2019 Cricket World Cup Betting: India vs South Africa

Two-time world champion India makes an overdue entrance into a World Cup that has already produced its share of drama and upsets. They may be grateful for the extended rest but Virat Kohli’s men now have to get some points on the board, starting in Wednesday’s game against a struggling South Africa.

Faf Du Plessis’ men have lost their Sportsbook two matches and succumbed quite meekly to a Bangladesh team that started Sunday’s fixture as the outside bet.

Can the South Africans recover or will India, second favorites for the World Cup, get off to a winning start?

Match Odds

India is the obvious favorite to take the points but anyone backing Kohli’s men will find little value in the result betting. India’s odds currently stand at -227 while South Africa comes back as the outside bet at +175.

Based on those Sportsbook results, perhaps it’s no surprise to see Faf’s men out at a relatively distant price. Will this tie go with form or will we see another shock?

Key Battles

The interesting aspect of South Africa’s two games lies with their batsmen. A number have found good early form but no one has gone on to produce a big three-figure score. Quinton De Kock and Rassie Van Der Dussen both made half centuries on the Sportsbook day against England while skipper Du Plessis also passed the 50 mark as his side briefly threatened to chase down Bangladesh’s total.

It would, therefore, be wrong to suggest that the batting unit is completely out of touch but the key wicket for India is Quinton De Kock. After top scoring with 68 against England, the left-hander looked comfortable in the Bangladesh game before being run out in a mix-up with Aiden Markram.

If QDK can get off to a fast start, he can take the game away from any side so India will need to target his wicket and maybe try some spin first up.

Over in the Indian camp, much will depend on Virat Kohli, who is a clear favorite to top score at +187. He’s the No. 1-ranked ODI batsman in World Cricket but opposition teams can make the mistake of putting too much focus on one man.

The top three of Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan are arguably the best in the game but at least one of those players will need a big score against the South Africans.

Verdict

A battle of the batters will decide this tie: We all knew that South Africa might struggle to match the tempo of the modern game but we expected them to have some points on the board at this stage. Expect De Kock, Du Plessis and others to respond but it may not be enough to overcome India.

Kohli and company possess such a powerful batting unit and we expect the 1983 and 2011 world champions to start their 2019 campaign with a comfortable win.