This Thursday, one of the most exciting events in cricket will begin – an Australian Tour of India 2023. Over the past 70 years, this contest has produced some of the best cricket games in history, and this tour is shaping up to be no different. Australia and India are ranked No.1 and No.2 in Test cricket and will be playing four Test matches to determine who wins the Border-Gavaskar Trophy before getting stuck into three ODIs as well ahead of the ODI World Cup 2023.
For Australia, they will be chasing a generation-defining series win in India. It hasn’t been done in almost two decades, and only a handful of times in history – but this is a strong Australian side who have a real chance at making history. For India, they’ll be eager to defend an impressive home record ahead of the Cricket World Cup later this year. We look at all the best cricket betting to make on this series in this betting preview.
| Tournament: | Australia tour of India 2023, Four Tests and Three ODIs |
| Venue: | Stadiums across India |
| Date: | Thursday, 9 February to Wednesday, 22 March 2023 |
Having a long 4-match Test series overall, it’s hard to predict the odds or winner of the second Test; nothing to say about the 3rd or 4th Test. So, here’s a look at the first Test odds for those who want to bet on cricket online ahead of this Test series kicking off on Thursday:
There’s a reason that scoring a Test win in India is seen as a career-defining achievement – and it’s because India are so heavily favored in their home conditions. This first Test is no different, with India the significant favorite to be the winner of this match at 1.80 (4/5). At 3.60 (13/5), Australia is a fairly long bet for those who want to bet on IND vs AUS, but not as unlikely as a draw in the eyes of the bookies, which sits at 4.50 (7/2).
25+ sportsSuperb bonusesEasy to useVIP programLive gamesMany bonusesMany bonuses24/7 supportMobile appsLive bettingMany sportsFast payoutsGreat supportMobile appsLive bettingAs two of the giants in world cricket, Australia and India have produced some of the best Test matches of all time. Since first playing each other in 1947/48, the two nations have contested 27 Test series.
Traditionally, the home side dominates. In fact, across the past 70 years, Australia have only won four series in India – and three of those were over 50 years ago. Winning a Test series in India truly is the Holy Grail of cricket, making this a mouth-watering clash between the No.1 and No.2 Test-playing nations in the world. While India dominated the latest Test series between the two sides in 2020-21, the nations have clashed more recently in other formats of the game.
Here are the five most recent meetings between India and Australia in cricket:
Will India’s recent dominance over Australia in white-ball cricket carry over to the first Test match of this series, or can the Aussies turn a new leaf and get a win? Here’s a look at how each side has been tracking in Tests recently.
The Men in Blue are yet to play a Test this year but are currently sitting at No.2 in the ICC rankings. They have won four of their last five matches, clean sweeping Bangladesh 2-0 after narrowly hanging on to win the final Test by three wickets. Prior to this, they lost a one-off Test against England by seven wickets, before which they dominated Sri Lanka 2-0 in early 2022.
Australia have drawn their only Test this year, a rain-affected match against South Africa. Prior to that, they were on a hot winning streak in late 2022, winning their last four matches of the year. These were all played at home and were all comprehensive victories over the West Indies 2-0 and South Africa 2-0.
For those who are eager to get some cricket bets in on the first Test between India and Australia, here are the expert picks we’d suggest making at India bookmakers ahead of the first ball:
One of our top IND vs AUS 1st Test betting tips is that this match will end in a draw. The bookies believe it is the least likely of the three options and have given it big odds of 4.50 (7/2). Of course, looking at the results of a couple of matches and predicting the third Test looks easier, but at least a high-odds tip for the opening game is worth considering.
However, the reality is that in each of the past four India vs Australia series, there has been at least one drawn Test. The likelihood of it being the first Test is high, given that both sides will feel each other out and collect information on player matchups. While India are traditionally excellent at bowling teams out on their home pitches with spinners on days four and five, the Nagpur pitch is expected to be batter-friendly.
Add to this the fact that both teams have been scoring runs by the truckload this summer – with players such as Pujara and Labuschagne in great form – and there’s a strong chance this will be a run-fest that ends in a draw.
Speaking of Cheteshwar Pujara, we say the top-order batsman will be India’s top run scorer in the first innings.
There’s no denying the fact that Pujara is a world-class Test batsman with 19 centuries and 34 half-centuries. But he also likes to score big – of his 19 centuries, seven have been above 150, and three have been double tons. We say that Pujara will go big again in this first Test – he’s in good nick currently, having scored a century and two half-centuries in his past five Tests. While he may not score at the fastest pace, there’s a good chance he’ll look to bat long and have the other batsmen play around him.
Each time Nathan Lyon has toured India, he’s gotten better. When he first toured in 2012-13, he picked up 15 wickets in three Tests at an economy of 4.40. Last time, in 2016-17, the spinner collected 19 scalps at the miserly rate of 2.88. Of course, new bookmakers in Australia didn’t see the tendency and still offered healthy odds for Nathan’s leading role while attacking Indian wickets.
In this series, he’s a seasoned veteran and the second-highest non-Asian wicket-taker in Asia, with a total of 118 wickets to his name. With India’s pitches getting more and more spin-friendly as time passes, and Australia most likely wanting to bat first if they win the toss, Lyon could take plenty of wickets if Australia are bowling on the third or fourth day at India. Plus, he’s been in the form of his life this summer, taking 22 wickets across his last five Tests in Australia.
This Thursday, cricket fans around the world will be treated to a spectacle of the game as India and Australia go head to head for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Our 2023 Test India vs Australia predictions say that this first match will be a draw, but watch out for our predicted star performers in this Test, Pujara and Lyon.
Also, keep an eye out for our cricket predictions for the 2nd Test and 3rd Test betting tips, which will come shortly, as well as our 4th Test preview (if the interest in them is enough). For those who are fans of the shorter format, there will be plenty of opportunities to bet on the 1st ODI also, with our 2nd ODI betting and 3rd ODI predictions coming up in March.
