India v Australia preview and best bets

Cricket betting tips: India v Australia

2pts Steve Smith top Australia batsman at 7/2 (William Hill)

1pt KL Rahul top India batsman at 7/1 (General)

It will be interesting to see what type of surface Chennai serves up when India and Australia get their respective World Cup campaigns under way in their clash on Sunday, 9.30am UK time.

These two sides have seen plenty of each other of late, having contested an entertaining, high-scoring series which India won 2-1 only last month, but those matches were played on some excellent pitches for batting and Chennai, which is renowned for spin, could offer a different challenge.

The conundrum for punters is that we aren’t at the end of an IPL season here, and therefore, we ought to have a new strip which has had plenty of work on it before such a big game. Even in Chennai, it could be dangerous to expect Australia to face trial of spin.

At this stage, we just don’t know, though Australia will be hoping this World Cup isn’t dominated by spin, given they left Ashton Agar out of their final squad in favour of an extra batsman.

Whatever surface is served up on Sunday, I think STEVE SMITH covers most bases in the top Australia batsman market and is worth a bet at 7/2.

Should Chennai spin and India load up in that department, there is no better man for the job in the Australian camp, and it’s worth noting Smith averages 41.23 in this format in India.

Smith warmed up for the World Cup with scores of 41 and 74 against this same opposition, and then added a half-century against the Netherlands to confirm he is batting well.

He looks rock-solid and the 7/2 available with William Hill is fair enough.

With Shubman Gill likely to miss this match with sickness, the top India batsman market opens up and KL RAHUL looks a bet at 7/1.

There’s more risk to Rahul, given he's likely to bat at number five, but Australia will be at full strength with the ball, from which their pace bowlers are the main threat, meaning the Indian top order might not have things their own way.

I’ve long been a huge fan of Rahul who seems to dominate the IPL every year, making hay on Indian pitches that clearly suit his game well, and his average at home in this format is 51.00.

And Rahul has played more ODI cricket against Australia than anyone else, making five fifties from 14 matches at 48.00.

He clearly likes this opposition and two of those fifties came in the recent series victory over Australia, meaning, like Smith, there is plenty to like about Rahul on recent form.

At 7/1, I’ll take my chances.

• Cricket World Cup: Outright preview
• Cricket World Cup specials preview
• Cricket World Cup: Team-by-team guide
• Paul Krishnamurty's cricket betting masterclass
• Cricket World Cup: Under the radar players
• Cricket Only Bettor World Cup podcast Part I
• Cricket Only Bettor World Cup podcast Part II

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