MUMBAI INDIANS FAVOURED TO DEMOLISH LIONS: BETTING ODDS AND PREDICTIONS

With all eyes fixed on the current England/Pakistan betting scandal, many are happy to finally get some normality back to proceedings. Well...a form of normality.
This afternoon see’s the launch of the hotly anticipated Champions League Twenty20 Tournament in South Africa. The format has taken the cricketing world by storm, with the IPL breaking cricketing viewership records around the globe.
Today's match up see's the Mumbai Indian's take on South African franchise- the Highveld Lions. On paper this game looks a done-deal for the Mumbai outfit, however as proven by 20/20 tournament sin the apst...and team on any given day can win it.
The Mumbai side however is pure quality brandishing names including legends of the game in Tendulkar, Jayasuriya, Bravo and Duminy. What makes this an even more 'one sided' affair are the lack of names evident in the Lions side- with many considering them rather fortunate to end as runners up in their domestic league last year. Alviro Peterson and Neil Mckenzie can shine on their days; however it will take a much larger team effort in order to challenge Mumbai.
Betfair has the Mumbai Indians set at 1.41 favourites, with the Lions contingent locked in at 3.3. Mumbai, harbouring one of the most lethal 20/20 batting line ups in the game are also odds on favourites to be highest scorers at the 6 over mark at 1.55, to the Lions 2.54
On the batting front William Hill are setting Sachin Tendulkar to claim the coveted top scorer spot for Mumbai at 3.5, with JP Duminy locked in at 5.5. However, in this format I would not be surprised to see these batsmen out of touch after the layoff experienced over the past few months, with Kieran Pollard deserving a decent look at 9.0
On the Lions end Alviro Petersen is set as favourite at 3.5, but and as mentioned above I would be swaying to an individual that has actually been involved in some cricket of late- with Zander de Bruyn coming to mind at a tempting 7.5