Cricket betting tips: India v England first Test preview and best bets

Cricket betting tips: India v England first Test

2pts Tom Hartley top England first innings bowler at 4/1 (Paddy Power, Betfair Sportsbook)

2pts Zak Crawley under 29.5 first innings runs at 10/11 (Sky Bet)

2pts Ollie Pope under 25.5 first innings runs at 5/6 (Paddy Power, Betfair Sportsbook)

England have named their starting XI for the first Test against India, which begins in Hyderabad in the early hours of Thursday morning (4:00am, UK time). It's no surprise the tourists expect spin to dominate from the outset.

There is no room for James Anderson and Ollie Robinson – two of England’s heroes from last winter’s series win in Pakistan – with Mark Wood the only seam bowler in the line-up. There is a debut for Tom Hartley, while fellow spinners Rehan Ahmed and Jack Leach also return. Joe Root might even open the bowling.

I wrote extensively in my series preview on Monday why I expect India to serve up spinning pitches throughout the series, and all the talk coming from Hyderabad, England’s selection, and the fact this ground has historically produced spin-friendly surfaces, would suggest this will indeed be the case this week.

It’s no surprise, then, that the hosts are best price 4/9 to win the first Test, with England available at 3/1 and the draw now as big as 10/1. England’s Bazball approach to their cricket in the last 18 months has meant the draw is rarely in play with Ben Stokes’ team, and the prospect of some challenging pitches for batting means we ought to see results in all five games.

Turning pitches expected for England

How Bazball stands up in these conditions against the likes of Ravi Ashwin and Ravi Jadeja remains to be seen, and Joe Root – who currently averages 51.12 in India and was England’s leading runscorcer on the 2021 tour – will have to shoulder much of the burden. With Harry Brook now back in England and Ben Stokes having only recently undergone knee surgery, Root really will need to deliver.

Root apart, I’d be worried about England making enough runs to be competitive, and two men under the microscope are ZAK CRAWLEY and OLLIE POPE.

Crawley comes into this series on the back of a productive 2023 which saw him average 43.28 in eight matches, but he encountered nothing like the conditions he can expect this week and it could be tough work for the Kent man who is at his best against quick bowling when the field is up and he is able to dominate.

That won’t be the case in Hyderabad when his technique will be forensically examined by Ashwin and Jadeja, and I’m just not sure he will be able to bat long enough on these pitches to make big runs. Expect him to use the sweep shot extensively, but it might not be enough.

I’m happy to short CRAWLEY's runs, with Sky Bet’s 10/11 for UNDER 29.5 FIRST INNINGS RUNS making plenty of appeal.

Crawley only averaged 16.75 in two Tests on these shores in 2021, and Pope didn’t fare much better, finishing that series with an average of 19.12 from four matches.

Pope has come again since, but Ashwin had him on toast in that series and Nathan Lyon has done so since. Like Crawley, runs at home since will count for little if, as expected, dry, turning pitches are the norm in the next few weeks.

I’ll also be shorting POPE's runs, with UNDER 25.5 FIRST INNINGS RUNS at 5/6 (Paddy Power and Betfair Sportsbook) not passed over.

Hartley taken to make flying start

It seems highly likely that England’s first innings bowler market will be won by a spinner, and I’m going to take on Leach with debutant TOM HARTLEY.

With only 20 First Class games under his belt, Hartley might seem like a left-field pick, but Australia were in the same boat when drafting in the similarly inexperienced Matthew Kuhnemann on their tour of India last year. Kuhnemann responded with a series of strong performances, knocking over Virat Kohli for his first Test wicket and taking 5-16 in his second Test.

Like Kuhnemann, Hartley is better known for his excellent control in limited-overs cricket, but England are wise to bet that left-arm spin can do the damage in India, particularly from someone who can drive the ball into these pitches in the same way Jadeja has been so successful for the opposition.

With 4/1 available, I’ll be backing the Lancashire twirler first up in conditions that will likely be the most bowler-friendly he has ever encountered. Just as Kuhnemann did a year ago, expect Hartley to keep things simple and let the pitch do the work.

India v England team news

Tom Hartley will make his Test debut as one of three spinners as England took a major selection gamble for their series opener against India in Hyderabad.

Hartley, the Lancashire left-armer, joins the established Jack Leach and teenage leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed in an attack that suggests the tourists expect lavish turn.

Mark Wood has been picked as the only seam bowler in the side, meaning England’s record wicket-taker James Anderson sits out.

With Wood operating best in short, rapid bursts, England are ready to embrace an entirely different rhythm of cricket. Joe Root’s off-breaks are also likely to feature heavily and Stokes has even suggested he could open the bowling with the part-timer.

Ben Foakes returns as wicketkeeper, with Jonny Bairstow reverting to a specialist batting role at number five.

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