Who will win ICC World Cup 2019? Check out who the punters are betting on

Bookies expect the Indian captain, Virat Kohli to emerge as the tournament's top run scorer.

With less than a fortnight remaining before the 12th edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup gets underway in England and Wales, the squads for all the 10 participating teams have been announced and the race to predict the winner is gathering steam.

Most online betting websites expect host England to win the tournament. Ladbrokes, for instance, pegs the odds of an England win at 15/8, followed by India (at 3/1) and then defending champions Australia (at 9/2). Simply put, 15/8 is the fraction the bookie is willing to multiply your stake by.

Mathematically, 15/8 implies 15 divided by 8, or the fraction 1.875. So if you bet on England with the odds currently placed at 15/8, the amount you bet will be multiplied by 15 and then divided by 8. The winnings, on this case, will be the result of the above-mentioned fraction plus the amount you originally bet.

For example, bid money Rs 50,000. Odds: 15/8. If you win, the total amount you get will be:

(Rs 50,000 x 15)/8 + Rs 50,000 = Rs 1,43,750

Remember, most websites do charge a small commission on the winnings as well.

Ireland, Zimbabwe and Afghanistan are placed at the bottom of the pyramid with the odds for winning placed at 1000/1, 1000/1 and 100/1, respectively.

Another online betting site, Betway, also expects England to win the ICC World Cup (odds at 3.25), followed by India (odds at 3.75) and Australia (odds at 4.5). It, however, places Sri Lanka (51), Afghanistan and Bangladesh at the bottom of the winners pyramid with odds of 81.

And the prediction does have a solid reasoning. England skipper Eoin Morgan will have the company of Jonny Bairstow, Jason Roy, Jos Buttler and Joe Root in the batting department - and all of them have been in good touch.

As regards India, Virat Kohli will lead the side and will to play a crucial role in the batting line-up along with Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and MS Dhoni, who is a seasoned wicket-keeper and a true 'game finisher'.

Business Standard