Dead rubber still worth betting on

Australia showed that they are still the world's best one-day side as they clinched the series win over India with victory in match six on Sunday. There is still one match to go though and the fact that it's a dead rubber surely plays into India's hands.

Click here to bet on India v Australia at bet365

Captain Ricky Ponting has been making all the right noises about not switching off and about finishing on a high by winning Wednesday's final match but if there is one rule in betting that will always stand you in good stead, it's that you should never, ever back the side who have already won a series when it comes to a dead rubber.

Now that's not to say that the Aussies won't win it - of course they could - but it just doesn't pay in the long run to back teams who have nothing to play for. No matter what they say it's almost impossible not to ease off mentally, just ever so slightly.

India will feel aggrieved to be trailing 4-2 because the series has been so close that they could easily be leading by the same score themselves. They, more than Australia, will want to end the series on a high in front of their own fans, so at 4/6, they look far more likely to win on Wednesday than the tourists.

Original preview
After the briefest of breaks, India and Australia are back at it with a seven-match one-day international series, starting on Sunday. Australia are in the better form after their ICC Champions Trophy success but on home soil, India are a very tough prospect.

While Australia have the confidence of that win in South Africa to build on, India have had a well-earned break and should be nice and fresh for the arrival of the world champions, who actually won the last series played between the two in India, 4-2.

But India will be buoyed by their break and the return to fitness of two key performers, Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh, who could not play in South Africa. Those two can destroy any attack and with them in their side India are a much better outfit.

Australia, on the other hand, are without vice-captain Michael Clarke for at least the first few games as he nurses a sore back. Clarke is a top one-day perfomer and he will be missed. His absence leaves a lot of emphasis on the middle order to play well in what will be tough conditions, as always.

On paper, there is not much in it and bet365 can't split them, making them both 10/11 at this stage to go on to win the series. I think India need a good start more than Australia do, but if they get it, they will be very hard to stop because they have so many classy one-day players in their side.

As you'd expect in a take-your-pick market, the correct score markets are symmetric in their make-ups. You can get 11/4 on either side to win it 4-3, 4/1 on 5-2 victories, 11/1 on it ending 6-1 and 28/1 if you fancy a whitewash.

Batting heroes Some things never change. Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting - two of the greatest one-day players (or players in any form of the game) of all time, top their respective markets. Tendulkar is actually joint favourite with Sehwag at 11/4, which makes a lot of sense because when Sehwag gets going, he invariably scores big.

As with any one-day series, it usually pays to stick with someone in the top three of a batting order, simply because they are going to be the ones guaranteed to bat for the longest time. For India, that means including Gautam Gambhir, a 4/1 chance.

Tendulkar has finished in the top three in two of the previous three home series and against England last winter he only played two of the five matches, so that one can be pretty much discounted.

Of course, Yuvraj top-scored in that England series with a whopping 325 runs from five games, so he can never be discounted. Bet365 make him 9/2, with captain MS Dhoni, who made the top three against Australia last time round on home soil an 11/2 chance.

The thing is, Bet365's prices are all win only on this one, so you've got to be pretty certain. Considering that Sehwag has been out for a while, it may take him time to recover top form, so Tendulkar is the safe choice.

As for Australia, it's hard to look past Ponting, even though he didn't make the top three in the 4-2 win in India two years ago. Andrew Symonds, Matthew Hayden and Michael Clarke occupied those spots and since none of them are here this time (at least not for the whole series, in Clarke's case), Ponting is the obvious choice at 5/2.

That's especially true because Australia's openers are not exactly seasoned in the way Hayden and Adam Gilchrist were. Shane Watson and Tim Paine are the men this time and they are 3/1 and 4/1 respectively. It's a lot to ask either of them to top-score on the slow pitches in India.

Behind them, Shaun Marsh is 4/1, Michael Hussey 6/1 and Cameron White 8/1, but I think Ponting is the only call.

If I had to put my money where my mouth is, I'd say India will win it, perhaps by 5-2 if there are no weather problems, but it will be tight, with the start crucial for the home side. Tendulkar and Ponting are bets that won't make you rich but which won't make you poor either.

Cambers' Call
India to beat Australia in one-day international series - 10/11 bet365
Sachin Tendulkar to be top India series runscorer - 11/4 bet365
Ricky Ponting to be top Australia series runscorer - 5/2 bet365

Please note that odds are correct at time of publication and are subject to change.