India vs West Indies 1st T20I Betting Tips 16/02/2022

February 15, 2022

Zohaib Ahmed, Senior Author

The 1^st T20I between India and West Indies will be played on Feb 16 (Wednesday) at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. The match is to begin at 7:30pm IST.

Teams Status

India

India never really hit top gear in the ODI series but still won the series 3-0, thanks to West Indies’ troubles in the 50-over format.

The Men in Blue, however, will have to be prepared for a much better show in the T20I series as the Windies are much more comfortable with the shorter format.

There have been some changes ahead of the series in the Indian camp. Wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has been named the vice-captain as KL Rahul is out due to a hamstring injury.

Also missing will be Washington Sundar, who like Rahul has a hamstring strain to tend to. Axar Patel will also be absent, which has opened up an opportunity for Kuldeep Yadav.

West Indies

The ODI series was disappointing for West Indies but the return to their favourite format will give them renewed hope.

They recently slayed world’s top-ranked T20 side England in their own backyard, which must have done their confidence a world of good.

Jason Holder was clearly the best bowler of the series for Windies with 15 wickets to his name in five matches, whereas their best batter was Rovman Powell, who scored a memorable 107 in one of the matches.

Powell did not play in the ODI series against India but is likely to feature prominently here. He is a powerful batter who can wreak havoc if settled.

What Do the Sportsbooks Say?

Brand	India	West Indies
	1.32	3.20
	1.336	3.40
	1.34	3.30

India are the favourites for the 1^st T20I. Parimatch has India priced at 1.32 and West Indies at 3.20. Paripesa has India available for 1.336 and West Indies for 3.4. Lastly, Sportsbet has India priced at 1.34 and West Indies at 3.30.

Tipster’s Angle

Tip: West Indies to win @ 3.40

India are super strong but when the format is T20I and West Indies are available on juicy odds, we know who’d we pick. The tourists might very well lose all the matches of this series but the x-factor they possess would make us take them every time. The odds for this play have been sourced from Paripesa.

Tip: Rovman Powell to score more than 18.5 runs @ 1.87

We’re going to start backing our man from the very first game since the spread on him is of just 18.5 runs. Granted that this is a risky bet considering Powell hasn’t played a game on this tour and can easily be outwitted by Indian spin but for the muscle he possesses, 18.5 runs are basically a four-ball affair in theory. The odds have been sourced from Parimatch.

Conclusion

As explained above, India are obviously the far stronger unit but they aren’t the most attractive due to the short odds available on them. We root for an upset in this one.

Zohaib Ahmed

15:36, 15 Feb 2022

Senior Author

Zohaib Ahmed

Senior Author

15:36, 15 Feb 2022

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.