- England v India
- Vitality IT20 series, second match (of three)
- Saturday July 9, 2022, 2.30pm
- Edgbaston
Hardik Pandya not far off beat England on his own in last night’s opening T20 at the Ageas Bowl, underpinning his side’s 198-8 with a middle order 51 off 33 balls followed by four wickets having come on first change in the defence.
England, bowled out for 148, were poor. Off colour with the ball, Chris Jordan aside (2-23), they were equally so with the bat. No one topped Moeen Ali’s 36. The best way to describe their performance is loose.
But I do expect them to sharpen up as they bid to keep alive a three-match series which has rolled into the Midlands and will be over in a flash given match number three is at Trent Bridge on Sunday.
England remain favourites with the majority of firms, but not all of them.
Ladbrokes have priced them at 1/1 to win this game. That is a price I’m happy to take.
Sky’s the Limit for Buttler and Yadav
A Jos Buttler golden duck. What’s going on?!
In the kind of form Buttler’s in at the moment, it would be a surprise to see him fail twice in quick succession. And I also think Suryakumar Yadav - Sky to his mates - oozes quality. He showed that class with 39 off 19 balls in last night’s victory.
I like the 2/1 Betfair have, via their #OddsOnThat selection, for Yadav and Buttler to hit three boundaries apiece at Edgbaston.
With Buttler opening the batting and Yadav batting at four, they should get plenty of opportunity.
Series Win Far From Beyond England
I would also be willing to take up the 12/5 bet365 are offering on Buttler’s side to recover and win the series from here.
My view is that, while India are a good side with quality players - Virat Kohli is due to return for the remainder of the series, England are better and just suffered one of those off games in Southampton which are easy to come by in T20 cricket.
Look at Birmingham Bears against Hampshire in last night’s quarter-final as another example. They were outstanding in the group stages of the Vitality Blast and came a cropper under the weight of a below par night. It can happen.
Betway combination, with England win at heart of it, has appeal
Edgbaston has been full of runs this summer, especially in T20s.
Even though I think they are using the same pitch as last night’s Blast game - that’s what was said on the Birmingham v Hampshire live stream - I suspect we will see more runs again.
Betway have priced up an England win, over 28.5 match boundaries and over 11.5 sixes at 9/2.
That looks a good shout to me.
* Odds correct at the time of writing. Subject to changes.