General

Time for India to take charge

New Zealand exceeded expectations in the first Test against India and if they achieve nothing else in the remaining two matches then they will have done more than many thought possible. However, India still hold all the aces and they may just be decent va

Simon Cambers
31-Oct-2010
Sachin Tendulkar needs one more century to reach the magic 50 Test hundreds mark  •  AFP

Sachin Tendulkar needs one more century to reach the magic 50 Test hundreds mark  •  AFP

New Zealand exceeded expectations in the first Test against India and if they achieve nothing else in the remaining two matches then they will have done more than many thought possible. However, India still hold all the aces and they may just be decent value to win the second Test in Hyderabad, starting on Friday.
For once, India's batting let them down in the second innings of the first Test, with only VVS Laxman and Harbhajan Singh, with a brilliant century, digging in to effectively save them from defeat. But I would be amazed if history repeated itself because the Indian batting line-up is too strong and experienced.
Bet365 make India 8/13 to win the second Test and I have to say I think that's a decent price, for on paper at least, they are a class above the New Zealanders, and they have home advantage.
Moreover, there is expected to be more in the pitch for the pacemen, which should help the likes of Zaheer Khan, while it should also offer assistance to the spinners as the match goes on. The Rajiv Gandhi stadium is a new one for Tests so we don't know what to expect, really, so perhaps it's what you'd call a level playing field.
One man who knows what to expect is Sachin Tendulkar, who made 175 there when it last staged a one-day international. Needing one more century for 50 hundreds in Test cricket, he may just be looking forward to this one and bet365 make him second-favourite to top-score in his side's first innings, at 10/3.
Opener Virender Sehwag is favourite at 13/5, Gautam Gambhir, who has been struggling for form, is 4/1 and Rahul Dravid and Murali Vijay both 9/2. VVS Laxman is a 13/2 chance - not a bad price when you think of the form he is in, even if he does bat at No 6.
For New Zealand, Ross Taylor is favourite at 10/3, with Jesse Ryder and Brendan McCullum both 4/1. Martin Guptil is 9/2 and it's 11/2 bar those four - I say that because I'd be surprised if the top-scorer came from elsewhere, even if Daniel Vettori can never be discounted, available at 9/1.
Providing the weather does not play a role, India should have enough help from the pitch to take 20 wickets and at 8/13 they are relatively good value, given that there is a big gap between the two sides, on paper at least.
Cambers' Call
India to beat New Zealand in 2nd Test - 8/13 bet365
Original preview
New Zealand have never won a series in India and they are surely not about to start now. Not only are India the world's top-ranked side, but they have home advantage and go into the three-Test clash sky-high on confidence after beating Australia.
Moreover, they have VVS Laxman, Gautam Gambhir and Ishant Sharma back from recent injuries so if anything, they should be even better than they were against Australia, providing they can show the same intensity they did against them.
In the 16 Tests the two sides have played in India, the hosts have won 10, drawn four and lost just two and with New Zealand struggling for confidence and with Daniel Vettori needing to produce something of a miracle if they are to get anything out of the series.
Bet365 make India massive favourites to come out on top, at 1/12, with New Zealand 20/1 - an enormous price in a two-horse race, with the draw also big at 8/1. But the gulf between the two sides is shown better in the correct score markets than anywhere else, with India just 6/4 to whitewash the New Zealanders 3-0.
It's 9/5 they win it 2-0, 11/2 they win it by just 1-0 and 8/1 that it ends up 2-1 to the hosts. If you are missing a couple of brain cells and think New Zealand can win - or if you know something the rest of us don't - then you might be tempted by the 50/1 on offer for them to win it 1-0 or 2-1, by the 80/1 that they take the series 2-0 or by the enormous 300/1 that they win all three games.
Considering that so many of the India side are in form, though, it can't go any other way than to India, unless the weather ruins the series, which is possible, but unlikely. Sachin Tendulkar, at 37, is in the form of his life, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman are playing well still and Gambhir and Virender Sehwag love scoring big runs.
New Zealand - to repeat the cliche - are always better than the sum of their individual parts but this time they look like they are struggling and they will do well to stop India winning all three Tests, starting in Ahmedabad on Thursday.
History shows us that the two matches the two sides have played there in fact ended as draws as the pitch held up well as the matches wore on, but they were in 1999 and 2003 and plenty has changed since then. New Zealand are worse than they were then and India could not be any more confident than they are now.
Those of you who might be wondering about motivation should not fret too much for they have a seris agains South Africa coming up soon, a series that will confirm the winners as the best side in the world. So maintaining form and confidence until then is important to India and that is why, all things being equal, they should win this one 3-0./
Cambers' Call
India to win Test series 3-0 v New Zealand - 6/4 bet365
Please note that odds are correct at time of publication and are subject to change.

Simon Cambers is Cricinfo's betting correspondent