India vs Pakistan Match Prediction & Betting Tips
Do games get bigger than this? We are excited to bring you our India vs Pakistan betting tips as the tension builds ahead of the first ball.
To give you a flavour of just how big this match is, the previous game between these two in the Asia Cup in September saw more than 225 million people tune in to watch the event. That beats viewership figures of 167 million for the 2021 World Cup showing.
Tickets were sold out for this event within half an hour of them going on sale, and it is anticipated that this contest is going to draw in even more viewers than those astonishing figures of September. The action starts at 1.30 pm IST on Sunday 23rd October at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne.
Ahead of compiling your cricket betting online strategy, be sure to check out our comprehensive preview below.
India vs Pakistan Betting Tips - India To Win
The spoils were shared between the two at the recent Asia Cup, but our India vs Pakistan betting tips are revolving around a win for India this time around.
They may have been rocked by recent injuries - the loss of Jasprit Bumrah will be painful for skipper Rohit Sharma - but they are ranked first in the World Twenty20 rankings for a reason and they have a team littered with match winners.
Virat Kohli is finding his form again after a lean period in the international scene, while Hardik Pandya goes from strength to strength - is there a better all-rounder in the world at the moment?
That’s not to say Pakistan won’t pose a serious threat. In terms of opening partnerships, you don’t get much better than Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam - ranked one and two in the World Twenty20 rankings. In the recent series against England, they hit an unbeaten magical partnership of 203 - it was the fifth partnership of more than 150 runs between the two, which is more than any other pair in international Twenty20 cricket.
However, India have much more strength in depth in the batting stakes - and from a bowling perspective, they have a better range of possibilities than Pakistan.
You can back India to win at odds of 1.51, while the team in green is available at a price of 2.5.
If you fancy a bigger price, check out our best bet below! We’ve done some digging to find what we think is the best value pick! Check out our cricket predictions below to find out more.
Best Bet: Any Player To Score 100
Instead of singling out any player, we’re zeroing on an appealingly-priced market in the context of this fixture - available at odds of 9.2.
The best batsmen in world cricket are on display, but it’s also important to recognise the recent woes of bowlers from both teams - with particular concern around the death bowling unit from India.
Indeed, in India’s previous two games against South Africa, they conceded two centuries (Rilee Rossouw - 100 not out) and David Miller (106 not out).
We encourage a tentative bet on a century to be scored in the game in a game we anticipate to be dominated by the batting teams.
If you’re looking for a player-specific bet, take a look at Rohit Sharma to top score for his side. The new skipper has a solid record batting in Australia - in nine innings down under in this format, he’s hit 181 runs at an average of 25.85 and a strike rate of 131.15. He has tons of experience - he’s one of only two players to appear in all seven Twenty20 World Cups and, unsurprisingly, is the leading run-maker for India in this competition.
You can back him to utilise his experience and top the run-making rankings at odds of 4.7 for his side.
Is This The Year The Indian T20 World Cup Drought Ends?
It scarcely seems believable that India have won just one Twenty20 World Cup - and that was the inaugural tournament back in 2007. A record that is nowhere near good enough for a side of India’s talent.
This time around, there is even more imperative for India to get the job done - particularly given their horrific performance in last year’s edition! The minimum expectation for most fans is a final appearance - but has India’s management team got the build-up right ahead of the clash?
Skipper Sharma thinks so - he told the pre-match press conference: “That's something we've been talking about for a while, like when you go on big tours, you need to prepare well, especially when you travel outside India. You need to have time in hand to prepare the way you want to prepare, because it takes time.”
The fact India have managed to get to Australia to pack in the preparation is of great significance to their chances of winning the tournament, according to Sharma: “We said, we know where the World Cup is happening, and we made a very conscious decision of going to Australia a little earlier than expected because we were supposed to play the [ODI] series against South Africa, which unfortunately we all had to miss to prepare for this big event. That is something that was happening in the background right after the [2021] World Cup. We know how key the preparation is. A lot of the guys who are part of this team have not been to Australia, so that was also one of the reasons we wanted to come here early.”
Player to Watch: Hardik Pandya
It has been a sensational year for Hardik Pandya - captaining the Gujarat Titas to a debut Indian Premier League title and rising to sixth in the latest ICC Player rankings for the best all-rounders in 2022.
There are many observers, however, that would put Pandya top of that list - a key bowler with clever variations, it’s his finishing prowess with the bat for which he is most renowned.
In 2022, he averages 36.33 at a strike rate of 151.38 - he could be a great outside bet to top score for India at odds of 9.2.
Predicted Playing XI
Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh
Pakistan’s Dynamic Duo Key To Success
Skipper Babar Azam and wicket-keeper Mohammad Rizwan form one of the most dynamic and infamous partnerships Pakistan have ever had! However, there is a widespread acceptance from team management, selectors, and fans alike that they are too top heavy.
If both fail, it’s hard to see how Pakistan can walk away from the game with a positive result.
Azam, though, is much more protective of his middle order. He told reporters in the build-up: “The middle order has stepped up in the last two matches. When you get such performances right before the World Cup, you gain a lot of confidence as a team, and I believe our middle order will perform. We are backing them.”
He will have to hope they respond to his confidence backing - Pakistan Super League top scorer Fakhar Zaman is out of the India game! He injured his knee in the Asia Cup final and is still recovering - they hope he will be available for later in the tournament.
Fast bowler Shan Masood has been passed fit, however, and should feature!
Player to Watch: Haris Rauf
To say Pakistan’s premium pacer has fond memories of Australia is an understatement - it is where he first made his name in this format, taking 20 wickets for the Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League, taking a memorable hat-trick on the way!
Since then, he’s been a total menace on the international scene, varying his pace and delivery to keep batters guessing.
He has 15 wickets so far in this format at an average of 22 and an impressive economy rate of 5.59. You can back him to take the most wickets for Pakistan against India at odds of 3.95.
Predicted Playing XI
Babar Azam (capt), Mohammad Rizwan, Shan Masood, Iftikhar Ahmed, Haider Ali, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Hairs Rauf, and Naseem Shah.
India vs Pakistan Head-to-Head
The India vs Pakistan head to head record is dominated by the former - they have won eight of the 11 games contested between the two in this fixture.
Pakistan tend to struggle when setting a score in this fixture - their average first innings total comes in at 121.2.
Rain Is On The Radar in Melbourne
The cricketing world is holding its collective breath on Sunday - heavy rain was originally forecast for the full day’s play on Sunday, but that has since cleared up slightly.
India have won two of the three completed T20I games at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, while Pakistan has lost its only game here - held back in 2010.
Conclusion
It’s a tight call, but we’re going with India to kickstart the World Cup with a bang. However you decide to bet, please ensure you do so responsibly with Pure Win. We have plenty of responsible gaming tools to help you stay in control and ensure betting never becomes a problem.
