1st ODI then is from Guwahati. I'll start with 3 bets.
10pts India to win 1st ODI 4/5 Skybet
These two sides are pretty evenly matched but home advantage could well come into play. The toss will be very important here because the two sides have agreed to start this game an hour earlier than normal which means the ball is likely to do much more in the 1st half of the game than the 2nd half. It's very much a bowl 1st toss and both sides have decent seam attacks.
The one area where India could have the edge is the batting department. Yuvraj Singh has been in good form for a while now and in Sachin and Ganguly, India have a settled opening partnership. Word is that Virender Sehwag could be employed at 3 for the Indian's too so they are explosive up top. Mahendra Singh Dhoni will bat 5 and Robin Uthappa is another in form batsman so India's batting lineup could win the day.
Pakistan have very much relied on their bowlers recently. In fact their batsmen could still be reeling from losing the one day series with South Africa last week when they had the deciding game won only to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Pakistan can't settle on an opening partnership and really do rely on Younis and Yousuf. However with the ball, Umar Gul and Iftikar Rao are in great form and the return of Shoaib should add pep to the attack. Spin twins, Rehman and Adfridi could be hard to get away.
India won the last meeting between these two, in South Africa in the Twenty20 World Cup final and with Pakistan employing 2 spinners on a ground with short square boundaries India look to have the edge. They have the better balance and can go 1-0 up here.
10pts S.Akthar's Performance Pts 40&Over 8/11 Bet365
Points are scored as follows: 1pt per run, 10pts per catch & 20pts per wicket.
Shoaib Akthar comes back into this Pakistan side with a point to prove and he's already begun well, taking 4 wickets on his return to the international scene in the deciding ODI against South Africa last week. If Pakistan bowl 1st then Akthar will have the conditions to really assist him but if they bowl 2nd then he can rely on his pace instead. This pitch has often suited the seamers with the new ball which Akthar will take and I'd expect him to get the requisite 2 wickets, particularly as he'll bowl at the death too. Should he fail with the ball though, he could claim a catch and he's no absolute mug with the bat so points could come from that route but I'd very much expect 2 wickets from the Rawalpindi Express here.
5pts ew S.Malik Top Pakistan Batsman 11/2 Boylesports (1/4 1,2,3)
Sort of a weird bet here given that I've taken Mohammad Yousuf outright for Pakistan's top batsman but at 11/2 I'd take an ew payout here and at 11/2 Malik is exceptional value. He's one of the 3 consistent scorers for Pakistan and is quite often in the mix and should the main two fail which will happen at some point, then he's the man to capitalise. He's a good player square of the wicket and the short boundaries will assist his scoring. Shoaib Malik was 3rd in the Pakistan run list against South Africa recently, a full 90 runs ahead of the guy in 4th which emphasises how clear of the rest Younis, Yousuf and Malik are and for that reason, Malik must be taken ew at 11/2.