IPL GAMES 10 and 11: Our cricket tipster The Edge previews Sunday’s double header in the IPL between Royal Challengers Bangalore v Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Capitals v Punjab Kings both with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
Game 10: Royal Challengers Bangalore v Kolkata Knight Riders
MATCH OVERVIEW:
It’s the first double header of the IPL season and we should have a fantastic day on BETDAQ Betting Exchange! We used to have a lot more IPL double headers in the past and although it’s a long day of trading, it is excellent having back-to-back high quality games of cricket. So far we have only had action from two grounds, and we have one game at each venue today. We start in Chennai with Royal Challengers Bangalore taking on the Kolkata Knight Riders in what should be a close game.
We have a lot of big hitters on display today, but one wonders if the conditions will sit big hitting today. We have had a lot of spin Chennai so far, and although conditions might change now as we have a day time game, we should still have a reasonably tricky wicket. RCB have started the tournament superbly with two wins from two games, perhaps benefitting again from not playing games at their home ground. We talked about this a lot in the IPL last year as their home ground in Bangalore is so good for batting it sometimes turns games in a lottery with so many runs.
KKR have looked a solid but average side. They haven’t changed much from the last IPL, and you would assume that they will be hanging around mid-table hoping to get into the final Playoff spot. I feel there will be a lot of competition for that fourth spot this year.
WEATHER AND PITCH WATCH:
Personally I would go into this game with an open mind as we switch to a day game here. We used to see scores of 200+ in Chennai during the day, but that was many years ago before the closed the ground to update the stands. We have a limited volume of cricket here with just last season to go off, and while batting has looked very tricky here so far, I wouldn’t rule out the scores coming up a little. It can be very difficult in the heat for the bowlers and the team fielding. Nevertheless, you have to bat first if you win the toss and make best use of conditions. Both sides will know conditions well, with RCB defending 148/9 here and KKR failing to chase 152 all out from Mumbai. Bat first and aim for 165 if possible would be my idea.
RECOMMENDED BET:
It’s fair to say that neither side are bombproof heading into this game. Before the off, this is a game for small stakes as both sides have their flaws on paper. Obviously RCB have been able to come through two tight games while KKR have fallen short but that loss came against Mumbai who have been the best side in the IPL for a while now. I expect a very close game and I have to side with KKR given they are 2.1 compared to RCB at odds on. I would have this game 50/50 – they both have very similar profiles and very similar batters. RCB might have the advantage with having Kohli in their side, but KKR have marginally better bowlers to bring the sides closer together. A small bet on KKR for me because they are the value here.
The Edge Says:
One point win Kolkata Knight Riders to beat Royal Challengers Bangalore at 2.1 with BETDAQ Betting Exchange
View the market here -> http://bit.ly/BDQRoyKol
IN-RUNNING STRATEGY:
Because we are switching to a day game from the usual night game, I wouldn’t go into this game with a 100% locked in strategy. I would want to see how the pitch behaves before making the judgement call in-play. If we have similar conditions as the first few games here, then it’s a good call to get on the team batting first as you know chasing will be very difficult. As I mentioned above, sides have been falling to chase around 150 and that’s usually a routine chase in T20 cricket these days. I would heavily favour the side batting first if we got the same conditions as earlier in the week.
In terms of players, I feel it might be worth taking on Russell and Morgan again for KKR here. I know they are very talented players and will score big runs at some point, but Russell looks very out of form and conditions won’t suit him either. He needs a good wicket for his game – I would happily take him on and you should get big ticks too. I’d also be happy to take on the RCB lower order as once all their stars get out then they usually collapse.
Game 11: Delhi Capitals v Punjab Kings
MATCH OVERVIEW:
The second game of the day see’s the Delhi Capitals take on the Punjab Kings. This time we move over to Mumbai where we have had a dramatic change in scoring conditions over the past few days. Punjab played here on Friday and CSK kept them down to 106/8 after a terrible start. The pitch definitely changed on Thursday here where Delhi Capitals could only score 147/8 and Rajasthan Royals chased it down in the final over. That chase wasn’t without big drama in-running either.
It goes to show that although we have games at the same grounds, conditions can change very quickly when we move wicket. We had a huge amount of movement on Thursday and Friday here, and if we have the same conditions then I definitely wouldn’t want to be batting first. Both sides will know that having experienced the pitch during the week – however that being said we could easily switch back to the good wicket where we had 200+ runs so watch out for that.
Delhi Capitals were the second best team in the IPL last season, while Punjab Kings have a solid batting line-up they have struggled with the bowling. CSK running through them here on Friday could easily knock their confidence with the bat, and it will be very interesting to see how they bounce back here. We should have a good game, and it will be very interesting to see can the batting side handle the conditions if we have all that movement in the first innings.
WEATHER AND PITCH WATCH:
As I said above, you really need to watch out for the wicket here. We have already had some huge differences in conditions here with scores of over 200+ nearly chased down and then sides kept to 106/8. It’s all about the wicket here, and if we see the same movement as Thursday or Friday then I would definitely want to bowl first. It’s a no brainer, indeed even if conditions were good for batting I’d still be keen to bowl first. Those scores from Thursday and Friday will be fresh in the mind and they might bat a little slow on a better pitch, and chasing isn’t a bad thing here either.
RECOMMENDED BET:
I can understand why Delhi Capitals are the favourites, but they are too short for me at 1.78. I can’t have this game anything other than 50/50 given the batting conditions. Both sides have their strengths, for example Delhi have the better bowling but on balance I would suggest Punjab have a better batting line-up, especially with Chris Gayle involved. They might not have the big Indian stars, but they do have very talented batsmen who can score big runs. This is a game for small stakes given the situation with the pitch, will we have big movement or not, but for me Punjab at the value at 2.2.
The Edge Says:
One point win Punjab Kings to beat Delhi Capitals at 2.2 with BETDAQ Betting Exchange
View the market here -> http://bit.ly/BDQDelPjb
IN-RUNNING STRATEGY:
The in-running strategy will change a lot here depending on what you see in the first two to three overs. There are only really two options: we see a huge amount of movement again and you want to get on the bowling team, or we see an easy wicket and can expect big runs again. There’s a huge difference between the two I know, but that’s what we’ve seen here so far. I think the biggest edge will come from getting on the bowling side if we see movement, because if we have a good pitch then the chasing side can make good use of that too. With the movement, we could see the game won in the first innings for the bowling side.
With the batting conditions pretty unknown and going to have such a massive impact on the game, I wouldn’t have any major player strategies going into this fixture. I would focus more on the bowling conditions and work your trading around that. Both sides are pretty solid with the bat, I know Punjab put in a very low score here Friday but their batting line-up in solid. If anything Delhi have the better bowling, and that could be an angle too.
Did you know that as well as checking the realtime prices on BETDAQ below – you can also log into your account and place your bets directly into BETDAQ from BETDAQ TIPS.
