The final match of the regular season in the Indian Premier League happens to be a dead rubber between the Delhi Daredevils and the Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Feroz Shah Kotla on Sunday afternoon.
It has been a wretched campaign for both sides and it will finish after this match as both go away and assess where they have gone wrong. They are both stuck in sixth and eighth respectively so pride is literally all that is at stake here.
Delhi Daredevils
To give the Daredevils some credit although their fate has been sealed for a while they have regrouped to win their last two matches and if they can finish with a third successive win then that will set them up nicely with something to build on ahead of next season. That can be their only aim now.
They have batted really well in the last two matches and while we shouldn’t forget the 2-3 shocking performances which they have put in with the bat which has cost them so dearly this season it has been good to see good young players showing their best form even if it has been a little late. That is encouraging for the future.
Royal Challengers Bangalore
There are many awards handed out in the Indian Premier League each season and if there was one for the biggest disappointments in tournament history then this Bangalore side could well be serious contenders for it. They have been absolutely awful from start to finish this season and even a lack of pressure hasn’t brought any form out.
Bangalore have been a shambles with the bat throughout the entire season and while they have bowled well at times it has never once looked enough and two wins from 12 completed matches tells a pretty sorry story. One crumb of comfort for Bangalore is that one of those two wins did come against Delhi.
Team News
After such a good win last time out Delhi Daredevils are likely to be unchanged. Carlos Brathwaite’s influence hasn’t been as strong as Shahbaz Nadeem so the spinner is likely to stay in the side.
Royal Challengers Bangalore are now without AB de Villiers as he is off on international duty which opens the door for both Chris Gayle and Shane Watson to play if selected.
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Betting
Looking at the odds bookmakers can’t separate these two sides but I can’t be having Royal Challengers Bangalore under any circumstances. I hate betting in dead rubbers as a rule but I simply can’t ignore the Delhi Daredevils in this match at the price that they are.
In a normal season they probably wouldn’t be any value but this hasn’t been a normal season for Bangalore it has been an absolutely awful one. There have been few bright spots but occasionally AB de Villiers has been one so his absence is likely to be felt. That is more than enough to convince me to take the Daredevils.
De Villiers is also Bangalore’s leading six hitter this season in a campaign where Bangalore haven’t hit that many as a rule so the 11/8 on Delhi hitting the most sixes looks good to me too. They’ve gone six mad in recent matches which has been pleasing to see and against a side who’ve batted abysmally all season that is too big a price especially when Delhi’s attack rarely goes for many sixes.
Kedar Jadhav is the leading run scorer with the bat for Bangalore this season and having previously played for the Delhi Daredevils he should know how to approach things on this wicket. He top scored in the reverse meeting between these two and at 6/1 he looks a fair price to do so again given the potential advantage he might have.
Tips
Back Delhi Daredevils to beat Royal Challengers Bangalore for a 4/10 stake at 1.95 with Betbright
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Back Delhi Daredevils Most 6s for a 4/10 stake at 2.38 with Paddy Power
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Back K.Jadhav Top Royal Challengers Bangalore Batsman for a 1/10 stake at 7.00 with Boylesports
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