As the Australian Test summer fizzles out with a lacklustre series against West Indies, two of the powerhouses of world cricket have come to the rescue, with India and England kicking off their five match Test series on Thursday from Hyderabad.
We have you covered with a full preview and betting tips for the 1st Test below.
India vs England 1st Test Betting Tips
Hyderabad, Thursday 25th January, 3.00pm (AEDT)
India
India will be coming off a 1-1 tied series with South Africa back in December and will be keen to get back on home soil where conditions are much more in their favour. They lost the first Test in South Africa by an innings and 32 runs in what was an extremely disappointing effort, but bounced back in the second Test to win by seven wickets on the back of a dominant bowling performance.
The big news out of the India camp in the lead up to the series against England is that Virat Kohli will miss the first two Tests, citing personal reasons for the absence. Without Kohli, India will likely look to the lynchpin of the South Africa series, KL Rahul, to fill the role as top order batsman while Srikar Bharat takes the gloves for the series.
The rest of the side will largely look the same as it did in South Africa, as Mohammad Shami remains on the sidelines.
India 1st Test Predicted XI: Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Srikar Bharat, Ravi Jadeja, Ravi Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Avesh Khan, Mohammed Siraj
England
England will be embarking on their first Test campaign since the Ashes back in June/July of 2023, and the cricketing nation on the whole hasn’t had a lot to cheer on since then. They were deplorable in the ICC Cricket World Cup, being bounced out in the group stage before going down in T20 and ODI series against the West Indies in December.
The England squad looks largely the same as the one that suited up for the Ashes, with the notable exception of Harry Brook, who again pulled out citing personal reasons. Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett will resume their roles at the top of the line-up, while Ollie Pope’s spot at three now looks solidified with the absence of Brook. Joe Root will bat at four and Ben Stokes at six, but the remaining two spots in the top seven remain in contention.
Ben Foakes superior gloveman-ship to Johnny Bairstow may be needed on the spin friendly Indian pitches, but Bairstow could still find his way into the team as the designated batsman now Brook is out. On the bowling front, England will almost certainly go with dual spinners after picking four in their squad, while Mark Wood and James Anderson appear the first cabs off the rank in the seam department.
England 1st Test Predicted XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Foakes, Rehan Ahmed, Mark Wood, Jack Leach, James Anderson
Betting Tips
Almost impossible to bet against India on home soil leading into this series, even with the absence of King Kohli. It’s inarguably the hardest place in the world to win cricket games, as proven by the fact that the Indian Test team has lost just two of their last 26 games on home soil.
England handed them one of those losses in their last tour there back in 2021, but India won that four match series 3-1, winning the other three games by margins of 317 runs, 10 wickets and an innings +25 runs. Can’t do anything but back them to continue on their dominant ways, and I’m actually surprised that there is still a bit of meat left on the bone at $1.44 for them to win this first Test. The perfect anchor leg for your cricket multi.
