Australian attentions are beginning to turn towards The Ashes but before they get there they have a five match ODI series and some T20s in India to play. The ODIs begin on Sunday and with five of them we should get a very competitive little series.
It is well known that these two sides are not the best of friends so that should only add to the strength of competition around the matches and should make the series a decent watch.
Schedule
1st ODI – Sept 17 at Chennai
2nd ODI – Sept 21 at Kolkata
3rd ODI – Sept 24 at Indore
4th ODI – Sept 28 at Bangalore
5th ODI – Oct 1 at Nagpur
India
This is the Indian’s best format although the way that they are playing in Test cricket I guess you could dispute that. They go into this series off the back of a thoroughly one-sided series against Sri Lanka in which I doubt they would have learned much. This has the makings of a much sterner test so they will need to be at their best.
As ever when India head into a series of this kind we know they are going to bat well so the difference between success and failure is going to be down to how they bowl. With the likes of Ravi Ashwin away in England they will be missing one of their first choice bowlers but he is away with an eye on the future.
Australia
It will be important for Australia to keep their minds on the job at hand here if they are going to have a chance in the series. They will need to bat well which in these conditions is not actually a given but if they do bat well they have generally bowled well enough in the 50 over sphere to get the job done.
Australia are generally a very good side in this format but in these conditions they can be much more hit and miss which would be a worry for their followers. You get the feeling with what is to come for them that a big start to the series is necessary. If they fall behind early they might not pluck up the momentum to get back into it.
Head to Head
These two have met in just eight bilateral series over the course of time. The majority of their battles have been in tournaments and tri-series and the likes. Australia have won five of those series with India winning three of them. Australia lead 4-3 in series wins in India.
When it comes to individual matches between the two Australia are a lot more dominant. They have won 72 ODIs to India’s 41 with 10 no results but that is the historical figures and not necessarily what is likely to happen now.
[the_ad_group id=”3624″]
Betting
I would expect India to win this series but they are missing one or two players and Australia have the individuals in their side that if they fire at the right time they could easily come out on top in one or two matches which might put a different slant on things.
Given that is the case I am heading to the player markets for a bet in this series. That comes in the form of Travis Head who is likely to open the batting in the absence of Aaron Finch. We all know the best time to bat in India is against the new ball so Head’s rise in the batting order will be very much to his advantage. If he can fire early on he might get the whole series at the top. That would bring his 13/2 price into real focus and make it look very big.
Tips
Back T.Head Top Australia Series Batsman for a 2/10 stake at 7.50 with Paddy Power
Back him here:
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2017
