USA v India Predictions: Pant & Singh are the players to bet on

It’s USA v India on Wednesday, June 12 (15:30, Sky Sports Cricket) in New York, as both sides look to book their place in the next round after being two from two so far.

James Pacheco came good on Monday with 11/2 pick Heinrich Klassen top-scoring for South Africa and has identified a player with a similar profile to do the business for India with the bat at 9/2, while Arshdeep Singh can’t be ignored for top India bowler honours at 4/1 as he takes us through his USA vs India T20 Predictions...

India

India looked about 15 runs short against Pakistan, leaving them just 120 runs to chase in New York after only really Rishabh Pant got going on a wicket that few have worked out how to score runs on.

But if their batting wasn’t quite there on the day, their bowling certainly was. Of the six bowlers used, only Arshdeep Singh went at more than six an over and Singh even made up for that by bowling a terrific last over to allow India to win by six runs. Hardik Pandya was good for his two wickets but as ever, the star man with the ball was Jasprit Bumrah, whose 3-14 was the difference between the two sides. He picked up his second Player of the Match award.

Shivam Dube looked out of sorts and his 3 off 9 makes him vulnerable to losing his place. They may consider bringing in the experienced Sanju Samson for him. Dube is better suited to batting at five and is a left hander in a batting line-up dominated by right handers but then again, Samson is the better, more experienced player.

Either way, their performance against Pakistan suggested they’re going to be tough to beat.

Possible XI: Sharma, Kohli, Pant, Yadav, Samson/ Dube, Pandya, Axar, Jadeja, Bumrah, Sirah, Singh.

USA

We mentioned the very possible upset against Pakistan but didn’t quite recommend it as tip. Mind you, it would have been dead-heated because it was a tie after 40 overs meaning you would ‘only’ have been paid out at half the odds.

That they put in a superb performance given the gulf in class between the sides was very commendable but they were of course helped by Pakistan in their quest, a recurring theme given that Pakistan were guilty of doing the same thing against India, a match Babar Azam’s men also should have won.

But the USA are a superior side than what we expected, make good use of conditions and have a better temperament than you’d think for a side with their ranking. They’re bang in contention for a place in the next round even if, as expected, they lose here.

Monank Patel’s 50 off 38 was crucial last time as was their talisman Aaron Jones, whose 36 off 26 forced the Super Over, which they won. So well have most players performed in their specific roles that they haven’t relied on their experienced former Kiwi Corey Anderson, who’s yet to fire with the bat and was only needed for one over with the ball last time out.

Possible XI: Taylor, Patle, Gous, Jones, Kumar, Anderson, H Singh, J Singh, Kenjige, Nertravalkar, Khan.

Pitch and conditions

New York, here we go again.

As ever, we never know which strip will be used. The one in Pakistan v USA was a good wicket, the one in India v Pakistan was almost unplayable for batsmen. It’s also less obvious what’s best to do first. We still think it’s chasing and that it was a case of Pakistan fluffing their lines. If the USA win the toss, they’ll want to play to their strengths batting second.

The obvious play if that happens is to short USA runs at 130 or less but the co-hosts side are more adventurous than Pakistan, with the likes of Jones dealing in boundaries rather than singles, so one good cameo from a top order player may upset the apple cart. Brave punters may decide that India can’t bowl that well again and go with the hosts to get to 135 if they have first use of the pitch.

USA vs India Odds

*Please click on the link above to be taken to the main USA vs India T20 World Cup market page on betfred.com (or app) for all the live betting prices on this match.

It’s hard to imagine India will be as complacent as Babar Azam’s men so the big odds of 13/2 on the USA may have to be turned down. If they pull it off, good on them and it would rank as one of the biggest shocks among World Cup shocks.

And the USA may be novices at this level but they should be smart enough to realise that what they don’t want is an absolute thrashing with Net Run Rate possibly playing a factor later on. So if they’re chasing 150 or so, they may decide the priority is to not be bowled out for less than 100, rather than going for the win.

Conspiracy theories aside, India should win this one way or another.

India Top Batsman

The few batsmen who have flourished in New York have been those who have gone for their shots and tried to force the issue. That may seem like a strange thing to say about playing on an inconsistent, two-paced wicket but it actually makes sense: sooner or later a delivery has your name on it and there’s not much you can do about it. So your best bet is to hit sixes from the few balls that are there to be hit rather than nurdling it around at less than a run-a-ball before getting out. The aggressive approach has worked here in New York for the likes of David Miller, our 11/2 Monday winner Heinrich Klassen, Canada’s Nicholas Kirton and…Rishab Pant.

Had Rohit Sharma not ridden his luck against Ireland and Pant would be two from two on the India top batsman market after top-scoring with 42 off 31 against India. He’s been batting at three so

should get plenty of time to make his mark because openers Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have their work cut out against the impressive USA new ball bowlers.

The odds-compilers aren't giving too much away on Pant at 9/2 but it’s good enough, all things considered.

India Top Bowler

There’s no doubt Jasprit Bumrah is the best bowler in the side. After all, he’s just about the best bowler at the tournament.

But as ever, it’s about price. Though, there’s not much wrong with the 23/10 on Bumrah, at almost twice the price we can go with a bowler who’s likely to bowl his four overs, has already taken three wickets this tournament, has an impressive career strike rate of 16.8 and has plenty of nous when it comes to getting the most out of this sort of wicket. At 4/1, that man is Arshdeep Singh.

Jamie Pacheco predominantly covers Cricket for us at Betfred Insights. You can check out his Cricket Betting Tips, along with those from the rest of the team, at our Cricket hub page...