India narrow outsiders

Surprisingly perhaps, India are narrow outsiders for the three-match NatWest Challenge tournament which starts at Trent Bridge on Wednesday. Sourav Ganguly's men are evens, while the hosts England are slight favourites at 8/11.

An inauspicious defeat to Pakistan in a rain-affected match in last week's Videocon Cup in Holland is all punters have to go on for an indication of India's current form. Another important consideration is that Sachin Tendulkar will again be absent for the NatWest Challenge, nursing a case of tennis elbow, so India's batting line-up, whihc looks good on paper, will have to prosper without him.

In the absence of the Little Master, Virender Sehwag assumes the mantle as favourite to top-score for India in the first match at Trent Bridge. He is 3/1, ahead of Rahul Dravid (7/2), and Ganguly and VVS Laxman (both 4/1). Of the longer-priced batsmen, Yuvraj Singh (6/1) and Mohammad Kaif (11/1) are both worthy of consideration, especially given the matchwinning contributions in their last international match in England - the remarkable NatWest Series final of 2002. Yuvraj was second only to Tendulkar in terms of weight of runs in 2002, and will be keen to cement his place in the one-day side in Tendulkar's absence.

For England, one-day cricket is proving a very different game to Tests. Michael Vaughan's side was extremely unconvincing in the NatWest Series earlier this summer. Vikram Solanki - fresh from a century in the C&G Trophy final on Saturday - is recalled, and should add to a batting line-up that has looked short of a key batsman. He is an attractive 9/2 - the same odds as England's talisman Andrew Flintoff - to top-score for the home side. Marcus Trescothick is favourite - 10/2, narrowly ahead of Andrew Strauss and Michael Vaughan at 4/1.

The Man-of-the-Match betting offers some attractive odds on influential players. Flintoff's importance to the one-day side is underlined by his position as 13/2 favourite. Looking for outsiders in this market, Ajit Agarkar looks a genuine value bet at 22/1. Also worth considering are the Indian bowlers - especially Irfan Pathan (14/1) and Lakshmipathy Balaji (18/1).

The most remarkable statistic about Michael Vaughan's one-day side is that they have never won a one-day international batting first. All eyes will be on the toss.

bet365 will be betting in-running during every match.