Charlie McCann from Stan James previews the weekend’s sports betting action including ICC Champions Trophy, Chelsea v Liverpool, Rangers v Celtic and the Super League Grand Final.

Vlasic and Rudisha take centre stage in Split – Day 2 Preview – IAAF / VTB Bank Continental Cup
5 September 2010 – Split, Croatia – Croatian high jump superstar Blanka Vlasic and world 800m record holder David Rudisha will hope to illuminate the second and final day of the IAAF / VTB Bank Continental Cup in Split.

Read more on IAAF

IAAF / VTB Bank Continental Cup – Men’s Events PREVIEW
31 August 2010 – The newly revamped IAAF / VTB Bank Continental Cup is just around the corner and teams from Africa, Americas, Asia/Pacific and Europe are ready to taken on the challenge to win the first IAAF Continental Cup trophy.

Read more on IAAF

IAAF / VTB Bank Continental Cup – Women’s Events PREVIEW
30 August 2010 - With just less than a week to go to the IAAF/VTB Bank Continental Cup the track world is ready to tackle a brand new challenge in this newly revamped team competition which takes over from the late IAAF World Cup.

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The frenetic, nail-guzzling, sweat inducing action of Twenty20 rather jars with the laidback Caribbean lifestyle so the locals can expect a culture shock when cricket’s T20 World Cup – surely set to become the sport’s most important event – docks at Barbados, Guyana and St Lucia.

Certainly it is expected to be a huge deal for Sporting Index. This could be one of the biggest cricket betting events with television times perfect for the armchair fan. Not to mention the value, which is as abundant as the potential for a thrilling tournament. Sporting Index certainly think so. There is little to choose between South Africa, India, Australia, and Sri Lanka on their outright index with 60 points awarded for the win, 40 for runner-up, 20 for losing semi-finalists, 10 for a Super 8 appearance and 0 for failing to make it past the groups. Only five points separate the top four for buyers. South Africa are the favourites with a quote of 25-28, India and Australia are both rated at 24-27 while Sri Lanka are marked at 20-23.

When seasoned cricket punters peruse such prices it is likely that the first two conclusions they will draw are that South Africa and India are worth selling. The Proteas have let down their backers in global tournaments since time in memoriam and with only Jacques Kallis of the South African contingent having smothered himself in glory in the Indian Premier League, they look poor jollies. India are in a worse state. They have a dreadful record in the Caribbean – winning only eight of 26 50-over matches – and have just lost key man Virender Sehwag to injury.

In terms of Twenty20 records, Pakistan (16-19 with Sporting Index), the defending champions, should be the favourites. They have an incredible win percentage of 73 in Twenty20. Continuing the theme, South Africa are next best (65%) followed by Sri Lanka (60%), Australia (54%), India (53%), England (42%), New Zealand (39%) and West Indies (38%).

The problem with backing Pakistan is that they have lost to injury Umar Gul, the fast bowler who starred for them in the previous tournament in England. Yasir Arafat, top Twenty20 bowler in the world, is also missing. Sri Lanka, therefore, look to be the stand out value. They excelled in Caribbean conditions in the last 50-over World Cup, losing to Australia in the final, and appear to have all bases covered. Tillakaratne Dilshan, the opener who was top-bat in the last tourny, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara can score the runs while Muttiah Muralitharan, Dilhara Fernando and Lasith Malinga (the latter pair were responsible for Mumbai Indians’ IPL charge).

Thanks to a projected draw, the Lankans are likely to be paired with Australia, India and West Indies in the second Super 8 group. They should comfortably finish in the top two to make the semis. With South Africa slotted with (barring upsets) New Zealand, who get a quote of 16-19, Pakistan and England, terrible value at 18-21, Graeme Smith’s side can be expected to make the last four. Then wait for the brain surge.

In terms of supporting individual players, Kallis enjoys top billing. It could be worth checking his series runs price because no other visiting batsman in the world has scored more runs in 50-over cricket in the Caribbean. Herschelle Gibbs, another South African, is also up there while if we constrict the list to only players named in the respective squads, Jayawardene makes the top ten. With the ball, Muralitharan, with 29 wickets, is the most successful bowler. Malinga is tied fourth.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s and not Sporting Index’s. Prices correct as at Friday 23 April 2010.

India vs Sri Lanka (IND vs SL) Live Cricket Betting Odds : India is facing Sri Lanka in the first test match at Galle International Stadium. This match kicked off at 10AM on July 17, 2010. In this match, Sri Lanka captain, Kumara Sangakara won the toss and elected to bat first.

