World T20 Preview

By Nishant Joshi

As if five weeks of mind-numbing monotony/six-hitting paradise (delete as applicable) in the IPL, we immediately are faced with two more weeks of T20 action in the Caribbean.

First of all I'm reluctant to take outright bets right now - I fancy India, Sri Lanka and West Indies to all do well but I think we'll be able to get better cumulative value by making pre-match plays. Australia look tremendously short as favourites - this is Michael Clarke's first tournament as Australian captain and this side is quite bland compared to previous ones, and certainly lacking an X-Factor player such as Afridi.

So we'll look to the side markets to start off with. I've never been a huge fan of 'top batsman' markets with there often being a huge overround and therefore poor value. However, sometimes a bet or two crops up which go against the grain.

Firstly, I strongly fancy Mahela Jayawardene to have a great tournament. He is a tremendously clean striker of the ball and will finally be given an opportunity to open the batting, which is his best position in limited overs cricket. He had a strong IPL including a lightning-quick century against Kolkata Knight Riders, and at 23.0 he offers brilliant value. We will also back him to score more sixes than his out-of-form captain, Kumar

Strongly fancied to have a great tournament Mahela Jayawardene

Sangakkarra. Jayawardene will enjoy more of the Powerplay than this captain, and in any case tends to clear the boundary more often.

Then, there's Suresh Raina of India. Coming off another excellent IPL including a match-winning knock in the final, the young man is high on confidence. He should be batting at no 3, which is his strongest spot in the line-up. He loves this format and although he can be frustrating at times, it should be noted that he is the highest run-scorer in IPL cricket - an achievement not to be sniffed at. In great nick and batting in his favoured position, Raina at 34.0 is huge.

I also considered a bet on Murali Vijay, who will be opening the batting with Gautam Gambhir. He is also in great nick and surprised all with a stupendous IPL. However, although he might still be small value, it makes no sense to back him at 21.0 when we can get the likes of Raina at 34.0.

I also strongly fancy two sides in the 'to hit most sixes' market. Australia are favourites in this market, which is baffling considering their general ill ease with the T20 format in Ricky Ponting's absence, and their only natural six-hitters being their two openers. Instead, India look a cracking bet here at 6.5 - all of their batsmen (bar none) proved themselves to be prolific six-hitters during the IPL. Gambhir, Vijay, Raina, Yuvraj, Rohit Sharma, Dhoni, Yusuf Pathan all score a huge percentage of their runs in sixes, and as such they should be favourites in this market.

However, I also fancy West Indies to be decent value at 7.0. Kieron Pollard showed during the IPL that he really is a beast of a player. He hit his straps at the end of the tournament, scoring runs at previously unseen strike rates. His ability to clear the boundary without the need for any 'sighters' is quite phenomenal, and he could well be the player of the tournament if he carries on where he left during the IPL. We'll have a punt on him to score most sixes in the tournament. Not that Pollard doesn't have competition from within his own team - if he bats with Gayle then no ground will be big enough.

We've mentioned Pollard the brute of a batsman, but he also proved himself to be a more than adept bowler during the IPL. He took crucial wickets at crucial times with his innocuous medium-pace and seems to have the happy knack of picking up wickets despite not looking too threatening. He finished with an incredible strike rate of 14.8 - one of the best in the tournament. At 80/1 and with West Indies bowling lacking depth, he is certainly potentially a huge price. Similarly, Angelo Mathews is the type of bowler I wouldn't mind facing in a Sunday village game, but international cricketers don't seem to relish facing him - he also has a happy knack of taking wickets and is also 81.0. However, after suffering a side injury late in the IPL, we'll hold fire and see how he does in his warm-up game tomorrow.

NJ's Bets:

Jayawardene to score more sixes than Sangakkarra - 3.5pts @ 1.7 (Cricketbetlive)

Jayawardene top tournament batsman - 1.75pts @ 23.0 (E/W 1-5) (Bet365, Bluesq, 888Sport)

Raina top tournament batsman - 1.75pts @ 34.0 (E/W 1-5) (Totesport)

Kieron Pollard top tournament bowler - 2pts @ 81.0 (E/W, 1-4, 1/4) (Boylesports)

India to score most sixes in the tournament - 4.5pts @ 6.5 (Totesport)

West Indies to score most sixes in the tournament - 4pts @ 7.0 (Totesport)

Kieron Pollard to hit most sixes in the tournament - 1.5pts @ 13.0 (E/W, 1-3, 1/5) (VCBet)

Nishant Joshi