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IPL Betting: Royal Challengers Bangalore v Kolkata Knight Riders

Match Previews RSS / / 09 April 2012 /

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Class act. South African ODI captain and RCB star AB de Villiers.

Class act. South African ODI captain and RCB star AB de Villiers.

"AB de Villiers led the way for them against the Daredevils with a rapid, unbeaten, 64. He was in fine form in the recent series between South Africa and New Zealand too and seems to have carried that into this competition."

The big-spending Kolkata Knight Riders are winless at the moment and won't be relishing a trip to Bangalore, who may welcome back Chris Gayle after an injury. Kolkata haven't found a winning formula yet and we should expect that to continue, says Richard O'Hagan.

Bangalore

The Royal Challengers opened their 2012 campaign with a comfortable 20 run win over Delhi at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Moreover, they did so without the aid of their star overseas batsman Chris Gayle. On that occasion Australian Andrew McDonald proved a more than capable deputy, but expect him to give way if Gayle is fit to return.
Kolkata

By contrast, KKR have been on the wrong end of two thumping losses, by eight wickets to Delhi in a rain-reduced game and then by 22 runs to Rajasthan Royals on Easter Sunday. In the latter game they failed to even bat out their 20 overs and despite boasting captain Gautam Gambhir and the likes of Brendan McCullum at the top of the order, they must consider bringing in Shakib al Hasan in place of West Indian spinner Sunil Narine, to strengthen a batting lineup which has thus far failed to live up to expectations.

Venue and conditions

The M Chinnaswamy Stadium always offers something for the bowlers, which may explain why it has been such a happy hunting ground for overseas players in recent years. Expect a (relatively) low- scoring match with plenty of wickets falling, even though the warm weather and lack of humidity is unlikely to help the quicker bowlers.

Match Odds

Kolakta have been so poor in this tournament so far that it is hard to see them beating one of the IPL's strongest squads. Expect Bangalore to win comfortably at odds of [1.72]

Bangalore Top Batsman

AB de Villiers led the way for them against the Daredevils with a rapid, unbeaten, 64. He was in fine form in the recent series between South Africa and New Zealand too and seems to have carried that into this competition. Expect him to be available at odds of around [4.0].

Kolkata Top Batsman

Jacques Kallis has registered scores of 4 and 5 in his two innings to date, but the South African rarely fails in this form of cricket and is due a decent score. The RCB attack features some foes he will be familiar, and at odds of it would be unwise to back against him at around [4.5].

Best Bet

AB de Villiers to top score for Bangalore at odds of [4.0].


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