IPL Betting: Delhi Daredevils v Pune Warriors India

"Delhi at 1.715/7 look too short to me in these circumstances. Home advantage is no advantage if you’ve never played there either! The flip side of that is that at 2.3411/8 Pune are too generously priced, so represent the value bet"

The bottom two sides in the Indian Premier League meet, but that doesn't mean that there is no value to be had in the market on this game. Richard O'Hagan explains...

Delhi Daredevils v Pune Warriors India
Sunday 28 April, 15:30 BST
Live on ITV4 and itv.com

Delhi Daredevils

The question on everyone's lips this year has been 'Where did it all go wrong for Delhi?'. In reality, though, that question ought to be more along the lines of 'When is it ever likely to go right for Delhi?'. At the halfway stage of IPL 2013 they are rooted at the foot of the table with just one win from their eight games. They don't have a batsman in the top ten runscorers or a bowler who averages more than one wicket per game. Only three batsmen have passed fifty in the competition so far, only tailender Morne Morkel has a strike rate of over 150.00 and Umukt Chand, touted as the best young batsman in India, has an average of 7.66. It is easy to see why Delhi languish at the foot of the table but hard to see what they can do to redress the balance over the second half of the competition. Delhi have shuffled and shuffled their line up like an amnesiac croupier this season, but to no avail. There's a good chance that they'll give a second outing to Ben Rohrer, who was one of the standouts of this year's Big Bash in Australia.

Pune Warriors India

With Pune, the question is almost the opposite, not so much a case of 'When is this team going to start winning?' as 'How on earth has this team managed to win two games?'. Make no mistake about it, Pune are a shambles. They've not only dropped their captain, they've dropped his original replacement as well. In their last game they were flayed by Bangalore, who ran up a record score for any T20 game on the back of Chris Gayle's T20 record score of 175*. They were dealt a huge blow this week when Marlon Samuels became their second overseas player to drop out of the competition due to injury (Australian captain Michael Clarke being the first) and although he has only been fit enough to play two games anyway the psychological blow to an already struggling team is impossible to overlook. This might now be the moment for them to introduce two other overseas players who haven't seen action so far. New Zealander Kane Williamson would introduce some steel at the top of the batting order, whist South African left armer Wayne Parnell offers options with both bat and ball. Either would be preferable to Mitchell Marsh, who has struggled so badly this year that it is amazing that only people in Pune cannot see it.

Venue and Conditions

This will be the first game that Delhi have played in the International Cricket Stadium in Raipur, so there is no past history to go on other than that scoring does tend to be hard at newer venues, no matter where in the world they are. Temperatures could be as high as 43 degrees during the day, but a drop of over 20 degrees is not unheard of in the evening here. That sort of drop can lead to a heavy dew, which usually favours the team bowling second if they can keep the ball dry enough.

Match Odds

Deciding between these two is a bit like the famous Samuel Johnson saying about lice and fleas. Picking between two bad teams at a new venue is tricky. Delhi at 1.715/7 look too short to me in these circumstances. Home advantage is no advantage if you've never played there either! The flip side of that is that at 2.3411/8 Pune are too generously priced, so represent the value bet.

Top Delhi Batsman

David Warner is Delhi's leading batsman in this year's IPL with 222 runs. Virender Sehwag, in turn, has a fearsome reputation but age has diminished him. Both of these two will be short odds just on name alone. The man to look for as a value bet, therefore, is captain Mahela Jayawardene. He's made 197 runs this year - good enough for 15th overall - without really standing out and he's under added pressure this time out because he is now the only overseas captain of a side not to have dropped themselves. That is just the kind of thing he thrives upon, though, and the presence of those two big hitters at the top of the order mean that you should be able to back him at around 4.67/2.

Top Pune Batsman

Picking a top Pune batsman is actually a lot easier, because only Aarom Finch has been in any sort of batting form for them. There have been odd flashes from the likes of Robin Uthappa, Steve Smith and even Luke Wright, but on consistency alone Finch is the best bet here, even at only 4.03/1.

Recommended Bet

Back Pune Warriors India at 2.3411/8 to win

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ODI Betting: Pakistan to exact World Cup revenge on India

ODI preview / Andrew Hughes / 17 March 2012 / Leave a Comment

Pakistan are out for revenge

"As has so often been the case, this clash between neighbours will come down to India’s batsmen against Pakistan’s bowlers."

India's shock defeat on Friday gives extra spice to this meeting of bitter rivals and Andrew Hughes thinks Pakistan could have the edge.

March 18, India v Pakistan, Dhaka, 08:00 GMT
Team News
Given that their seamers have largely failed so far, India could go old school and play just the two, although it's more likely that they'll opt to shuffle the pack, bringing in Vinay Kumar at the expense of Ashok Dinda. Yusuf Pathan is another option, but India are already well-stocked with big hitters and M S Dhoni seems to prefer Ravindra Jadeja in the all-rounder's berth.

Pakistan will consider strengthening the batting by bringing in Asad Shafiq, but that would weaken their bowling and young all-rounder Hammad Azam did well enough in Thursday's game to retain his place. Aizaz Cheema took four wickets in that game so should continue to keep Wahab Riaz on the sidelines.

