Cricket betting tips: England vs Zimbabwe, Gujarat Titans vs Lucknow Super Giants

A cross-over between the conclusion of the Indian Premier League and the start of the England Men’s international summer is nothing new, but the delay of 10 days between matches 57 and 58 due to the suspension and subsequent resumption of the tournament means there is more of an overlap than usual in 2025.

As a result, there will still be seven group stage games of this year’s IPL remaining when England begin their one-off four-day Test against Zimbabwe on Thursday. And just under five hours after the scheduled start at Trent Bridge, Gujarat Titans will take on Lucknow Super Giants at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

In Nottingham, England start an exciting run of fixtures in Test cricket which will see India arrive for a five-match series next month before an away Ashes series gets underway in late November.

READ: How to bet on sports: Everything you need to know about sports betting

This clash with Zimbabwe will be the first Test meeting between the sides since June 2003 and sees England begin a home red-ball game without Chris Woakes, James Anderson or Stuart Broad for only the second time in 18 years!

As for Gurjarat and Lucknow, they only joined the IPL in 2022 and the Titans have already confirmed their place in the playoffs for the third time in four seasons whereas the Super Giants have missed out for the second successive campaign.

England vs Zimbabwe preview

After delivering plenty of scintillating highs, mixed in with some record defeats, the so-called ‘Bazball’ era, England’s Test team under head coach Brendan McCullum, faces its true reckoning over the next eight months with series against the giants of India and Australia.

But first up is this four-day clash with Zimbabwe as England play Test cricket for the first time since mid-December when they lost by 423 runs to New Zealand in Hamilton.

As for the Chevrons, this is their sixth Test since England last played red-ball cricket, and although they picked up a surprise win in the opening Test of their Bangladesh tour last month, they went down by an innings and 106 runs in the second game to make it three defeats and only one victory from their last five.

FIRST’s top tip for England vs Zimbabwe

Sam Cook to be the top bowler in the match - 5/1 with Highbet

It may seem a strange tip to back a Test debutant to finish as the top bowler in the match but Sam Cook’s international call-up is well overdue.

The 27-year-old has taken 227 wickets in county cricket across the last five years, the most of any bowler in that time, and he could well find himself as the leader of the England bowling attack alongside the inexperienced trio of Gus Atkinson, Josh Tongue and Shoaib Bashir.

What’s more, England pace bowling debutants impressed during the 2003 series against Zimbabwe, with James Anderson taking 5/73 in the first innings at Lords and Richard Johnson recording figures of 6/33 in the first innings at Chester-le-Street. 

Gujarat Titans vs Lucknow Super Giants preview

The form of Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants is incomparable ahead of this fixture with the Titans chasing a fourth successive victory in this year’s tournament while Lucknow are hoping to stave off a fifth defeat in a row.

Gujarat sit top of the table and are guaranteed to secure first place if they win this and their final group stage fixture against bottom of the pile Chennai Super Kings on Sunday.

As for the Super Giants, a six wicket defeat against the already eliminated Sunrisers Hyderabad on Monday means that a top-four finish is out of reach and instead Rishabh Pant’s side will focus on targeting a third head to head success over Gujarat Titans, including a six wicket victory last month.

FIRST’s top tip for Gujarat Titans vs Lucknow Super Giants

Sai Sudharsan to be top batter in the match - 10/3 with Highbet

The classy 23-year-old left-hander has impressed in every season of the IPL since making his debut in 2022 but has taken his game to a new level in this campaign.

He hit his highest ever IPL score of 108 not out in the win over Delhi Capitals on Sunday to take his average up to 56.09 for the season and go into the lead in the Orange Cap race with 617 runs in total.

Sudharsan made 56 in the clash with Lucknow Super Giants last month, one of six innings in the 2025 IPL where he has made a score of 50+.

And the opener has a brilliant IPL record at the Narendra Modi Stadium, a venue where he has never been dismissed for a single-figure score and where he averages 56.63 from 17 innings.

Extra Tips

Sean Williams to be Zimbabwe’s 1st Innings Top Batter bowler (England vs Zimbabwe) - 10/3 with Highbet

Patience and experience are always necessary for an overseas Test batter in England and in 38-year-old Sean Williams, Zimbabwe have a player with both.

He has represented his country in over 250 internationals and averages an impressive 44.26 from 19 Tests with the left-hander hitting half-centuries in both first innings during the Test tour of Bangladesh and in last week’s four-day game against the First-Class Counties Select XI.

Prasidh Krishna to be Gujarat Titans’ top bowler (Gujarat Titans vs Lucknow Super Giants) - 3/1 with Highbet

The dismissal of Delhi Capitals skipper Axar Patel in the 17th over of the innings on Sunday means that Prasidh Krishna has picked up at least one wicket in each of Gujarat Titans’ last 11 matches.

In total he has 21 wickets at an average of 17.57 and a strike-rate of 13.4 in the 2025 IPL, but when he has got the ball in hand across the last four matches at the Narendra Modi Stadium, that average drops to a brilliant 9.27 and his strike-rate to an incredible 8.7.