It’s been a long wait, but the Australian cricket team is back in action as the summer of cricket is now upon us. King Kohli and his Indian side come to Australia in what is set to be a gripping summer of cricket.
It all begins with the first ODI in Sydney on Friday, and the two sides have played thrilling series in ODI cricket across the last two years. India defeated Australia 2-1 in Australia at the beginning of 2019, then just two months later Australia came from 2-0 down to upset India 3-2 in India. In January this year India won 2-1 at home. We have a full preview and tips below!
Australia vs India: 1st ODI Betting Tips
1st ODI, Friday 27th November, SCG, 2:40pm AEDT
Australian Squad: Aaron Finch (c), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins (vc), Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Daniel Sams, AJ Tye, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa
Indian Squad: Virat Kohli (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Mayank Agarwal, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur.
Australia
Coming into the series, Australia does possess an advantage in having played competitive cricket in recent times. Australia defeated England 2-1 in a tight series back in September. India hasn’t played any cricket since the pandemic struck, with their last match a Test New Zealand way back in March. Their last ODI series was earlier on that tour, with New Zealand defeating the Indians 3-0. Given the limited preparation India will have, the Aussies will come into the 1st ODI much more confident than the tourists.
The key to the series will be the battle of the two best batsmen in the world, Steve Smith and Virat Kohli. Whoever performs better out of the two superstars, will go a long way to helping their team win. Whilst India’s bowling attack is vastly improved, Australia will hold the stronger attack in these conditions with Starc, Cummins, Hazlewood and Zampa. The Zampa vs Kohli battle looms large, with Zampa having dismissed Kohli seven times in white ball cricket.
When the big occasion comes, Steve Smith rises, and his record against India proves that. In ODI’s against India, Smith has scored 907 runs at an average of 60.47, with 3 centuries and 5 half centuries. In his last three ODI innings against India Smith has scores of 69, 98 and 131. Not only does Smith perform well against the Indians, he performs well at the SCG. Smith has scored 640 runs at an average of 53.33, Smith’s highest ODI score of 164 came at the SCG. Smith told the media on Tuesday that he’s “Found his hands”, which is a scary prospect for the Indians. After a quietish summer by his own lofty standards last year, expect a big summer from Smith. At $4, Smith provides nice value as Australia’s top run scorer.
Smith Top AUS Run-Scorer
$4.00
India
India face a massive challenge coming into the series with limited preparation. The Indians haven’t played an international white ball fixture since February, with the majority of their players most recent cricket being played in the IPL, which was held in the UAE. The adjustment to not only the change in formats, but conditions is going to be tough for the Indian team given there are no tour matches given Covid restrictions. The Indians would be stoked that the series is being played in Sydney and Canberra, on two of the slowest pitches in the country.
India’s batsmen will be able to put up some big scores with a line up jam packed full of stars, led by Virat Kohli. The biggest question surrounding India this series is whether they can contain Australia’s batsmen. Outside of Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav, there are plenty of concerns with the Indian bowlers. Mohammed Shami and Ravindra Jadeja have struggled in Australian conditions, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ishant Sharma are out for the majority of the tour through injury. India’s lack of bowling depth could get seriously exposed.
With the concerns about India’s bowling, it makes it easy to see who will be taking the wickets. There will be plenty of pressure on star bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav to deliver. With the series being played at the SCG and Manuka Oval, this should suit Kuldeep Yadav extremely well. Yadav has performed well against Australia in ODI cricket, taking 22 wickets in 15 games. The only side he has more wickets against, is the West Indies (24). With an SCG pitch that traditionally suits spin bowling against an Australian side that has continuously struggled against spin bowling in white ball cricket, expect Yadav to take plenty of wickets. At $4.50, he’s an excellent choice to be India’s leading wicket taker.
Yadav Top IND Wicket-Taker
$4.50
Prediction
Australia comes into the match in favourable conditions, and with a lot more continuity in their preparation, it’s going to be tough for the Indians in the early part of the summer. With the likes of Kohli, Dhawan, Rahul, Pandeya and Jadeja, there will be no issues with scoring runs, but with the lack of bowling depth it’s hard to see the Indians being able to restrict a batting lineup featuring Finch, Waner, Smith, Labuschagne and Maxwell.
Australia has been a very good one day outfit since the beginning of 2019 and with the depth in the side at the moment, at home, they won’t have too many troubles getting past an Indian side that hasn’t played since March. India will get better as the tour goes on, but don’t expect them to be at their best in the early stages of the summer. The battle of Smith vs Kohli is going to be box office, but the Aussies are going to be too good in the first match of the summer.
