Royal Challengers Bengaluru v Punjab Kings IPL tips: Krunal a 40/1 top-bat belter

Friday IPL cricket Superboost

Betfair are offering punters a brilliant superboost for Royal Challengers Bengaluru v Punjab Kings focusing on RCB's main man Virat Kohli.

Kohli has scored 248 IPL runs & hit 30 boundaries so far in the IPL, so the chance to back him to hit 5+ boundaries at 1/12.00 boosted from 4/71.57 in Friday's game is one to take a look at.

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Royal Challengers Bengaluru v Punjab Kings
Friday 18 April, 15:00
TV: live on Sky Sports

Royal Challengers Bengaluru v Punjab Kings IPL team news

RCB are four wins from XI having outclassed Rajasthan Royals in their last match. They are another solid and unspectacular outfit collecting points in a tournament which appears to delienated by those who have the capability be efficent and those who prefer chaos.

At some stage Jacob Bethell is going to get a game ahead of Liam Livingstone who is struggling to make an impact with bat or ball. We note that Josh Hazlewood didn't bowl his full quota against Royals, which doesn't seem a very bright use of resources.

Possible RCB XI: Salt, Kohli, Padikkal (sub Suyash), Patidar, Livingstone/Bethell, Jitesh, David, Krunal, Bhuv, Hazlewood, Dayal

Punjab embrace chaos. Against Sunrisers they didn't have a clue as to how to defend 245. But 111 versus Kolkata? No problem. Go figure.

They seem appear to be the team which boasts the best balance and ability. But the profligacy in the field suggests there is a limited brains trust.

Losing Lockie Ferguson for the season robs them of their most potent bowler in terms of strike rate. Xavier Bartlett has come in and we don't expect him to be as useful.

Punjab dropped Marcus Stoinis for the win over KKR, which was odd given the all-rounder hit 34 from 11 balls against Sunrisers. Glenn Maxwell, stinking the place out again, would have been more deserving of the chop. Josh Inglis came in at No 4.

Possible Punjab XI: Arya, Prab Singh, Iyer, Inglis, Wadhera, Maxwell, Shashank, Jansen, Bartlett, Arshdeep, Chahal (Shedge sub)

Royal Challengers Bengaluru v Punjab Kings IPL pitch report

The Chinnaswamy didn't look anything like the traditional flatty when the hosts could only post 169 batting first in defeat by Gujarat.

Likewise in the next game when they managed only 163 against Delhi. The par line for udners is 185.5. That would have won at eight times in the last three IPLs (16 matches).

Sportsbook offer overs/unders 18.5 sixes. The overs bettors would have won nine times so it is hard to argue that the runs or sixes are out of line. 

Royal Challengers Bengaluru v Punjab Kings IPL match prediction

RCB are as short as 1.865/6. At the risk of being repetitive it is a golden rule to swerve them when odds-on. That rule has to apply even if we have a suspicion that Punjab are a good opponent for them.

Their grinding, unspectacular nature is the sort which could drive Punjab crackers. The visitors may be flaying away trying to smash everything (and getting whacked themselves) while RCB stick in the game and take few risks.

We have no real clue what Punjab are consistently capable of, however. Even at the halfway stage they remain a team which need a watching brief as they could produce the sublime and the ridiculous. 

Royal Challengers Bengaluru v Punjab Kings IPL Exchange strategy

The tie between Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals on Wednesday should have given succour to plenty who read these pages and listen to the Cricket...Only Bettor podcast. We've been waffling on about it's great trading potential for some time.

This contest starts as a 60.059/1 chance on the exchange and the option is to back-to-lay. If games go to the last over with more then eight to mid teens required that price will have collapsed. 

Royal Challengers Bengaluru v Punjab Kings IPL player bets

Yuz Chahal found form in the nick of time, winning an extraordinary match against KKR with four wickets. He had been struggling badly up to that point. A slower surface here might keep him keen, likewise the way he spins the ball away from the right-hander. RCB had an issue with Sai Kishore, admittedly slow left-arm, moving the ball the same way in defeat by Gujarat. He is 3/14.00 for top Punjab bowler. 

As pitches get more tired we start to take note of lower-order hitters. Krunal Pandya could be promoted up the order to counter Chahal's style as one of only two left-handers in the top eight. He is [40/1]. 

For Punjab we remain keen on Stoinis. The 10/111.00 is wrong on two-year win-rate and for a guy who has batted at No 4. He probably won't play but money back if a non-runner. Marco Jansen also catches the eye at 35/136.00 and it is not hard to imagine him needing to launch a rescue mission given the formguide. 

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