INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE: Our cricket tipster The Edge previews Wednesday’s IPL game between Mumbai Indians v Royal Challengers Bangalore with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
The Edge has been a professional cricket trader for over 12 years, and we are delighted to have his columns on BETDAQ Tips. He provides his best bets on a points scale between 1 and 5, with 5 being a rare max bet.
Because we see so much action in-running on cricket, he will also provide some in-running strategies that could develop in-play and lead to some excellent value bets. The Edge covers all forms of cricket: Test Matches, ODI’s and T20’s but his favourite competition is the Indian Premier League each season.
MATCH OVERVIEW:
We’re back in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday for a fascinating Indian Premier League clash! Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore have the same number of points towards the top of the table, and this fixture will go a long way to deciding who gets into the top two places and who has to settle for third. The benefits of finishing in the top two are obvious; two chances to reach the final.
Since losing to CSK here on the opening day, Mumbai have made Abu Dhabi their home. However, they suffered a surprise loss against Rajasthan at the weekend. I must say, it was a total shock to see a score of 195/5 chased here, and Rajasthan even did it with nearly two overs to spare! That was the talent of Ben Stokes though, and as I have been saying, there’s so much talent in the IPL – amazing things do happen. Of course RCB have benefitted from amazing scenes from AB de Villers, and we should have a cracking game here with so much talent on display.
RCB suffered an eight wicket defeat as well on Sunday, only managing 145/6 in Dubai before CSK chased in down easily. That is a worry, considering CSK haven’t been playing great cricket. The RCB scorecard told the story though – the strike-rates were very low. Kohli scored 50, but only at a strike rate of 116 and nobody fired around him. They’ll need to score quicker to beat this Mumbai side.
WEATHER AND PITCH WATCH:
As noted above, it was a complete shock to see 195/5 chased here. Usually that’s a tough chase in an ODI here looking at historical scores! That was just the talent of Ben Stokes though, and when Mumbai have scored 190+ here in the tournament they’ve ran out easy winners. Even though that was chased, I’d still suggest a score of 170 would be decent in the first innings. I do wonder will that game get into the players heads however. We could easily see the team batting first aim too high, and then fall short. The weather has been excellent in the UAE to date, and thankfully we’re set fair again.
RECOMMENDED BET:
I expect a high quality game here, and while it should be reasonably close, Mumbai make a lot of appeal here at 1.88. They have played some excellent cricket at this ground and bar de Villers puts on a show like Ben Stokes then 190+ should be more than enough from Mumbai. RCB need their top three to fire, and they need to bat at a good strike-rate too as we seen what happened when they don’t at the weekend. Mumbai just have a more solid look to their side, their batting is reliable and their bowling is better than RCB. The 1.88 looks like an excellent bet.
The Edge Says:
Three points win Mumbai Indians to beat Royal Challengers Bangalore at 1.88 on BETDAQ Betting Exchange
View the market here -> http://bit.ly/BDQMumRcb
IN-RUNNING STRATEGY:
This is the type of fixture than in-running trades on BETDAQ Betting Exchange will look forward to. We should have a lot of swings in-running here between two good sides. Of course, all RCB’s hopes pin on Finch, Kohli and de Villiers firing in my opinion. I would be happy to get against the rest of their batting when those three have gone. Moeen Ali came into the side recently, but he needs time in the middle. He adds strength in the lower order.
For Mumbai, I don’t think they have many weaknesses. Apart from their loss on the opening day and to a Ben Stokes masterclass, they haven’t lost a game in 20 overs – they have also lost two Super Overs – including one against RCB. When these sides met earlier in the tournament we had over 400 runs and a tie, both of them trading huge odds on in-running. Mumbai looked the stronger team that day, despite only finishing with a tie and losing the Super Over. I think this will be an excellent game for trading, with Mumbai coming out on top in the end.
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