rcb2019Couch Critic previews the betting for the Indian Premier League matches taking place on Saturday 4th May including Delhi Capitals v Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore v Sunrisers Hyderabad

 

 

 

DELHI CAPITALS vs RAJASTHAN ROYALS (12:30)

Setting the Scene: Delhi bombed out against CSK but before that they were on a three-match winning streak. The home side are already sure of playoff place but they would love to make a play for second spot to make their potential path to the final a touch easier. The Royals are one of those teams still in with a shot of sneaking into the knockouts. They come into this clash off the back of two victories.

Let’s Talk Tactics: The RR boys have done well to get themselves in the mix for the playoffs but they will tackle this game without Archer, Buttler, Smith and Stokes – that is a huge void to try and fill. Pant’s dangerous bazooka has gone cold somewhat but Dhawan and Iyer have regularly made important contributions. Big news out of the Delhi camp is that the leading tournament wicket taker, Rabada has returned to South Africa.

Decent totals have been posted at the Kotla.

Verdict: The legspin of Gopal has been the most lethal for the Royals and I see no reason to think it will be different this time around. With the willow Samson has looked the most likely to shine. For the Capitals I expect Iyer to continue his strong run.

Bets:

Top Rajasthan Bowler – S Gopal @ 3.25

Top Rajasthan Batsman – S Samson @ 4.33

Top Delhi Batsman – S Iyer @ 4.50

 

 

SUNRISERS HYDERABAD vs RCB (16:30)

Setting the Scene: The Royal Challengers Bangalore were the first team to be knocked out of IPL 2019. It was just a miserable tournament for the RCB from the opening match – after 13 games they have only managed 4 wins and find themselves rooted to the bottom of the table. The Sunrisers could have been in a much cosier position had they managed to sneak past Mumbai but instead came up short in a match settled by a Super Over. Given their superior run rate the task facing the men from Hyderabad is straight forward enough: beat the worst team in the tournament and progress to the playoffs by finishing fourth.

Let’s Talk Tactics: SRH have Manish Pandey to thank for keeping them in the game against Mumbai. In the absence of their two formidable openers it was always going to be crucial for someone in the top 3 to take the lead and Pandey did it with style. The Afghan twin-spin proved extremely restrictive last time out as well as throughout the comp.

What can we say about RCB… AB and Kohli haven’t done enough themselves and haven’t received enough support. The same can be said for Chahal with the ball.

The likes of Patel, Kohli, AB and Stoinishave all been able to deposit the ball into Row Z at the Chinnaswamy.

Verdict: The Sunrisers have it all to play for and despite missing Warner and Bairstow, Saha and Guptill are handy replacements. I reckon the visitors will get the job done. Pandey looks dead keen on taking op the responsibility of being the senior batsman so I will back him. Nabi has come in relatively early and his bowling has proven effective – Man of the Match material for mind.

Bets:

To win the game – Sunrisers @ 1.97

Top SRHBatsman – M Pandey @ 5.00

Man of the Match – M Nabi @ 15.00

(Note, all odds quoted are subject to change)

 

Enjoy the cricket and happy punting!