T20 World Cup: India, Australia favourites ahead of Super Eights

India and Australia are the favourites in T20 World Cup betting as the tournament heads into its Super Eight phase on Thursday morning (AEST).

With both teams navigating the group phase unbeaten, cricket bookmakers have them at the head of the outright market.

India have their noses in front at +175, while Australia come in at $4. England, South Africa and the West Indies share the third line of betting at +550.

From there, it’s a big drop-off. T20 betting sites have Afghanistan as a dark horse ($21), while Bangladesh ($67) and the United States ($101) are given little to no hope.

Super Eight dress rehearsal for India and Australia

Despite being the top two in the world rankings, India and Australia have been placed together in Group 1 of the Super Eight stage.

The pair will meet on Tuesday, June 25, in a clash that could very well be a dress rehearsal for the T20 World Cup final later in the month.

Alongside India and Australia in Group 1 are Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

As New Zealand learned, Afghanistan are more than capable of springing an upset. Nevertheless, it looks as though it will be India and Australia advancing from Group 1, regardless of who wins their June 25 clash.

Three-way battle brewing in Group 2

Over in Group 2, things are far from clear-cut in terms of who will advance.

Only two teams can make it through, with one of England, South Africa or the West Indies missing out.

The West Indies and South Africa both topped their groups with four wins from four. The tournament hosts have looked particularly strong, most recently thrashing Afghanistan by 104 runs.

However, England are two-time champions and came into the tournament as genuine title contenders. While they very nearly didn’t make it to the Super Eights courtesy of a loss to Australia and a washout against Scotland, they’re here now.

Online bookmakers are struggling to split the three. Odds to reach the semi-finals are almost identical for England (-227.27), South Africa (-200) and the West Indies (-188.68).

That will all change shortly, as the West Indies and England meet this Thursday. Several bookies have the match set at -111.11 each way, with the result crucial for who moves through from Group 2.

Sports news