SATURDAY IPL: The Edge previews Lucknow Super Giants v Punjab Kings with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
Lucknow Super Giants v Punjab Kings
MATCH OVERVIEW:
It’s the final weekend of the IPL group stage on Betdaq Betting Exchange , and the pressure is on! Lucknow Super Giants host Punjab Kings at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow – it’s a must win game for Punjab Kings, and even winning might not be enough. Not only do they need to win here, they also need Rajasthan Royals and KKR to lose on Sunday to make it to the playoffs. Hard to believe they find themselves in this position when they looked like the team to beat in this tournament. They were unbeaten after seven games, they chased down 264 against Delhi Capitals to set the highest ever successful run chase in IPL history.
Then the wheels came off. Six losses in a row. Six. The bowling attack, which was always the question mark, fell apart completely – death bowling has been a crisis, opponents began backing themselves to chase anything against Punjab in the final overs, and dropped catches at crucial moments compounded the misery. They failed to defend 222 against Rajasthan Royals, conceded 235/4 against Sunrisers Hyderabad, lost to Gujarat Titans, Delhi Capitals, Mumbai Indians, and then were beaten by RCB. From top of the table to clinging onto playoff hopes – it’s been a painful watch for their fans!
You could say Punjab have got a little lucky with the fixture list here. Lucknow are playing out the season with nothing to play for, rooted to the bottom of the table with just eight points from thirteen games, and their NRR of -0.702 makes for grim reading. It has been another miserable campaign for Rishabh Pant’s side. Punjab will surely see this as a very winnable fixture, but obviously they need to break the bad run!
WEATHER AND PITCH WATCH
Lucknow is one of the most tactical venues in the IPL, and it is a very different proposition to most of the other grounds in the tournament. This is not a Wankhede or a Chinnaswamy where you clear your mind and swing from ball one. However, the last two games here have been very high scoring. The first innings scores this season have been 141 all out (chased), 164/8 (chased), 159/6 (won), 155/7 (tied), 209/3 (won) and 187/5 (chased). That 187 was chased in just 16.4 overs suggesting over 200 was a par score. Usually it is a slow, dry, low surface where the pitch grips and turns as the game progresses – however I wouldn’t go into this game expecting a difficult day for the batters after seeing the last two games. I’d keep an open mind here.
RECOMMENDED BET:
You can easily pick holes in both sides here. Lucknow are bottom of the table and Punjab are on a run of six losses. All the pressure is on Punjab, and they come into this game as the clear favourites. The 1.74 feels like a “must win” price, but there’s no doubting the quality in their side. However, the Punjab bowling is a real concern and while I know Lucknow have been poor, I do feel there is a little value in the Lucknow price at 2.3. This is a game for low stakes though – Lucknow’s bowling attack has been woeful this IPL too, so it’s hard to have a lot of confidence but I just feel the gap in the prices here is too big.
The Edge Says:
One point win Lucknow Super Giants to beat Punjab Kings at 2.3 with Betdaq Betting Exchange
View the market here -> https://betdaq.biz/IPLuPu
IN-RUNNING STRATEGY:
Lucknow is one of those grounds where the in-running strategy is very different to most IPL venues. This is not a ground where you blindly back the batters and wait for the carnage; however that strategy would have actually worked here over the last two games. I feel it’s hard to set an in-running strategy here without knowing what conditions were going to get. One thing is for sure though, if the wicket is flat and we get dew, we’ll have another high scoring game here because these two bowling line-ups have been very poor.
