Momentum with India

As in any sport, confidence and momentum go hand in hand and India have both as they look to square their seven-match series at 2-2 by winning the fifth one-day international in Vadodara. Australia remain favourites but India's tail is up and Thursday's encounter promises to be a highly-charged affair.

Australia are 1/2 to make it 3-1 and clinch the series (the first match was washed out) while India are 6/4 to get back on level terms and force a decider.

India should be full of confidence after finally beating Australia for the first time since 2004. Having failed to chase down big targets in matches two and three, they turned the tables in match four, setting a testing 292 and defending it well, even when Australia looked in charge for long periods.

The last seven times they have beaten Australia in one-day cricket, they have batted first, which tells you something. Of course, Australia have beaten India even when they, the Indians, batted first, but at least with this team, setting the target seems to suit both their batsmen and bowlers.

India have won five of the six one-day internationals to have been played at the I.P.C.L. Sports Complex Ground, Vadodara, venue for Thursday's game, so they at least have good memories, while Australia will at least know they are in for a fight.

The return of Sourav Ganguly at the top of the Indian batting line-up clearly settled the side down and he and Sachin Tendulkar survived a tough start to set the base for a good score. With Gautam Gambhir out with a groin injury, India have called up uncapped batsman Subramaniam Badrinath, one of the most talented players not to have played for his country yet.

Top bat
Sachin Tendulkar, who top-scored with 79 in the last match, is 3/1 favourite to come out on top for India again, just ahead of Ganguly, who is 7/2. The in-form Yuvraj Singh is 9/2, while former skipper Dravid and Badrinath are both 5/1, with Robin Uthappa 11/2 and captain Mahendra Dhoni 6/1.

Australia's market is headed by Matthew Hayden at 11/4 after he smashed 92 in the fourth match, with captain Ricky Ponting next at 10/3. Adam Gilchrist, who has yet to catch fire, is 7/2, while Andrew Symonds is 9/2 and Michael Clarke an 11/2 chance.

Dhoni pullled off a superb stumping in the last match and there has to be a chance - with two fine spinners - that he could do so again on Thursday. Therefore, try him at 5/6 to get 49 points or more in bet365's performance market, offering 25 points for a stumping, 10 per catch, 20 per wicket and one per run scored. He won't take any wickets of course but he may well score enough runs alone as he is a fine batsman.