How To Bet On The T20 World Cup

T20 World Cup Intro

The ICC Men’s/Women’s T20 World Cup is the international tournament for T20 cricket. It is organised by cricket’s governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC).

The event is normally held every 2 years. The inaugural tournament was held in 2007 by South Africa whilst the most recent tournament was supposed to be held by Australia in 2020, however, due to Covid-19 it was postponed and later held by the United Arab Emirates in 2021. The next tournament is due to be held in Australia later this year.

The 2022 tournament will consist of 16 teams. The stages of the tournament include, firstly, global qualifiers, then is the group stages, next is the Super 12 stage and finally is the knockout stage (semi-finals and finals).

Twelve teams automatically qualified for the tournament based on their performances from the 2021 tournament. However, the top 8 ranked teams automatically qualified for the Super 12 whilst, whilst the bottom 4 ranked teams, being Namibia, Scotland, West Indies, and Sri Lanka were all placed in the group stages. 

There are 8 teams in the group stages, so the final four places were determined by the Global Qualifiers. Ireland and the UAE have already qualified whilst the other two spots will be determined in July 2022. 

The group stages are split into two groups of four where everyone plays teams in their groups once. The winner and runner-up from each group qualifying for the Super 12 stage. 

It is a similar process for the Super 12 stage of the competition, but it is composed of two groups of 6. Again, the runner-up and the winner of each group will then qualify for the knockout stage and be in with a chance to win the competition. 

The tournament is very hard to predict with six of the top 8 teams having won the tournament ion the past. The most successful team by the number of trophies is the West Indies who have won the competition twice. India won the inaugural tournament in 2007 and Australia won the most recent tournament for their first time 2021.

The competitions most successful batsmen, in terms of runs scored, is Mahela Jayawardena of Sri Lanka with 1,016. Whilst other highly recognised batsmen are Virat Kohli of India (highest World Cup average of 76.81 and most runs in a single tournament, 319) and Chris Gayle of the West Indies (most hundreds, 2).

The competitions most successful bowler, in terms of wickets taken is, Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan with 41. Other successful tournament bowlers have been Ajantha Mendis of Sri Lanka who has the best tournament bowling figures of 6 wickets for 8 runs and Sunil Narine of the West Indies who has the lowest economy rate for bowlers with 5.17 runs per over (minimum of 250 balls bowled).

The T20 World Cup’s unpredictability makes it very appealing for betting fans. In addition, the format of T20 cricket also provides a lot of entertainment and facilitates the tournaments unpredictability and excitement. The limited number of overs means there is more excitement in a shorter time frame, with wickets, fours, and sixes in abundance during a match. 

How To Bet On The T20 World Cup

Sports betting is when a person tries to guess the future result of a certain sporting event, whether that be a match result, an in-play moment in a match or the winner of a tournament. The T20 World Cup is which a potential betting fan is able to place bets on. 

Some great cricket betting sites

Before betting on the T20 World Cup, it is important to have a good basic level of knowledge about the game of cricket, including knowledge about the rules of cricket and also how the T20 format works. 

To further enhance your betting experience and hopefully increase the chance of making it more successful you not only do you want to have knowledge about cricket itself but ideally you want to have some background knowledge about the teams and players participating in the tournament or matches within the tournament.

Now that you know you are betting on the T20 World Cup and have sufficient knowledge cricket and the tournament itself you then need to decide which betting site you want to bet with and what type of bet you want to make.

The type of bet you want to make could be on who you believe will win the tournament, or on a single match, for example, predicting the winner of South Africa versus New Zealand, or predicting who will be the top run scorer in a match.

To decide which betting site to use it is important to review the available bets and betting odds between different betting sites to make sure you are getting the best offer for the bet that you want to make. Additionally look carefully for different advantages, for instance, welcome bonuses, promotional offers (e.g., cashback offers), and live streaming and betting.

Furthermore, it is also extremely important for punters to consider the security and trustworthiness of the betting site. To do this, one should read through online reviews about the site to learn about previous user experiences and the customer support available.

Once you have decided which betting site to use and what type of bet you want to make, it is then time to create your account and register with the betting company where you will then need to place a deposit so that your account has funds available for you to bet with.

Now that you have money on the betting site, you then choose which particular bet or bets you want to place and how much money out of your deposit you want to put on your bet. Once you have finalised this then it is time to place your bet and keep up to date with what is happening in the sporting event, to see whether you win or not!

Cricket betting offers

T20 World Cup Betting

Outright markets are usually the first market accessible and simplest form of betting for betting fans for the Cricket World Cup. The outright market for the T20 World Cup is about betting on who you believe the winner of the tournament will be.

From previous tournaments it is very hard to predict who the winner of the tournament will be. T20 cricket is a very unpredictable format, because of its shortness, in the past a single player from a team has been able to win a game for their team, whether that be through their batting, bowling, or fielding. A lot of T20 games go down to the final over, even ball, to determine which side will win the match.

The fact that it is World Cup and the thought of players representing their own countries adds to the unpredictability of the tournament. The thought of representing your country and the pressure the public puts on you to win the tournament increases the nervousness of the players which can consequently affect the way they play. 

A good example of the tournament’s unpredictability can be seen in the most recent tournament. Australia ended up winning the tournament, but before it, were not even considered as one of the top 4 favourites to win it. Whilst in 7 editions of the tournament there has been 6 different winners with only the West Indies winning it twice.