Venue and Conditions
There is a marginal advantage to batting second at the Shere Bangla Stadium, although results have not yet fully reflected this. The surface has looked a little worn and sluggish in the afternoon whilst the evening dew freshens it up and brings the ball onto the bat more quickly, as well as making it harder for the fielding side. Still this is essentially a batting-friendly venue and bowlers erring in line or length will suffer.

Match Odds
As has so often been the case, this clash between neighbours will come down to India's batsmen against Pakistan's bowlers. And on a good batting pitch, Pakistan's superiority with the ball could be crucial. On paper, India's batting is the best in the tournament, but their spinners are ordinary and their seamers are military medium. They badly miss the class of Zaheer Khan or Harbhajan Singh at his peak.

It is hard to see India's bowlers causing a talented if inconsistent Pakistan batting line-up too many problems. By contrast, Aizaz Cheema and Umar Gul backed up by the spin of Shahid Afridi and Saaed Ajmal can apply the pressure. It will be a close contest, but at [2.24] Pakistan are the value in the Match Odds market and have a great chance of securing revenge for that World Cup semi-final defeat.

Top Indian Batsman
Now that he's reached his milestone, the runs might come more freely for Sachin Tendulkar but at bigger odds, I prefer Suresh Raina. He hit a rapid half-century on Friday which should have blown away the cobwebs and he's worth backing at [6.5]

Top Pakistan Batsman
On a slowing pitch one or two of Pakistan's batsmen might lack the requisite patience, but the experienced Younis Khan is just the man for the job. He hasn't hit many runs yet, but he fell to a wonder catch from Fervez Maharoof last time so we can't read too much into his single figure score. He should be backed at [5.0]

Featured Market
So far the average number of fours per game is a touch over 42 with the lowest total being 35. At this venue, the four tally is unlikely to drop much below 40, so '0-30' makes no appeal in the Total Fours market. Both '31-42' or '43 or more' are worth backing at [2.0] or better.

Recommended Bet
Back Pakistan to beat India at 2.24

Bangladesh came close in their opener, but Andrew Hughes thinks the Asia Cup hosts are up against it when they face India on Friday

Despite losing their opener, Andrew Hughes believes that Sri Lanka have the edge in Thursday's Asian Cup game.

A thoroughly enjoyable Commonwealth Bank Series comes to an end on Thursday and Andrew Hughes thinks Sri Lanka will clinch a deserved victory

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ODI Betting: Out of form India to go out on a low note

ODI preview / Richard O’Hagan / 27 February 2012 / Leave a Comment

Dinesh Chandimal is a nice bet for top Sri Lanka runscorer

"Sri Lanka have gone from being the whipping boys of the CB series to being the tournament’s form team. India, meanwhile, seem to have lost their way entirely."

It's been a long tour and a worn out India side look ripe for another ODI defeat in Australia with Sri Lanka ready to claim their place in the CB Series final

India v Sri Lanka - CB Series Game 11, Live on Sky Sports 1 at 3am (match begins at 3.20am)

What a difference a fortnight makes. Sri Lanka have gone from being the whipping boys of the CB series to being the tournament's form team. India, meanwhile, seem to have lost their way entirely. Their defeat against Australia on Sunday means that they need to beat Sri Lanka and gain a bonus point as well if they are to make the finals. In short, this is the archetypical 'make or break' game for both sides, but with Sri Lanka very much holding the advantage.

Team News
One of India's problems has been that, for much of the competition, their selection policy has resembled an octopus flailing at a drum kit. Nothing has exemplified this more than the fact that they have played all three senior batsmen - Sehwag, Tendulkar and Gambhir - in the two games since captain MS Dhoni announced that they wouldn't do this because it would cost them at least 20 runs in the field to do so. This then led to frantic denials but it is clear that the only certain thing with this side is that the end of the tour cannot come soon enough for them. Add to that the fact that they are struggling to field four fit bowlers and team selection this side might come down to a case of 'last man standing plays'.

Sri Lanka, by contrast, seem to have found a settled lineup. Few could have expected that, a year on from the World Cup final, the man who almost won them that tournament, Upal Tharanga, would be the man to be missing out as they permed five batsmen from six available, but having the calmer head of skipper Mahela Jayawardene at the top of the order has worked well for them, whilst Dinesh Chandimal has been an unexpected star. Their victory over Australia in their last game was a tight one, winning with four balls to spare, but the fact that their lineup now bats deep into the lower order helped them out there and it would be a surprise to see them make any changes.

Venue and Conditions
Hobart is a tricky ground to predict. Games here tend to either be relatively high scoring - in excess of 240 from 50 overs - or feature scores well short of 200. That weather conditions are more variable than other Australian grounds doesn't help. The forecast is for a coolish day by Australian standards with a gentle breeze, so expect little help for the bowlers and one of the higher scoring games.

Match Odds
For the first time in the competition Sri Lanka go into a game as favourites. At [1.91] it is not an overwhelming vote of confidence, but it is hard to see India summoning the reserves to make a game of this and you can expect those odds to get shorter as the start of the match approaches.

Top Runscorer
It is impossible to make a case for any of the Indian batsmen to top score. When your captain admits that your batting is so short of form that it falls to the bowlers to keep the score below 200 if you are to have a chance of winning, you have a serious problem. The safer bets lie on the Sri Lankan side and Chandimal looks to be the best bet here at a price of [5.6]. He scored 80 on this ground against Australia and only missed out on a ton by getting too inventive with his shot selection, a mistake this quick learner is unlike to make again.

