Cricket Betting: West Indies vs India Test Series
India kick-start their long Caribbean tour with the first Test Match at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua starting from Thursday, July 21st. On paper the visitors look like massive favourites but the side has had a lot of recent troubles on overseas tours and the West Indies will be confident on home soil.
The hosts have a lot of problems starting with their unsettled opening combination and ending with the unexpected dropping of Denesh Ramdin. The West Indies decided to avoid controversy by opting for Shane Dowrich behind the stumps but that shouldn’t mask their deficiencies elsewhere including their under-performing captain Jason Holder.
Kraigg Brathwaite has been the lone success story for the West Indies in recent matches of the longer format game. The newly anointed vice-captain will have his confidence boosted even further and will be ready to unleash on the visitors. Darren Bravo and Marlon Samuels provide experience to the middle order and Holder will look forward to utilizing the multitude of all-rounders at his disposal.
India will start a new chapter of their own under the guidance of Anil Kumble and all eyes will be on how the team will utilise his expert advice. Virat Kohli relishes leading the side and should be the main stay with the bat while Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteswar Pujara will have a lot to say with their ability to build long innings.
Indian bowling will no doubt revolve around their main spinner Ravichandran Ashwin who could have Ravindra Jadeja and Amit Mishra for company. The slow pitches should suit the trio but they do still have a solid pace attack led by Ishant Sharma who has been one of the most consistent performers for India with the ball in the past year.
All signs point towards an Indian win but they have traditionally been poor in their overseas contests. However, having a player of Kohli’s standards leading the team should help them overcome this issue. There isn’t much value on India winning the series while punting on West Indies to come through is a risky proposition. Murali Vijay has been very consistent for India and should fancy his chances of ending up as top Indian batsman at odds of $2.50 with Ladbrokes.
Bravo holds the key for the hosts and odds of $2.55 with Ladbrokes, it is a decent punt to bet on him being their top scorer. Ashwin at odds of $2.63 with Ladbrokes is a good bet to end up as India’s best bowler while watch out for Devendra Bishoo for West Indies at odds of $3.00 with Ladbrokes to end up as their best bowler.
It’s a new beginning for both sides – India looking to get a positive start under Kumble-the-coach while West Indies looking to get back into reckoning in the longer format. It surely will be a close and entertaining series!
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