Outsiders Pakistan look for VB Series upset

Pakistan are 7/2 outsiders to win the best-of-three VB Series finals, and slightly shorter at 3/1 to win the first match, which takes place at the MCG on Friday. Bet365's latest odds have Australia firm favourites to retain the VB Series trophy. Ricky Ponting's men are 1/6 to win the series, and 2/9 to win the first final.

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The most astonishing statistic from the group matches is that only one Australian features in the top nine aggregate runscorers so far. That's Michael Clarke, who has 364 runs at an average of 91, but each of the next eight batsmen come from Pakistan or West Indies.

Inzamam-ul-Haq is the highest-scoring Pakistani - he is third with 313 runs at 62.60. His runs have come quickly, too - a strike rate of more than a run a ball is hugely impressive given the quantity of runs he has scored. Yousuf Youhana is in fifth position - he has 265 runs at 53, including a matchwinning ton in what turned out to be the decider at Perth on Tuesday.

Bet365 odds
Inzamam-ul-Haq: 10/1 Man of the Match, 4/1 Top Pakistan batsman
Yousuf Youhana: 10/1 Man of the Match, 4/1 Top Pakistan batsman
Michael Clarke: 8/1 Man of the Match, 4/1 Top Australia batsman

Abdul Razzaq provided the turning point in Pakistan's series fortunes with his matchwinning allround performance at Perth - four wickets and 63 not out against Australia. He has a total of 142 runs in the series, plus eight wickets at 35.25. Pakistan's leading wicket-taker is the relatively unsung Naved-ul-Hasan, who has 10 wickets at 29. His 4 for 29 was vital in the most recent Perth match, against West Indies, and he is just behind Brett Lee in the wicket-taking table. Lee has 12 wickets at 23.91.

Bet365 odds
Abdur Razzaq: 14/1 Man of the Match, 8/1 Top Pakistan batsman Naved-ul-Hasan: 18/1 Man of the Match Brett Lee 16/1: Man of the Match

Sporting Index spread betting
Shahid Afridi could repay the faith of any spread-better in the Player Performance markets. With wickets (20 points) and runs (1 point per run) both a possibility, the spread for Afridi, the hard-hitting utility man, is 35-40. Put in simple terms, it could be a roller-coaster ride, but there's certainly there's a case to go "high" on Afridi.

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Please note that odds are correct at time of publication and are subject to change.