THE EDGE: The Edge previews the IPL clash between Punjab Kings v Royal Challengers Bengaluru with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
Qualifier 1: Punjab Kings v Royal Challengers Bengaluru
MATCH OVERVIEW:
It’s Playoff time at the IPL on BETDAQ Betting Exchange! Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru clash on Thursday in Mullanpur after both sides won this week to make the top two spots. We knew the top four for over a week with Mumbai Indians beating Delhi Capitals on the 21st of May, but the top two spots went right down to the wire. Gujarat Titans will be gutted not to be here – they basically led the way right up until they lost their final two games. Punjab Kings and RCB finished with wins, and now they have the advantage of having two chances to get into the Final.
It will be fascinating to see how this one plays out. Both sides conceded high scores this week, but their exceptional batting pulled them out of the fire. RCB’s bowling has definitely improved this season, and obviously we had especially good batting conditions at Lucknow this week when they conceded 227/3 – they chased it down with 8 balls to spare in fairness. A major worry for Punjab has been their bowling though this season – that has been a much talked about weakness. However, given they topped the table I don’t think they are doing too badly! They should know conditions well here given they have played four home games in Mullanpur in the first half of the season.
The sides actually met here back in April. RCB chased down the Punjab Kings score of 157/6 with seven wickets to spare. Jitesh Sharma was the star when RCB chased down the high score on Tuesday, and it feels like we’ll see another star performance to decide this game. What side that falls one is the big question with some much batting talent!
WEATHER AND PITCH WATCH:
We have the first two Playoff games in Mullanpur before moving to Ahmedabad for the final two. Obviously we’ve had a lot of moving parts at this IPL given the issues with Pakistan and the tournament getting suspended for a while. We have had four games here this season, but the last one was played on the 20th of April so we’ve had quite a gap. The first inning scores were; 205/4 (won), 219/6 (won), 111 all out (won) and 157/6 (chased). It was RCB that had the only successful chase here – obviously quite a range of scores there. Two high and two low; I would go into the game with an open mind on scoring.
RECOMMENDED BET:
You could say it’s no surprise to see such an even market given these two ended up as the top two teams in the IPL this season. However, I was slightly surprised to see the market – I expected RCB to be the favourites. For me, they have played the marginally better cricket and their bowling has been better too. This ground has had a range of scores so I don’t see a massive edge to batting or bowling first; I feel RCB have more quality in their XI and for me they are worth backing at 2.0. I’d have them as favourites.
The Edge Says:
Two points win Royal Challengers Bengaluru to beat Punjab Kings at 2.0 with BETDAQ Betting Exchange
View the market here -> https://betdaq.biz/PjbRcb
IN-RUNNING STRATEGY:
As I said above, I’m going into this game with an open mind on scoring so it’s hard to form a fully set in-running strategy. I’m not confident batting or bowling first will be a massive edge either to be honest. I feel we’ll see the most market movement when RCB bat – I’d expect them to go well against this Punjab bowling, and that will be my focus here.