Sri Lanka scored 91 runs for the loss of one wicket in 20 overs before lunch time.Tharanga Paranavitana(35) and Kumar Sangakkara(25) are in crease. Tillekaratne Dilshan scored 25 runs in 24 balls. Indian blower, Abhimanyu Mithun took the Tillekaratne Dilshan wicket.

After this Test match, Sri Lankan star bowler, Muttiah Muralitharan will retires from the test cricket.

India is facing Sri Lanka in the first test match at Galle International Stadium. This match kicked off at 10AM on July 17, 2010. In this match, Sri Lanka captain, Kumara Sangakara won the toss and elected to bat first.

Sri Lanka scored 91 runs for the loss of one wicket in 20 overs before lunch time. Tharanga Paranavitana(35) and Kumar Sangakkara(25) are in crease. Tillekaratne Dilshan scored 25 runs in 24 balls. Indian blower, Abhimanyu Mithun took the Tillekaratne Dilshan wicket. After this Test match, Sri Lankan star bowler, Muttiah Muralitharan will retires from the test cricket.

Teams :

India Squad: Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, M S Dhoni (captain, wk), Harbhajan Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Ishant Sharma and Abhimanyu Mithun.

Sri Lanka Squad: Tillakaratne Dilshan, Tharanga Paranavitana, Kumar Sangakkara (captain, wk), Mahela Jayawardene, Thilan Samaraweera, Angelo Mathews, Prasanna Jayawardene, Rangana Herath, Muttiah Muralitharan, Lasith Malinga and Chanaka Welegedara.

Umpires: Daryl Harper (Australia) and Rod Tucker (Australia)

Third umpire: Tyron Wijewardene

Match referee: Andy Pycroft (Zimbabwe)

IPL match-up would be for Rajasthan Royals and Bangalore Royal Challengers.

Venue of the match: Satwai Mansingh Stadium, jaipur.
Time: 8:00 PM (IST)

The winners of today’s match will be reaching to semi-finals.Till now, both teams have 12 points. Both teams has got more chances in reaching semifinals. Shane Warnes’s leadership is main role for team. He was keeping them in contention and the way he manages the bowling attack will be crucial for their success.

Rajasthan Royals team :

SK Warne*, SA Asnodkar, J Botha, FY Fazal, AJ Finch, AA Jhunjhunwala, Kamran Khan, MJ Lumb, M Morkel, S Narwal, NV Ojha, MM Patel, YK Pathan, AG Paunikart, SA Quadri, AS Raut, A Singh, SW Tait, SK Trivedi, A Uniyal, AC Voges, SB Wagh.

Royal Challengers Bangalore team :

A Kumble*, B Akhil, KP Appanna, MV Boucher, R Dravid, D du Preez, SP Goswami, JH Kallis, V Kohli, B Kumar, P Kumar, A Mithun, EJG Morgan, MK Pandey, KP Pietersen, SPD Smith, S Sriram, DW Steyn, LRPL Taylor, RV Uthappa, RE van der Merwe, R Vinay Kumar, CL White

IPL match-up would be for Rajasthan Royals and Bangalore Royal Challengers.

Venue of the match: Satwai Mansingh Stadium, jaipur.
Time: 8:00 PM (IST)

The winners of today’s match will be reaching to semi-finals.Till now, both teams have 12 points. Both teams has got more chances in reaching semifinals. Shane Warnes’s leadership is main role for team. He was keeping them in contention and the way he manages the bowling attack will be crucial for their success.

More about Rajasthan Royals VS Bangalore Royal Challengers Preview at IPL.

IPL match match-up would be for Chennai Super Kings vs Delhi Daredevils.

Venue of the match: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai.
Time: 8:00 PM (IST).
Match : 50th T20, IPL3.

More about Chennai Super Kings vs Delhi Daredevils live at IPL Cricket match.

Chennai and Delhi are now placed in 3rd and 4th position in the Indian Premier League table. Till now, both teams have 12 points. The winners of today’s match will be in semifinals. In the previous match, all the plannings has failed due to captain Gautam Ghambhir and they has failed against the Mumbai. Now, they will coming up new and different strategic planning.

IPL match match-up would be for Chennai Super Kings vs Delhi Daredevils.

Venue of the match: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai.
Time: 8:00 PM (IST).
Match : 50th T20, IPL3.

Chennai and Delhi are now placed in 3rd and 4th position in the Indian Premier League table. Till now, both teams have 12 points. The winners of today’s match will be in semifinals. In the previous match, all the plannings has failed due to captain Gautam Ghambhir and they has failed against the Mumbai. Now, they will coming up new and different strategic planning.

