Experienced players must perform

When it comes to picking those players likely to do well in Chennai and Mohali, the consensus of opinion seems to be that it is experience that will be the key to success.

It is, of course, incredibly hard to know exactly how England's players will respond to being in India at all, so finding the right player to perform at their best is even mroe difficult than normal.

That said, you would expect Kevin Pietersen to lead from the front and the England captain is 9/4 favourite to come out on top for his side come the end of the series. Pietersen is the undoubted star of the England side and I'd be pretty surprised if he doesn't top the lot.

Alastair Cook is next at 7/2, with Ian Bell 9/2. Andrew Strauss is 5/1 and Paul Collingwood is 13/2, with Andrew Flintoff 8/1 and Owais Shah is 9/1. Of those, Bell and Collingwood are the most likely to dig deep, especially on the slower pitches of India.

As for the home side, take your pick from any of six players. Virender Sehwag is 5/2, with Gautam Gambhir a 3/1 chance. Both men are in great form, and since they open the batting, they obviously have the best chance to bat twice in each match.

The competition, however, is pretty fierce. Sachin Tendulkar looks a generous price at 4/1 given his own recent form, while Rahul Dravid is 11/2, VVS Laxman 13/2 and Yuvraj Singh, who will be desperate to impress, is 8/1. Don't discount MS Dhoni but the captain's opportunities may be few and far between, so 10/1 is a bit stingy.

With Anil Kumble retired, Harbhajan Singh tops the betting to be top India bowler, at 11/8, but don't overlook the new boy, Ami Mishra, at 11/4, after his excellent performance against the Australians. Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma are both threats, too, at 4/1.

Monty Panesar is favourite for England at 13/10 and there is little question that he will bowl a hatful of overs in each match. But he has barely bowled in months, so he may just be a little on the rusty side.

Flintoff is an 11/4 chance and while I think he's the best bowler in the side, the pitches won't help him. Steve Harmison may extract more bounce, and 11/2 is a nice price, but his head may not be in the right place - we won't know until we see him bowl for the first time.

Graeme Swann could have a good series, at 6/1, if he gets picked, while James Anderson is more than capable at 7/1.

I have a sneaking feeling that England will struggle to cope with Mishra, so he could prove to be the star of the show, at 11/4.