However, due to the tournament’s unpredictability, bookies factor this in and will provide punters with ‘each-way’ betting. An each-way bet is offered by bookmakers and consists of two separate bets, including a win bet and a place bet. For example, at the next T20 World Cup, you could place an each-way bet on Pakistan to win the tournament and a place bet on them reaching the final. 

Furthermore, during a tournament, betting fans will also be given the option to cash out on these bets during the tournament. This could be more or less than your original bet depending on the situation of the tournament. 

T20 World Cup Match Betting 

Match betting in cricket involves betting on the result of individual matches within a series or a tournament. In relation to the T20 World Cup this would involve betting on the result of individual matches during every stage of the tournament, the global qualifiers, the group stages, the Super 12 and the knockout stage. 

For example, a match between Sri Lanka and the West Indies, one could bet on Sri Lanka to win or the West Indies to win. There is always a winner in T20 cricket because if the scores are tied at the end of both innings, the match will then be decided by a ‘Super Over’.

Traditionally in the group stages there will always be matches that a considered more important than others due to some countries’ respective rivalries such as Australia versus England and India against Pakistan. 

The Knockout stage of the tournament will also thought of as the most pressurised and competitive for teams and players who reach this stage as these games decides if you reach the final or win the tournament overall.

However, before the finals stage there are the group stages, global qualifiers and Super 12. As the last few games are played at each stage, these matches can be just as competitive as the knockout stage matches as teams may be in must win matches in order to progress to the next stage or failure to do so will mean you are eliminated from the tournament.

Having a placed a bet on a match, a betting fan may be able to cash out their bet depending on the match situation. The match situation will determine whether you cash out for less or more on what you initially bet.

Additionally, match betting can also include the pre match coin toss to see who will bat or bowl first. 

Player Betting

Cricket is about taking wickets and making runs, so betting markets offer bets on how many runs a batsmen may score or how many wickets a bowler may get. In any format of cricket, including the T20 World Cup, bookies offer odds on players for who might be the top run scorer op top wicket taker in each innings.

Betting options can also be offered in the form of doubles, where one can bet on who will be the top run scorer/top wicket taker for each side in an innings or on one team.

Top wicket taker markets are popular but volatile bets in cricket. This is because bowlers who are perceived as weaker are more frequently taken on by batsmen but as a consequence are batsmen may be more likely to take risks and lose their wicket. 

Historically, spinners have been the most successful bowlers in T20 cricket and at the T20 World Cup. For example, as previously mentioned, Shakib Al Hasan, a left-arm spinner, has taken then most wickets at T20 World Cups.

It is also typical for bowlers to finish on the same number of wickets, so the first tie-break for top wicket taker is done by the number of runs also conceded by the bowlers in question. 

Bookies also provide bets on players to reach individual milestones, whether that be for batting or bowling. For players earning runs in a match, a punter can place a bet on any player from either side to score more than fifty runs or more than one hundred runs. Whilst for bowlers taking wickets, a bet can be placed on bowlers from either side to take three or more and five or more wickets in a match. 

However, due to the limited number of overs in a T20 match the likelihood of a player to score a hundred or take five wickets is very rare, so the odds are typically longer for these two bets.

Offers are also provided for punters other than just players reaching milestones. For batsmen, punters are able to bet on over/under options for a certain number of runs for a batsman to score (e.g., above 30) and the number of fours or sixes they may hit in their innings. For the previously mentioned player bets punters will be given cash out options, however, this may not be as likely for in-play betting.

In-play betting on players is also offered by betting sites. Top bowler markets are normally closed when the match starts, but top batting markets remain open. Within in-play betting markets, punters are also able to place bets on which of the two batsmen who are currently batting you believe will be out next and also by which mode of dismissal you think a batsman who is currently batting would be out by. 

Also, for in-play bowling options this could include an over/under options for how many runs they might concede in an over.

Furthermore, match betting can also focus on individual performances, for example, betting on who will be the player of the match or who will be the highest run scorer or wicket taker of the match.

Team Betting

Similar to individual player betting, punters are also able to place bets on teams in a match. This is more typical for a team’s batting innings. Like individual player scores, betting sites also provide options for a team to score over/under or between a certain number of runs during their batting innings. 

In T20 cricket players skill levels have dramatically increase to be able to score more runs quickly due to T20 limited number of overs. However, it is not easy predict what a good score might be as this is dependent on many external factors, such as the stadium, the pitch, the teams, the players and the importance of the match.

For betting fans, it is worth considering the teams playing, looking at their previous scores and the players’ batting form, as well as, the previous scores of the ground they are playing at to see what a good ‘par’ total might be.

There is also an in-play option to continue betting on the team score throughout their batting innings. 

Punters are also given the option to bet on whether they think a team will score more or less than a certain number of fours, sixes or total boundaries during a team’s batting innings. 

This is particularly relevant to T20 cricket as the frequency of boundaries drastically increases due to limited number of overs in an innings. It is also important to consider the ground the teams a playing at depending on if they have long or short boundaries.

T20 World Cup Betting specials

Bookies also offer ‘special markets’ whereby they provide punters with interesting and potentially different bets to the previously mentioned. These are usually random outside bets that typically have longer odds and are often labelled as ‘specials’.

Special market bets could typically include unusual bets. For example, special bets may include someone taking a hattrick or for there to be a ‘Super Over’, (where both teams scores are level).

May be a bit more usual but still considered as ‘special’ is being able to place bets on who the overall leading wicket taker or run scorer will be for the tournament.

Special markets can also include various combinations of bets which are packaged together to make a ‘special’ which would typically have longer odds. For example one player from Team A to make thirty or more runs, another player from Team A to take three or more wickets, and for Team A to win the match.