India v Sri Lanka 5th ODI betting: What can Rohit do next?

Ed Hawkins
15 November 2014

Rohit Sharma is the man of the moment

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Ed Hawkins with the stats, trends and a special look at how to get with the record-breaking India batsman in Ranchi on Sunday...

"We bang on about wrong prices quite often. Usually those wrong prices are to do with the outsiders. So we have to be consistent and flag up a rick fro the other end of the spectrum"

Recommended Bet
India highest 10 over score 1.68/13

India v Sri Lanka
Start time: 08.00GMT
TV: live on Sky Sports

India

Rohit Sharma beat Sri Lanka on his own by 13 runs. His epic 264, befitting the grand stage that is Eden Gardens, eclipsed Sri Lanka's entire total of 251. It doesn't get more brilliant, or more humiliating, than that.

India's power with the bat is frightening. Their total of 404 was their fifth score of 400 or more. No other team has made more than two.

They are duffing up the Lankans to such an extent that their average in the first powerplay (50) is more than double Sri Lanka's (24). There is a market for highest ten over total, which is another mismatch.

Whether India make any changes is barely relevant. One possible switch is Vinay Kumar replacing Stuart Binny, the all-rounder.

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka have been abysmal but at least Angelo Mathews, their captain, can take credit for his individual performances with bat and ball. His economy rate, considering India's total, was just 5.50. That is superb. His 75 with the bat was all about pride.

There is nothing Sri Lanka can do to switch their team around. In Kolkata they tried a new attack with Shaminda Eranga, Nuwan Kulasekara and Ajantha Mendis coming in. And look what happened.

With the bat Mahela Jaywardene and Tillakaratne Dilshan have been poor. The wickets have been flat and true. They will argue they average 41 and 35 respectively. But that's no good against this India side.

First-innings runs

You could have backed India for 300 or more at no better than 1.84/5 before a ball was bowled in Kolkata. And there was not much cash around for that. How much shorter can they get? We are fast running out of bets for this series because a whole new mindset is required.

The brain needs to be re-trained to recognise that 300 or more is nothing special anymore. Perhaps India for 325 or more is on but you would have to demand more than 21/1.

There have been only two ODI played at Ranchi. England were rolled for 155 in 2013 but Australia posted 295 later that year.

Match odds

We don't tend to talk up what a decent bet a 1.491/2 shot is - we kind of guess that you can work that out for yourself - but shouldn't India's price being going through the floor here?

Sri Lanka were 3.02/1 to win the fourth game. Now they are 3.185/40. Their hopeless performance surely demands that they be pushed out farther than that.

Perhaps there is a worry that a euphoric India are going to take their foot off the gas and throw in a shoddy effort. You have to wonder whether Sri Lanka could take advantage. They are desperate to go home from a tour they didn't want to be on.

"I think the pressure has got to us. When we play against a team like India in India, there is pressure, and it is tough," Mathews said. "It's embarrassing because we were not even competitive enough with the Indians in the last four games. Once again we were poor in the field." That doesn't sound like a 3.02/1 chance to me. More like 4.03/1.

We bang on about wrong prices quite often. Usually those wrong prices are to do with the outsiders. So we have to be consistent and flag up a rick fro the other end of the spectrum. India should be shorter. Simple.

Top India runscorer

We say that India can't win the World Cup because they can't bowl. But hell, who cares when they wield the willow like this? The top four ODI individual scores are all by Indians and all of them in the last two years. Rohit is responsible for two of them, Viru Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar the others.

Rohit is an early bird 3.02/1 for a repeat top-bat effort. He'll be even shorter to score a 50, naturally. There is also a market for a century to be scored by any player. One feels that Rohit should have one for him to notch the third double of his career.

When Rohit hit his first double, against Australia in Bangalore last year, he followed it up with a half-century next time out. It wasn't in the same series, though.

Top Sri Lanka runscorer
Mathews, with 923 runs, has scored more runs than any other in ODI in 2014. He was 6.05/1 for honours last time but by rights he should be a point shorter. Lahiru Thirimanne, who hit a half-century, will be around 6.511/2.

Recommended Bet
India highest 10 over score 1.68/13