THURSDAY IPL: The Edge previews Lucknow Super Giants v Royal Challengers Bengaluru with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
Lucknow Super Giants v Royal Challengers Bengaluru
MATCH OVERVIEW:
The IPL continues on Betdaq Betting Exchange and we have a top v bottom clash on Thursday as Lucknow Super Giants host Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Lucknow are in freefall at the foot of the table, while RCB arrive sitting in the playoff spots – could easily top the table come the end – and as the defending champions who are looking every inch the real deal once again. The misery shows no sign of ending for Lucknow, Monday night at the Wankhede was probably a new low too; they posted a decent 228/5 against Mumbai Indians, a side who had themselves been in terrible form, only to watch Rohit Sharma return from injury and Ryan Rickelton absolutely take the game apart with a stunning 83 off just 32 balls. Mumbai knocked off the target with eight balls to spare.
That defeat extended Lucknow’s losing streak to six consecutive games, and they now find themselves rooted to the bottom of the table with just four points from nine games. Their NRR of -1.076 is comfortably the worst in the competition. Their season is effectively over in terms of the playoffs; morale must be very low. Not only are they sitting bottom, but they’ve obviously been getting hammered too. RCB will view this as a must win game to take full advantage – we know what an advantage it is to finish the table sitting in those top two spots. RCB had a setback last time out when their batting failed against Gujarat Titans, but in general they have been playing some fantastic cricket this IPL.
The defending champions have quality in every department. Virat Kohli has been in superb touch, Rajat Patidar has been the driving force in the middle order all season, and their bowling attack is arguably the best in the tournament. Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar were simply devastating when they reduced Delhi Capitals to 75 all out not long ago. When they met Lucknow three weeks ago at the Chinnaswamy, RCB dismissed them for just 146 and knocked off the target in 15.1 overs. The central issue for Lucknow all season has been the batting; let’s see can they deal with the RCB attack at the second time of asking.
WEATHER AND PITCH WATCH:
Lucknow Stadium is a very different proposition to many of the other IPL venues. It’s hard to bat here – it’s not a Wankhede or a Chinnaswamy where you just clear your mind and swing – it is a slow surface with large boundaries and scoring is genuinely difficult. The pitch tends to slow down as the game progresses and grips for the spinners in the middle overs. India are going through a heatwave at the moment, and Lucknow is baking so don’t be surprised to see some spin if we don’t get a heavy dew. The first inning scores here this season have been 141 all out (chased), 164/8 (chased), 159/6 (won) and 155/7 (tied). Don’t expect a big score here like the other IPL grounds.
RECOMMENDED BET:
It is very hard to make a case for Lucknow here. RCB are a class above them in every department, and they already demonstrated that convincingly when the sides met at the Chinnaswamy three weeks ago. The only genuine caveat is that the Lucknow conditions will theoretically bring things closer – the slower surface and larger boundaries will bring the bowlers into play, and Lucknow’s bowling is definitely better than their batting. However, it’s very hard to see past RCB’s batting winning the game here – and while it’s no surprise to see them as the clear favourites, I still feel the offer value at 1.66.
The Edge Says:
Two points win Royal Challengers Bengaluru to beat Lucknow Super Giants at 1.66 with Betdaq Betting Exchange
View the market here -> https://betdaq.biz/IPLuRo
IN-RUNNING STRATEGY:
Usually when you’re going into an IPL game these days, you’re mainly looking at when to support the batters and completely ignoring the bowlers given how the wickets play. The slow surface at Lucknow changes the in-running strategy! We won’t see a high score here judging by how the wicket has played and the ground history. This is a ground where you can actually support the bowlers; indeed you wouldn’t want to be on the batters for long. 160 could easily be a match winning total here. RCB’s bowlers are excellent and will probe relentlessly on this surface, and I’m keen to get against the Lucknow batting in either innings.
