Sri Lanka v India - First ODI. Dambulla

Yes, we know it's the middle of the Olympics - but there is a pretty fair story happening in the world of cricket too! His name is Ajantha Mendis and he's a young Sri Lankan mystery spinner who is taking the cricket world by storm. The 23-year-old - who bowls a bamboozling mixture of googlies, offbreaks, top-spinners, flippers and legbreaks - helped to destroy India in the recent Test series.

After three Tests, Mendis has 26 wickets at 18 and his eight one-dayers have produced an astonishing 20 wickets at 10. All eyes will again be on the part-time Army trooper when the five-match ODI series between Sri Lanka and India starts in Dambulla.

India's batting lineup - minus Sachin Tendulkar and probably injured opener Virender Sehwag - will again have their work cut out because they have already admitted they cannot pick Mendis. And in the recent Asia Cup ODI final between these two sides, Mendis took an amazing 6-13.

You would hope that India - traditionally good players of spin - would have learnt some lessons from facing Mendis recently. But chances are he may just be too good again here.

Sri Lanka, under Aussie coach Trevor Bayliss, are undoubtedly a ODI side on the up and the inclusion of Mendis has only strengthened the side which made the World Cup semi-finals last year.

India on other hand appeared to reach their pinnacle during last year's Australian tour and they now have some real headaches.
The result of this series largely depends on how India handle the wizardry of Mendis - and also Muttiah Muralidaran. If they can find a way to counter this duo then they have a decent winning chance. If they don't, they will lose.

In terms of head-to-head match betting, we will be eager to let this first ODI pass through to the 'keeper and study the form (particularly India v the spinners) for future clashes. But don't worry - after looking through the formguide we have conjured a bet which we think can get the chocolates at decent odds.

With no Tendulkar and probably no Sehwag, the Indian high-bat market is as wide open as the Sydney heads and ripe for the picking.
We are keen to take on big names MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh in this market. Dhoni has been going up and down the Indian order like a yo-yo while Yuvraj is as inconsistent as they come and generally not someone we would like to rely on to make a big score. Leave them out.

The other factor with this market is the Sri Lankan spinners are going to make it devilishly hard for the Indian middle-order. We want to be on a top-order Indian to make hay while the sun shines against the new ball at the top of the order, getting his eye in before the topline spinners are introduced.

We love the look of promising opening batsman Gautam Gambhir, at the amazing odds of $4.33 with both Blue Square and Paddypower.
Gambhir, who averages 37 with the bat in ODI's, was one of the stars of India's one-day triumph in Australia last year and also had a fantastic Indian Premier League campaign where he finished as the tournament's second top scorer with 534 runs.

He clearly has skill and mental toughnessd in bucketloads and his $4.33 high-bat quote will do us for a 0.5 unit bet. We also really do love the fact that he should get his chance to shine before the spinners come into their own.

© 2008 Punting Ace.com

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