India v England Cricket Odds : Draw looking the value in second test as Cook looking for spin
England tamely rolled over in the first-Test against India last week, as the cricket moves to Mumbai for the second test as we bring you the latest England v India cricket odds, released by Ladbrokes.
India beat England by nine wickets in Ahmedabad, but in truth it should have been far worse than that for the tourists.
Alastair Cook’s 176 in the second innings, following India’s mammoth first innings total of 521, put England in a position, at least, to have a second bowl at the Indians, but they eased to the 80 required to grab a much deserved victory.
The hosts bowled with more precision than the tourists, used their strengths to counter their weaknesses and never gave England a chance to put any pressure on their shoulders throughout the five days.
Will there be a different story one week-on? Well, the markets are far from ruling out England to get a result, but the draw seems more likely than an outright win.
India v England Odds : Ladbrokes Free Bets Offer
Ladbrokes will kindly offer free bets worth £50/€50 to spend on the second test, and have top batsman, top bowler, man of match and plenty more markets available! Pick up your exclusive Ladbrokes free bet here!
India, rather surprisingly considering the ease in which they tore through England’s batting order in spin-filled conditions, can be backed at near odds-against take a 2-0 lead in the series. Ladbrokes have dangled the carrot of Evens for an Indian success and that has seen plenty of action.
India haven’t lost a home Test series since Australia won in 2004/05, and a big reason for this is that they are far more adept at winning matches on pitches that hardly give anything away to the fast bowlers.
Wickets are taken, mostly, by spin bowling and added to England’s severe lack of experience of playing Test cricket in India, the second Test in Mumbai, which will be played under similar conditions to Ahmedabad, should be India’s to lose once again.
But there is a feeling amongst pundits and fans alike, that England have the capabilities in their batting line up to sustain the India attack with a little bit more care.
A better batting performance in the first Test would have ensured a drawn result, and if England can cut out their errors, they are more than capable of batting for long periods, as shown by Cook and Matt Prior in their second innings.
With that in mind, the 13/8 on the match ending a draw looks to be the play to consider the most when planning a betting angle on the match.
Team selection has been a hot topic of discussion from all corners of the England following, with injuries taking their toll. However, the change of tactic to play two spinners in Mumbai rather than just rely on Graeme Swann amongst other part-time spinners, such as Kevin Pieterson and Sami Patel, looks a distinct possibility for this clash.
The continuing omission of Monty Panesar has long been discussed by the media, but it seems that the fans favourite could be about to get the nod on a bowling track that he has the capabilities to excel on.
India’s left arm spinner Pragyan Ojha, whose style is very similar to Panesar, took nine wickets in Ahmedabad and showed that than angle of delivery can cause problems for batsmen in these conditions.
Of his 11 wickets he has taken against India away from home in his career, all of them have come against top-order batsman, which shows he can threaten the best batsmen in the world.
If he plays, he has the ability to throw a challenge down to Swann in the top England bowler market. The Northamptonshire spinner is as short as 7/5 with Bet365 to end up top bowler, but this has paved the way for Panesar to attract odds as big as 5/2 with Ladbrokes for the top-dog bowler
