Virender Sehwag will fancy his chances of a second century of this World Cup against England on Sunday
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England get their first real test of the World Cup on Sunday when they play hosts India and unfortunately for Andrew Strauss's side, they are likely to find the Indians too strong for them.
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England will surely play better than they did in their opening match against the Netherlands but even a top-notch performance may not be good enough to defeat India in front of their adoring home crowd.
The good thing for England fans is that it should not really matter whether they win this match or not - the way the competition works all they need to do to reach the next phase is to beat the minnows - so they have nothing to lose and should be relaxed, which usually results in a good display.
But they would need to produce their absolute best to get the better of an India side who have a batting line-up that is the envy of the rest of the event and a bowling attack possessing enough variety to get the job done more often than not.
Cambers' Calls
- Paul Collingwood to be top England runscorer against India - 7/1 bet365
Bet365 make India 2/5 to win the match and England 2/1, which sounds about right. While Virender Sehwag was smashing his way to a massive century in the Indians' opening win, England were labouring their way to victory over the lowly Netherlands, hardly an auspicious start to what they hope will be their first World Cup title.
The big problem is that England still can't pace an innings as well as the other top teams and while when they get it right they will be able to compete with anyone, they are still vulnerable and lack consistency. Their bowling attack looked surprisingly poor against Holland and if they bowl and field like they did in that match, India will take them apart.
Sehwag is joint favourite with Sachin Tendulkar at 3/1 with bet365 to top-score for India, while Gautam Gambhir and Vinod Kohli are both 9/2 and Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina are each 7/1.
Kevin Pietersen, promoted to open in the hope that England get a flyer but who looks like he doesn't really enjoy the position, is 3/1 favourite to be his side's top scorer, and there is no question he likes the big occasion so don't be surprised if he does well.
Andrew Strauss and the in-form Jonathan Trott are both 7/2, Ian Bell is 5/1 and Paul Collingwood is 7/1. Collingwood is coming into some form at last and with India likely to rely on spin quite a bit as the innings goes on, Collingwood should come into his own.
The pressure is on India in this one but unless they put in a poor performance, I can't see anything other than a home win, though Collingwood could go well for England and might just be the best bet in the match.
Please note that odds are correct at time of publication and are subject to change.
Simon Cambers is ESPN.co.uk's betting correspondent
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Simon Cambers
Simon Cambers is ESPN.co.uk's betting correspondant Simon Cambers is ESPN.co.uk's betting correspondant
