England v India First Test: 3 Bets to Take

India’s Tour of England begins tomorrow with the first of the five-Test matches scheduled to be played at Trent Bridge in Nottingham. Both sides have had Test experience in England coming into this series, although both were beaten by New Zealand, with the tourists losing to the Black Caps in the World Test Championship final while England suffered a 1-0 defeat in the two-match series just prior to the final.

We’ve created three bets to take as both teams will look to get off to a winning start.

India

The last time India won a Test series on English soil came way back in 2007 when the Rahul Dravid-led side registered a 1-0 win in the three-match series. India won’t have a better chance of repeating that feat than this one. Joe Root’s side has failed to win six of their last eight Tests at this venue against subcontinent teams (W2, D3, L3). They will also be without many of their key players including Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, and Chris Woakes, so I am backing India to take this one.

However, with the forecasts not looking too good, particularly on Thursday and Friday, there is the prospect of some time being lost, meaning a draw could be on the cards.

No Hundred Scored in the First Innings

All eyes will be on England’s batsmen who struggled against New Zealand (only one 300+ score in four innings) during a 1-0 series loss. India’s batting lineup also struggled against New Zealand with none of their batsmen registering a half-century or more in both innings of the one-off Test. Both teams have some key players who have not been playing well recently therefore I don’t see a century being scored in the first innings.

Ishant Sharma

In the SENA nations (South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia), Ishant Sharma has 122 Test wickets with a best of 9/162. He has taken 5 five-wicket hauls in such matches. Notably, Ishant has the second-most wickets for India in these countries after Kumble (141). With England rumoured to be preparing seamer-friendly pitches for this series, I see an experienced and talented Indian attack taking full advantage of the conditions and the fragile English batting lineup.