FRIDAY IPL: Our cricket tipster The Edge previews Friday’s Game 45 between Kolkata Knight Riders v Punjab Kings with a recommended BETDAQ bet.

IPL Game 45 Kolkata Knight Riders v Punjab Kings

MATCH OVERVIEW:

We have another excellent Friday afternoon at the Indian Premier League as the Kolkata Knight Riders take on Punjab Kings at Dubai. KKR have hit the ground running after they arrived in the UAE and they’re going for four wins in a row here! They have beaten Royal Challengers Bangalore easily, chased down 155/6 very easily against Mumbai Indians and then kept Delhi Capitals down to 127/9 to chase it successfully on Tuesday. That is a very impressive run of form, and they will be a very popular bet on BETDAQ Betting Exchange on Friday afternoon.

Punjab Kings haven’t had as good as start as KKR, but the table hasn’t really opened up in the UAE. In India, it definitely looked like a top four and bottom four, but the way the results have gone everyone will feel they are in the mix for the playoffs apart from Sunrisers Hyderabad who are now a little dethatched at the bottom of the table. When you look at the table, you can see that this is a massive game for both sides. CSK and Delhi Capitals have moved a little ahead, but then it’s wide open after them and a win for either side here would be massive. KKR are in great form and Punjab Kings can be very hit-and-miss – they will see this as a fantastic chance to win and make it four in a row.

WEATHER AND PITCH WATCH:

As I have been saying recently, batting has been much tougher than I expected in the UAE. The wickets are nothing like what they were last season, and we have had some very low scores. I have to say it was a positive sign to see 164/5 chased down here on Monday, but I still feel that Dubai is the best place to bat at the moment. With each passing game my opinion on this wicket hasn’t really changed this week, par looks around 165 to 170, and although that score was chased this week, I feel there is a slight edge to batting first.

RECOMMENDED BET:

Punjab Kings can be really hit-and-miss, we all know that by now. Chris Gayle could hit an immense knock and win the game on his own, but the balance of probability suggests that won’t happen all the time and KKR come into this game in superb form. At around 1.67, they are worth backing to keep their winning run going. Their bowlers are in superb form, and they will likely be able to deal with the Punjab hitters. Perhaps we should limit stakes given the dangerous hitters of Punjab, but KKR win for me.

The Edge Says:
Two points win Kolkata Knight Riders to beat Punjab Kings at 1.67 with BETDAQ Betting Exchange

View the market here -> https://bit.ly/BDQKolPun

IN-RUNNING STRATEGY:

As I said above, I do feel there is a slight edge to batting first here – we definitely saw that in the RCB v Mumbai Indians game – so I would look at getting on the team batting first. I would love that to be KKR however as they look far more solid than Punjab Kings who can be very up-and-down. You can’t really trust them. They have a lot of hitters so when things go well they will put the pressure on, but things can go very bad quickly. The KKR batting and bowling looks in great form coming into this game and I’d expect that to continue – I would spend the game looking for spots to support them. Their bowling looked top quality against Delhi Capitals, and it’s hard to see Punjab Kings hitting them for sixes so we could actually see a pretty low score from Punjab here.