INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE: Our cricket tipster The Edge previews Kings XI Punjab v Royal Challengers Bangalore on day six of the IPL. The preview includes a recommended BETDAQ bet.
The Edge has been a professional cricket trader for over 12 years, and we are delighted to have his columns on BETDAQ Tips. He provides his best bets on a points scale between 1 and 5, with 5 being a rare max bet.
Because we see so much action in-running on cricket, he will also provide some in-running strategies that could develop in-play and lead to some excellent value bets. The Edge covers all forms of cricket: Test Matches, ODI’s and T20’s but his favourite competition is the Indian Premier League each season.
MATCH OVERVIEW:
The IPl moves back to Dubai on Thursday after two days in Sharjah and Abu Dhabi. Kings XI Punjab will have had a break of three days in between games, but they’ll still be wondering how they managed to lose against Delhi. They need 1 off 3 balls to win and managed to get zero meaning we went to a Super Over which they lost. Given the talent in the IPL, it’s incredible to not get 1 off 3 balls without the fear of getting bowled out!
RCB come into this game full of confidence however after starting their tournament with a win over Sunrisers Hyderabad. They were very professional setting a target of 163/5 and then bowling Hyderabad out for 153. A lot of things went their way however; especially with Hyderabad suffering some injuries and they also had 51 runs from AB de Villiers which only came off 30 balls. The big question for RCB remains; can they win without one of their batting stars firing?
Both sides have weaknesses and it’s fair to say that it would be their lower order. Punjab should have really beaten Delhi, they had them 100/6 only to allow carnage in the final overs that saw Delhi get up to 157/8. Then the chase was going well and they lost wickets in bursts. RCB look more solid than Punjab; but again have their own troubles.
WEATHER AND PITCH WATCH:
We’re set fair for a full game which is good news. This is the third game in Dubai, in the opening two games we had first inning scores of 157/8 and 163/5. Interestingly, neither score was chased. Punjab could only tie Delhi, however Hyderabad had some poor luck against RCB. At the moment, it looks like this could be the toughest venue for batting – the boundaries are massive and there’s definitely something in the pitch for the bowlers to work with. The likes of cutters and slower balls will go well in the middle overs.
I would suggest we haven’t seen a team fire on the pitch yet, so perhaps we could go past 163 today. Both sides have experience of conditions here having played their first games here, however both can also collapse looking at their lower orders!
RECOMMENDED BET:
We landed a nice price with RCB in their opening game, and I like them to win again today. The 1.92 looks good value to beat a reasonably poor Punjab side. Punjab have match winners in their side – of course they do they are an IPL side – but I think their squad is too weak to win many games. There are too many weak links. Their first game was a classic example if you ask me; they had Delhi in trouble with the bat and let them off the hook and then they had them in trouble with the ball and again let them off the hook. RCB have their flaws, but they have enough talent in their squad to beat Punjab. I’d have them shorter than 1.92, perhaps 1.8.
The Edge Says:
Two points win Royal Challengers Banaglore to beat Kings XI Punjab at 1.92 with BETDAQ Exchange.
View the market here -> http://bit.ly/BDQKinRcb
IN-RUNNING STRATEGY:
Dubai certainly looks like the toughest place to bat at the moment, however the wicket isn’t bad. You’d have to expect another score between 155 and 170, with 155 probably not being enough to defend unless the bowling team goes really well. So far it was proven profitable to open a trade on the team who bowls first for the opening ten overs before exiting the market and then waiting to back the team batting for the last five or so overs. If we get dew, that tactic will more than likely work again. Delhi had an excellent finish here.
I’d expect the chase to go very close again with a score of 165, Hyderabad had too much go against them to be judged so let’s wait and see what the chasing team can do today – and Punjab should have chased the Delhi total. If we get dew, I would certainly look for trades on the chasing side. The key point in this game would be to be against the lower orders as they look pretty weak on paper; however if we get a set batsmen and they are a star player then they can go big at the death just as we have seen in the opening games here.
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