How to Bet on Cricket in India: A Complete Guide

Last updated: 26 September 2026 · By CricketPrediction.com

To bet on cricket in India, pick a betting site and open an account, then add money: all 12 sites we review list UPI. Choose a match and a market, such as the match winner. Check the odds, enter a small stake and confirm. If your pick is right, the winnings go to your balance.

This cricket betting guide explains each market, how odds work and how to keep your stakes small.

How to Bet on Cricket, Step by Step

1. Choose a betting site. Compare payments, withdrawal times and markets before you sign up.
2. Open an account. Sign up with your details.
3. Add money. All 12 sites we review list UPI, and most also take Paytm, PhonePe and Google Pay.
4. Pick a match and a market. Match winner is an easy place to start.
5. Enter your stake. Your return is your stake times the decimal odds, so check it before you confirm.
6. Collect and withdraw. Winnings go to your balance. Our reviews give UPI withdrawals from 15 minutes to 72 hours.

Cricket Betting Markets Explained

To place a sensible bet, you need to understand the markets. Here are the main ones and how each one settles.

1. Match Winner

A simple bet. You back which team will win the match. In Test cricket, you can also bet on the Draw.

• Draw No Bet: This removes the draw option, refunding your stake if the match ends in a stalemate.

2. Session Betting and Lambi

Session betting covers the runs scored in a set block of overs. You bet Yes (lagai) if you expect more runs than the line, or No (khai) if you expect fewer.

• 6 Over Session (Powerplay): The bookie quotes a line, often as two numbers such as “45-47 Runs”. The lower number is for No and the higher one is for Yes.
• 10 / 20 Over Sessions: The same logic for longer blocks.
• Lambi Pari: Betting on the total runs in an entire innings. In Hindi, lambi means long and pari means an innings.

For a deep dive into session markets and finding value, see our complete Session Betting Guide. For the Hindi exchange vocabulary, see What Is Khai Lagai?; for the English framing of the same concepts, see Back and Lay Betting Explained. For multi-selection equal returns, use our Dutching Calculator. Betfair runs a betting exchange. It is not open to India, and our review covers why, plus the legal options.

3. Fancy Markets

“Fancy” bets are bets on specific events within a match. Examples:

• Player markets: Predicting who scores the most runs or takes the most wickets. With more possible winners, the odds on each player are longer.
• Total Fours / Sixes: Betting on boundary counts.
• Fall of Next Wicket: Predicting the score at which the next wicket will fall.

4. Toss Markets

Betting on who wins the toss is a coin flip: nobody can predict the coin, so it is 50/50. Our toss predictions call something else: whether the toss winner will bat or bowl first. Winning the toss helps only a little. In our records, T20 toss winners won 5,115 of 10,003 decided games (51.1%).

5. Live Betting (In-Play)

Place bets while the match is in progress. Odds can move with every ball. If a favourite loses two early wickets, its odds drift out.

Understanding Cricket Betting Odds

This guide uses decimal odds, such as 1.50 or 2.00. They are simple to read:

Your potential return = Stake x Odds

The key concept is value. Divide 1 by the decimal odds to get the chance the price implies: odds of 2.00 imply 50%. If you believe a team has a 60% chance of winning at those odds, that is a value bet. It can still lose, so keep your stakes small.

Use our Implied Probability Calculator to instantly convert bookmaker odds into win percentages and spot value bets. If you work with different odds formats (decimal, fractional, American), our Odds Converter handles all conversions.

Key Factors for Cricket Betting

Before any bet, check these four things:

Pitch Conditions

Each pitch plays its own way, and two matches at one ground can be on different strips. Read the pitch report for the match in front of you, not the ground’s reputation.

Weather and The “Dew Factor”

In evening games, dew can make the ball wet and hard to grip, so bowling second gets harder. In our records, IPL sides batting second won 666 of 1,218 games with a result (54.7%).

Team Form and Head-to-Head

Look at recent form, and at how each side’s batters handle the bowling they will face.

Player Availability

Late injury and squad news can move the odds. Check the playing XI before you bet: a rested key bowler changes the match.

For more on pitch, dew, the toss and in-play betting, see our Cricket Betting Strategy Guide. For live betting, including how odds move during a T20 match, see our Live Betting Guide.

Our Data-Driven Approach

Our predictions come from our AI model. They put a win probability on every match we cover, and each pick is graded in public on our track record page, misses included. We cover leagues including the IPL, BBL, SA20 and PSL.

Getting Started with Cricket Betting

Ready to place your first bet? Here is a simple approach:

1. Choose a Trusted Bookmaker

Not all betting sites are safe. We have reviewed the cricket betting sites in India. Our reviews cover payment methods, withdrawal times, bonus terms and cricket markets.

• Dafabet: has a betting exchange, where you can back and lay. Use our Khai-Lagai Calculator to calculate Back-Lay profits.
• 1xBet: cricket markets our review rates highly, including live ball-by-ball betting.
• Paripesa: works like 1xBet, with deep cricket markets, in English, Hindi or Bengali.
• Stake: crypto-first; crypto withdrawals often clear within minutes.
• Vavada: a casino-first site with a sportsbook; takes UPI and adds an accumulator boost on bets with 3 or more selections.

If you prefer betting on mobile, see our betting apps guide for how to get each app (APK or mobile site) and pay by UPI.

2. Start with Match Winner Bets

Do not overcomplicate it. Match winner is easy to follow: you pick who wins. Once you are comfortable, try session runs and player markets.

3. Manage Your Bankroll

Set a budget and stick to it. Keep each stake small: the stakes on our match predictions run from 0.5 to 1.5 units, where 1 unit is 1% of your bankroll. Small stakes survive losing runs. At a 55% win rate on even-money bets, flat stakes of 10% carry a 13.4% risk of losing the lot; at 1%, the risk is under 2 in a billion.

For units, losing runs and staking plans, see our Bankroll Management Guide.

4. Follow Data, Not Emotion

Your favourite team is not always the right bet. Check our cricket betting tips before placing any wager. Each one gives a win probability you can set against the odds.

Bet Responsibly

Cricket betting should be entertaining, not stressful. Set limits, never chase losses, and take breaks when needed. Our 59% prediction accuracy (334 correct out of 566 verified picks) means we are wrong nearly 41% of the time. If betting stops being fun, step back.

18+ only. Please gamble responsibly. For support and resources, visit our Responsible Gambling page or see our Bankroll Management Guide.