England v India 1st Test betting tips, top odds & predictions

England v India top betting picks

First Test: England v India preview

England and India will kick off their five-match Test series at Headingley this Friday, and there will be a few familiar faces missing — especially for the tourists.

This will be India’s first outing in five-day cricket since the twin retirements of superstar batters Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma — losses that take some 190 Tests’ worth of experience out of the talent pool.

That means Karun Nair is back in the mix and could play his first Test since 2017, with Dhruv Jurel also in line for a recall, while the likes Sai Sudharsan and Abhimanyu Easwaran are pushing for a debut.

In a big boost for Indian cricket fans, star quick Jasprit Bumrah made it through the IPL intact after some time off with a back injury and should be ready to go in Leeds.

New captain Shubman Gill will also have the likes of Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep and Arshdeep Singh at his disposal, along with the spin of Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja.

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For England, this is a great chance to build on the momentum of their impressive white-ball series against the West Indies.

Harry Brook and Joe Root were in fine form as the Brits went 6-0 across their recent ODI and T20 games, and they will be the main men in a batting lineup that looks nice and settled.

Gus Atkinson misses out after sustaining a hamstring injury in England’s Test win over Zimbabwe last month, meaning there will be some changes in England’s pace attack.

Sam Cook and Josh Tongue hardly set the world alight in that one-off clash in Nottingham, so there is a chance that one or both of Chris Woakes and Jamie Overton will come into the side.

Regardless, online bookmakers have England as solid favorites at -169.49 to win in Yorkshire, with India paying +170 and the draw pegged at long odds of +1050.

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England Test squad

• Ben Stokes (c)
• Jacob Bethell
• Harry Brook
• Brydon Carse
• Sam Cook
• Zak Crawley
• Ben Duckett
• Jamie Overton
• Ollie Pope
• Joe Root
• Shoaib Bashir
• Jamie Smith (wk)
• Josh Tongue
• Chris Woakes

India Test squad

• Shubman Gill (c)
• Rishabh Pant (vc, wk)
• Akash Deep
• Arshdeep Singh
• Jasprit Bumrah
• Abhimanyu Easwaran
• Ravindra Jadeja
• Yashasvi Jaiswal
• Dhruv Jurel (wk)
• Kuldeep Yadav
• Mohammed Siraj
• Karun Nair
• Nitish Kumar Reddy
• Prasidh Krishna
• KL Rahul
• Sai Sudharsan
• Shardul Thakur
• Washington Sundar

England v India betting predictions – First Test

Although Kohli and Rohit had been tapering off for a while, India may well feel the absence of their experience and leadership for a little while yet. With England out to prove they won’t be taking any prisoners in any format, it is hard to overlook the home side at -169.49 with Stake.com.

Joe Root’s performance during the ODI series against the West Indies suggested he is seeing the ball as well as ever. He remains the best bat in this talented England team, and the +360 with 888starz is good value for Root to top the scoring in his side’s first innings.

No matter which way you slice it, Jasprit Bumrah is the danger man in the Indian bowling attack. Before his back injury, he was carrying his team on the tour of Australia last year. Odds of  +150 with Stake.com might seem short, but Bumrah is the obvious choice for India’s top wicket-taker in the first innings.

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