What a series it’s been so far, and we are not even halfway done! India and England will square off in the third Test from Rajkot kicking off Thursday from 3.00pm. As always, we have you covered with a full preview and betting tips for the clash below.
India vs England 3rd Test Betting Tips
Rajkot, February 15th - 19th, 3.00pm (AEDT)
The 2nd Test from Visakhapatnam was controlled by India from start to finish, as Jasprit Bumrah claimed man of the match honours with match figured of 9/91. Young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal set up the match with a brilliant double century in the 1st innings while Shubman Gill added a century of his own in the 2nd to help India to a 106 run win. The series is now all square at 1-1 as we head to Rajkot on Thursday.
India
Changes will be plenty for India in the 3rd Test as they battle both injury and unavailability to key players in their squad. KL Rahul has been withdrawn from the squad as he battles a knee injury, with Devdutt Padikkal getting the call up in his place.
India will be waiting on bated breath for news on the fitness of Ravi Jadeja, who missed the 2nd Test with a hamstring injury and is currently listed as a game time decision. With the series tied at 1-1, I think Jadeja will be back in the side here as it is almost a must win game to take a commanding lead in the series.
India Predicted XI: Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Devdutt Padikkal, Ravi Jadeja, Srikar Bharat, Ravi Ashwin, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Mahommad Siraj
England
England’s side should be a little more settled for the 3rd Test, as they wait only on the fitness of all-rounder Rehan Ahmed in the lead up. The other selection decisions will come around the make-up of the bowling attack. Jimmy Anderson was fantastic in the 2nd Test, but will this Rajkot pitch suit him as much as the pitch in Visakhapatnam did?
England have already named a 12-man squad for the team, which is the 11 that played the 2nd Test as well as Mark Wood. The conditions and the health of Ahmed will likely dictate which of the two mentioned will capture that final spot.
England Predicted XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Foakes, Tom Hartley, Mark Wood, Jimmy Anderson Shoaib Bashir
Betting Tips
Really like the value of England to win this Test. The number of issues the Indian squad are battling at the moment seems to rise by the day and I think it could reach a breaking point here, especially if Ravi Jadeja can’t prove his fitness.
The England squad will only get better at taming the Indian conditions throughout this series and even in Visakhapatnam, they were extremely competitive throughout the game before falling marginally short. At $3.75 I think they are the play here. BazBall is always good for a few dominant sessions throughout the course of a Test match, so I think backing them at this high price has great cashout potential.
