IPL Betting: Deccan Chargers v Kolkata Knight Riders

Find Me A 100 Winner / Ed Hawkins / 18 April 2009 / Leave a Comment

Ed Hawkins makes his picks as an Aussie and a Kiwi come face to face on day two of the IPL 2009. Best Bet: Back under 320.5 match runs.

Team news

Brendon McCullum has been appointed captain for the Knight Riders for the duration. He is their fourth captain, which gives a clue as to how well this team has bonded. McCullum will keep wicket and open the batting. Sourav Ganguly, the man he deposed, may join him up top. There is no Shahid Afridi for Deccan but Herschelle Gibbs should play, coming into the game on the back of good form for South Africa. Adam Gilchrist skippers the side, which is their smartest move after they kept their lips pretty much pursed in the player auction. Only Fidel Edwards and Dwayne Smith were signed.

Venue, pitch and conditions

Cape Town is a swing bowler's paradise in day-night matches and it should be a case of 'win the toss, win the game'. One needs only to look at how floodlit games have been dominated by the side batting first in 50 over cricket to decide a strategy: only five sides in 25 games have chased and one. There is rain around, and the forecasters predict it will be at is most heavy in the afternoon.

Match odds

Deccan, who are [2.08], were so star studded last season that they were blinded by their own reflection, winning only two matches. Kolkata performed better, but they failed to progress when they were expected to at least make the semis. They are [1.67], won both head to heads and would be the bet again if it wasn't for the toss bias.

Top bat

In a potentially shortened match, the openers become better value than usual. If Ganguly does open the batting - he flitted between Nos 2 and 3 last year - he would be a cracking bet. He top scored five times in 14 games. For Deccan, the punters' pal Rohit Sharma obliged five times. Gilchrist was next best with four. However, Sharma bats in the middle order and Gilchrist is, in so many ways, No 1.

Featured market

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, the rain, potential for reduced overs and the poor record of sides batting first should mean a run glut is unlikely.