Opening Partnership
There are not many areas where India may have the edge with the bat, but one of them is that it has been rare for both Sri Lankan openers to make a good start. Although India are outsiders in this market, the history of this series suggests that they will make a higher score for the first wicket than Sri Lanka do.

Best Bet
Dinesh Chandimal to be Sri Lanka's top scorer at odds of [5.6]

With two games to go, India are fast running out of chances to save their tournament, but Andrew Hughes thinks their minds are already on the flight home.

The Commonwealth Bank Series rolls into Tasmania on Friday and Andrew Hughes thinks punters should oppose the Aussies

Sri Lanka are the form side at the moment in this drawn-out competition and the absence of the suspended captain MS Dhoni won't help India's cause one little bit, says Richard O'Hagan....

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India v Sri Lanka 8th Match Betting: India will miss Dhoni

ODI preview / Richard O’Hagan / 20 February 2012 / Leave a Comment

Lahiru Thirimanne may get a chance to impress up the order

"Sri Lanka are the form team of the tournament. They have the most dependable top four batsmen and seem to have finally found an attack capable of bowling sides out on Australian pitches."

Sri Lanka are the form side at the moment in this drawn-out competition and the absence of the suspended captain MS Dhoni won't help India's cause one little bit, says Richard O'Hagan.

The past week has seen the fortunes of both sides reverse completely. Sri Lanka followed last Tuesday's dramatic tie against India with a comprehensive victory over Australia, whilst India went the opposite way. Not only were they thoroughly beaten by the hosts, captain MS Dhoni picked up his second one game suspension of the year in the process.

Team News

How India deal with the loss of Dhoni will be vital. Partiv Patel will replace him behind the stumps, but is nowhere near the same batsman, especially as Dhoni has been India's form player of this series.

Virender Sehwag will take over the captaincy again, but he has been having a poor series and with Sachin Tendulkar equally out of form, it is likely that Gautam Gambhir - the one Indian other than Dhoni to have made runs in this tournament - will open with him.

Dhoni's recent pronouncement that having all three senior batsmen in the side will cost the team twenty runs may be the only thing that keeps Ravinder Jadeja in the side; the IPL's most expensive player has been very disappointing in this series and has even fallen behind Suresh Raina as the spinner of choice, it seems.

Sri Lanka may well stick to the same batting line-up as against Australia. Captain Mahela Jayawardene clearly relished the chance to open the batting and with Dinesh Chandimal in fine form as well, it seems unlikely that they will alter their XI. They played four quick bowlers in that game and are likely to stick with that, although Angelo Mathews may still be having nightmares about bowling the 49th over which allowed India to sneak back into the sides' last meeting.

Venue and Conditions

The Brisbane pitch on Sunday was a curious one, appearing to become faster and bouncier as the game went on. Couple that with the two spinners used in that game bowling all of their overs for no reward at all and you can expect to see plenty of work for the fast men, with the slow bowlers being used in a containing role - and, of course, to avoid those slow over rate fines!

Match Odds

Sri Lanka are the form team of the tournament. They have the most dependable top four batsmen and seem to have finally found an attack capable of bowling sides out on Australian pitches. India, on the other hand, seem to be tiring after their long tour and have also had the wearying experience of several close games in this competition. Despite this, Sri Lanka remain outsiders for this match and therefore represent a good bet at [2.06]

Top Runscorer

The loss of Dhoni makes the Indian batting too volatile to consider at the moment. Sri Lanka, though, have four prime contenders in Jayawardene, Tillekaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara and Chandimal. A good bet outside of this group might be Lahiru Thirimanne. He hasn't scored many runs in his three appearances (although he wasn't required to bat against Australia), but as an opening batsman in Test matches, he may well find this quicker pitch to his liking and may even be promoted to open instead of Jayawardene, if the conditions are right. He is available at odds of [7.0].

Total Run Outs

This is not the sort of market we would normally single out for a game, but in their four CB Series matches Sri Lanka have effected a remarkable eight run outs and been involved in another five when batting. That is an average of 3.25 per match, which makes the price of [1.7] on there being more than 1.5 in this game look rather attractive.

Best Bet

Lahiru Thirimanne to be Sri Lanka's top scorer at odds of [7.0]

The tourists are getting their act together while Australia are deteriorating fast and Andrew Hughes can see only one outcome in Brisbane

After their tie against India, it's crunch time for the Sri Lankans, but Andrew Hughes believes they can get the better of the hosts on Friday

Sri Lanka are yet to win a game in this tournament and this could be a good chance to do just that. They'll need a big knock from their skipper Mahela Jayawardene and they might just get that, says Richard...

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Michael Vaughan: Phenomenal Dhoni to lead India to victory again

ODI preview / Michael Vaughan / 21 October 2011 / Leave a Comment

Captain's knock. Dhoni's well-paced 35 not out got India over the line in the 3rd ODI.

"If England bat first and get more than 300 they’ll once again go close but the smart money is on India prevailing again at [1.7], against an England side who still can’t come to term with the conditions and don’t seem to learn from their mistakes."

Michael Vaughan is full of praise for the Indian captain and has a few harsh words to say about England's inability to learn from their mistakes. The latter will cost Alastair Cook's men again, as India go 4-0 up.

England came much closer to winning a match than they did in the first couple of ODIs on Thursday but it wasn't quite enough.

