Pakistan hold the edge

The ICC could not have wished for a more potentially explosive inaugural World Twenty20 final when those old arrivals India and Pakistan meet in Johannesburg today.

The format has a frenetic, chaotic and dramatic feel to it at the best of times so when the showpiece kicks off with these two old foes, who are no strangers to a ding-dong battle in any walk of life, it could be memorable.

The bookmakers believe that India have the edge going in to the match and that is hardly surprising given the momentum Mahendra Singh Dhoni's team have found.

It was all sparked by one over of amazing hitting from Yuvraj Singh, who hit six sixes off Stuart Broad. Since then they have beaten South Africa and Australia, thanks to some more hitting from Yuvraj in the latter contest.

Pakistan, by contrast, have gone about their business with a quiet efficiency not seen from them in years. They have not handed out many thumpings but nor have they been biting their nails in close encounters like India.

And there is the rub. Pakistan have been so good that they have kept out of trouble in the latter stages while India have got in more scrapes than a kiddie from a council estate.

Pakistan's bowling attack of Umar Gul and Mohammad Asif has made regular inroads to the top order of teams allowing Shahid Afridi (with 12 wickets the leading tournament bowler) to put the squeeze on in the middle of an innings.

Admittedly they have not done anything special with the bat, mainly because they haven't needed to, although there is concern about their opening partnership, which has been weak and they've tinkered with three different duos.

Overall, however, there is little to justify India being as short as 4/5 with SportingBet. Take the 21/20 about Pakistan.

Verdict: 2pts Pakistan @ 21/20 (SportingBet)

(Editor's Note: Pakistan should have won when the team's met at the group stages but needing one run off two balls they failed to score and lost in the bowl-off. Can they win today? Follow all the action at SportingBet!)