Match Analysis In Brief

KEY BETTING STATS

•  India has never lost against Afghanistan in ODI cricket – To Win the Match 
• The last 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup match to be played at Arun Jaitley Stadium saw three hundred scored – A Hundred to be Scored in the Match
• Afghanistan have put on under 21.5 runs for the first wicket in three of their last four official ODIs – Team – Opening Partnership Total

BETTING ANALYSIS For India

India took full advantage of home conditions to get the better of Australia in their first match of the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup. On a pitch highly susceptible to spin-bowling as we’ve seen so often in Chennai down the years, the experienced Indian spinners took full advantage with Ravindra Jadeja picking up three wickets. However, it may well be a different story at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, which played host to South Africa and Sri Lanka on Saturday, a game which saw 754 runs scored in total. On what could be another excellent batting surface, pace bowling will be key for India and specifically Jasprit Bumrah. Always a substantial wicket-taking threat, consider backing right-arm quick Bumrah to take over 1.5 wickets via the ‘Bowler Total Match Wickets’ market. Three of India’s top four were dismissed for 0 vs Australia but against a weaker opposition bowling attack this time round, we’re expecting opener Rohit Sharma in particular, to come back strongly in Delhi. Back the India captain to put on over 38.5 runs for the first wicket with his opening partner and bettors looking for a higher return should also explore a stake on Rohit to score 50+ runs via the ‘Batter Milestones’ market.

BETTING ANALYSIS For Afghanistan

Afghanistan travel to Delhi on the back of defeat by six wickets to Bangladesh in Dharamsala, but with no pressure on their shoulders as everybody expects India to comprehensively triumph here. This match therefore, can be viewed as a ‘free hit’ from an Afghanistan perspective but their players will no doubt believe that they can pull off what would be a famous ICC Cricket World Cup shock. If Afghanistan are to upset the form-book though, they’ll need their top order to perform well on what could be a very friendly pitch for batting. Opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz top scored against the Tigers with 47 and the wicket-keeper-batter looked more than capable on the biggest of stages. With that in mind, Gurbaz may be worth a small stake to record over 21.5 match runs. It’s hard to find much value among the Afghanistan bowlers from a betting point of view when taking into account the quality of India’s batting line-up, but the ‘Player Performance’ market appeals for those looking to invest in the all-round abilities of both Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan. Nabi in particular, is worth exploring via this avenue as he bats higher up the order than Rashid and backing the 38-year-old veteran to accumulate over 32.5 player performance points looks a smart play (points are accumulated through runs scored, wickets taken and successful catches).

CRICKET 8’S EXPERT PREDICTION

Although you could make a case for a number of India batters who are each capable of scoring a big individual total vs Afghanistan, one man stands out above the rest. Virat Kohli has already sent a message to his 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup opponents with an excellent 83 under pressure against a formidable Australian bowling attack. His quality speaks for itself in the ODI format, where he has now plundered over 13,000 runs. It’s hard not to see Kohli making another significant contribution with the bat in this one, regardless of whether India is setting or chasing a target.

TIP

VIRAT KOHLI TO SCORE A FIFTY IN THE MATCH

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