Where did they lose the game? Firstly, in the bowling department. India bowled full and straight, whereas England were guilty of bowling short and wide far too often. Those are freebies on these wickets to batsmen of this calibre.

Jonathan Trott played really well to score 98 but when the analysts in the England backroom staff crunched the numbers in the aftermath of the match, they'll have picked up on the fact he only scored one boundary during the last 10 overs. For a batsmen who is well set on a good wicket, that's simply not enough.

And finally, and most worryingly of all, there was the fielding. Dropped catches, missed run-outs, overthrows. You name it, England were guilty of it. Which is all the more remarkable when you consider that just a couple of months ago it was the Indians who were slow and clumsy in the field and England who looked energetic and sharp.

In the end it was left to MS Dhoni to play a typical 'finisher's' role and score the winning runs with another of those wristy drives to the boundary rope. Dhoni is a phenomenal limited-overs player, arguably the best in the business. Not since Australia's Michael Bevan has a batsman been so good at pacing a run chase. He knows how long he has to play himself in, knows when to accelerate and has an instinct for where to score his runs. Dhoni almost always finishes the innings unbeaten.

But at 30 he may decide that he needs to cut back on his workload in the near future. Keeping wicket, batting in the middle order and captaining India in all three formats takes a hell of a lot out of you and he may decide to give up the Test captaincy over the next couple of years, or indeed give up the longest format altogether. We'll have to wait and see but for the time being England have to work out a way of getting him out or else this series is only going one way and that's towards a whitewash.

Can we make a case for England winning the fourth ODI in Mumbai? We said already that their best chance was to post a big score and try to defend it by taking early wickets and hope the pressure of a big run chase got to the batsmen. Well, 298 looked like an imposing total on Thursday but in the end it was a relatively comfortable chase for India, when you consider they still had five wickets in hand. If England bat first and get more than 300 they'll once again go close but the smart money is on India prevailing again at [1.7], against an England side who still can't come to term with the conditions and don't seem to learn from their mistakes.

Alastair Cook's side are terrific on green wickets at home where the ball moves all over the place. But a 5-0 loss here in India a couple of years ago, a 6-1 drubbing against Australia in January this year and losses to Ireland and Bangladesh at the World Cup are all proof they simply can't replicate that form away from England. The first thing the management need to address is the issue of the wickets they prepare back home. If they're going to play on 300+ wickets away, they need to have practice of playing on those on English soil. Get used to hitting more sixes, learn to take wickets when there's no assistance and learn to use spin to reduce the run rate. Until they do that, they're a pretty one-dimensional team.

On the plus side, Kevin Pietersen has scored 46 and 64 in his last two matches and is looking his old confident, aggressive self. A big knock from KP may not be enough to win England the match but at [5.0] he's the stand-out bet to top score for his side.

3 pts Back India to win @ [1.7]
2 pts Back Kevin Pietersen to be England top batsman @ [5.0]

A change of personnel is unlikely to radically change England's fortunes against a side who are getting better and better in this series. The obvious bet is the good bet, says Michael Vaughan....

Ed Hawkins previews the third one-day international at Mohali on Thursday and applies betting rule No 1...

India were vastly superior in the first match and there could be more of the same here unless a couple of England's senior players put in much improved performances, says Michael Vaughan....

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England v India Day Two: Close of play summary

England Cricket / Andrew Hughes / 30 July 2011 / Leave a Comment

Broad’s spell brought back memories of 1981

"But though India may hold the advantage, England will be on a high after a blistering spell of bowling from Stuart Broad blew away the Indian batting order."

Another thrilling day's cricket draws to a close with India on top, but only just. Andrew Hughes has the details of Saturday's play and looks ahead to tomorrow.

What a Test match! Only two days gone and we're already into the third innings. Saturday ended with India on top, holding a 43 run lead that could prove vital. I'm not sure I'd have them as short as [1.85] in the match odds market, but the big problem for England and the reason why punters should be reluctant to lump on them at [2.82] is the absence of Jonathan Trott. He suffered a nasty shoulder injury and will not bat again, which means they are effectively 24-2 at the close, with lots of work to do.

But though India may hold the advantage, England will be on a high after a blistering spell of bowling from Stuart Broad blew away the Indian batting order. Having been poised to build a match-winning lead at 267-4, they were skittled for 288. It was to England's credit that they had remained patient throughout a day when Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Yuvraj Singh dealt effectively with a tricky pitch.

So what can we expect on Sunday? England's best hope is to attack, because on this deteriorating surface, sooner or later every batsman can expect an unplayable ball. A lead of anything over 200 could prove difficult for India to chase down. And if the game continues to rattle along, we could well be looking at a Day Three finish, an eventuality that you can back at around [5.0] in the Test Match End market.

Stuart Broad was the star on day two once again - this time with the ball - and ex-England skipper Michael Vaughan is convinced that England can now go on and triumph......

It was hard to take your eye off the action on a dramatic opening day to this Second Test. Andrew Hughes brings us up to date with Friday's events and looks ahead to Saturday's action.

The momentum is with England after Monday evening's events and they can go 2-0 when we head to Nottingham, where conditions will assist the bowlers and mean the match is unlikely to go the distance....

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England v India Day Three: Close of play summary

England Cricket / Andrew Hughes / 23 July 2011 / Leave a Comment

Another hundred for The Wall

"Even though several of the Indian batsmen made starts, only Dravid and, perhaps Sachin Tendulkar, ever looked entirely comfortable."

