IPL: Our cricket tipster The Edge previews Wednesday’s IPL game between Mumbai Indians v Punjab Kings with a recommended BETDAQ bet.

MATCH OVERVIEW:

We have another massive game at the Indian Premier League on Wednesday afternoon as Mumbai Indians take on Punjab Kings. We have a fascinating market too on BETDAQ Betting Exchange as Mumbai Indians come into the game as favourites, however they have lost their opening four games and they have been playing very poor cricket too. I touched on this in my preview of Chennai Super Kings v Royal Challengers Bangalore but with Mumbai and CSK both losing their opening four games, it really does feel like a changing of the guard this season. We’ll see some new faces in the playoffs.

Punjab Kings will be hoping to be one of those new faces, but they need to improve too. They have played four and only won two but to be honest no matter who plays for Punjab Kings they always seem to be an up-and-down team. Of course, when you have the likes of Chris Gayle in your side for so long it’s always going to feel like boom-or-bust but they always seem to go for those type of players. Liam Livingstone won’t like me saying that, but given the way he plays the game he’s always going to score very quickly or get out cheaply. Luckily for Punjab he has been in fantastic form so far and he looks great, but the Punjab bowling hasn’t been at its best.

I have to say this game is fascinating. We’ve had to massive games so far at the IPL between some great sides, but this one is probably the most important game of the tournament so far. Mumbai have a rich history in this tournament, and they desperately need a win. Given they have lost their opening four games by such a wide margin, can you see that coming here? I wouldn’t be surprised to see them go 0 and 5!

WEATHER AND PITCH WATCH:

We’re back in Pune and this will be the fifth game we’ve had here. So far it hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for Mumbai as they have lost their two games here. Both times they have batted first and seemed to have come up short – then the chasing side have won very easily. KKR won in just 16 overs and then RCB won in 18.3 overs at the weekend. In the other two games the side batting first has won, so I would suggest the jury is still out on what edge there is to batting or bowling first. The Mumbai batting just hasn’t been good enough in this tournament, so it’s hard to judge the scoring. I would suggest a par score would be 170/180 perhaps but I would keep a very open mind.

RECOMMENDED BET:

I know the market is pretty close to an even game here, but I was very surprised to see Punjab marginally the outsiders here. There really isn’t much in it of course, but I just can’t have Mumbai as favourites even if it is only marginal. This won’t be a max bet however – it was nice to land our last max bet but I just don’t trust Punjab enough for a max bet. I said above that they are an up-and-down team and I stand by that – for a max bet you want a very reliable side. Basically however I’m still very happy to be on Punjab here at 2.02. This Mumbai side have been so poor it’s hard to see how they turn things around – their side looks weaker than usual on paper this season too, and I’m not sure how they fix the batting issues. Punjab are a confident bet, just not a max bet!

The Edge Says:
Four points win Punjab Kings to beat Mumbai Indians at 2.02 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE

View the market here -> https://betdaq.biz/MunPun

IN-RUNNING STRATEGY:

Although this is the fifth game here, the jury is still out as to whether it is an advantage to bat or bowl first. I’m keeping an open mind in that regard – as I said above both times Mumbai have batted first they have lost, but their batting has been very weak and the other two games the side batting first have won. I feel Mumbai have been so poor in the tournament that it’s a good play to be against their batting and bowling, however I feel the Punjab batting has been their strong point so I’m keen to get against the Mumbai bowling here – especially if Punjab bat first and I’m very keen to take on the Mumbai middle order which looks very light now after the auction didn’t go well for them. This should be another interesting market as Mumbai will likely be over rated throughout.