INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE: Our cricket tipster The Edge previews Friday’s IPL playoff game between Sunrisers Hyderabad v Royal Challengers Bangalore with a recommended BETDAQ bet.


The Edge has been a professional cricket trader for over 12 years, and we are delighted to have his columns on BETDAQ Tips. He provides his best bets on a points scale between 1 and 5, with 5 being a rare max bet.

Because we see so much action in-running on cricket, he will also provide some in-running strategies that could develop in-play and lead to some excellent value bets. The Edge covers all forms of cricket: Test Matches, ODI’s and T20’s but his favourite competition is the Indian Premier League each season.


MATCH OVERVIEW:

The pressure is on! We have the Eliminator in Abu Dhabi on Friday between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bangalore. The winner goes on to Qualifier 2 on Sunday, the loser goes home. The stakes couldn’t be higher. We’re bound to have some high quality cricket and some in-running drama on BETDAQ Betting Exchange. I can’t wait.

For RCB this is a massive improvement on last season when they finished a distant last. They have benefitted from moving away from their home ground in Bangalore which has very small boundaries and turns into a high scoring lotto. They still have major issues though, and arrive here having lost their last four games. They have been heavily reliant on Finch, Kohli and de Villiers. Finch has been missing, and Kohli and de Villers haven’t done anything amazing to win games. The pressure on those two must be immense knowing if they don’t score they don’t win. It also leads to them scoring a little slower to protect their wicket, and that has a negative effect too.

Hyderabad had to battle hard to get here and finished with three impressive wins. They scored 219/2 when beating Delhi Capitals by 88 runs, beat RCB easily only needing 14.1 overs and then beat Mumbai on Tuesday in a do or die game for them. Their bowling has been impressive, and if they keep playing like they have been it’s hard to see Kohli or de Villers taking the game away from them.


WEATHER AND PITCH WATCH:

RCB played here on Monday in a game that decided who got into the top two. They set a score of 152/7 but Delhi chased it down with relative ease. Kohli and de Villers were well set but never finished the innings. There was a day game before that and 153/6 was chased easily too. If we go back to last week, 185/4 was chased down easily too! Personally I would feel 175 is a good score to aim for batting first in a game like this. With the pressure on, I would definitely bat first. Thankfully we’re set fair with the weather.


RECOMMENDED BET:

Hyderabad are the favourites here and rightly so. I like them a lot to win here at 1.83. RCB look terribly out of form and they are so reliant on Kohli and de Villers it’s hard to see them beating Hyderabad over the full course of the game. Of course I fully understand they are two of the best players in the world and they can go and win the game on their own – but the reality is they need to. They aren’t getting any help. Hyderabad’s bowling looks in great form and they have also benefitted from their journey here – performing in must win games.

The Edge Says:
Three points win Sunrisers Hyderabad to beat Royal Challengers Bangalore at 1.83 on BETDAQ Betting Exchange

View the market here -> http://bit.ly/BDQRcbHyd


IN-RUNNING STRATEGY:

RCB managed to beat Sunrisers Hyderabad very early in the tournament, setting 163/5 and bowling Hyderabad out for 153. Hyderabad suffered with injuries and bad luck in that game though, and they have definitely improved as the tournament went on. The side met very recently where Hyderabad bowlers won the game. I would expect a pretty similar result here, although maybe RCB won’t set such a low total (120/7).

I would be keen to get against the RCB batting apart from Kohli and de Villers, especially with the Hyderabad bowlers in such good form. And if Hyderabad batted first I would be pretty confident opening a trade on them. Another angle that might develop is Hyderabad bat first, score an under par total but manage to defend it getting Kohli and de Villers early – I wouldn’t rule out that happening given the rest of the RCB batting!


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