IPL 2021 Cheat Sheet: Tips from Ed Hawkins and the rest of our cricket experts

Cricket...Only Bettor Ep. 75 Best Bets: Can Mumbai make it a hat-trick?

On the podcast Ed Hawkins is joined by colleague Paul Krishnamurty and Sportinglife.com's Richard Mann with Sam Collins in the chair. And they are answering the big question: can Mumbai Indians make it a hat-trick of titles?

Indian Premier League Tips: Punjab best of a bad bunch

Mumbai are firm favourites to win the IPL again in 2021 and Ed has decided to back Punjab to challenge them because he thinks they are no worse than shorter priced teams in the outright betting.

Ed says: "Whether the price on Punjab is justified considering they appear to have as many issues as shorter-priced teams remains to be seen. What isn't hard to fathom is the possibility they could improve by a solitary win from 2020 to be bang in the mix for the top four. Taking the chunky number now on the Exchange and trading later on seems to the smartest option in a dim-witted tournament."

Back Kings XI to win IPL at 13.012/1 with a view to trading at shorter odds

Indian Premier League Tips: Team-by-team guide

Ed has all the stats, trends, squads, possible XIs for every team in IPL 2021 - plus best bets.

Ed says: "Delhi's run to the final last season was some achievement because it seemed as they had no clue as to their best XI. Marcus Stoinis was returned to the opening slot by the end, Rishab Pant batted at No 6, the unreliable Shimron Hetmyer was in and out of the team and Ajinkya Rahane likewise. The only two players they were sure about were South African pace aces Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje. Forgive us, then, if we're unconvinced they deserve second-favourite status."

Back Shikhar Dhawan for top Delhi runscorer 7/4

Indian Premier League Tips: Kohli and Bumrah the men to beat

Ed does a deep data dive to reveal the best bets for the top batsman and bowler markets in IPL 2021.

Ed says: "Kohli will open for Bangalore and the RPI mark is in range. He finished top in 2016 with the highest RPI for a number one ever at 60.8."

(1pt) Back Virat Kohli for top tournament runscorer 8.6015/2

Mumbai Indians v Royal Challengers Bangalore: Back Mumbai to open title defence with a win

Mumbai Indians v Royal Challengers Bangalore
Friday April 9, 15:00 BST
Live on Sky Sports Cricket

IPL 14 opens in style on Friday with two huge teams facing off in Chennai and for our first match preview Matt Harris is backing Mumbai Indians to claim the points.

Matt says: "Virat Kohli and AB De Villiers are key wickets but Mumbai will also need to target Devdutt Padikkal who added vital runs at the top of the order last season."

Back AB De Villiers to top score for Royal Challengers Bangalore at 3.02/1