World Cup Teams / Ed Hawkins / 08 February 2011 /

The main hosts are favourites to win a second World Cup. they have the batting to do it but Ed Hawkins has some concerns about their bowling

No host nation has ever won a World Cup. But if there is one team capable of bucking that trend, it is surely India and their collection of extraordinarily talented players. Pressure? It is the first thing they feel on their shoulders when they wake up in the morning.

The problem with India for this tournament is that they are a little too short for the connoisseurs. At [4.20] they are on the skinny side when you consider that in the last two years they are ranked third in the world in terms of win-loss ratios.

But who wants to be a connoisseur? India at home are almost unbeatable, losing only two series of their last 14. Guaranteed home ties in the knockout stages they should reach the final. They are [2.10] to do so.

Everyone knows that India's strength is their much-vaunted batting line-up. But their bowling is a concern. Praveen Kumar, 19 wickets in the last 12 months to make him their second highest wicket-taker behind Ashish Nehra, is out of the tournament. His replacement could be the temperamental Sreesanth.

With Kumar missing they have only one bowler in the ICC's top 20 rankings - Harbhajan Singh squeezes in at 20th position.

The captain - MS Dhoni
It was once said of MS Dhoni that the 'lift doesn't go all the way to the top'. Granted, he may not be the smartest of individual captains - some of the decisions he makes can be baffling - but he is one the most inspirational.

Dhoni led a youthful India to T20 glory in the inaugural world championship and he has tasted success in the IPL, too with Chennai Super Kings. He knows how to manage a winning team.
His batting is underrated. At around the [6.00] mark he could represent value to be the top runscoring wicket-keeper in the tournament.

He is ranked No 5 in the ICC's list of top ODI batsman and if we search for best keepers in Asia, in terms of average, in the last five years Dhoni comes out No 1. He pips South Africa's AB de Villiers, who is around [4.00] by almost three runs.

The Little Master - Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar is expected to open the batting for India. His greatness, coupled with the fact that opening batsmen dominate top runscorer lists, sees him as short as [2.00] for top India bat in the tournament. He is [14.00] to outscore everyone in the tournament and [5.00] to notch the highest individual score. All three markets are immature.

Tendulkar, of course, has scored more ODI runs than any other player and is the only batsman to have made a double century in the format. This he did against South Africa in Gwalior in February last year. At 37 there is no sign his powers are on the wane. And having played only four matches in the last 12 months for India he is well rested.

The new master blaster - Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag will form a formidable partnership with Tendulkar. It will be Sehwag's job to go hell for leather while Tendulkar plays in a more circumspect fashion. The difference is key when one considers wagering on Sehwag for top batsman, whether India or tournament. He scores his runs quickly but will he bat enough overs to make him value? Probably not.

Out of 189 innings as an opener, Sehwag has survived past the 15th over on just 35 occasions. When he does last past 15, India have won 80% of the time. In the last two years (29 innings) Sehwag has batted past the 15 in only five matches but India won all of them.

Best bet: MS Dhoni top runscoring keeper at [6.00]

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