India aren't used to being the underdogs, especially in twenty20 cricket, but they go into their match with South Africa at 11/10 compared to the Proteas 4/6. Seeing as though neither team has anything to play for other than pride, South Africa are already through to the semi finals and India were eliminated by England, I think this one is a lot more open than it may seem initially.
The bookies have Gautum Gambhir listed alongside Rohit Sharma at 10/3 to be named India's top batsman. Raina comes in at 4/1 while Yuvraj Singh sits at 9/2 just ahead of MS Dhoni at 11/2. Jadeja, who didn't have the best outing with the bat against England, is also listed at the same price. The Pathan's are at 7/1 and 16/1.
Jacques Kallis and Graeme Smith are, unsurprisingly, the top batsman for South Africa and they carry a 10/3 price. Kallis is the better tip in my opinion as he tends to stay at the crease a little longer, while Smith tends to skew a bit more towards the razzle-dazzle, which often leads to him getting caught. AB de Villiers is 7/2 and Herschelle Gibbs sits at 4/1. JP Duminy is 15/2 while Albie Morkel is 10/1.
They are split right down the middle in terms of highest opening partnership at 5/6 apiece. Both teams boast excellent openers and this one is a total toss-up. The same goes for the highest score after 6 overs and the team to hit the most sixes- all markets are deadlocked.
If you're betting live, be sure to keep your eyes peeled on the scores, I usually wait until a batsman gets to 5 in a twenty20 match before placing any money on them. You generally don't want to back a batsman to get anywhere longer than 22 extra runs. Also, be sure to keep an eye on the bowling techniques used by the attacking side if you're betting on method of dismissal. Spin bowling ups the odds for stumping and lbw dramatically and you can get great value this way, especially with MS Dhoni. Always bet against the late order and back the first three batsman to do best. Never back both of the opening partnership when you're betting live, either.
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