INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE: Our cricket tipster The Edge previews Saturday’s IPL Double Header – Kolkata Knight Riders v Delhi Capitals and Kings XI Punjab v Sunrisers Hyderabad both with 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.
Kolkata Knight Riders v Delhi Capitals
MATCH OVERVIEW:
We have another massive double header weekend at the Indian Premier League! We have 0% commission on BETDAQ Betting Exchange on cricket today and as time is running out in the race for a Playoff spot, we have a massive day ahead. We had the low score of the tournament to date here on Wednesday with KKR only managed 84/8. They will really hurt their net run rate, and they would dearly love to bounce back here.
They are still sitting in fourth position, but realistically the top three are locked in unless Mumbai, who have a game in hand, start losing games. Sunrisers Hyderabad and Punjab are just behind KKR, and after Wednesday they now have a better net run rate. Delhi are away from all the drama, sitting in top spot heading into the weekend. They did lose their last game against Kings XI Punjab however, and now RCB have the same amount of points.
We should have a very good game here, and it looks like batting is getting tricky here. As noted above, KKR could only manage 84/8 and in the game before that CSK only got 125/5. Both scores were chased down easily, and we were seeing scores in the 160’s prior.
WEATHER AND PITCH WATCH:
With this being a day game and ruling out any dew, batting should be a little tougher. I wouldn’t go into the game expecting a lot of runs, especially considering the last two fixtures. KKR really need their batters to fire, but it just isn’t happening – while if Delhi bat first I would expect to see 165 or thereabouts scored. I think 165 is a par score between two good teams, however whether or not KKR could get there is another issues. Once again the weather is set fair, thankfully we haven’t had any weather issues thus far.
RECOMMENDED BET:
Sometimes I look at KKR and wonder how they are in a Playoff place at the moment. They have had some very poor performances. Russell hasn’t performed at all, and Cummins is out of form too. Winning the Super Over was huge against Hyderabad, and they have won some very tight games where they looked beaten – they won on the final ball against Punjab for example. Against a classy side like Delhi, I can see them being easily outclassed. They really need Morgan to do something wonderful with the bat, but I just can’t see it against this Delhi bowling attack. Dhawan is in superb form too at the top of the order, and I really like the Delhi price at 1.78.
The Edge Says:
Three points win Delhi Capitals to beat Kolkata Knight Riders at 1.78 on BETDAQ Betting Exchange
View the market here -> http://bit.ly/BDQKkrDel
IN-RUNNING STRATEGY:
With batting conditions expected to be slightly tougher given the lack of dew, I would be very cautious getting on the team batting first in-running on BETDAQ Betting Exchange. We have had two low scores here in the last two games, and actually in the last five games we’ve seen four successful chases and one tie. Perhaps this is a game to watch early on and see how the team batting first is performing.
I am confident on a Delhi win, so I wouldn’t be keen at all getting on KKR if they were batting first. Their batting has been poor in general in the tournament and it’s clear that Delhi have the best bowling attack in the tournament. I would be keen to get against the KKR openers and also the mid to low order apart from Morgan. It’s worth taking on Russell again, if he plays, and Karthik looks to have been effected by the captaincy. He’s given it to Morgan now, but he’s still struggling to score runs.
Kings XI Punjab v Sunrisers Hyderabad
MATCH OVERVIEW:
We move to Dubai for our second game on Saturday. This is a huge game, especially if KKR lose against Delhi Capitals earlier in the day. Even if KKR win, the winner will still have a decent chance of catching them on net run rate – for the loser it’s a long way back with only a little over a week left. Kings XI Punjab have completely turned around their fortunes since Chris Gayle arrived, and who could rule out the Universe Boss getting them to the Playoffs from last position.
It must be noted that Punjab have played the top three teams twice already, so they have a nice run in so they could easily take a Playoff place. Of course, Hyderabad will have something to say about that and that starts today! Hyderabad have been the “grinder” in the tournament in the sense that they haven’t really batted quickly and put sides out of the game. They have had to grind out their results. They easily put Rajasthan away on Thursday here, and they’ll be hoping for more of the same today.
WEATHER AND PITCH WATCH:
Hyderabad chased down 154/6 very easily on Thursday and while the pitches are slowing down a tad, par still looks to be around 170 here. In the last four games, we’ve had three successful chases and one tie. We’ve had scores of 177/6, 176/6 and 164/5 in those three games before Hyderabad only had to chase down 154/6. It looks like you might need 180 now, but at the start of the tournament it was an advantage to bat first as chasing looked tricky. Thankfully the weather is set fair.
RECOMMENDED BET:
It’s hard to see anything other than a very close game here, and who can blame the market not being able to split them! We’re bound to have a game with a low of twists and turns, but I like Punjab at 1.98 here. They were bottom of the table for a while, but I always said it wasn’t because they were playing poor cricket – they just lacked a finishing touch. Chris Gayle has given them that, with his fast batting giving the bowlers an extra bit of leeway to make mistakes and giving the batters around him confidence. They are in good form, and it’s a good time to back them.
The Edge Says:
Two points win Kings XI Punjab to beat Sunrisers Hyderabad at 1.98 on BETDAQ Betting Exchange
View the market here -> http://bit.ly/BDQKinSun
IN-RUNNING STRATEGY:
I wouldn’t be dead set on any in-running strategy here with regards to batting first. In the last week or so the wickets have certainly changed in the UAE, the with that the trends also change. 170+ looked tricky to chase here for the whole tournament, but we’ve seen that chased recently here, and more than once too. Punjab have batted superbly at times here, and I would happily support their openers and Chris Gayle when they are batting. I would be against their lower order however, especially with Maxwell so out of form. He managed 32 this week, but that came off 24 balls and he hasn’t really hit form yet.
With Hyderabad, they were impressive against Rajasthan but Rajasthan have been poor in the tournament. They still have bowling issues, and they are a bowler short which could really hurt them if the Punjab top order got going. The sweet spot might be the back Punjab with seven to five overs to go if they bat first and have wickets in hand. I would probably leave out Williamson against if I was Hyderabad, if he plays I’d be happy to be against him.
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