It wasn't quite the day that everyone expected, but there was some top quality Test match cricket on display. Andrew Hughes rounds up Saturday's play.

Yesterday it was Praveen Kumar and Kevin Pietersen who got themselves onto the Lord's honours board and today they were joined by the reliable Rahul Dravid with a century that was a model of concentration and skill. And but for some sloppy slip fielding there would have been a five wicket haul for Stuart Broad, who bowled beautifully and completely justified the England selectors' faith in him.

England can be proud of their fielding effort. They kept plugging away and managed to take wickets at important time. Even though several of the Indian batsmen made starts, only Dravid and, perhaps Sachin Tendulkar, ever looked entirely comfortable. There was a palpable disappointment when Tendulkar succumbed on 34 and from that point on, batting looked a real struggle as the English seamers got the ball to swing consistently and Swann extracted more turn than Harbhajan Singh had managed.

But can they force the win? The weather forecast is moving in their favour, with only the slight possibility of a shower or two on Monday. The market has the home side on as short a price as they have been all match on [2.58] but that looks a little short to me Assuming England declare some time after tea on Sunday, India will have to bat for about a day or so and they ought to be able to do that second time around. The draw might be the value bet as it has drifted up to [1.71]

Michael Vaughan thinks England have a great chance of winning the First Test if they get their tactics right and take their chances......

A big innings for KP; a five-wicket haul for Praveen and plenty of runs: Friday's cricket was high on entertainment. Andrew Hughes rounds up the day's play.

Rain and bad light brought an early close to the fascinating opening exchanges in this eagerly anticipated series. Andrew Hughes sums up the day's play at Lord's

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The top 5 England v India batting and bowling displays

England Cricket / Dan Fitch / 21 July 2011 / Leave a Comment

Could anyone possibly better these figures?

With the first test between England and India underway, Dan Fitch looks back over the rich history of the fixture to unearth the greatest performances with the bat and ball.

We're looking forward to a late summer of great cricket between England and India, as some of the world's greatest batsmen and bowlers go head-to-head.

Over the years, England v India fixtures have produced some truly memorable batting and bowling displays that the current crop of players will have to go some way to match. Here are the five best ever England v India figures for bowlers and batters.

In 1980 at Mumbai, Ian Botham pretty much defeated India single-handedly. In the first innings he took 6 for 58 as England bowled out the home team for 242, before knocking up a score of 114 off just 144 balls with the bat.

The second innings saw Botham take the wickets of Sunil Gavaskar, Roger Binny, Gundappa Viswanath, Sandeep Patil, Yashpal Sharma, Syed Kirmani and Shivlal Yadav to record figures of 7 for 48. England won the match by 10 wickets and Botham recorded the best ever bowling figures for an entire test match between England and India, with a total of 13 wickets for 106 runs.

As debuts go, John Lever's first match for England in Delhi was both controversial and extremely successful. Lever took 7 for 46, which was the best ever bowling figures for an England debutant until Dominic Cork usurped it in 1995. In addition, Lever hit a half century with the bat and took another three wickets in the second innings to record match figures of 10 for 70 - another record for a debutant.

Lever's performance was controversial because of the claims that he rubbed vaseline on one side of the ball to make it swing, in what was one of the first recorded cases of ball tampering.

Having overcome a polio attack in childhood that left his right wrist withered, Bhagwat Chandrasekhar developed a unique bowling style that wreaked havoc against the England batting order when they toured India in 1972/73.

His figures of 8 for 79 were his best ever, although he was at his most potent against England in 1971 when he recorded figures of 6 for 38 at the Oval, which in 2002 was awarded as Wisden's "Best bowling performance of the century". The 72/73 series saw Chandrasekhar in consistent form with a total of 35 wickets for 662 - the best ever bowling figures over a full test series between England and India.

India were inspired to their first ever test match victory over England by the bowling performance of Vinoo Mankad, who took 8 for 52 in the first innings and 4 for 53 in the second.

Later that year Mankad put in another brilliant performance against England, but this time ended up on the losing side. In the Lords test, Mankad scored 72 with the bat and then took 5 for 196 in the first innings, before knocking up 184 in the second innings.

After the second test at Lords in 1952 when Mankad played so well, the action moved on to Old Trafford for the third. It was to be the scene of the best ever bowling figures between England and India. Having made his England debut in the first test at Headingley, Fred Trueman produced what would ultimately become his greatest ever career figures, in only his third outing.

Trueman took 8 wickets for 31 runs, which is the ninth best figures recorded by any English bowler. After a breathtaking start to his test career, Trueman would go on to establish himself as England's greatest ever fast bowler.

When the captaincy of India was stripped from Sunil Gavaskar for the tour of England in 1979, he took out his frustrations on the home bowlers. Having scored four half centuries in the first three tests, Gavaskar exploded at the Oval in the fourth, with a performance that almost prompted an unlikely victory.

India had been set a world record target of 438 to square the series and Gavaskar hit 221 towards that total, only for India to finish an agonising nine runs short with two wickets in hand, with the match declared a draw.

In the twilight of his career, Gundappa Viswanath hit his highest ever test match score during the first innings of India's match against England in Chennai in 1982.

