The second half of the Indian Premier League double header on Sunday will see two established franchises getting their latest IPL campaigns underway when the Kolkata Knight Riders host the Royal Challengers Bangalore at the wonderful and iconic Eden Gardens.
Although both these teams have another 13 matches to come after this one these are two who are being touted as possible champions this season so they have a chance to lay down a potentially important marker.
Kolkata Knight Riders
There have been plenty of key changes through the years at the Kolkata Knight Riders but the one thing I don’t think anyone expected was for them to let Gautam Gambhir go. Not only was he a source of a mountain of runs but he also captained them so well and it will be interesting to see how Dinesh Karthik takes on the reins.
I look down the Kolkata squad and if everyone remains fit they have every chance of going deep in this competition but there are fitness concerns over a number of their leading players which is a worry the longer this tournament goes on. For this first match though they look very strong but of course that is only on paper.
Royal Challengers Bangalore
There will be a lot of attention on the Royal Challengers Bangalore here although that is nothing new. They are the favourites to win the competition and defeat for the defending champions on the opening night of the tournament has strengthened that position so it will be interesting to see how a much changed side looks.
Although they have lost the quality of the likes of Chris Gayle, Shane Watson and Mitchell Starc from their squad they still look very strong. Brendon McCullum and Quinton de Kock provide power alongside the class of Virat Kohli and the Challengers now have bowlers who can keep things tight which might help them going forward.
Team News
There were doubts over the availability of Chris Lynn and Andre Russell due to injuries but Jacques Kallis has confirmed both will play in Dinesh Karthik’s first match as skipper. Sunil Narine is also expected to play although he may not open the batting.
Will it be Brendon McCullum or Quinton de Kock? That is the big question for the Royal Challengers Bangalore set up. AB de Villiers, Colin de Grandhomme and Tim Southee look likely to be the other three overseas players.
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Betting
Recent history tells us that there is a huge bias on the side who bowls first winning at Eden Gardens so with that in mind I’m not sure I want to be betting on the match outcome before we know the outcome of the toss.
I am happy to bet on the sixes market here though because there are a number of huge hitting cricketers on show in this match. Chris Lynn, Robin Uthappa, Andre Russell, AB de Villiers, Virat Kohli and Colin de Grandhomme can all smoke a long ball and with the straight boundaries here perfectly accessible I would be surprised if over 12.5 sixes does not land.
Tips
WON – Back Over 12.5 sixes for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with LeoVegas
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