IPL GAME 4: Our cricket tipster The Edge previews Monday’s game 4 in the IPL between Rajasthan Royals v Punjab Kings with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
MATCH OVERVIEW:
We’re back in Mumbai on Monday in the IPL as the Rajasthan Royals take on the Punjab Kings in the first game for both teams. After this game we’ll have seen all eight teams in action for the first time this season and we should have a better idea of how the league section is going to go. We’ll also have a better understanding of conditions, but batting conditions have been pretty much as expected so far.
I have to say I’m looking forward to this game! I know Punjab Kings lost Glenn Maxwell to the RCB, but we have some superb talent on show today. Chris Gayle and Nicholas Pooran are the big hitters for Punjab, while they have the English players Christ Jordan and Dawid Malan too. Their side does look a little light, but they finished IPL 2020 very well after a bad start so they aren’t as bad as they look on paper. Chris Gayle may a huge difference to morale when he came in last season.
Rajasthan lost Steve Smith and they will also be without Jofra Archer through injury so they might have a slow start to the tournament. They will be relying on Joe Buttler and Ben Stokes a lot I feel this season, and I could see them having a really bad tournament if they were out of form. Luckily for them, both looked in superb touch in the recent India v England T20 and ODI games. We should have a pretty close game here, as both sides look very similar on paper.
WEATHER AND PITCH WATCH:
As I said above, we haven’t seen anything unusual from a batting conditions point of view in the opening games, both at Chennai and here. I would expect batting to be much easier here compared to Chennai! As I highlighted in my preview on Saturday, the average score here between 2017 and 2019 was between 171 and 176 for all three seasons. We usually see a score of over 210 once (or more!) per season too. The best advice is to check how the wicket plays in the opening three overs, but I would expect a pretty good wicket for batting here. If you bat first you’d want to be aiming for at least 180+ and with dew that might not be enough.
RECOMMENDED BET:
It’s no surprise to see such an even market here, with the odds very close to a pick’em on BETDAQ Betting Exchange. Rajasthan might do better than Punjab in the long-run this IPL but I feel today is a good time to back Punjab. Archer injured is a big loss to Rajasthan and with batting conditions expected to favour the batters, a key bowler out like that is a huge loss. Punjab were really good when Gayle came in the last IPL, and they managed to fix their bowling towards the end of the tournament too. They have the batting to go big here and I’m happy to take the 1.94 – I’m also happy to still keep stakes small in the early part of the tournament.
The Edge Says:
One point win Punjab Kings to beat Rajasthan Royals at 1.94 with BETDAQ Betting Exchange
View the market here -> http://bit.ly/BDQRajPun
IN-RUNNING STRATEGY:
It’s early days in the tournament and I’m still happy to not get married to any planned in-running strategy. Of course, this is the final “first game” for the teams and we should have a much better understanding of what’s to come later in the week. I feel there will be a lot of excellent in-running trading opportunities as the tournament goes on with Covid19 meaning we stay at six grounds this season.
For today, I expect the bat to dominate over the ball and I would focus on looking for trades on the batting side. In India, always check for dew but I would be keen on the batting side regardless. I think Punjab can go really well at the top of the order with Rajasthan missing Archer, and we could see a quick move for Punjab at the start of their innings. While I feel the bat will dominate, I feel if you’re going to be successful on the bowling side it will come against the mid-to-low orders. Both looked reasonably weak last IPL, and I don’t see that changing.
Did you know that as well as checking the realtime prices on BETDAQ below – you can also log into your account and place your bets directly into BETDAQ from BETDAQ TIPS.
