England vs India 1st Test Tips, Predictions and Bet Builder

England will hope to use home conditions to their advantage as they and India head to Leeds for the first Test of a mouth-watering five-match series.

Ben Stokes' side have won seven of their last eight home Test matches and will hope Headingley is a happy hunting ground against India, who go into battle without recently-retired legends Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.

England vs India 1st Test Tips Summary

Market	Tip	Odds
Match Result	England	4/6
Best Bet	Chris Woakes Over 4.5 Match Wickets	5/4
Alternative Bet	Shardul Thakur Most India 6s	8/1

Key Match Stats

• England have won five and drawn three of their last eight first Tests at home to India
• India last won the opening game of a Test series in England in 1986
• England have won seven of their last eight home Tests
• Chris Woakes averages 5 wickets per home Test match under Ben Stokes' captaincy
• Thakur hit two of India's six sixes against England Lions

England vs India 1st Test Prediction

Best Bet: Chris Woakes Over 4.5 Match Wickets @ 5/4

The Indians are mightily pleased they won't be facing Jimmy Anderson, Stuart Broad or Mark Wood at Headingley over the coming few days, but that doesn't mean they can take it easy.

Brydon Carse, a wicket-taking machine in Pakistan and New Zealand in the winter, returns to grab the new ball, an apple he will share with Chris Woakes.

And it's Woakes who has the tools, the nous and possibly the pitch to help him take over 4.5 wickets.

England may have been baked hard over the last few weeks but Headingley still looked green-tinged when it was unveiled this week and that's a sight that will delight Woakes.

A clever bowler who seams and swings the ball at no great pace, has been exploiting English conditions throughout his career, averaging four wickets per home Test, but under two per away international.

He averages five wickets per home Test under Ben Stokes as captain and this is a new-look India batting line-up, minus the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, and Woakes is more than capable of running through them if he finds a groove.

Steve Davies says:

It will be a good batting track at Headingley, no longer the seam bowler's paradise it once was. But there will be enough in it to appeal to Woakes, who has the skills to pick up a decent wicket haul.

Alternative Bet: Shardul Thakur Most India 6s @ 8/1

India are going to face a trial by seam at Headingley and it is a test they may struggle to pass.

If the match goes according to plan and at the pace England like, then India will bat twice and be up against it.

They have classy batters in their line-up despite the end of Kohli and Sharma and all-rounders in Ravi Jadeja and Shardul Thakur who can add critical runs if the top order flops.

Thakur is used to English conditions - he toured in 2021 and scored 122 runs at 24.

The 33-year-old is also a player who can clear the ropes having done so nine times in 11 Tests.

He also clubbed a pair of sixes - more than any of his team-mates in his side's second warm-up game against England Lions in Northampton.

One six could easily win the Most India Sixes market and at 8/1 the big-hitting Thakur looks a worthwhile option.

Steve Davies says:

It's Thakur's bowling which will be critical to India's prospects but he can wield the willow, too, and if anyone can clear the ropes for India, it's him.

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Tactics, Form and Team News

England had only one big decision before the match which was whether to pick Ollie Pope or Jacob Bethell at No.3 and they erred towards the former.

Brydon Carse and Chris Woakes will take the new ball with Joe Root offering the spin back-up to Shoaib Bashir.

Expected England line up: Crawley, Duckett, Pope, Root, Brook, Stokes (capt), Smith (wk), Woakes, Carse, Tongue, Bashir.

India have had any number of selection issues to ponder, including whether to play a five-man bowling attack or rely on all-rounders.

Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj will lead the attack with Shadul Thakur pencilled in at No.8 to offer some batting depth.

Shubman Gill will take Virat Kohli's spot at No.4 with Karun Nair or B Sai Sudharsan the likely options for No.3 with the other possibly batting at six.

Expected India line up: Jaiswal, Rahul, Nair, Gill (capt), Pant (wk), Sudharsan, Jadeja, Thakur, Yadav, Bumrah, Siraj.

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.