THE EDGE: The Edge previews Saturday’s IPL clash between Kolkata Knight Riders v Sunrisers Hyderabad with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
Kolkata Knight Riders v Sunrisers Hyderabad
MATCH OVERVIEW:
The Indian Premier League continues on Betdaq Betting Exchange with a double header on Saturday! Our focus will be on Kolkata Knight Riders hosting Sunrisers Hyderabad in the afternoon game, and both sides will be hoping for a better season than 2023! Sunrisers Hyderabad finished rock bottom last season, they were the worst side once Delhi Capitals got going after a slow start, while KKR are a huge franchise that should be pushing for the playoffs.
It’s very basic but a positive start is a must in franchise cricket. Otherwise the fixtures can quickly become meaningless when you’re hanging around the bottom of the table. Hyderabad lost their last four games last season for example; by that stage everyone just wanted to go home. As you would expect, they’ve had a complete overhaul – Hyderabad have been through a few bits of drama recently’ remember they dropped David Warner when he was captain a few years ago! The Aussies will lead the way again this time with Pat Cummins and Travis Head – they definitely have the weakest domestic line-up though and that’s going to cost them.
KKR, like CSK, have gone for a very spin friendly line-up. That’s interesting given their home ground is usually a batters paradise these days. They will be sweating on the fitness of their captain Shreyas Iyer – big names like Andre Russell and Sunil Narine are still here. Obviously the blockbuster signing is Mitchell Starc; an all-time auction high! Outside of Starc their pace bowling options look a little thin. We have a very interesting game ahead between two sides with a lot of question marks.
WEATHER AND PITCH WATCH:
Eden Gardens is always a wonderful place when it’s packed for the IPL. Who could ever forget the Ben Stokes over here that went the distance for West Indies to win the T20 World Cup. Usually this has been a high scoring venue over the last few IPL seasons. It holds a huge crowd, but the playing surface is actually reasonably small by top class cricket standards. We usually see plenty of sixes. However, it is interesting to see KKR have plenty of spin options so we might get a slower than usual wicket. I would go into the first game open minded on the scoring.
RECOMMENDED BET:
I know Hyderabad have changed a lot, and I do expect them to be a completely different side to last season too, however I didn’t expect to see them trading as favourites here. I accept that there isn’t much in the odds, and we could even see the favourite flip-flop before the game starts but I like the KKR bet at 2.04. Their batting line-up looks a lot more solid than Hyderabad; I really don’t like the top order from Hyderabad but you also have to acknowledge the KKR pace bowling is lacking outside Starc. I’m keen to keep stakes small, it is the start of the tournament after all, but the 2.04 is worth backing on KKR in my opinion.
The Edge Says:
One point win Kolkata Knight Riders to beat Sunrisers Hyderabad at 2.04 with Betdaq Exchange
View the market here -> https://betdaq.biz/KolHyd
IN-RUNNING STRATEGY:
As I said above, I don’t really like the Hyderabad top order so I’ll be keen to take them on during this IPL. However, I am fascinated to see what conditions will be like here – usually it’s a very good batting track and you want to be on the batting side in general. However, the KKR line-up this season might suggest they want a more spin friendly wicket. I wouldn’t do anything major here in the first five overs and just see how the wicket is playing – if it looks the same as always we can expect a high scoring game, if not then we’ll have to see how it plays out.