The always elegant 'Vishy' hit 222 off 374 balls to guide India to victory, just a year before he retired from test level. In total Viswanath scored 14 test centuries, averaging 41.93.

After making his debut against England in the first test of their 1992/93 tour of India, Vinod Kambli caught everyone's attention in the third test at Mumbai.

In the first innings Kambli scored the biggest knock of the series with 224. Only eleven players have scored more in their maiden test century and the score remains the highest by an Indian batsman against England. Less than a month later Kambli scored his largest ever total of 227 against Zimbabwe.

It says much about the controversial nature of Geoff Boycott's career that his greatest ever test score saw him dropped from England's next match. At his home ground of Headingley in 1967, Boycott hit an unbeaten 246, but the slow nature of his scoring caused frustration.

In total Boycott batted for 573 minutes, in which he only scored 25 runs in the first two hours and a total of 106 in the first six. Against an Indian attack weakened by injury and on a great batting service, Boycott's display annoyed the English selectors and was deemed selfish by the media. Boycott was dropped from the team for the next test.

The highest ever batting total during an England v India test match was the 333 scored by Graham Gooch in the first innings at Lords in 1990. As if this mammoth total wasn't enough, he followed it up with a knock of 123 in the second, to record a total for the match of 456 runs.

That aggregate score of 456 remains a world record for a test match, while the 333 is the third highest score ever recorded by an English batsman and the twelfth highest score by any cricketer worldwide. The 1990 series saw Gooch score 752 runs, which is a record between England and India.

Never underestimate the importance of playing at home in tough conditions, which gives England the edge before a ball has been bowled in anger. Read on to also find out who are the men to be on for top bat...

India haven't had enough of a chance to get used to English conditions and go into this First Test a little under-cooked. This should allow Jonathan Trott in particular to prosper and give England a great chance to go 1-0...

Ed Hawkins casts his eye over the players' market as the start of the four-Test series approaches...

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Live Blog: England v India First Test

Live Test Match Blogging / Andrew Hughes / 21 July 2011 / Leave a Comment

Zaheer is back in England

The big day has finally arrived and the battle for the number one Test ranking can begin. In between regular breaks for tea, Andrew Hughes will be keeping you updated on all the goings on at Lord's as England take on the world's best Test team

14:15 England 64-2
Strauss's dismissal was a shocker and his bad run continues. He managed just 27 runs in 4 innings against Sri Lanka and has yet to manage 50 Test runs in total this summer. His captaincy, too, has been criticised of late, Michael Vaughan labelling him as too defensive. Portugese Pirate has emailed Betfairliveblogger@hotmail on this theme, recalling Strauss's late declaration in the West Indies which left England with too little time to take 10 wickets: 'I have a feeling that at some stage throughout this series, this unadventurous approach will come back to bite England on the backside'.

14:06 England 62-2
Pietersen has made a cagey start against Ishant and has just played and missed. These are tricky overs for England. On the plus side for KP, there's no Yuvraj in this Indian team, indeed, no left-arm spinners at all.

WICKET Strauss c Sharma b Zaheer 22
Poor shot from Strauss; surprised by a crafty short ball from Zaheer, but it was well outside the offstump; he hooks and finds Ishant Sharma waiting in the deep. There were two fielders out there for that very shot and that's well-worked by India.

13:45 England 50-1
Fifty up for England and a crucial session that could set the tone of the Test match is underway. Don't forget that you can get in touch at betfairliveblogger@hotmail.co.uk. Portugese Pirate has done just that and has some interesting things to say about Strauss's captaincy, of which more shortly

LUNCH England 43-1
A shortened first session is over with honours even. All of the Indian bowlers have looked good but only have the one wicket to show for it. England could well have weathered the worst of the batting conditions. We'll be back in forty minutes.

12:52 England 40-1
Dropped! Harbhajan is on and second ball induced an edge from Trott, but Dravid at slip couldn't quite hold on. That would have been a major blow for England.

12:47 England 39-1
Trott's at the crease and the odds on a draw have dropped a little to [1.74]. The two events are not entirely unconnected. Surely that's too short at this stage? Strauss is starting to look more confident and lunch approaches.

12:25 England 19-1
We'll be seeing Ishant Sharma soon, but meanwhile Zaheer is still going strong, beating Strauss with a beauty. This is an absorbing struggle.

WICKET A Cook lbw b Zaheer 12
Excellent decision from Asad Rauf and, as Ed Hawkins predicted in his preview of the top batsman markets, Zaheer has out-thought the prolific England opener. India have their breakthrough.

12:00 England 13-0
This is good stuff. Praveen getting some swing; Cook and Strauss battling hard. But with nearly half an hour gone, India would have hoped for a breakthrough given the bowling conditions. Zaheer doesn't look at his best yet though. The draw price is dropping though, [1.78] and falling.

11:42 England 4-0
England have their first runs, controlled shot from Cook, past gully. A nervy start, but they're underway.

11:32 England 0-0
We're underway. Zaheer opening the bowling. He is India's main bowling threat, but he hasn't been in great form on this tour so far. It's going to be a cagey first session, but a fascinating one. England [3.35] to win the Test.

