Mark your calendar – October 24, 2021. Team India will kick off its 2021 T20 World Cup campaign against eternal rivals Pakistan. As always, this is going to be a battle of emotions and pride, but can the Indian team go all the way and bring home the trophy? The answer is not conclusive. Let’s try to analyze and break down the situation so that you can find some good online cricket betting tips.
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Team India Analysis
For starters, this is going to be Virat Kohli’s final tournament as Indian captain in the T20 format. This development has come much earlier than expected and has little to do with “workload issues”, as Kohli said in his official announcement. The fact is that Kohli’s competitive nature has ticked off many teammates, who openly revolted against the captain and forced his aforementioned resignation.
That being said, Team India still boasts some of the biggest talents in all departments – especially batting (this will be the main focus of this preview). How will everything come together? Will the players put aside their differences for one last time? How can coach Ravi Shastri manage so many egos (if at all)? Let’s take a closer look at the team and what it has to offer in the 2021 T20 World Cup.
Related: T20 World Cup 2021 Betting Guide
The Kohli Factor
Besides the aforementioned friction and captaincy issues, Virat Kohli has been a shade of himself in the last couple of years. With 70 international first-class centuries under his belt, many believed that he would be tickling Sachin Tendulkar’s “Ton of Tons” record in 2021. But Kohli hasn’t registered a century since early 2019 and has failed to impress in IPL 2021 as well. King Kohli’s form is a big question mark.
Betting Tip: Live Casino India is officially NOT recommending Virat Kohli for “Top Batsman” bets in the 2021 T20 World Cup.
Volatile Batting Line Up
We don’t need to elaborate on Rohit Sharma’s batting prowess. He has amassed 2864 runs in the international T20 format, including 26 knocks of over 50 runs with 133 sixes in total. But there is another key stat you need to keep in mind – he is almost 35 years old and coming off a tiring IPL 2021 season. How will Sharma perform if India goes deep into the tournament? Fatigue will be a factor for sure.
The same applies to Suryakumar Yadav, who is coming off a very lackluster IPL 2021 campaign and is also considered by many to be past his prime. Shreyas Iyer is approaching his peak years, but keep in mind that he is coming off a nasty shoulder injury that has kept him out for over a year of international cricket. KL Rahul is going to have to deliver consistently for India to have a chance to make the finals.
Betting Tip: Team India has an impressive top order, but Ravi Shastri has to rotate his aging stars to keep them fresh for the latter stages of the tournament.
Hardik Pandya used to be one of India’s best all-rounders. However, he hasn’t been bowling often due to a nagging injury. This lowers his value significantly, as he is not really a reliable batting option. Hardik finished his IPL 2021 campaign without scoring a 50 and his strike rate dipped to the 110 mark, a career-low. What about Rishabh Pant? He hasn’t really lived up to the hype over the last few months as well.
The silver lining is obviously Ravindra Jadeja, probably the best all-rounder in the game today. He has already spearheaded Chennai Super Kings to an impressive redemption season after last season’s mishap. And has also impressed in India’s last tour of England. We expect nothing different from this juggernaut at the 2021 T20 World Cup. But will this be enough to get the desired results?
Betting Tip: Besides Jadeja, Team India has a highly unpredictable middle-order batting lineup. We don’t recommend betting on Team India during run chases.
Bowling is Team India’s Achilles Heel
Bumrah has been a safe bet for years now and this won’t change in the 2021 T20 World Cup. With another 20-wicket IPL campaign, Bumrah’s 4 overs are going to be the most feared by India’s rivals. But there are no real “killer-bowlers” after that. Mohammed Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar haven’t been most economical of late. Nor has anybody filled Yuzvendra Chahal’s place as an impact-spinner.
Betting Tip: Keep an eye on the pitches. Besides Bumrah, Team India doesn’t really have any impact-bowlers, seamers or spinners, to offer.
The bottom line is that Team India can go all the way. But will the age factor and chemistry issues go away as the tournament progresses? We’ll have the answers pretty soon. Live Casino India recommends watching the group stage games before putting your hard-earned money on Kohli, Sharma, and company. Bet responsibly.