Twenty20 World Cup / Andrew Hughes / 13 June 2009 / Leave a comment

India are a class above England and must win to stay in the tournament. Back them to win, says Andrew Hughes.

Team News

England may want to tinker with their team again, but it is hard to see where they will do so, given that Paul Collingwood is unlikely to drop himself and Dimitri Mascarenhas is worth persevering with. In the end, they will probably be unchanged. India may be tempted to bring in the IPL's top bowler, RP Singh, but are also unlikely to make too many changes.

Conditions

Batting under lights at Lord's does not seem to be too much of a disadvantage, though with this being the second game of the day on this pitch, it may be getting a little tired so we may not see the same bounce as in the opening contest in the afternoon.

Match Odds

T20 as we all know is a volatile format, but is it volatile enough to close the gulf in class that exists between these two sides? England have veered between poor and adequate and at no stage have looked good enough to trouble the better sides. If you wanted to convince yourself that England could win, you might want to give credence to the suggestion of disquiet in the Indian camp and hope that captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni starts to feel the pressure. You could also hope that the English fast bowlers might bombard them with short pitched bowling as the West Indies did on Friday. But you are banking on India underperforming in a game which they absolutely have to win. Odds of [1.6] about an Indian win look remarkably generous.

Top Batsman

Yuvraj Singh is one of those players who tends to follow one big score with another and he should be backed at [3.5] or better. For England, Ravi Bopara should give you a decent run for your money at [4.0] or higher.

Featured Market

England's opening partnership is overrated, with Luke Wright likely to fail nine times out of ten. India are worth backing at in the 'Highest Opening Partnership' market at [1.75] or better.