11:15 Delayed Start
England have gone with Broad over Bresnan. The Indian team contains a couple of names that may not be familiar to England viewers. Praveen Kumar is the third seamer, on the back of an excellent performance in the West Indies and Abhinav Mukund, a 21-year-old playing in his fourth Test

11:00 Delayed Start
India win the toss! No surprise to hear Dhoni put England in. There'll be something for the Indian seamers early on, but if England can get through the first session, there are plenty of runs in this pitch. You can get [5.3] about an Indian win, but the draw is understandably favourite given the strength of these batting line-ups.

10:54 Delayed Start
News from the middle is that the toss will happen at 11:00 and we'll be starting at 11:30. The rumours are that Stuart Broad has retained his place, but it must have been a close call. Get in touch and let me know what you think at betfairliveblogger@hotmail.co.uk Surely Tim Bresnan would make better use of these overcast conditions?

Morning all, welcome to what could be a cracking Test series between two of the world's top three sides. There's drizzle in the air in North London, but the covers are off and we are due an inspection at 10:50. Meanwhile, take a look at some of the excellent articles on the Betting.Betfair website, the pick of which is Ed Hawkins' betting preview.

The weather has played havoc with much of this Rose Bowl test but England have put themselves in a strong position and are favourites to close out victory on the final day. Follow the action here with Richard O'Hagan....

Rain has ruined much of the first three days but England can still force a win. Andrew Hughes will be keeping us updated on all the action from the Rose Bowl

There's certainly nothing wrong with England's bowling but there's been plenty not quite right with the weather over the last couple of days. Will there be enough overs for England to force a result? Andrew Hughes talks us through all...

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India are Cricket World Cup favourites after dramatic win

Sri Lanka / Maxliu / 30 March 2011 / Leave a Comment

Tendulkar v Murali is the battle to relish in the World Cup Final

"India scored 260, a decent total on a tough pitch, and Pakistan always looked unlikely to reach that target."

Pakistan put up brave chase in thrilling semi-final but it's the Little Master and co. who will take on Sri Lanka in the final...

The match of the century - that's what today's Cricket World Cup semi-final between India and Pakistan was billed as and in the end it was the hosts who prevailed.

India now trade as [1.66] favourites to win the tournament when they meet Sri Lanka [2.48] on Saturday.

MS Dhoni's men were backed at [2.28] midway through the contest after they struggled to build a on strong start. Sachin Tendulkar was their star man with a score of 85 but it could have been different if Pakistan had been sharper in the field.

India scored 260, a decent total on a tough pitch, and Pakistan always looked unlikely to reach that target. Misbah-Ul-Haq was their best batsman with 56 but they were all out for 231, 29 runs short.

The result means that we now have the mouthwatering prospect of seeing Sachin Tendulkar compete against Muttiah Muralitharan in what will undoubtedly be a terrific World Cup final this Saturday.

Let us know what you thought the semi-finals and who you think will win the final below...

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Cricket World Cup Betting: India v Ireland

Match Previews / Andrew Hughes / 05 March 2011 / Leave a Comment

The other O'Brien brother in action

"The way that Kevin O’Brien demolished the English on this very pitch would not have been pleasant viewing for one or two of the Indian bowlers..."

Having frightened Bangladesh and toppled England, the Irish have flown the flag for the Associate nations. Can they go one better and beat the tournament favourites?

London Start Time: 09:00

Venue and Conditions
Not a venue that many bowlers will regard with affection, Bangalore features a flat surface which offers no assistance whatsoever and a lightning fast outfield. In two games here in this tournament, England nearly overhauled 338 and Ireland reached 327 comfortably, so any score of less than 340 will be vulnerable.

Team News
Virender Sehwag has been treated for a minor rib problem in Delhi but isn't considered a serious doubt. India's bowling has looked weak so far, but will they be bold enough to play a fifth specialist bowler, in the form of Ashish Nehra, putting extra pressure on their batsmen? Ireland will almost certainly be unchanged.

Match Odds
Ireland's stunning success on Wednesday renders this game more meaningful and will have ensured that India do not take their opponents lightly. The way that Kevin O'Brien demolished the English on this very pitch would not have been pleasant viewing for one or two of the Indian bowlers and there is no doubt that all of the pressure going into this game is on the home side.

But can the Irish pull off an even bigger shock? It would be quite a spectacle, but cricket punters shouldn't believe in fairy tales and realistically, there is very little chance of an Irish win in Bangalore. India's batsmen will have far too much power and could well post a score in the high 300s against some ordinary bowling. Ireland will fight hard, but class will out and that's why India are [1.04] favourites.

Top Batsman
Yuvraj Singh looked good against England and now that he's found his range, he could be worth backing at [9.0] to be India's top batsman. Kevin O'Brien will be full of confidence, but for top Irish batsman, his brother Niall at [5.5] is a more attractive proposition.

Featured Market
There have been three centuries in two games at this venue so far so we are on fairly safe ground by recommending backing 'Over 82.5' in the Highest Individual Score market at [1.75] or better.

Best Bet:

Yuvraj Singh to top score for India at [9.0]

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World Cup Betting: India v England

Match Previews / Ed Hawkins / 26 February 2011 / Leave a Comment

Paul Collingwood looks good for runs

"Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag are both fit despite picking up knocks"

India and England clash in Bangalore on Sunday as the tournament action hots up. Ed Hawkins analyses this one. Follow him on Twitter here

London start time: 09.00

Team news
There were no reports of high winds throughout India this week but if there were they could be put down to millions of cricket nuts breathing a collective sigh of relief after injury scars proved to be false alarms.

Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag are both fit despite picking up knocks. Tendulkar had a knee problem and Sehwag was struck in the ribs in the nets. Both are "absolutely fine".

India's bowling is not. Ashish Nehra, if healthy, should replace the ridiculous Sreesanth who went for 10 an over against Bangladesh.

England should look to shuffle their pack, too. The exclusion of second spinner Michael Yardy against the Netherlands was a mistake that must be rectified. Ravi Bopara should make way.

Venue and conditions
The average first-innings score in the last seven ODIs at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore is a very healthy 276. One would expect India to go close to 300 if they bat first. Last time out against New Zealand, the hosts chased 316 for victory.

There is no toss bias. Six of the last 11 day-night contests have been won by the side batting first. There have been five centuries in the last seven matches.

Match odds
England were dreadful against the Netherlands. And they cannot be as bad again. Whether that makes a difference against a powerful India side is open to debate.

They have lost their last seven ODIs against India in India. Extend the search and it gets worse, losing 11 of their last 12 and 16 of their last 20. With those numbers in mind, it is no surprise India are as short as [1.49]. England are [3.00].

We don't like to tip up such short prices (a monkey could do it) so instead we'll look for in-running options. England should be capable of getting a foothold at some point.

If there are two men who are likely to wrestle back any initiative given by India, Harbhajan Singh and Yusuf Pathan are ones to watch. Harbhajan has 30 wickets in 16 matches against England in India. Pathan made a ton and took three wickets against the Kiwis on his last appearance at the venue.

Top batsman - India
All eyes are on Sehwag and Tendulkar. The former averages a massive 78 there in the last 10 years, Tendulkar a surprisingly low 27. Given those statistics and the fact that four of the top runscoers over the same study period have been openers, Sehwag pips the Little Master, who is [4.60], for favourite status at [4.20]. They are [1.95] and [1.80] respectively for 50s.

Top batsman - England
Kevin Pietersen and Paul Collingwood have the best records in India, averaging 54 and 31. KP is jolly at [4.60] and is [1.80] for a 50. Collingwood is a good wager at [6.60]. He is often underrated but could excel if he has to come to his team's rescue.

Featured market
There have been 37 sixes in the last 10 years (six matches) on this ground. That, obviously, works out at 3.7 per game. It is [1.52] there are 0-4 on Sunday. A total between 5-7 is [2.04]. Oddly, eight or more is [1.72].

Best bet: Paul Collingwood top England runscorer at [6.60]

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Michael Vaughan: India and Pakistan the teams to beat

ODI preview / Michael Vaughan / 28 January 2011 / Leave a Comment

Virender Sehwag is arguably the most destructive batsman in world cricket

"India are the clear 4.4 favourites and that’s for a reason. I was going to try and identify who I thought their best players were but before I knew it I’d found myself jotting down seven or eight names; they’re that good and their side has that many match winners."

The former England skipper tells us why his money is on India and Pakistan to win the upcoming World Cup.

There's the small matter of the World Cup coming up so we have to think about who we're going to be siding with before the first ball is bowled.

I'll start by saying that I'm almost sure one of the sides from the sub-continent will win it. I'm going to rule out Bangladesh because though they're constantly improving, they're not quite there just yet and I think they lack the power hitters who can score very quickly when they need to. That said, there will be some decent prices about them qualifying for the next stage and as one of the host teams, they've got a great chance of doing that.

Sri Lanka have been one of the class acts of ODI cricket for the last fifteen years but this current crop of players isn't quite as good as some of the other sides they've had in the past. The likes of Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Lasith Malinga are wonderful players but maybe the team is just a little too reliant on them. They'll have a decent tournament in their favourite conditions but I don't think they'll go all the way.

India are the clear [4.4] favourites and that's for a reason. I was going to try and identify who I thought their best players were but before I knew it I'd found myself jotting down seven or eight names; they're that good and their side has that many match winners. If I were to pick just one though it would be that man Virender Sehwag. People talk about him as one of the great entertainers but that only tells half the story. Those big sixes at the top of the order are great to watch but dispatching the opening bowlers to every part of the ground also puts the opposition under huge pressure from very early on. He scores plenty of runs and he scores them very quickly and is probably the player in world cricket who is most capable of winning a match on his own.

One thing that will be very important in this tournament is contributions from the bowlers with the bat. These days in ODI cricket it's not enough to just be able to bowl, unless your name is Muttiah Muralitharan maybe. And that's another area where India excel. Harbajhan Singh has become an incredibly destructive batsman over the last couple of years and Zaheer Khan can clear the fence as well. These two will come in at eight and nine so that gives you an idea of just how deep they bat. They're definitely the team to beat.

Then there's Pakistan. They may be missing three crucial players for the reasons we all know but even without them there's so much talent in this team you just can't write them off. They're yet to announce their captain for the tournament (they're typically the only side not to have done so yet) but I think they'll go with Misbah Ul-Haq who impressed in the recent Test Series out in New Zealand, the first time he's been in charge. The return of Younis Khan after almost a year in the international wilderness is of huge importance and never rule out Shoaib Akhtar either. He's not as young, quick or fit as he once was but he's still a formidable opponent. As for Shahid Afridi, well we'll just have to wait to see which Afridi turns up next month but we all know what he's capable of. At the much bigger price of [13.5] they're certainly worth a bet too.

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