The second ODI between India and Sri Lanka will be played in Nagpur. India leads the series 1-0 after a thrilling and a high-scoring encounter at Rajkot had seen the hosts scrape through with a three-run win.
One would have thought that the India should have been runaway winners after having smashed 414, but the narrow margin of victory should act as a wake-up call for them. They will continue to go into the second game as favourites given that the track will be a high-scoring one – 8/11 at Sky Bet to make it 2-0 – but given Sri Lanka’s strong batting performance in the two T20Is and the first ODI, it will be foolhardy to discount them. Sporting Bet offers 5/4 for their win.
The run of form that Virender Sehwag is in, it is difficult to bet against him from smashing another big century. For the first time, he has moved on to become a sole favourite – 10/3 at Totesport – to top the Indian batting; steering clear of Sachin Tendulkar (7/2 at Sky Bet to top the batting). MS Dhoni (5/1 at Coral to top the Indian batting) has almost made it a habit of coming into bat at the number three position, but one gets the sense that if an early wicket falls, it will still be Gautam Gambhir (4/1 at 888Sport to top the Indian batting) walking out to bat. It is not yet known whether Yuvraj Singh (5/1 at Sky Bet to be India’s best batsman) has recovered sufficiently from his finger injury to play in the game.
However, given the nature of the Nagpur track – more than 350 runs were scored in the last ODI played here – it is difficult to visualise one of the top three not getting to the top score in the innings. Hence, the chances of Suresh Raina (8/1 at Bet Fred to be the best batsman for India in the game) top-scoring for his side look bleak.
Tillakaratne Dilshan could very well have won the man of the match award for his daring 160 in the first ODI, had he not fallen at one of the more inopportune situation in the game. He continues to remain favourite to top-score again – 7/2 at Ladbrokes – but Kumar Sangakkara joins him as a co-favourite to do so (again offered 7/2 at Ladbrokes). Despite Upul Tharanga’s gritty – and quick – half century, he is only 6/1 (Ladbrokes) to be the best batsman for his side, even as Mahela Jayawardene’s spiral downward after the first test match century puts him at 5/1 at 888Sport to top-score for the Lankans.
Given the manner in which Sanath Jayasuriya (8/1 at Boylesport to top the Lankan batting) has been batting and given that he has been demoted down to the number six or seven position, it does not seem too likely that he will top-score for his side.