The Indian Premier League auction is done and now it’s time for the season to commence.
The first round of the IPL 14 season commences with the Mumbai Indians hosting the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Our crew have run their eyes over the markets and there is good value to be found with the best best this weekend.
Mumbai Indians vs. Royal Challengers Bangalore
10th April 12:00am
The reigning IPL champions the Mumbai Indians open their season against the Royal Challengers Bangalore in Chennai on Saturday morning.
Virat Kohli will lead RCB into this IPL 14 campaign while his counterpart Rohit Sharma will take the reigns of the Mumbai Indians on the field of play this season.
‘The Big Show’ Glen Maxwell takes his place for RCB as does Kyle Jamieson with the squad heavily investing in gun all-rounders to provide an edge in the tournament.
Mumbai comes into this new season having won the IPL title five times and clearly know what it is all about.
Kieron Pollard, Chris Lynn and Quinton De Kock are some of the big names to head the batting for the Indians, and the bowling attack is nothing to take lightly at either.
Pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah will lead the bowling for Mumbai and he will be accompanied by left-arm fast bowler Trent Boult.
This game shapes as a cracker and while Kohli will be looking to cause an upset, it’s hard to be against a Mumbai team who has been there and done it all.
Mumbai should be too classy and powerful as it looks towards a sixth IPL title.
Suggested Bets:
– Mumbai Indians head to head at $1.61
– Top batsman Rohit Sharma $5.5
– Top bowler Jasprit Bumrah $6
Chennai Super Kings vs. Delhi Capitals
April 11th 12:00am
Indian veteran MS Dhoni takes charge of his Chennai Super Kings when they face the 2020 IPL runners-up the Delhi Capitals who now boast Steve Smith in their squad this season after what was deemed a ‘bargain buy’ at the IPL auction earlier this year.
Smith’s fellow countryman Marcus Stoinis lines up in the Delhi squad which also boasts the leadership talent of Indian wicketkeeper/batsman Rishabh Pant who will captain the Capitals this season.
The Super Kings will rely on the likes of West Indian showman Dwayne Bravo, South African batsman Faf Du Plessis and Ravindra Jadeja to provide the spark for its IPL 14 campaign.
They will be looking to get back into the play-offs this season after a dreadful IPL 13 which saw them based in the UAE with no home advantage to speak of.
A return back to India and a newly manufactured roster may be the spark the Super Kings need to make it a winning start to the season.
On paper, at least, the Capitals will be considered the better squad but the Super Kings look the better value at head to head.
New year, new roster, new Super Kings.
Suggested Bet: Chennai Super Kings head to head at $2.15
Sunrisers Hyderabad vs. Kolkata Knight Riders
April 12th 12:00am
A pair of left-handed freak batsman do battle when the David Warner-led Sunrisers Hyderabad take on the Eoin Morgan-led Kolkata Knight Riders from Chennai on Monday morning.
New Zealand captain Kane WIlliamson will join Warner on the Sunrisers roster this campaign as will Jason Holder and Johnny Bairstow.
Meanwhile, the Knight Riders will unveil their record signing from last season in the form of Australian fast bowler Patrick Cummins.
He will attempt to be the focal point with the ball after the Knight Riders paid a record $2.8 million fee which is the highest ever amount paid for an overseas player in the tournament’s history.
Gun spinner Rashid Khan will be the relied upon spinner for the Sunrisers this season after taking 16 wickets in 10 fixtures through BBL 10.
A very tight contest as the market is suggesting and the bets look to be away from the head to head.
Suggested Bets:
– David Warner top batsman $4.5
– Rashid Khan top Sunrisers bowler $3.2
Rajasthan Royals vs. Kings XI Punjab
April 13th 12:00am
The Rajasthan Royals play host to the Kings Punjab XI at Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday morning.
English pairing Ben Stokes and Joffra Archer will combine with bat and ball to help the Royals towards a play-off berth this season.
Archer was named the player of the series in IPL 13 during 2020 after taking 20 wickets and even managing to score 113 runs with the bat.
The Royals will be met with Kings XI Punjab captain and the highest run-scorer from the 2020 IPL tournament K. L. Rahul.
He managed to score 670 runs in IPL 13 and will need to bring that run-scoring form into this game to deal with the bowling threat posed by Archer.
The Royals also managed to pull off a huge coup by signing South African bowling-all rounder Chris Morris for the highest ever amount paid for a player in IPL history.
A $2.87 million cheque was signed, sealed and delivered to acquire the services of Morris and it would hope for immediate success from not only Morris but from a team perspective.
Given the spending spree, the Royals will have silverware on their mind but it’s hard to side against the Kings Punjab with Rahul being the batsman everyone envies at the moment as well as getting the hitting of Chris Gayle.
Suggested Bets:
– Kings Punjab XI head to head at $1.87
– Lokesh Rahul to be Kings top batsman at $2.90
– Andrew Tye to be Royals top bowler at $4.35
