THE EDGE: The Edge previews Sunday’s IPL clash between Kolkata Knight Riders v Royal Challengers Bengaluru with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
Kolkata Knight Riders v Royal Challengers Bengaluru
MATCH OVERVIEW:
We have a massive double header at the IPL on Betdaq Betting Exchange on Sunday, but the early fixture is the focus here as Kolkata Night Riders host Royal Challengers Bengaluru. We have two sides from opposite ends of the table here; a major talking point from this IPL has been just how poor RCB have been and they sit nailed to the bottom of the table. KKR are in the playoff mix, but after Rajasthan Royals beat them this week Jos Buttler’s side has put some distance between themselves and the rest. That leaves KKR feeling the heat from Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Although RCB’s chance of reaching the playoffs are dead in the water, they remain one of the biggest IPL franchises and their games are still going to be massive. Most of the debate from here will be around Virat Kohli and his strike rate with a view to the T20 World Cup in the summer. He has had a few slower innings this IPL, but the reality is that the RCB are so poor with the ball any innings is going to look slow compared to the runs their bowlers are conceding! They went around the park again in record fashion against Sunrisers Hyderabad conceding a whopping 287/3.
KKR has been one of the best batting sides in this IPL, they have been explosive and it will be interesting to see how they attack the RCB bowlers. KKR posted 223/6 last time out, but we saw an incredible century from Jos Buttler finishing not out on 107 to lead Rajasthan to victory off the final ball. IPL drama; you cannot beat it!
WEATHER AND PITCH WATCH:
Eden Gardens is an exceptionally good ground for cricket – some fans who visit the ground might not agree with that facilities wise but watching on TV it’s very impressive. It’s turned into a very high scoring venue at the IPL in recent years – although it holds 100,000 fans the boundaries are quite short. Any boundary around 60 meters is short by today’s stands and we see plenty of sixes here now. The first inning scores have been; 208/7 (won), 161/7 (chased in 15.4 overs) and 223/6 (chased). In the game that 208 won, it only won by four runs. The only thing to note is that this is a day game so we could see different conditions to the night games. I would still expect runs, but just have an open mind going into the game.
RECOMMENDED BET:
While KKR have been one of the best sides with the bat, their bowling has gone around the park multiple times this season. The major difference between them and RCB is that their batting has been so explosive it’s given their bowlers a little bit more leeway. That being said, the RCB bowlers just haven’t been good enough this season. They have been all over the place, look short on confidence and you just wonder who is going to stop the flow of runs at times. KKR are trading 1.76 and that looks cracking value given the way RCB have bowled so far this tournament – I thought we’d see KKR sub 1.7.
The Edge Says:
Three points win Kolkata Knight Riders to beat Royal Challengers Bengaluru at 1.76 with Betdaq Exchange
View the market here -> https://betdaq.biz/KolRoy
IN-RUNNING STRATEGY:
As I said above, the most important thing when trading this game is to confirm conditions. Eden Gardens has been a very high scoring venue at the IPL but with this being a day game we won’t see any dew so that might have a massive impact. It can still be tough to bowl in the heat of the day however, so we could still see a very high score. With regards to the teams, you really don’t want to be on either bowling line-ups. Taking on the RCB bowling has proven very profitable so far this tournament and I don’t expect that to change.
