Cricket is by far the most heavily bet-on sport in India, and sportsbooks reflect that with dozens of markets for a single match — far more than just picking the winner. For a beginner, it helps to understand what each of these markets actually means before placing a wager on it.<\/p>
This guide walks through the most common cricket bet types<\/strong> available to Indian bettors, using realistic match examples throughout, from international fixtures to T20 league cricket like the IPL<\/strong>.<\/p> The simplest cricket bet is predicting which team wins the match outright, often just called match winner<\/strong>.<\/p> Example<\/strong>: India vs. Australia, ODI match. Backing India to win at decimal odds<\/strong> of 1.80 with a ₹1,000 stake<\/strong> returns ₹1,800 if India wins — a profit of ₹800.<\/p> In formats with no possible draw, like most limited-overs cricket, this is a straightforward two-way market and a good starting point for beginners.<\/p> Cricket markets build on the popular bet types<\/a><\/strong> covered in our main guide.<\/p> In some formats, a tie<\/strong> (both teams scoring the same number of runs) or a no result<\/strong> (match abandoned, often due to weather) is a separate possible outcome. It’s worth checking whether a match’s format allows for a tie before assuming a two-way bet covers every possibility.<\/p> In Test cricket, where a draw is possible, the double chance market<\/a><\/strong> lets you cover two outcomes.<\/p> Top batsman<\/strong> markets ask you to predict which player will score the most runs for their team, or sometimes across the whole match, rather than predicting the match result itself.<\/p> Example<\/strong>: Betting on a specific opening batsman to be the top run-scorer<\/strong> for India in a T20 match. This bet can win or lose independent of whether India actually wins the game.<\/p> These markets require a bit more research than team-based bets, since they depend on batting order, current form, and pitch conditions — an opener facing more deliveries generally has a different run-scoring profile than a middle-order batsman.<\/p> The bowling equivalent of top batsman markets, top bowler<\/strong> bets predict which player will take the most wickets in an innings or match.<\/p> Example<\/strong>: Backing a specific fast bowler to finish as the top wicket-taker<\/strong> for their team in a Test match. Conditions matter heavily here — a bowler suited to seaming pitches may be a stronger pick in some venues than others.<\/p> Over\/under bets<\/strong> on total runs ask whether the combined total in an innings or match will finish above or below a set line, rather than asking who wins.<\/p> Example<\/strong>: A T20 match sets the total runs line at 320.5. Betting “over” wins if 321 or more runs are scored across both innings combined; “under” wins if 320 or fewer are scored. The “.5” ensures there’s never an exact tie on the total.<\/p> Learn how bookmakers set lines in our guide to over\/under runs markets<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p> Closely related to total runs, total sixes<\/strong> markets focus specifically on how many sixes are hit in a match, which tends to attract strong interest in T20 cricket given its faster scoring pace.<\/p> Example<\/strong>: A match sets the total sixes line at 14.5. Fifteen or more sixes wins an “over” bet; fourteen or fewer wins “under.” This market can move quickly as an innings progresses, particularly during a strong batting spell.<\/p> Method of dismissal<\/strong> bets predict how a specific batsman will be dismissed — for example, caught, bowled, LBW, or run out — rather than simply whether they’ll be out at all.<\/p> Example<\/strong>: Betting that a specific batsman will be dismissed “caught” rather than any other method. This is a more specialised market, and odds vary significantly depending on a bowling attack’s style and the batsman’s typical dismissal patterns.<\/p> Markets like this are often offered ball by ball during live cricket betting<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p> Handicap betting<\/strong> in cricket applies a virtual run advantage or disadvantage to one team, useful when there’s a clear mismatch between sides.<\/p> Example<\/strong>: In a match where Team A is a strong favourite, a -20.5 run handicap<\/strong> on Team A means their actual margin of victory needs to exceed 20 runs for the bet to succeed — winning by 15 runs would not be enough, even though Team A won the match outright.<\/p> Beyond single matches, series winner<\/strong> or tournament winner<\/strong> bets ask you to predict the outcome of a full series or competition, such as an entire IPL season or a bilateral Test series between two countries.<\/p> These bets typically settle only once the full series or tournament concludes, meaning your stake is tied up for a longer period than a single-match bet.<\/p> An accumulator<\/strong> combines two or more individual cricket bets into a single wager, with the odds of each selection multiplying together.<\/p> Example<\/strong>: Combining three separate match-winner bets from different IPL games, each at 1.80 decimal odds, produces combined odds of roughly 5.83. A ₹500 stake would return around ₹2,915 if all three selections win.<\/p> The key risk: every selection must win<\/strong> for the accumulator to pay out. If even one selection loses, the entire bet loses, regardless of how the others performed.<\/p>Match Winner<\/strong><\/h2>
Match Winner with a Tie or No Result<\/strong><\/h3>
Top Batsman \/ Top Run-Scorer<\/strong><\/h2>
Top Bowler \/ Most Wickets<\/strong><\/h2>
Total Runs (Over\/Under)<\/strong><\/h2>
Total Sixes<\/strong><\/h2>
Method of Dismissal<\/strong><\/h2>
Handicap Betting<\/strong><\/h2>
When Handicap Betting Makes Sense<\/strong><\/h3>
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When It May Not Suit Beginners<\/strong><\/h3>
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Series and Tournament Bets<\/strong><\/h2>
Accumulators (Multi-Bets)<\/strong><\/h2>
Quick Comparison of Cricket Bet Types<\/strong><\/h2>