India and Bangladesh face off in cricket World Cup opener
Published:Venue: Sher-e-Bangla, Dhaka, Date: February 19th, 2011
Coverage: Live on Sky Sports 1, 7.30am
It’s been a long and arduous four years but the return of the cricket World Cup is imminent and what an opening tie we have in store when the two of the three hosts meet in Dhaka on Saturday.
The pre-tournament 3/1 favourites India take on Bangladesh in front of a 25,000 capacity crowd, and India’s World Cup challenge looks certain to get off to a flyer.
Match Odds
India are the 1/8 favourites to beat Bangladesh and have only ever lost twice to the Bangladeshi’s in 22 matches between the two teams.
In the most recent ODI series between the two countries in January 2010, India whitewashed Bangladesh 3-0 and two of those victories came on the wicket they will use on Saturday.
Bangladesh are a 5/1 chance to beat India, but on home soil India are going to be one tough team to beat in this World Cup.
Total Runs
Only three times have India opened the batting in 11 ODIs with Bangladesh on this wicket – 276 is the lowest score India have posted – and you can expect the Indian batsman will want to hit form quickly.
India are the 4/5 favourites to have the highest score after the first over with Bangladesh available at 11/8.
Sachin Tendulkar has only faced Bangladesh twice on the Dhaka wicket and has posted scores of 36 and 47, and the 5/6 for Tendulkar to score over 30.5 runs looks a great bet, as does the 13/8 for Tendulkar to score a 50.
Man of the Match
In the first game of his final World Cup, Tendulkar will want to make an entrance on home soil, and the World Cup’s leading ever runscorer is 7/1 to be the man of the match on Saturday.
A £25 stake on Tendulkar scoring a 50 would return £65.63. New customers can sign up here for a free bet worth £25.
