Cricket, the defacto national sport of the subcontinent of India and one of the most popular sports in many Asia-Pacific countries is very intriguing. For someone from the Western world, save for the British Isles, it is still a foreign and unknown sport. Most fans of sports do not consider it when thinking of what to watch and who to root for. Exploring the season and picking the games worth watching usually ends up with football, tennis, golf, and/or martial arts finding their way to the fans’ screens. On the other side of the globe, things are practically flipped on its head and it is cricket that dominates the sporting world.
As an enthusiast of many sports and an avid fan, you should eventually broaden your horizons a bit and start utilizing novelty ideas. And what better way to do this than to start watching cricket? To do that though, you need to know more about the game itself, the leagues, and the best national teams. For all of that, we take you to India, the best place to start this journey. News from the game is coming from over there fast and thick, especially now that the Women’s T20 World Cup is taking place. Read on to learn more so that you can then check out Sportsbet India and start betting on this fascinating sport.
The Ongoing Women’s World Cup 2024
The talk of the town right now in the world of Cricket is the 2024 World Cup that is being played in the United Arab Emirates. There are 10 participants and there are going to be 23 matches played, a prime opportunity for bettors to test the sport out and determine whether they like it or not. The stage could not be bigger and the stakes are very high. India has entered the competition as one of the favorites, but they have sadly suffered a crushing defeat to open the cup. In the first group match, they lost to a struggling New Zealand team, a squad that had lost its previous 10 international matches. So do they still have a chance to move on to the semis?
It will be difficult but it is still very possible for the Women in Blue to go out of their group and compete for the title. They will have to win their final group game versus Australia, following great wins against Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The team will need their absolute best in a clash against the defending champion Australia. While the first three games were rather easy compared to the Aussie matchup, they still lost the New Zealand game and complicated their way forward. This only goes to show how rough the sport of cricket can be since the lower-ranked struggling teams can beat the favorites. India still has its chance but they should also try to beat the Aussies by as many points as possible and increase their NRR.
National Cricket League in India
In terms of national cricket leagues across the globe, the Indian Premier League is at the very top. Think of it as the football’s English Premier League, or the basketball’s NBA but for cricket. This means that it is the top-tier competition where the best players are playing, but also where the most excitement is. As a brand new fan of the sport, it is this league that will be shaping up most of your tickets and take up most of your time devoted to the sport. A very interesting thing about it is how short it is compared to other sports. For example, the 2024 season, which finished months ago, only lasted from March 22 to May 26 with 76 matches played. The champions of this past season were the Kolkata Knight Riders, which was their 3rd overall title. The runners-up was the Sunrisers Hyderabad team.
In terms of individual awards, Sunil Narine of the Knight Riders was the MVP while Virat Kohli of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru had the most runs with 741. Most wickets were achieved by Harshal Patel from the Punjab Kings, a total of 24. Waiting to see the MVP winner and the players who get the most runs or wickets is something that enthusiasts are always excited about. The Twenty20 Cricket League of India has a fun format where the 10 teams are split into Groups A and B. The top 4 from each group move on to the playoffs where they play in qualifier and eliminator matches against each other.
The next season has not yet been announced, but it always starts in March meaning you have a lot of time to prepare for it. Studying the game will take time but once you get the hang of things there will be nothing stopping you from inserting cricket into your regular lineup of sports you eagerly await to start. Of course, other countries where the sport is big have very competitive leagues as well as strong national team showings, mainly in the Big Bash League of Australia, and the Caribbean Premier League.
Who Has the Best Chance to Win?
If one is to attempt to pick a winner, they first must know the chances and the favorites to win the games! With the T20 Women’s World Cup in full swing, let us see who the favorites are. In terms of winners, it is Australia with the highest chance following India’s surprising blunder to open the competition. Aussies are sitting comfortably as the favorites with England right behind them. Then comes India as the third favorite and South Africa in the fourth place. These are the four favorites for the title right now. When it comes to predicting the finalists, Australia and England are what fans want to see most. Australia versus India is something fans also hope for, but it will be difficult. Australia and New Zealand are rivals like no other and them meeting in the final would be a treat for cricket fans.
In other games, Bangladesh is facing the West Indies team today while tomorrow, on October 11, Australia is Playing Pakistan. If they know what is good for them, the Indian team will root for Pakistan to ruin Australia’s record and make group standing much more interesting. On October 12 there are 2 more games. First, it is New Zealand against Sri Lanka, a match in India’s group. Then, Bangladesh is playing their final group game against South Africa. On October 13, two great games await us. First, it is England versus Scotland, always a fun matchup between bitter rivals who like going toe to toe in every sport. To finish off the day, India and Australia will battle for the first place in the group and the best chance to move on without any issues. On the final two days of group-stage matchups, Pakistan and New Zealand will close their group and England will have an easy time against the West Indies.
The two semi-final games will be played on Thursday, October 17, and Friday, October 18. The final is scheduled for Sunday, October 20, and we certainly hope that India will be one of the teams to watch. So far, it has been a great competition with some good performances in most matches. There were also a few surprises that are bound to shake things up.
As of this writing, in group A Australia (+2.524 NRR) is in first place with 2 wins in 2 games. Second is India (+0.576 NRR) with 2 wins and 1 loss in three games, meaning the Aussies are 1 game ahead. Pakistan (+0.555 NRR) and New Zealand (-0.050 NRR) are 3rd and 4th with 1 win and 1 loss each. Sri Lanka (-2.564 NRR) is dead last with 3 losses. In group B, South Africa (+1.527 NRR) is on top with 2 wins and 1 loss while England (+0.653 NRR) is second with 2 wins. West Indies (+1.154 NRR) are 3rd with 1 win and 1 loss and Bangladesh (-0.125 NRR) is 4th with the same score. Scotland (-2.671 NRR) is at the very bottom with all 3 losses, and they are determined to upset England in the last group game.
As you can see from the top of the groups, NRR is almost as important as the points. In one group, the team with 1 fewer game is first due to a higher NRR while in the other, the team with more games is first because they have a higher rating. If India wants to secure first place, they need to not only beat Australia but do so a bit more convincingly.
