Well, how do you recover from a beating like that in a few days? That’s the task facing India when they take on West Indies today in the next round of matches in the Celkon Mobile Cup.
India got absolutely thrashed off the park by Sri Lanka on Tuesday (they lost by 161 runs), and not only that, they seemed to totally contradict the conditions at Sabina Park by losing in such a convincing manner while batting second (through choice) – the previous two matches had seen the team batting first lose and struggle to score runs.
So if we take the conditions into consideration, it could be that this was an even bigger thrashing for India. Or, it could just be that the conditions had changed from the previous two matches.
The online bookmakers make a case for India today, and they are favourites for the victory. The odds are India 4/5 (1.80), and West Indies are Evens (2.00)
The competition has now moved to the Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad, where it will remain until its completion. This means a different wicket and slightly different conditions.
A win for West Indies today sees them qualify, India are not definitely out if they lose, but they will need a favour from West Indies when the hosts take on Sri Lanka. An India win without a bonus point will still leave them struggling, and relying on Sri Lanka losing both their remaining games (one of which, is obviously against India).
The outright winner betting reflects this with West Indies at 5/6 favourites to win the competion. Sri Lanka follow at odds of 7/4, and India are the outsiders at a very low on value looking 9/2.
When betting on cricket, I always look for value. The 9/2 available on India winning the competition doesn’t look value to me.
For these odds you first need India getting through with probably two wins, while needing Sri Lanka to lose to West Indies. Or if Sri Lanka beat West Indies, India would need to get more bonus points than Sri Lanka. If they don’t and finish equal on both points, and bonus points, India would then need a better run rate.
Oh yes, and then you need them to win the final. Personally I would want 9/2 on India qualifying for the final, never mind winning it.
