cricket.ovalA betting preview of the fourth test match between England and India including match result and top first innings run scorer and wicket taker tips courtesy of @Olimp_SA

 

 

 

England vs. India 4th Test, 2 September 12:00

 

After a dominating victory of an innings and 76 runs by England in Leeds, the series is all tied up at 1-1 as the two sides head into the fourth test at the Oval in London. There are only two matches left in the series and a win at the Oval for either side will at least ensure they avoid a series defeat.

 

England were obviously very keen to make amends for their defeat at Lord’s because they came flying right out of the gates on Day 1. After India won the toss and elected to bat first the English bowlers ripped through their batting line up and bowled the visitors out for just 78 runs – the seventh lowest total in Indian test history after deciding to bat first. Anderson and Overton were the top wicket takers for the English with three a piece, while Robinson and Curran added a couple each.

 

England made it clear that it was not a case of an unplayable pitch by posting a total of 432 in their first innings. It was a much more promising all-round batting performance for the hosts and for the first time in the series the innings did not just revolve around Joe Root. He did top score once again for the English with 121 but there were also some solid contributions from Burns(61), Hammeed(68) and Malan(70) in the top order which had been lacking in the series up until that point.

The top wicket taker for the Indians was Shami who got four and Bumrah, Siraj and Jadeja each added two.

 

A 400+ runs innings proved to be enough to see England all the way to victory and they did not need to bat a second time after bowling out India for 278. Despite good knocks by Pujara(91), Sharma(59) and Kohli(55) it was not enough to force England to come to the crease again. The damage had already been done in the first innings. Robinson picked up a five-for this time around and deservedly got the Man of the match. Overton got two, while Anderson and Ali added one each.

 

Prediction

 

It looks like England have finally found their form with the bat and we got to see that they are capable of posting a large total if the top order can provide a solid foundation for the innings. It’s taken a few matches but England are now playing at the level they should be playing at and I would be surprised if they lose the series from the position they are in now. Bowling hasn’t been a problem in this series for the hosts and now that the batting line up seems to be sorted out I expect an easy win for England.

 

It’s unlikely the English bowlers will manage to bowl out India for such a low total again, but it won’t be easy going for the visitors. It’s definitely proven to be a series for the seamers and with Robinson and Anderson back in the attack I expect them to be the top wicket takers for England once again. Virat Kholi is finally getting some runs for his side, but for me he is still playing well below his potential. Rohit Sharma spent a lot of time at the crease in the last test match and I will instead opt for him to be the top run scorer for India.

 

BetOlimp Best Bets

 

England to win – 2.20
Top Home 1
st Innings bowler: Ollie Robinson – 3.50
Top Away 1
st Innings batsman: Rohit Sharma - 4.50

 

Note, odds quoted are available at the time of writing but are subject to change

 

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