The series between Australia and India is turning into something of a cracker and the third leg of it begins late on Wednesday night in the UK when the two sides meet in the Pink Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground with the series delicately poised.
India won the Boxing Day Test match to level the series at 1-1 with two games to play so both teams go into this third Test knowing that whoever wins it will be guaranteed at least a share of the series, ahead of the final game wherever that may be held.
Australia
It has been an up and down series for Australia and after the euphoria of winning the opening match under the lights in Adelaide, they now have to bounce back from the disappointment of losing the second Test equally as convincingly in Melbourne. Usually Australia head to Sydney knowing that it is the final Test of the summer but due to Covid-19 shifting everything around that is not the case this time around. There is a chance that this venue will stage the final two Tests to add to the competitiveness of this one.
Australia won’t need to do too much soul searching after the Melbourne loss. They just haven’t put up enough runs in the series to date. Four innings into the series and they haven’t gone past 200 yet so they really need to focus on finding a way to put some runs on the board. In three of their four bowling innings they have done the job nicely but there was an air of India coming to grips with their attack in the second Test in Melbourne, something the Australians will need to combat here.
India
After a slow start to the series India were very much up against it. It looked like they could collapse to a tame series loss when you consider that their captain Virat Kohli headed home and they were looking like a bit of a soft touch. That could not have been further from the truth though and they responded strongly in the second Test. Maybe most importantly it was the stand in captain who did much of the damage. That will have sent a marker out to the Australians.
The big thing from here on in if India are going to push on and win the series is that their bowlers must stay on top of the Australian batting. They will come up against different personnel in this match but the pressure is on the home side. The visiting attack can keep that pressure on and if they can do that then they could well come out on top. Sydney is probably the ground which best suits India of all those in Australia which could be significant.
Special Offer
Opt in and place 5 accumulators either in a Boylesports shop or online and get an acca free! Click the image below to bet. ALL CUSTOMERS! 18+ T&Cs apply. Gamble Aware.
Team News
Australia haven’t confirmed their team at the time of writing but the noise is getting louder that David Warner and the concussion kid Will Pucovski will open the batting. The thought is that Travis Head will drop out and we know Joe Burns has been dropped. Matthew Wade will slot into the middle order.
India have not named their side either but the five men who got into a bit of grief for breaking the protocol rules last week don’t appear to have been ruled out. That means Rohit Sharma could come into the side if selected although India could easily be unchanged.
Betting
I’ll take a couple of bets for this match with India the pick to win the game. Whenever India are on these shores I always think the Sydney Cricket Ground is the one which suits them best with its likelihood to take turn and not have quite as much pace and bounce in the wicket. That not only brings the Indian spinners into play, which is pretty significant because so many Australian batsmen struggle to play spin, but it also makes their batsmen feel more comfortable. India have drawn their last two matches on this ground but two years ago they needed 10 wickets on the final day which was rained off so they could easily have won that match. Australia in the main have a decent record here having only lost once since 2003 but they have only drawn three of their last six. Their batsmen are not convincing at all in this series and with the confidence of the win in Melbourne behind them I think a small bet on India makes sense here.
The other bet I like is for Ravi Ashwin to cover a performance line of 110.5. He missed the last match India played here a couple of years ago he scored 171 points against a better Australian batting team than the one he goes up against here. That could well be significant as is the fact that he has picked up five wickets in both Test matches in this series so far. He has totalled 125 points and 114 points on wickets which won’t suit him like this one will. It isn’t just with the ball that Ashwin is in the game. He’s a perfectly adequate batsman and can churn out bonus points with that. If he scores 11 runs we need five more wickets from him but I fancy him for more than that so I like the over here.
Tips
Back India to beat Australia for a 2/10 stake at 4.20 with Betfred
Back R.Ashwin’s Performance – Over 110.5pts for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Betfair
Back him here:
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2021
