Can You Bet on the World Test Championship?

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Although it doesn’t have the same level of prestige as a World Cup or a major series like the Ashes, the World Test Championship has definitely added more intrigue into what might otherwise be fairly meaningless, long format series’ around the globe.

Now each test match has an additional ranking factor, with the World Test Championship running on a two-year cycle before the top two sides battle it out in the final. The current cycle got underway with the Ashes in June 2023, running for a full two years until June in 2025.

That’s one of the reasons why India celebrated their recent test series victory over England so heartily. They love winning on home soil anyway – what sports team doesn’t? – but the nature of their win, which came without Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant and, for the fourth test, Jasprit Bumrah, proved that there’s so much strength in depth to Indian cricket right now.

Not only that, it adds some much-needed points to India’s World Test Championship ranking which, at the time of writing, finds them in second place behind New Zealand.

And having been beaten in the 2023 final, India will be desperate to go one better when the 2025 finale rolls around.

Slow and Steady

Cricket fans could argue all day and night about the virtues of the longest format of the sport, which – in an era dominated by T20 action and unique innovations like The Hundred – is coming under increasing scrutiny.

There’s still plenty of interest in the World Test Championship amongst the players though – did you see how passionately India celebrated their series win over England? – and such desire can often be absorbed by the crowds within the stadium and the fans watching on from home.

It’s true too that many bookmakers are providing odds for the World Test Championship too, both on a game-by-game basis and outright prices for who will go on to lift the trophy.

Bettors in India can wager on who they think will win the WTC, with legal bookmakers such as Dafabet offering odds on the competition and many other cricket tournaments around the globe too. A Dafabet APK India download is just one of the ways that cricket lovers can get involved, with quick installation and many different device types, from Samsung and Motorola to Asus and Google Pixel, supported.

New Zealand are the early leaders at the top of the World Test Championship standings, although bettors are less bullish about their chances. They face a two-test series against Australia in March, before travelling to take on India in October and November and hosting England in December.

India travels to Australia for what is always a fiercely contested series at the end of the year, so there are certainly plenty of chances for points to be won and lost as some of international cricket’s finest teams do battle in the months ahead.

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Revenge or Repeat?

For the Indian squad, there will be a sense of taking care of business, given that they have lost in both of the finals of the World Test Championship played to date.

They took on New Zealand in the inaugural final back in 2021, posting a below-par total of 217 in their first innings.

The Kiwis mustered 249 all out before ripping through India’s batting order in the second innings, with Kyle Jamieson taking a couple of wickets to take his haul to seven – earning him Player of the Match honours.

Set a meagre total of 137, New Zealand took the slow and steady approach and got home in 45.5 overs for the loss of two wickets.

Whether that defeat lit a fire under Virat’s men only he knows, but two years later they returned for the next World Test Championship final at Lord’s, this time tackling Australia.

Unfortunately for them, India’s pace attack could not make any inroads into the Australian batting lineup on a flat pitch, with big hundreds from Steve Smith and Travis Head guiding Pat Cummins’ side to a handsome 469 all out.

Only Ajinkya Rahane and Shardul Thakur mustered any resistance in reply, as India found themselves with a 170-run deficit from the first innings – knowing they would be batting last on a wearing pitch.

The Indian bowling attack was much better the second time around, but Australia still posted 270/8 declared to leave Virat and co with a chase over 400.

Despite stubborn resistance, with Kohli, Rahane and Rohit Sharma all reaching 40+, in the end, it wasn’t meant to be as the Aussies celebrated a huge 209-run victory.

Since then, a new era for Indian cricket has dawned. Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel and Akash Deep have taken to the test game with aplomb, and it will be fascinating to see how they fare alongside India’s more established figures when they too return to the fold.

Ultimately, the goal will be to finally get their hands on the World Test Championship trophy.

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