Chennai Super Kings Team :

MS Dhoni (Captain), R Ashwin, SK Raina, M Vijay, HK Badani, ML Hayden, S Badrinath, GJ Bailey, L Balaji, DE Bollinger, C Ganapathy, MS Gony, MEK Hussey, SB Jakati, AB Karthik, JM Kemp, JA Morkel, M Muralitharan, M Ntini, PA Patel, NLTC Perera, T Thushara, S Tyagi.

Delhi Daredevils Team :

Gautam Gambhir (Captain), V Sehwag, D Warner, S Ladda, Joginder Singh, R Bhatia, AB de Villiers, T Dilshan, M Henriques, K Jadhav, K Karthik, A McDonald, M Maharoof, V Mahesh, M Manhas, A Mishra, D Nannes, A Nehra, W Parnell, S Ranjan, A Salvi, P Sangwan, Sarandeep Singh, U Yadav.

India  vs Zimbabwe 1st ODI Match Preview:  India is facing against Zimbabwe on May 28th, 2010 at Queens Sports Club Ground.

Time:13:00(IST).
Match Venue : Queens Sports Club Ground, Bulawayo city.

The Tournament gave an opportunity for youngsters to prove their worth at the international level. Especially with the 50-over World Cup just over nine months away.

The young star Suresh Raina has make the captaincy after as eight senoor players including regular captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.Dhoni has took rest in this tournamant.But what might work in Raina’s favour is that he will lead a bunch of young, fresh and fit players who are eager to perform at the international arena and be in the reckoning for a place in the Indian team.

For more watch India  vs Zimbabwe 1st ODI Match.

Raina has an aggressive deputy in Virat Kohli, who would be keen to prove his worth to the selectors after being ignored for the Twenty20 World Cup.

The Tournament gave an opportunity for youngsters to prove their worth at the international level. Especially with the 50-over World Cup just over nine months away.Zimbabwe team also played well in previous matches.

India Team:

Murali Vijay, Dinesh Karthik, Suresh Raina(c), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Naman Ojha(w), Yusuf Pathan, Amit Mishra, Pragyan Ojha, Pankaj Singh, Vinay Kumar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Ashok Dinda, Umesh Yadav.

Zimbabwe Team:

Hamilton Masakadza, Vusi Sibanda, Tatenda Taibu(w), Brendan Taylor, Charles Coventry, Andy Blignaut, Elton Chigumbura(c), Graeme Cremer, Prosper Utseya, Chris Mpofu, Ray Price, Chamu Chibhabha, Craig Ervine, Gregory Lamb, Ed Rainsford.

Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings Preview – Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings Indian Premier League 2010 Final match on Sunday, April 25, 2010.

Venue: DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai.

Time: 08:00 P.M

Teams Report:

Mumbai Indians is facing up Chennai Super Kings Indian Premier League 2010 Final match on Sunday.

Mumbai Indians are playing well in the beginning of the Indian Premier League-III and reached the finals safely. Chennai Super Kings reached the finals by crossing many hurdles. Even though Chennai Super Kings is having the strong batting line-up, they are not performing well. Only bowlers are helping the Chennai team. The entire star batsman like MS Dhoni and Hayden are failing. Suresh Raina is performing well in batting and bowling as well.

Mumbai Indians are performing well in batting and bowling. Sachin Tendulkar captaincy is good so far. He is also performing well and stood as a highest run scorer in the Indian Premier League-III.

Mumbai Indians are playing well in the beginning of the Indian Premier League-III and reached the finals safely. Chennai Super Kings reached the finals by crossing many hurdles. Even though Chennai Super Kings is having the strong batting line-up, they are not performing well. Only bowlers are helping the Chennai team. The entire star batsman like MS Dhoni and Hayden are failing. Suresh Raina is performing well in batting and bowling as well.

Mumbai Indians:

SR Tendulkar, AN Ahmed, DJ Bravo, S Dhawan, JP Duminy, CRD Fernando, Harbhajan Singh, Z Khan, DS Kulkarni, R McLaren, C Madan, I Malhotra, SL Malinga, AG Murtaza, GR Napier, AM Nayar, KA Pollard, AT Rayudu, R Sathish, KS Sahabuddin, R Shukla, AP Tare, SS Tiwary.

Chennai Super Kings:

Matthew Hayden, Parthiv Patel(w), Suresh Raina(c), Subramaniam Badrinath, Murali Vijay, Justin Kemp, Albie Morkel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Muttiah Muralitharan, Manpreet Gony, MS Dhoni, Shadab Jakati, Chandrasekar Ganapathy, Hemang Badani, George Bailey, Arun Karthik, Makhaya Ntini, Thissara Perera, Thilan Thushara, Sudeep Tyagi.