The IPL has reached the latter stages, and Richard Mann is on hand with his preview of Tuesday's Qualifier 1 between Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Cricket betting tips: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad
1pt Andre Russell top Kolkata Knight Riders batsman at 8/1 (General)
Sunrisers Hyderabad claimed a crucial top two table finish via the back door on Sunday, beating Punjab Kings in another high-scoring game to earn two shots at reaching the IPL final, beginning with their Qualifier 1 clash with table-toppers Kolkata Knight Riders in Ahmedabad on Tuesday, 3pm UK time.
Though KKR finished the regular season with a win more than Sunrisers, a superior Net Run Rate, and won the sole league fixture between the two sides by four runs, the market is struggling to make its mind up with 10/11 the pair chalked up in most places.
KKR were the better side through the regular season. Their batting is deeper and in Andre Russell and Rinku Singh, they have more finishing options.
The bowling is also more well rounded, particularly in the spin department courtesy of experienced pair, Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy.
However, Sunrisers are such a dangerous outfit whose batting in particular will strike fear into opposition bowling attacks anywhere. KKR might reckon they can outscore any side they come up against, but Sunrisers have racked up scores 287-3, 277-3, 266-7 and 167-0 in only 9.4 overs this year to demonstrate the potential they have with the bat.
Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma have formed a destructive opening partnership, with the Australian striking at 200.13, while there is terrific power in the middle-order from Heinrich Klaasen, Nitish Kumar and Abdul Samad. If that opening pair fire, like they often have done, the sky is the limit for this batting unit.
The bowling isn’t so flash and that’s where KKR have the clear edge. There is no spin of any real note and though Thangarasu Natarajan and Pat Cummins has been largely reliable, Bhuvneshwar Kumar hasn’t done as much damage with the new ball as he once might, and this attack does lack an out and out strike bowler in this format.
As such, if pushed, I’d prefer KKR, but there is a real fear factor to Sunrisers and that batting line-up, so pressing up the bet button around 10/11 makes little appeal.
Historically, this ground has been good for runs, but the runs goldmine has long passed for this IPL season and 7/4 with Sky Bet is the best I can find for both teams to score 200+ runs. I’ll pass.
Another thing to consider is that Phil Salt has returned home to England to prepare for the impending T20 World Cup, meaning KKR will be missing a vital cog from their XI. I’m not gushing over his replacement at the top of the order, Rahmanullah Gurbaz.
Perhaps there’s bet in the top KKR batsman market, then, though firm favourite Rinku Singh has been batting too low all season to warrant support, while Venkatesh Iyer has been moved around the order too much to get a firm grip on him.
Like Rinku, ANDRE RUSSELL has generally been held back, but he’s still managed 222 runs and a strike-rate of 185.00, and has continued to chip in with some handy cameos more recently, often joining the party too late.
That’s always a risk when betting the giant West Indian, but crucially, his season’s best came against Sunrisers back in March when blasting 64 not out from only 25 balls, the lack of quality spin in opposition meaning he had little to fear as he feasted on a diet of seamers who just couldn’t find a way to stop the KKR hitman.
That has been one of the main reasons why Sunrisers have continually struggled at the death, for all they boast plenty of experience, and KKR and Russell will surely be eyeing another strong finish against an attack clearly ripe for plucking in the slog overs.
All things considered, even at 8/1, Russell is worth a small investment.
With Klaasen only half that price and seemingly set at number five in the Sunrisers batting order, I’ll give the South African a swerve, while I’m struggling to split Narine and Chakravarthy in the top KKR bowler market.
In fact, Russell isn’t out of that one either, though that has proven to be a competitive heat all year and is another I’m not desperate to get involved in.
I’ll stick with Russell for top batsman honours in a game which promises big runs and strong finishes from both teams. It should be a cracker.
Preview published at 1130 BST on 20/05/24
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