THE EDGE: The Edge previews Friday’s IPL clash between Gujarat Titans v Chennai Super Kings with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
Gujarat Titans v Chennai Super Kings
MATCH OVERVIEW:
The IPL action continues on Friday on Betdaq Betting Exchange. Gujarat Titans host Chennai Super Kings in a repeat of last years Final but both sides come into this game in very different spots! After the most successful start to a cricketing franchise ever when Gujarat Titans won the title in their opening season and then made it to the Final in their second, they have hit the ground with a massive bump this time! They currently sit in last place with four wins from their 11 games. Players leaving during the off season and injuries have totally messed with the balance of the side, and they’ve been struggling big time.
CSK haven’t been as good as last season either, however they are in the playoff mix. It’s actually a very entertaining race for the playoffs this year – KKR have chased down Rajasthan Royals this week for top spot but it’s going to be close between Sunrisers Hyderabad, CSK, Delhi Capitals and Lucknow Super Giants for those final two playoff places. Sunrisers Hyderabad took a big step forward with a huge win over Lucknow on Wednesday, now CSK have to match that here and go to 14 points too.
Obviously team selection will be important for Gujarat here. They are still searching for their best XI in my opinion even at this late stage of the tournament. They’ve only just brought in Josh Little who had a lot of success for them last season – he took four wickets in his opening game too! We know what to expect from CSK by now, and they rightly come into the game as favourites.
WEATHER AND PITCH WATCH:
We have two games left at Ahmedabad before they host Qualifier 1 and the Eliminator here. Scoring has been a mixed bag so far to be honest – the first inning scores have been 168/6 (won), 162/8 (chased), 199/4 (chased), 89 all out (chased) and 200/3 (chased). As you can see we’ve had a full range of scoring! I don’t know how to explain the 89 all out but in general batting conditions have been good here – the only game that didn’t have a successful chasing side was a middle order slow down/collapse from Mumbai when they really had the game in their hands until Rohit Sharma got out. I’d definitely bowl first.
RECOMMENDED BET:
Gujarat Titans have been short on quality this season, and it’s no surprise to see CSK as the decent favourites here. They are trading 1.73 and I still feel that offers a little bit of value if I was selecting a side to win before the toss. However, I do feel that there is a big bias to bowling first here and I would wait until after the toss to back the side who bowls first. CSK at around 1.7 or Gujarat at around 2.25 is absolutely fine in my opinion. CSK have been the better side this season and deserve to be favourites, but they haven’t been as consistent as last season.
The Edge Says:
Two points win The Side Who Bowls First at above odds on Betdaq Exchange
View the market here -> https://betdaq.biz/GjaCsk
IN-RUNNING STRATEGY:
My recommended bet is effectively an in-running strategy here, so it explains itself! Scoring would suggest a decent bias to bowling first here and although my main worry would be the Gujarat bowling against the CSK batting, I would just reduce stakes if that was the case. In an ideal world, CSK would bowl first and I think in that scenario we would have a 1.01 train to be honest.
