India out to assert dominance in Tests

Having dominated the one-day series, India will be confident of translating their limited overs prowess to the Test arena when the three-match series begins on Tuesday. New Zealand have home advantage but that is the only edge they have against an awfully strong-looking India side.

India are rated 4/9 favourites to win the series with bet365 and to be quite honest, that is a steal because there is a real gulf between the two sides, especially over five days of a Test match.

It's always a good measure of a side's ability to see how many of one side you think would get in the other, and I would guess that only New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori would be a definite starter in India's side.

Vettori is a class act and an excellent, innovative captain but if India play to their own potential and if the weather - always a problem in New Zealand at this time of the year - holds up then I can't see anything other than a series win for India.

They just have too many match-winners in their side - from Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir at the top of the order, through the ageless Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid, as well as the mightily talented Yuvraj Singh, and then down through captain MS Dhoni and the bowlers, who are much improved.

It's a frightening prospect for the New Zealanders, who will need to bat out of their minds to keep pace with the Indian side. The Kiwis are 6/1 to win the series, while the draw is 3/1.

Interestingly, a 2-0 win for India is the favourite in the correct score markets at 12/5. This can only be because of the danger of washouts, because India will be odds-on to win each match, such is their confidence right now. A 1-0 win for the tourists is close behind at 11/4 and then it's 7/1 that they complete a clean sweep.

If you think New Zealand can somehow fathom a series win, then it's 9/1 that they do so by just a 1-0 margin. It's 25/1 that they win 2-0 and the same price for a 2-1 victory, and a whopping 100/1 that they sweep the series themselves.

Since beating Australia late last year, India have been on a roll and their confidence is right up, but the one thing that will lift New Zealand spirits is their record in the country. New Zealand beat India 2-0 in a two-match series back in 2002 when the series was littered with low scores, so keep your ears open for any information about the state of the pitches.

That said, though, if all things stay equal, India should win this series handily enough, so I would not put anyone off taking the 4/9. And if you're looking for a correct score, I'd go for 2-0, at 12/5.