After a belter of a Test series, India conclude their tour of Australia with a three match ODI series which gets underway on Saturday, with both sides looking to not only win the series but continue their preparation for the World Cup.
Australia will be smarting from losing the Test series, especially given how comfortable India won it, and will be out for a bit of revenge here, while India would love to head to New Zealand with another pot in the bank.
Schedule
1st ODI – Jan 12 at Sydney
2nd ODI – Jan 15 at Adelaide
3rd ODI – Jan 18 at Melbourne
Australia
Australia are usually one of the contenders heading into any World Cup but if they are to go to England with that status they are going to have to start to convince in this format of the game, because it has been a while since they have looked good. We are now approaching two years since they last won a bilateral ODI series and that is simply too long for a team with their credentials.
The reason for their struggles over the last 18 months or so has been because of their batting. They are no longer delivering the 300 scores with the regularity that is required these days and it doesn’t matter what options you have with the ball, if you are not posting in excess of 300 you leave yourself vulnerable, so that is the challenge ahead of them in these three matches.
India
On the other end of the scale, India have only lost one of their last 11 bilateral ODI series and in that time they have also come out on top in the Asia Cup so they are very comfortable in this format of the game and will fancy their chances of coming out with the spoils in this series, even in conditions which traditionally don’t suit them.
The reason for India’s dominance has been their batting. They regular post huge totals which take the pressure off their bowling attack but with the options that they have with the ball there is no real struggle in that department anyway. Winning momentum is a big thing in these short series as they can attack the opening match with more confidence which is huge.
Head to Head
Amazingly these two nations have only played nine bilateral ODI series against each other in the past with Australia holding a narrow 5-4 lead overall. That advantage is surprising because they have only played one series in Australia, which the home side won 4-1 three years ago. Australia might have history on their side but the form of these two nations heading into the series would suggest that India are clear favourites to come out on top.
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Betting
I’ll go with one bet in the series which is for Virat Kohli to be the leading batsman for India over the course of the three matches. He is one of the best limited overs batsmen in the world, if not the best, and with KL Rahul out of the picture initially you would think the only dangers to him are Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan.
Sharma has been trekking to India and back in recent times while Dhawan hasn’t had a hit on this tour for a while and could be a little fragile from a form point of view so there are clear reasons to oppose both men. Kohli didn’t have a brilliant Test series but he still made a ton and a 50. He also made an unbeaten 60 in the final T20 of the series before the Tests so at 2/1 he’s the man for me here.
Tips
Back V.Kohli Top India Series Batsman for a 3/10 stake at 3.00 with Bet365
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