India vs New Zealand, T20 World Cup 2016: Betting preview

The Super 10 stage of the ICC World T20 tournament gets underway with hosts India taking on New Zealand in Nagpur on 15 March. Ranked the best T20 outfit in the world, India are firm favourites to lift their second crown in the final at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on 3 April.

MS Dhoni's side have been in imperious form in T20 internationals this year. Following series wins against Australia away (3-0), Sri Lanka at home (2-1) and success in the Asia Cup in Bangladesh, they are backed at 4/7 by Betfair to get their World T20 campaign off to a winning start.

On the other hand, New Zealand bounced back from a T20 defeat at home against Pakistan to win the following two matches and clinch the series 2-1 in January. But the Black Caps are sure to miss the talismanic Brendon McCullum, who retired from international cricket last month. Their odds are placed at 9/5 to beat India in Nagpur.

Virat Kohli, who has an average of 52.61 in T20 internationals, is unsurprisingly backed to be the top scorer for India in the match at 3/1, followed by Rohit Sharma at 16/5 and Shikhar Dhawan at 4/1.

Openers Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson are both priced at 16/5 to lead the run charts for New Zealand. On the bowling front, India's premier spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is backed to top the wickets column for the hosts at 12/5.

New ball pair Trent Boult and Tim Southee are both backed at 5/2 to grab the most wickets for the Black Caps.