England vs India 3rd Test Betting Tips 25/08/2021

14:20, 23 Aug 2021

Senior Author

14:20, 23 Aug 2021

Zohaib Ahmed is a sports journalist whose profession is to report and edit but whose passion is to predict and bet. He’s been in the industry for more than a decade and has worked/written for various bookmakers/tipsters. His expertise is in cricket, football, MMA, boxing and basketball.

The third Test between England and India will be played from August 25 (Wednesday) to 29 at Headingley in Leeds. The match is scheduled to begin at 3:30pm IST.

Teams Status

England

After the dramatic collapse of the English batting lineup in the final innings of the second Test defeat, changes were expected and have been made.

Dawid Malan of the T20 fame has been recalled to the English squad at the expense of Dom Sibley, who was averaging a meagre 19.77 in his 10 Tests in 2021. Also missing will be Zak Crawley, and in their absence, Haseeb Hameed and Rory Burns are expected to open for England, with Malan likely to bat at one down.

Ollie Pope is also tipped to reclaim his role in the middle order.

One player whose participation is in doubt is Mark Wood, who is nursing an injury but is still retained in the squad. And another player whose participation is impossible is Chris Woakes, who is not in the squad, which means that Saqib Mahmood could get to play his maiden Test, if the management approves.

India

KL Rahul was named the player of the match for the second Test but some would argue that it should have been Mohammad Siraj.

The right-arm medium pacer claimed eight wickets in the match and was pivotal in cleaning up the English tail on the final day. The English should be wary of him again.

Despite the win, a few concerns remain for the Asian side and from sources where few would have expected. Their captain Virat Kohli has not passed 42 in his last three matches’ five innings. He couldn’t deliver big against New Zealand in the final of the World Test Championship and is now struggling against England too.

The third Test comes at a time in the series when Kohli usually adjusts and produces the goods. It will, thus, be interesting to see how the superstar skipper responds.

What do the Sportsbook Say

England	Draw	India
2.625	4.16	2.288
2.64	4.18	2.30
2.60	4.00	2.30

India are slight favourites for the third Test. 22Bet has India priced at 2.30, England at 2.64 and Draw at 4.18. MelBet has India available for 2.288, England for 2.625 and Draw at 4.16. Lastly, Betway has India priced at 2.30, England at 2.60 and Draw at 4.0.

Tipster’s Angle

Tip: England to win @ 2.64

England are one-down in the series solely because of their second innings collapse in the second Test. The target of 272 wasn’t steep at all and should have been gotten to, had the English top order not melted quicker than an ice cream in Indian summer.

Some changes have been made but there are still question marks on the English batting lineup. That said, we also know that as a proud cricketing team, they are due a response and keep this series alive until the final Test. It is a gut feeling but it is what it is. We back England to win the third Test at odds of 2.64. The play can be found at 22Bet.

Tip: Highest opening partnership – India @ 1.67

We do not see the pairing of Rory Burns and Haseeb Hameed outscoring Indian openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul. The Indian pair already put up 126 for the opening wicket in the opening innings of the second Test and there is nothing to suggest that they can’t form more such partnerships. The play here is to back the highest opening partnership of the match to come off the bats of the Indian side. The play can be found on 22Bet.

Conclusion

An argument can be made for either side to take this Test but we believe that the home advantage will kick in, allowing England to level up the series.