Whether you are a relatively new fan of cricket or you are just interested in betting on cricket, understanding the basics of the sport’s tournaments, how they function and how the games are played is very important.
Finding what to bet on cricket is not a difficult thing to do, especially now that all bookmakers including the best cricket betting apps, offer enriched lists of betting markets on this sport. However, finding plentiful betting markets is not the main goal of every bettor. The goal is to place bets on games which make sense and on tournaments which punters comprehend.
We’re talking about comprehending the cricket tournaments simply because cricket has three different formats played: the Test matches, the One Day Internationals (ODI) and the Twenty20 (T20) internationals.
Now it is very useful to understand how they are different and the basic rules and principles of each of the three formats, because they have both direct and indirect implications on betting.
Test Cricket
This is the first format of cricket tournaments and for this reason many people still see it as the original one. Teams enter a five-day games period, each having two innings for every match and they are required to showcase not only good performance, but endurance as well.
The format’s name comes from the very fact that the matches test teams over the course of a specific period – now it is five days, while at some point in the past there was no limit to ‘time’!
There are several Test Cricket tournaments happening every other year. The most popular ones are the Ashes Series, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and the ICC World Test Championship. The Ashes Series is especially popular among fans and punters as well, who like combats between England and Australia over the victory of the symbolic trophy!
ODI – One Day Internationals
ODI is the format of some of the most iconic, top-notch cricket tournaments in the world like the ICC Cricket World Cup and the Asia Cup. Each team is given 50 overs to bat and a game can last up to nine hours.
The ODI format is much newer than the Test format, but it has certainly gotten into the hearts of fans across the world. They get to see teams illustrating skills that are not necessarily showcased in other formats. They get to see speed and technique more than they see endurance for example, and these appear to matter the most in such games.
Overall, ODI Cricket tournaments such as the ICC World Cup offer excellent opportunities for bettors to follow the sport more closely and investigate the dynamics of the teams.
T20 – Twenty20
This format is the newest kid on the block and it is actually something like a shorter version of the ODIs. Here the teams are given 20 overs each and games last up to three hours. Of course this makes cricket much more fast-pacing, more dynamic, more fluid and more exciting for newcomers in the sport.
In fact, since the launch of the T20 format in 2005, cricket fans all around the world increased tremendously, verifying that what the world of cricket needed was a more ‘compact’ game!
There are many T20 tournaments taking place across the world and both fans and bettors have many chances of getting the most out of it.
The Indian Premier League, the Pakistan Super League, the Big Bash League, the T20 Blast and the Caribbean Premier League are some of the most popular competitions with T20 formats.
Betting on the different formats
Knowing the formats of cricket is very important when it comes to betting, because the different formats imply different games played by teams. Earlier we mentioned that Test formats require greater endurance, patience and persistence, while in ODIs typical skills of teams include speed, strength and technique. With T20 formats it is also different. Here teams are battling on power hitting, bowling and fielding all together.
Overall, understanding the key issues in each format will help you make more informed choices when you decide to bet on a cricket tournament.
Disclaimer:
- As per the Public Gambling Act of 1867, all Indian states, except Goa, Daman and Sikkim, prohibit gambling
- Land-based casinos are legalized, with certain guidelines, in Goa and Daman, as per the Goa, Daman and Diu Public Gambling Act 1976
- Land-based casinos, Online gambling and E-gaming (games of chance) are legalized in Sikkim under the Sikkim Online Gaming (Regulation) Rules 2009
- Only some Indian states have legalized online/regular lotteries as per and subject to the conditions laid down by state laws. Kindly refer to the same here
- Horse racing and betting on horse racing, including online betting, is permitted only in a licensed premise in select states. Kindly refer to the 1996 Judgement by the Supreme Court Of India here and for more information
- This article does not endorse or express the views of Qrius and/or any of its staff.
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