IPL Betting: The Kumar at No 60

Indian Premier League - IPL / Ed Hawkins / 06 April 2011 /

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Praveen Kumar has a point to prove

"Ashwin relatively unknown to most world batsmen and given that he is likely to be a fixture in a Chennai team which should go far"

Having a spinner on your side when trying to find a bowler to follow in the Twenty20 thrash and bash is key. Follow Ed Hawkins on Twitter here

A team cannot do well in the Indian Premier League without a spinner, and likewise a punter playing the top bowler market will be stumped without one. There are some big prices knocking around for IPL4 but statistics are our guide as we try to find a worthy runner.

In last year's IPL, four of the top five wicket-takers were spinners. Pragyan Ojha topped the charts for Deccan with 21 wickets while Amit Mishra, who has joined him at the Chargers following a move from Delhi, was second with 17. They are Deccan's gun players.

Quite right, too. Ojha and Mishra are second and sixth respectively in the list of overall IPL wicket-takers. Unsurprisingly they are priced in the fashion of two top bowlers. Ojha is [20.00] and Mishra [25.00].

Almost twice the price, is Piyush Chawla, the King's XI twirler. At [40.00] he represents good value. In the 2008 edition he finished fifth in the list of top wicket-takers. But unlike Ojha (twice) it is his only appearance.

Ravi Ashwin, who made such a big impact in the World Cup, could be the coming man. He is relatively unknown to most world batsmen and given that he is likely to be a fixture in a Chennai team which should go far, he looks to be the standout pick at [32.00].

We are keen to get a pace bowler on our side and there are three contenders. The first two, RP Singh and Praveen Kumar, have plenty to prove. They are the forgotten pacemen of India having missed out on the World Cup.

Kochi's RP was the top wicket-taker in 2009, albeit in South Africa but he remains the top IPL bowler overall and he is surely overpriced at [44.00]. There are no real numbers to back up King's XI's Praveen - save for him being one of the most successful ODI bowlers in the last 12 months - but he is a canny death bowler. Last year he took a hat-trick against Rajasthan to mark himself down as a bowler of quality and he is big at [60.00].

Finally a mention for Bangalore's Dirk Nannes. The 34-year-old is beginning to creak but you cannot argue with his record. He is the top Twenty20 wicket-taker in the world and in internationals he has the best strike rate of any bowler who has played more than 15 games. He is [25.00].

Best bets: Ravi Ashwin top IPL bowler @ [32.00], Praveen top IPL bowler @ [60.00]

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