The Indian Premier League rolls back into Eden Gardens on Wednesday when two sides who picked up wins in their opening matches meet to join the Chennai Super Kings on four points at the earliest opportunity as the Kolkata Knight Riders go up against the Kings XI Punjab.
Both teams came from behind to win their first matches and will be looking for much more dominant performances in this one. You get the feeling this is a big match for the visitors to prove their worth.
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Kolkata Knight Riders
It looked as though the Kolkata Knight Riders had mistimed their charge when they hosted the Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday afternoon, but they came good in the end and have the perfect platform to build on here. It certainly wasn’t the best performance that they will put in over the course of this tournament but it got the job done.
Kolkata were sloppy early on with the ball and might have an issue over the make up of their attack as a result. They were also indifferent at the top of the batting innings. It might be that it was just rust and that they will come on for the run so it will be interesting to see if that is the case or not. They certainly have the right balance to go very well.
Kings XI Punjab
Much like their opponents in this match, the Kings Xi Punjab left it very late to seize control of their opening game of the season. Unlike the Knight Riders though, they did it in a controversial way with the Mankad of Jos Buttler. You would have to say that until then it looked like the Punjab outfit were on course for a bit of a beating.
I was pretty impressed with the Kings XI with the bat and when you consider that KL Rahul failed in that first match there could be a lot more to come from them in that discipline. They didn’t bowl particularly great and a couple of the wickets they got were extremely fortunate so they need to improve in that area, but that may well come down the line when big players are available.
Team News
There is no obvious need for the Kolkata Knight Riders to change anything from the side which won their opening match. They did look to have an issue with Sunil Narine in the previous match though so he may not be fit.
Kings XI Punjab were without David Miller and Andrew Tye for their opening match but both men are now in the country and it would be a huge surprise if they don’t replace Nicholas Pooran and Sam Curran in the starting XI. Were that to happen KL Rahul would take the gloves.
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Betting
I’m expecting another decent match here between two sides who while they were not perfect in their opening matches, got the job done and should be full of confidence as a result. I guess the side that prevails here will be the one that chases in these conditions but it could also be the one that makes the necessary improvement available to them.
I’m loathe to bet on the match result under lights here until I know the outcome of the toss but there is one bet which jumps out at us anyway so I don’t need to get involved in something I don’t want to. The bet I like here is over 12.5 sixes. We saw the other day how accessible these boundaries are when 17 sixes were hit and that was a match which involved a decent Sunrisers bowling attack. Neither of these attacks are up to that quality and with the likes of Gayle, Rahul, Miller, Lynn, Narine, Uthappa and Russell among others going for us I expect this 12.5 line to be covered cosily.
Tips
WON – Back Over 12.5 sixes for a 5/10 stake at 1.85 with Betway
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