We have another double header in the Indian Premier League on Saturday and it begins in Pune where the Rising Pune Supergiant meet the Royal Challengers Bangalore in arguably the match of the weekend.
It is a huge match for the Royal Challengers. They may already need snookers but one more defeat and they will definitely be out of the tournament. After an upturn in fortunes Rising Pune are suddenly pushing hard for the playoffs.
Rising Pune Supergiant
After three successive wins got Pune right back into the mix it will have annoyed them that they couldn’t keep up the momentum against the Kolkata Knight Riders in their last match but they shouldn’t be too downbeat over that defeat because there aren’t many who are proving able to handle the Knight Riders presently.
The pleasing thing for the Supergiant is that they have addressed their issues, found some Indian bowlers who can get the job done and now they are looking much more competitive as a result. Another key part of their recovery have been the finding of Rahul Tripahti and the improved form of MS Dhoni.
Royal Challengers Bangalore
I’m not really sure what else can be said about the Royal Challengers that hasn’t been said before. Every now and again you get a star studded line up which just doesn’t deliver and that has very much been the case with them this season. They have five matches left but even this far out it is unlikely they will make the playoffs even if they win out.
Usually a side has a problem with one half of the game but the real issue with the Royal Challengers is that they aren’t doing anything right at the minute. They have batted horribly in their last two matches and their bowling, while improved on paper, hasn’t lived up to expectation either and regular defeats have been the results.
Team News
Ben Stokes’ shoulder injury is going to keep him out of this match so Faf du Plessis looks set to keep his place in the side. It is likely that the Supergiant will be unchanged here.
Bangalore could well have had enough of Chris Gayle for the time being. They need someone to go up and set the tone and that might not be him. With Tymal Mills fit again he could replace Gayle.
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Betting
I have to admit to the obvious temptation of backing the Rising Pune Supergiant in this match but I do fear that with the shackles off the Royal Challengers Bangalore might finally come out fighting and if they do then they can destroy anyone as they showed when beating Gujarat earlier in the season.
Given that I’m going to head to the side markets for a bet on this match and the one in question is the total match runs where the line looks quite low at 339.5. I accept we will need Bangalore to score nicely in this match but I think that will happen if they can show the right intent up top and I’ve no worries on the Pune front so that line doesn’t look high enough to me on a ground where runs have come freely all season.
Kedar Jadhav has looked the pick of the Bangalore batsmen in this tournament so the 9/1 on him top scoring is almost a no brainer in many ways. We don’t know the order or the form of those batting above him but we know Jadhav is hitting the ball well and at 9/1 he really is an obvious bet in this market.
Tips
Back Over 339.5 total runs for a 5/10 stake at 1.80 with Bet365
Back it here:
Back K.Jadhav Top Royal Challengers Bangalore Batsman for a 1/10 stake at 10.00 with Paddy Power
Bet here:
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