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ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023: Betting Odds

The ICC Cricket World Cup has started and there are certain teams that have a high chance of winning the cup for the first time like South Africa and certain teams have very bright chances of lifting it again like India England and Australia.

In this article, we will look at the betting odds for the teams participating in this edition of the World Cup.

India

Current Outright odds - 6/4 

Being the host India has a very bright chance of winning the 2023 World Cup. With almost every player fit and available after a very long time, the Men in Blue are a force to reckon with at home. They got off to a perfect start after beating Australia by six wickets while chasing a target of 200. The pair of Virat Kohli and KL Rahul played sensibly to take India over the line in a tense chase which was made easy by a classy partnership between the two experienced batters. 

Captain Rohit would be happy with the work done by the bowlers as they picked up wickets at regular intervals and did not give any chance to the Aussies to make a comeback in the match. Talking about individual performance, the one name that stood out in the bowling department was that of Ravindra Jadeja.

Player to bet on

Kuldeep Yadav

Kuldeep Yadav picked up two wickets against Australia including that of dangerous David Warner who was looking set to score a century and take Australia to a big score but was foxed by the spin of Kuldeep who took an easy return catch to break the partnership between Smith and Warner. Kuldeep’s re-emergence as a confident man has had a positive effect on India’s wicket-taking record in the middle overs since 2022.

Australia

Current Outright odds - 5/1 

The five-time world champion hasn’t been in great form coming into the World Cup having lost back-to-back series against South Africa and India. The loss against the former would be hurting more as the Aussies were leading the five-match series 2-0 and lost it by 3-2 after the Proteas scripted a magnificent comeback in the last three matches. 

The start of the World Cup campaign was quite similar as the Australian batting collapsed in the first match against India to a score of only 200 runs after a good start. On the bowling front, the pace duo of Starc and Hazlewood did make things a little interesting after picking three wickets in the first two overs but with not enough runs on the board, their efforts went in vain.

Player to bet on

Glenn Maxwell

Glenn Maxwell will have a huge role to play for Australia on these Indian pitches. He was excellent in the last match of the three-match ODI series against India, picking 4 for 40. With the bat, he has smashed 618 runs at 41 average and 131 strike rate. 

South Africa

Current Outright odds - 6/1 

South Africa began the tournament in scintillating fashion, defeating Sri Lanka by 102 runs in Delhi with a blistering batting performance. With Rassie Van der Dussen and Quinton de Kock also beginning their campaign with tons, South Africa's tournament could not have got off to a better start. 

Player to bet on

Aiden Markram

Markram has been in red-hot form in the last month or so having scored a century against Australia in the five-match ODI series before the World Cup. 

He continued his good form and started the World Cup with the fastest century in the history of the tournament. 

The South African vice-captain will look to score another big one in the next match against Australia.

Pakistan

Current Outright odds - 17/2 

Pakistan has started their World Cup campaign on a good note with a win against the Netherlands and Sri Lanka. The last win against Sri Lanka will give them a lot of confidence given that was their highest chase in World Cup history. The chase was led by Abdullah Shafique and Muhammad Rizwan both of whom scored centuries to guide the team to victory.

Player to bet on

Abdullah Shafique

The Pakistani opener scored his maiden List A century on his World Cup debut while chasing a huge target of 345 runs for victory. He played some classy shots and gave good support to Rizwan who also scored an unbeaten century.

Sri Lanka

Current Outright odds - 100/1

Sri Lanka's pre-tournament odds have lengthened from 33/1 to 100/1 after a mauling from South Africa's batsmen in their opening World Cup game, and another poor bowling performance against Pakistan. After conceding the highest score in World Cup history against South Africa, Sri Lanka was then on the wrong end of a record World Cup chase against Pakistan, meaning that they have it all to do if they are to turn their campaign around. 

Player to bet on

Kusal Mendis

Mendis has been in great form since the Asa Cup and has scored runs in almost every match. He started the World Cup with a blistering half-century when Sri Lanka was chasing a mammoth target of 429 runs against South Africa. He played with a high strike rate to give Sri Lanka a little hope of winning. He continued his good form by scoring a fast-paced century against a quality bowling attack of Pakistan

England

Current Outright odds - 11/2

Reigning champions England started the defense of their trophy with a heavy defeat to New Zealand in a repeat of the 2019 final. After being put in to bat, Jos Buttler's side lost wickets at regular intervals to post a below-par total of 282-9, despite Joe Root making 77 and every player reaching double figures - a first in One Day International cricket.

New Zealand then took full advantage of the more favourable conditions and some wayward England bowling as Devon Conway (152) and Rachin Ravindra (123*) shared an unbroken second-wicket stand of 273 to guide the Black Caps with 13.4 overs to spare. However, they bounced back in style against Bangladesh in their next game as an effortless 1540 from Dawid Malan guided England to 364-9, before Bangladesh were bowled for 227, with Reece Topley taking an impressive 4-43. 

Player to bet on

Jos Buttler

Jos Buttler is one of the best batters in the business and will be a key player for England. He has a stellar record in ODIs and has scored 418 runs in the last eight games at 52 average and 112 strike rate before the start of the World Cup

Bangladesh

Current Outright odds - 150/1 

Bangladesh started the World Cup with a comfortable win against Afghanistan but was outplayed in the next match against England. They take on New Zealand next, knowing that they need to beat one of the big boys sooner rather than later if they have aspirations of reaching the semi-finals. 

Player to bet on

Najmul Hossain Shanto

The Bangladeshi top-order batter has had a magnificent year so far which started with a memorable Bangladesh Premier League. He has been the mainstay of Bangladesh's batting which has otherwise been a sorry show. Shanto who is also the vice-captain of the team will look to continue his run-scoring form during the World Cup as well in the absence of senior batter and former captain Tamim Iqbal who has been left out of the squad due to fitness issues. So far he has an experience of 30 games in which he has scored 908 runs with an average of above 31. 

Netherlands

Current Outright odds - 1000/1 

The Dutch made a solid entry into the World Cup after defeating West Indies in the Qualifiers and have performed decently in the two matches they have played so far and would look to make further improvement, especially in the batting department.

Player to bet on

Bass de Leede

The Dutch fast-bowling all-rounder can be the game-changer for the Netherlands in the tournament. His ability to bowl fast and accurately with the new ball makes him an asset for his team in the World Cup. Bass de Leede has impressed experts with his all-round ability as he is someone who bats at number three and can pick crucial wickets. Speaking ahead of the match, De Leede said the Netherlands want to make the semi-finals, insisting that they will have to take down one of the big teams to get there. Netherlands last won a match in the ODI World Cup in 2007, against Scotland. 

New Zealand 

Current Outright odds - 6/1 

New Zealand are now 6/1 to win the tournament after following up their excellent victory over England with a routine win over the Netherlands. With two wins from two, the Black Caps are fancied to continue their run against Bangladesh in their next game. 

Players to bet on

Rachin Ravindra

The left-hander took the English bowlers to the cleaners in the opening match of the tournament with a magnificent century. 

He continued his good form and contributed with the ball in the next match against the Netherlands picking up crucial wickets to guide his team to a comfortable win.

Afghanistan

Current Outright odds - 200/1 

For Afghanistan, it is a matter of collective efforts in all the departments of the game. They need to improve their batting if they want to avoid a repeat of the 2019 World Cup

Player to bet on

Rashid Khan

He is a proven match-winner for Afghanistan and has the experience of playing in India during the IPL. He is one of the most important players for Afghanistan along with former captain Mohammad Nabi and the team would rely on the duo to deliver for them. 

Image Credit: Moneycontrol

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