Australia vs India
One down and three to go; India has won the first test on its tour of Australia and can smell blood.
The 2nd Test Australia vs India, is upon us, and as Virat Kohli takes his team to Perth I’m sure he can sense a wonderful opportunity to win on Australian soil for the first time. But as we saw in the series opener in Adelaide, the Green Baggies won’t go down without a fight, so it’s all bubbling up to be a classic.
So before we take a look at the SBOBET odds what do we have to go on? Current form from the first test tells us that while India undoubtedly has the better players, if Australia can operate as a team, and to their full potential, they are still in good time to turn the series around against the ICC top team.
Talking Points
Aussie batsmen must dig in
Darren Lehmann’s side is in a state of limbo, particularly in the batting line-up. While the Aussies await the return of Steve Smith and David Warner they must find a way of scoring big, or even substantial, runs at the top of the order. A lot of weight has fallen on to the broad shoulders of Aaron Finch, but after an encouraging test debut in the UAE the white ball specialist found it tough against India’s pace men. He made 0 and 11 and may be dropped down the order with Usman Khawaja the likely replacement as opener.
Lehmann’s bowlers did their job, dismissing India for 250 in the first innings but then the Aussies were skittled for 15 fewer.
In the fourth innings run-chase, skipper Tim Paine and Shaun Marsh showed some grit, scoring 40 and 61, but ultimately the task of getting the hosts over the line fell to the bowlers, as Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummings and Josh Hazelwood put on over 100 runs between them, but just fell short.
Pujara shows them how to do it
While India skipper Virat Kohli tops the ICC Test batting list this is never a one man team. Kohli is leading the best fast bowling attack in the world and has plenty of support in his batting line up. India’s 31 run victory in Adelaide owed much to the skill and determination of Cheteshwar Pujara. He has been in fine batting form and displayed his steely concentration with a ton against England in summer. And that came to the fore as he took India from 41-4 to their first innings 250 total with a masterful 123, following that up with a beautifully crafted 71 in the second innings.
Lehmann should be showing his batters videos of Pujara.
Pant catches a record
Jasprit Bumrah, Mo Shami and Ravi Ashwin claimed three second innings wickets each to bowl India to victory; but 21 year old wicket keeper Rishabh Pant was never far away from the Australia vs India highlights in Adelaide. In only his sixth test appearance, he took 11 catches, equalling a record set by England’s Jack Russell and South Africa’s AB de Villiers. He could have had 12 but dropped Nathan Lyon off Bumrah.
Pant is an exciting prospect, developing consistency behind the stumps, and is always ready to unleash an array of attacking shots when his chance comes with the bat.
History
The T20 series ended in a 1-1 draw and that can give the Aussies heart. And they showed they can compete over the five day game in Adelaide. Now they need to turn that competitive edge into wins.
Australia has had the best of the Test Match head-to-heads, but the margin has reduced to 41 wins to India’s 27, and they are now in danger of losing a series on home soil for the fist time in 12 Indian tours.
India won the last test series, back in 2017, by 2-1. But the win at Adelaide was the first test win in Australia since 2008, and their first ever in a series opener here. Can Kohli take his side on to finish the job?
Betting Tip
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Australia vs India | India 1×2 @ 2.10 |
| December 14-18, 10:20(GMT+8) |
A win in the second test will go a long way to reaching India’s goal and I think they have plenty of talent in the team to achieve just that.
It will be a fast and bouncy wicket in Perth which both teams have the pace attack to exploit. The question is: which batting line-up is better suited to face out the threat? We’ve answered that already, to an extent, so you have to say Ravi Shastri’s India has the edge again. The Australia vs India betting odds are on a knife-edge with the hosts at 2.10. But add to India’s attack the spinning genius of Ravi Ashwin, who took six wickets in the first test, and Australia will come under serious pressure again.
Having said all that; the Green Baggies never go down without a scrap so expect fireworks.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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 = €20 (Highly confident) |
= €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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