THE EDGE: The Edge previews the IPL clash between Punjab Kings v Kolkata Knight Riders with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
Punjab Kings v Kolkata Knight Riders
MATCH OVERVIEW:
We have a massive game at the IPL on Betdaq Betting Exchange on Tuesday! Punjab Kings host Kolkata Knight Riders with both sides sitting in mid-table; they have the exact same record with three wins from six games, and they are both going to be competing for those playoff spots in third/fourth. From that point of view, this is a massive game with the loser obviously on the backfoot. That being said, the top three haven’t exactly moved away from everyone – the table is quite open from first to sixth so we’re sure to have plenty of drama.
Punjab would have been gutted to lose to Sunrisers Hyderabad at the weekend given how poor the Sunrisers have been this season. They can’t blame the batters though – they posted 245/6 and it was chased down with nine balls to spare! The IPL has taken scoring to another level these last two years; in fairness Hyderabad has been one of the highest scoring venues. KKR have essentially been up-and-down for their six games. A poor start and a collapse against Mumbai the low points; a worry from a KKR point of view is that their wins have come against Rajasthan Royals, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Chennai Super Kings – three of the worst sides this season.
It will be very interesting to see how KKR deal with Punjab here, and this game will definitely give us an idea where both sides stand in the race for the playoffs. It’s quite easy to pick holes in both sides to be honest!
WEATHER AND PITCH WATCH:
We’re back in Mullanpur for the third time, and we’ve had plenty of runs here so far. We’ve had 205/4 and 219/6 scored in the first innings and both times it was defended successfully. I said to go into last weeks game with an open mind on scoring, but I feel we got our answer to expect decent scoring conditions. CSK scored over 200 in the chase but still came up short. Given both sides have been a little weak in the bowling department too, it’s fair to say we should see runs here.
RECOMMENDED BET:
We have a reasonably close market here. Punjab Kings are the favourites at 1.9, and I personally felt that they would be a little shorter when I clicked into the market. As I said above, it’s quite easy to pick holes in both sides here, especially in the bowling department but I do feel I have more negatives with KKR this season. The sides they have beaten have been pretty weak too – the major worry with Punjab is their bowling but their batting has been pretty impressive and reliable too. This is definitely a game for small stakes but I’m happy to side with Punjab.
The Edge Says: One point win Punjab Kings to beat Kolkata Knight Riders at 1.9 with Betdaq Exchange.
View the market here -> https://betdaq.biz/PunKol
IN-RUNNING STRATEGY:
With the scoring here this season, I would give a slight edge to the side who bats first – this is a game where I want to look for trades on either batting side rather than the bowlers. Given that both sides have been a little weak with the ball anyway, it seems a decent strategy to work with the batters here. I’d expect plenty of market movement for the side who bats first, and then at the innings break you can decide whether to hold position, go equal or trade to the other side.
