India begin their tour of England with a three match T20 series which gets underway on Tuesday and should act as the prelude for what is one of their biggest tours to the country in quite some time.
The two sides are among the best in the world in the 20 over format and with the countdown being on to the next World T20 added to the fact that India are here for almost three months this feels like a competitive T20 run.
Schedule
1st T20: Jul 3 at Manchester
2nd T20: Jul 6 at Cardiff
3rd T20 Jul 8 at Bristol
England
Eoin Morgan’s men warmed up for this series with a dominant win over Australia in a one-off match last week and having been playing limited overs cricket for a while they should be up to speed for this series despite the domestic T20 tournament about to get underway. England are profiting from a hot summer which is ensuring good, true wickets.
This will be a step up for England but you sense it is something that they have been waiting for since the winter when they were disappointing in this format. If they can come out on top in this series not only will it set them up nicely for what is to come but it will boost their confidence in a format where they do tend to blow hot and cold.
India
Sometimes sides can be accused of not taking these T20 series seriously although rarely can that accusation be levelled at India. This is the format they probably see as the most important with the financial aspect around it and it is probably the one they need to keep winning in, in order to satisfy their cricket loving nation.
They also need to go well in this format to highlight the success of the IPL and so it is no surprise that they have warmed up for the series with a couple of matches in Ireland which they dominated. They might not have gleaned much of a competitive edge from those games but they have shaken any rust of and acclimatised to conditions at least.
Head to Head
These two sides have met 11 times in the shortest format of the game and it is England who hold a narrow 6-5 lead in those games. In England they are even more dominant having won all three fixtures the two sides have played in the country so they will be confident of further success over the course of these three matches.
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Betting
I was going to take Jos Buttler to be the top England batsman in this series but I didn’t like the way Eoin Morgan was saying that England are going to mix around with their batting line up so I’ll leave that one alone now and focus on the second option for a bet on the series.
Morgan himself is the only left hander in the top order for England until Ben Stokes comes back for the third match if he is chosen to play in that game and I think that will mean Yuzvendra Chahal will be licking his lips. With very little rain in the UK in the last month I’m expecting three dry wickets which will turn at some point and if this explosive England batting line up does have a weakness it is against quality leg spin. With all that in mind I think the Indian leggie looks a decent bet to top the wicket charts for the visitors.
Tips
Back Y.Chahal Top India Series Bowler for a 2/10 stake at 4.00 with Bet365
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