Australia vs India – Ponting to come good for Aussies
Published:Australia are renowned for pulling off victories when the chips are down and their marvellous World Cup pedigree can see them through their eagerly anticipated quarter final with India.
Match Odds
India facing Australia would have been the dream final for many cricket fans, but Pakistan’s surprise win over the Aussies left Ricky Ponting’s team down in third in Group A.
It also represented Australia’s first defeat in 35 World Cup matches and will leave India confident of replicating their sub-continental neighbours.
However, losing may have actually been a good thing for Australia, as the aura of invincibility would have been washed from their systems.
Meanwhile, Australia generally have a fine record when playing in India, winning a one-day series 4-2 in late 2009 despite not being at full strength.
Furthermore, India have lost four one-day games on the bounce at Ahmedabad.
Apart from the obvious home support, India have the advantage of having beaten Australia in a warm-up game ahead of the World Cup .
India’s betting odds are 8/13 to beat Australia.
Top runscorers
The big difference between the two sides at the tournament has been in the batting department, with the Australians not having a single representative in the top-ten runscorers so far.
India have both openers Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar featuring prominently and the way both teams start their innings is likely to be a key factor in the result.
Both players are 3/1 in the World Cup betting to score the most runs for India against Australia, while Yuvraj Singh may be worth considering at 5/1 if India have a need for quick runs.
For Australia, Ricky Ponting is due a big score and it would be no surprise to see him stand up and be counted when his country needs him most.
Ponting is 4/1 to be the top Aussie runscorer, with Mike Hussey looking good value in this market at 6/1.
A £20 stake on Brett Lee winning man of the match against India would return £320. New customers can sign up here to take advantage of free bets totalling up to £60.
