South Africa might earn consolation

Probably the only good thing that came out of Sachin Tendulkar's brilliant double-century in the second ODI - for South Africa, that is - is that the little master will not play in the final match in the series, to be played on a Saturday and a raft of changes to the home side give South Africa a better than 50-50 chance.

Of course the series is gone after India smashed South Africa in the second match but winning the final match would at least make the tourists feel better and send them away in good spirits.

The combination of the changes to India's team - no Tendulkar, Sehwag, Harbhajan or Zaheer - and the fact that they don't have to win it to secure the series has convinced bet365 that South Africa should be favourites for this one and they are 4/6 to do so, with India 11/10.

The absence of the top players is an opportunity for others to impress, of course, and captain MS Dhoni, Dinesh Karthik and Murali Vijay are all joint favourite to be top India runscorer at 4/1. Rohit Sharma is 9/2, Suresh Raina 5/1 and Vinod Kohli 11/2.

South Africa captain Jacques Kallis, Hashim Amla and AB De Villiers share favouritism to be their side's top runscorer at 7/2, with Herschelle Gibbs 9/2, Leon Bosman 5/1 and JP Duminy 6/1.

With no Tendulkar or Sehwag at the top of the order, India might struggle in the opening partnership battle and South Africa could be worth a punt at 4/5 to outscore their opposing numbers.

Original series preview
The dust has barely setted on India's breathless victory in the second Test - which secured a series draw - than they and South Africa are back at it again, this time with a three-match one-day series, beginning in Jaipur on Sunday.

India will take plenty of momentum into the series but South Africa should take heart from the way they dominated in the first Test and how they battled so hard to avoid defeat, almost, in the second.

Bet365 make India slight favourites at 8/11 while South Africa can be backed at 11/10 and, as there was in the Tests, there is very little to separate these two teams, with home advantage perhaps helping the bookies make up their minds.

Both sides will see some changes from the Test series, with South Africa captain Graeme Smith ruled out because of injury. The captaincy will go to Jacques Kallis and Hashim Amla, who had originally not been selected, will stay on after a stunning two-Test series with the bat. Mark Boucher, who missed the last Test, is expected to return.

India will again be without Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh, while an injury to Zaheer Khan strikes a blow to their bowling attack, though the return of the ever-enthusiastic Sreesanth should soften the blow.

South Africa have never won a one-day series in India, though they did draw the last one, back in 2005. India have not lost a home one-day series at all, with the exception of Australia, since 2005, and they won series in West Indies and New Zealand last year.

Much will depend how each side recover from their efforts in the second Test. South Africa had to do an awful lot of bowling as India racked up 643 in their first innings and the South Africa bowlers are sure to be a little on the tired side.

India, on the other hand, ought to be elated and there is a decent chance that they will maintain their momentum and take the series. A 2-1 win for India is the favourite in the correct score markets, at 6/4, while it's 2/1 that the tourists win by the same scoreline.

If you fancy a 3-0 win for the Indians then you can get 10/3 on that, while it's 6/1 that South Africa win all three matches themselves.

Time to shine
Four India players hit centuries in the second Test and they are sure to be relishing the prospect of facing some tired bowlers in the one-day series. Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar are joint-favourites to come out on top over the series for them, at 5/2, and then there's a big gap to Suresh Raina and Vinod Kohli at 5/1.

Sehwag top-scored in the home series win over Sri Lanka; MS Dhoni (an 11/2 shot this time) edged out Tendulkar to be topscorer against Australia and Dhoni also came out on top when they played in West Indies, so there are a few to choose from.

Amla, who held the South Africa batting together in the second Test and who is in sensational form, is not your traditional one-day batsmen, but he is favourite at 11/4 to top-score for his side over the three games.

Kallis is 3/1 to lead by example while the returning Herschelle Gibbs is 4/1, AB De Villiers is 9/2 and Alviro Petersen 5/1. JP Duminy, under pressure for his Test place after a couple of poor performances, is a top one-day performer, and at 6/1 could be interesting.

With Smith gone home, I question whether South Africa will have the heart to really go flat-out for victory in this series and though they will give their all, it might not be enough and at 8/11, India are a fair bet.