India v England: Three Lions can pull off second upset

Kochi is set to host its first one day international since 2007 with India hoping that their good record on this track will give them the edge as they aim to level the series with England.

Of the six completed ODI’s at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium the Indians have emerged victorious four times, including a four-wicket victory over the tourists on their only previous visit to this venue. A price of 4/6 says India will be triumphant on this happy hunting ground once more, while England are available at 6/5; both prices identical to what they were prior to the first match.

The Three Lions always looked comfortable in the defence of their first innings score of 325, eventually winning the match by nine runs. This performance could encourage punters to take advantage of their odds-against price ahead of the second match, especially on the back of their batsmen’s performances.

Ian Bell has been in excellent touch post-Christmas and he lead from the front in Khanderi with a solid 85. In truth, his exquisite knock well-warranted a ton and, were it not for a mix up with Alastair Cook, he would have no doubt reached triple digits.

He is magnificently priced at 5/6 to score more than 29.5 runs here, while the same price is available on him bettering Indian opening counterpart Ajinkya Rahane’s knock with a -1.5 run handicap applied to his final score.

Either option is worth a big punt.

Another prospect that has appeal is the 11/10 for Samit Patel to score two fours or more in the match.

His middle-order exploits last time hoisted the game beyond India’s reach; he scored a quick-fire 44 from 20 balls which included an impressive six fours. It has to be worth chancing that he’ll get a bat because, assuming he does, he stands a great chance of finding the boundary rope more than once in the second game.

Three Indian batsmen recorded half centuries in response to England’s efforts and, with so many players in good touch, the 5/4 on offer for there to be a ton registered at any point in the second match of the series could well be worth a flutter.

All odds and markets accurate as of publication’s time and date