Over the past fortnight, New Zealand has been taught a solid lesson in how to play ODI cricket by India.
While cricket fans were hoping for a tight series between the top two sides in ODI cricket, what they actually got was a cricketing clinic by India who thoroughly displaced New Zealand from the top spot in the game, white washing them 3-0. Now, attention turns to a quickfire T20 series before the Kiwis head home where they’ll be hoping to salvage some pride with a few wins over the men in blue.
Bookmaker William Hill has all the best odds ahead of the India vs. New Zealand first T20 on Friday evening.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: January 26th, 10:00 P.M. (GMT)
Looking at these odds, it’s clear that India are the favourite to win here and for good reason. Since dropping the opening two games of their ODI series against Bangladesh in early December, the nation has won eight of their past nine white ball matches. Not only that, but they’ve been winning in emphatic fashion—scoring an average of 381 runs the last five times they’ve batted first in an ODI.
With both New Zealand and India fronting similar sides in the first T20 as the ones that just played out the ODI series, it’s hard to see this first T20 going any other way than an India win. The Kiwis are still without key players Kane Williamson and Tim Southee, and with Finn Allen out of form, it feels like a bridge too far for an upset to be pulled off here. Back India at 1.40 for the win here.
Outside of the outright winner odds, another great betting market is who will be the top run scorer for each team. A great wager here is to back Shubman Gill to continue his strong form in white ball cricket. The 23-year-old has racked up impressive scores of 116, 208, 40* and 112 across his past four innings, fast becoming a key part of India’s batting lineup. However, his place in the side is far from secured with Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Prithvi Shaw all knocking on the door for a place at the top of India’s batting lineup as well.
Expect the young batsman to make the most of his rich vein of form and continue scoring big here with odds for him to do so still nice and lucrative at 4.50.
