Hosts have the momentum

The Asia Cup reaches its denouement on Thursday with the final between hosts Sri Lanka and India. It's the final the organisers would have wanted but as to who comes out on top, it's anyone's guess.

Well, not quite anyone's guess, of course, but you know what I mean. The hosts are narrow favourites at 4/5, while India are even money. For me, it's a 50-50 match and won that both sides will feel they can win.

Sri Lanka have probably been the betterof the two sides in this competition, but that won't count for too much when they meet in the final jn Dambulla on Thursday.

Ashish Nehra and Harbhajan Singh are back for India and that will give then control in the middle of the Sri Lanka innings, which could make all the difference if the Indians get to bat first, when, in my opinion, they are at their best. Sri Lanka also have good options with the ball, so a lot will depend on the toss.

Kumar Sangakkara is favourite to top-score for Sri Lanka, at 10/3 with bet365, while Mahela Jayawardene and Tillekeratne Dilshan are each 7/2 chances and Upul Tharanga is 4/1.

With no Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir is favourite for India at 10/3, with captain MS Dhoni 9/2, the same price as Rohit Sharma. Suresh Raina and Dinesh Kartik are both 5/1, with Vinod Kohli 11/2.

Sri Lanka may have been playing better than India in the competition, but I have a sneaky feeling that India may just nick it.