India the strongest of favourites

India are 1/50 favourites to win the first Test against Bangladesh at the Bangabandhu Stadium, Dhaka. Bangladesh are a distant 40/1 to record their first Test victory, while the draw is 8/1.

All eyes are on Sachin Tendulkar as he approaches Sunil Gavaskar's record of Test centuries. Tendulkar, the "Little Master", is certain to pass Gavaskar's 34 tons at some point - the question is just when he will do so. Tendulkar is 7/2 second favourite to top-score for India in the first innings. This probably reflects his position in the batting order, and Virender Sehwag's superior recent record - Sehwag is 5/2 favourite, having top-scored in each of India's past two series (299 runs against Australia, 262 against South Africa). Nevertheless Tendulkar looks a good bet whenever he is not favourite in any batting market - especially with the incentive of history in front of him.

For Bangladesh this market is far more difficult to call. No batsman scored 100 runs in the two matches against New Zealand, and only four half-centuries were recorded by Bangladesh batsmen - the largest being Mohammad Ashraful's 67 in the first Test. In the Top Bangladesh Batsman market, Habibul Bashar is 4/1 favourite, while Ashraful, Javed Omar and Rajin Saleh follow him at 11/2. Meanwhile the former skipper Khaled Mashud is certainly worth a look at 9/1.