. However, the Black Caps have won the past two matches in that time frame.

The Ageas Bowl will host its first Test match between India and New Zealand. India has lost both of their previous two games at the venue, both against England, whereas this will be New Zealand's maiden Test there.

Since the beginning of October 2018, India has won seven of their past nine men's Test series (W7 D1), with their only loss coming against New Zealand in early 2020. (2-0). New Zealand is unbeaten in their past eight men's Test matches (W7, D1); their previous longest unbeaten streak was nine matches from June 2002 to December 2003, and they can match that record if they avoid defeat in this test match.  

Team News And Form 

Both these teams have been in impeccable form of late, and this match promises to be a blockbuster. Let’s take a look at how they qualified for the WTC final.

New Zealand’s journey to the final

Sri Lanka v New Zealand – Series drawn 1-1

Australia v New Zealand – New Zealand lost 0-3

New Zealand v India – New Zealand won 2-0

New Zealand v West Indies – New Zealand won 2-0

New Zealand v Pakistan – New Zealand won 2-0

Kane Williamson’s men played five series in the World Test Championship and got off to a poor in their away tours to Sri Lanka and Australia. However, the Kiwis bounced back at home with successive wins over India, the West Indies and Pakistan, which led them to the top of the standings. 

Squad - Kane Williamson (C), Tom Blundell, Trent Boult, Devon Conway, Colin de Grandhomme, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls, Ajaz Patel, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner BJ Watling and Will Young.

Team India has delivered impressive results back-to-back with historic series wins against heavyweights Australia and England both. They are the ranked 1 Test team in the world now, while New Zealand are the table toppers of the World Test Championship.

India’s journey to the final

West Indies v India – India won 2-0

India v South Africa – India won 3-0

India v Bangladesh – India won 2-0

New Zealand v India – India lost 0-2

Australia v India – India won 2-1

India v England – India won 3-1

Squad - Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Chesteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Hanuma Vihari, Umesh Yadav, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Wriddhiman Saha.

Betting Preview, Picks And Prediction

To Win The Match

Considering their current form and momentum, India are slight favourites to win this important clash at odds of 2.50. Odds of New Zealand to win this one are 2.62, while odds of a draw are 3.25.

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Top Team Batsman In The First Innings

 Virat Kohli is back in form and is straightaway the favourite to be the top scorer for India in the first innings at 3.60. He is followed by the consistent wall Pujara at 4.50. After that come the openers Rohit (5.0) and Gill (5.00)

 Captain Kane Williamson is expectedly the clear favourite to be England’s top batsman at 3.60. He is followed by the Devon Conway at 4.33 and the experienced Ross Taylor at 6.00.

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Highest Opening Partnership In The First Innings

With Indian likely to include Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill as their openers, they are the favourites at 1.81 to have the highest opening partnership in the first innings. New Zealand have had their fair share of inconsistency related issues with their opening pairing, and hence are 2.35 to have the highest opening partnership.

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Top Team Bowler


Tim Southee and Trent Boult both are brilliant swingers of the ball and will cause the Indian batsmen a lot of trouble in this series. They are both equal favourites at 3.00 to be NZ’s top bowler.  

Similarly, for India, both their experienced pacemen Shami and Bumrah are joint favourites at 3.60 to be India’s top bowler in the first innings. Ravi Ashwin comes in at 4.00.

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Individual Player Betting

  • Kohli to score more than 72.5 runs over both innings has odds of 1.73, which is a tempting bet as he would like continue with his consistency. Williamson to score more than 42.5 runs in the first innings has odds of 1.73 too, which is again a very tempting bet as he would like to establish control over the match early on. 
  • Southee to take 6 or more wickets over two innings has odds of 2.95, which is very attractive as he averages more than that in Test cricket and is New Zealand’s most in-form bowler on English soil. Shami to take 5 or more wickets has odds of 1.93, which is attractive as well as he is the most senior bowler in the team now.

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Our Top Betting Picks

  • India to win this match @2.50
  • Virat Kohli to be India’s top scorer in first innings @3.60
  • Southee to be New Zealand’s top bowler in the first innings @3.00

  Place bet on LeoVegas


#Rishabh Pant, #Prithvi Shaw, #Shubman Gill, #Washington Sundar, #cricket live streaming, #cricket betting, #Test cricket, #Virat Kohli

Akshay Malhotra

28 year old former professional cricketer at youth levels with a burning passion for sports. Experienced football writer with over 8 years of experience.