THE EDGE: The Edge previews Thursday’s IPL clash between Punjab Kings v Royal Challengers Bengaluru with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
Punjab Kings v Royal Challengers Bengaluru
MATCH OVERVIEW:
It’s last chance saloon at the IPL on Betdaq Betting Exchange for Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Thursday. They both still have an exceptionally slim chance of reaching the playoffs – they basically need to win every one of their remaining games and also have a lot of other results go their way too. That effectively means the loser here is sent packing, although in fairness these two have been on the backfoot the whole tournament – realistically their playoff chances were gone weeks ago but the door hasn’t been slammed shut yet.
Delhi Capitals winning against Rajasthan Royals on Tuesday was definitely a blow though – that win put Delhi on 12 points having played a game more than these two. They both sit with 8 points each, and they basically need one of Chennai Super Kings, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Delhi Capitals and Lucknow Super Giants to lose all their remaining games while they notch up three wins. Highly unlikely! RCB have finally started to win games with three in a row – maybe the pressure finally came off but their bowlers have been terrible this season and have cost them a lot of games.
Punjab have suffered with poor bowling, dropped Jonny Bairstow, then selected him again and he played one of the top innings we’ve had this IPL to chase down 261/6 from KKR. No mean feat considering KKR top the table! This should be a pretty even game; both sides have obvious flaws but also have a handful of players that can win games on their own.
WEATHER AND PITCH WATCH:
Mullanpur has been Punjab Kings new home for this season, however we have finished the games there. This fixture is back at Dharamsala, the original home for Punjab! The IPL only scheduled two games here, and we had the opening fixture last weekend. We didn’t see very high scoring conditions, batting actually looked quite tricky. Chennai Super Kings posted 167/9 and won by 28 runs. I wouldn’t go into this game expecting a run-fest, quite the opposite actually but at the same time we clearly don’t have a volume of games here so keep an open mind on scoring conditions.
RECOMMENDED BET:
The only way you could describe the Punjab batting is hit-and-miss. Jonny Bairstow was back to single figures at the weekend with seven runs off six balls for example. Sam Curran has had a lot on his shoulders as captain but the reality is they haven’t really lived up to their talent. You could say the same about RCB given their batting talent, but the bowling has really let them down at times. They did well to beat Sunrisers Hyderabad, and although they put three wins together two of those games were back-to-back against Gujarat Titans who are bottom of the table. I see this game being a very 50/50 game, and from a value point of view I’m happy with Punjab Kings at 2.26.
The Edge Says:
One point win Punjab Kings to beat Royal Challengers Bengaluru at 2.26 on Betdaq Exchange
View the market here -> https://betdaq.biz/PunRoy
IN-RUNNING STRATEGY:
Given this is only the second game here, I wouldn’t dive into anything too early here. Take your time and see what conditions are like. Batting looked reasonably tricky in the opening game here, and while batting first looked to offer a slight edge – it was definitely in favour of the bowlers rather than the batters. The RCB bowling has been very poor in this tournament, so you wouldn’t want to be relying on them! I feel this is a game that will flip-flop a few times; the best tactic might end up being to support the side who bowls second; but obviously this is a low stakes play given the bowling worries on both sides! I’d be keen to take on the Punjab batting line-up if I had more faith in the RCB bowling.
