IPL Betting: King's XI Punjab v Rajasthan Royals

Find Me A 100 Winner / Ed Hawkins / 25 April 2009 / Leave a Comment

The coin toss will be vital for this game which will be played under lights at Newlands. Ed Hawkins previews the action...

Team news
The eagle-eyed among you may have spotted Brett Lee on the King's XI bench during their Friday win over Bangalore. But before you get excited reckoning he could greatly bolster their chances, reports suggest he remains only 70 per cent fit. After recording their first win, King's are expected to be unchanged. Rajasthan, buoyed by that incredible victory over Kolkata at Newlands, might drop Munaf Patel who was the weak bowling link in that game. Tyron Henderson could come in. That would mean reshuffle in the batting with Victorian Rob Quiney stepping aside for possibly Swapnil Asnodkar.

Venue, pitch and conditions
This game will be played under lights in Cape Town so we need to be aware of the bias in favour of the side batting first. There is a huge historic advantage to batting first at Newlands under lights in all one-day cricket. In the six matches played at the venue in this competition, two sides in five games have bucked the trend.

Match odds
It would be foolish to wager before one knows the result of the toss in this game, even if Rajasthan would prove too strong in ordinary conditions. Of course, once the market settles feel free to back Shane Warne's side if they are outsiders because you would be getting the value in a 50-50 contest on the toss. King's and Rajasthan shared a victory each in their meetings last season. However, the win for King's was rather a hollow one because Rajasthan, who had already qualified for the semis, rested Warne and Graeme Smith.

Top batsmen
The opening batsmen have dominated at Newlands. In the six matches there, numbers 1-2 have top-scored six times. Smith is certain to open the batting for Rajasthan but his partner is less easy to predict because of Warne's tinkering. Ravi Bopara and Karan Goel should open for King's. Both have decent form. Bopara was impressive against Bangalore while Goel top-scored on this ground against Delhi.

Featured market
Backing under 320 match runs at Cape Town has proved profitable. Before yesterday's match, only once has that number been breached in the six matches. Backing under 310 has been shrewd, too with only two scores of more than that figure.