History
The Royal Challengers are one of the 3 sides to have never won the IPL title, despite reaching the final twice. KKR, in contrast, have won the title twice before, in 2012 and 2014. These two sides have faced each other a total of 24 times, with KKR winning 14 of those matches, and RCB winning only 10. However, KKR have won 6 of their last 7 matches, and do look like the stronger side going into this clash.
Team News
RCB had a nightmare start to the tournament in contrast, being thrashed by KXIP by a mammoth 97 runs in their opening game. However, they bounced back well with impressive victories over Hyderabad and Mumbai. Virat Kohli finally delivered after 3 poor performances, and he along with the very impressive Devdutt Padikkal took RCB to glory against the Rajasthan Royals. However, Delhi Capitals beat RCB by a huge margin after that. In the previous match, Kohli again hit top gear to hit a match-winning knock as RCB defeated CSK comfortably.
KKR had a nightmare start to the tournament in contrast, being thrashed by Mumbai Indians in their opening game. However, they bounced back very well with impressive victories over Rajasthan Royals Sunrisers. Shubman Gill is back to top form now, but the most encouraging aspect of KKR currently is the brilliant form of their young Indian bowlers- Nagarkoti, Mavi and Varun, which makes them a very balanced side going ahead in the tournament. They won their next game against Chennai with a narrow margin after a spirited bowling performance. In the last game, KKR clinched a thriller against KXIP by just 2 runs, as captain Dinesh Karthik finally produced the goods to take his team home.
Betting Preview, Picks And Prediction
To Win The Match
After their impressive win in the last match against CSK, Royal Challengers Bangalore are the favourites to win this match at odds of 1.80 as per Bet 365. They were dominant with their batting, as the impressive Padikkal along with captain Virat Kohli both reached top form. KKR To win has odds of 2.00, despite a 2 game winning run. They won both their last two games from the jaws of defeat, with some brilliant bowling at the death preventing their opponents from chasing relatively easy targets.
Top Team Batsman
Youngster Shubman Gill is again the favourite to be KKR’s top scorer in this match, as he is widely considered to be their most consistent batsman and played a brilliant innings in a couple of matches, including the previous one, and has odds of 3.60. In-form Rahul Tripathi is now the second favourite at 5.00 to be the top scorer. England captain Morgan and fellow middle-order batsman Nitish Rana both have odds of 5.00.
With a return to form, Virat Kohli is the favourite from RCB to be the top scorer, with odds of 3.00. AB Devilliers is 4.00 to repeat his early season heroics, despite his poor form. Youth sensation Devdutt Padikkal scored another brilliant 50 in the previous match and is 4.33 to be the top scorer.
Highest Opening Partnership
RCB are the favourites at 1.80 to have the highest opening partnership in this match. This is primarily because of the form of their youngster Devdutt Padikkal, who has been consistently providing brilliant starts at the top, as well as the experience of Australian captain Aaron Finch, with both more than capable of some huge partnerships.
Top Team Bowler
Yuzvendra Chahal is the undisputed favourite to be RCB’s top bowler in this match, with odds of 3.00 after a wicket-laden tournament so far. He is followed by Christ Morris at 4.00, who finally made his much-awaited RCB debut and enjoyed a wicket-laden spell.
Sunil Narine is the favourite to be the top bowler from KKR at 3.75. The most expensive purchase at this season’s auction, Pat Cummins is 4.00 to be KKR’s top bowler, followed by Shivam Mavi at 4.50.
Total Runs In The Match
Odds of there being more than 357.5 runs in this match are 1.57, as per Bet 365. This seems highly achievable as this ground has seen some massive scores. The average score per innings here is more than 200! It is a high scoring venue, and both these teams have enough firepower to maximize the six-hitting potential here.
Individual Player Betting
- Virat Kohli to score more than 32.5 runs has odds of 1.83 , which is a tempting bet as he would like to continue his prolific form. Shubhman Gill to score more than 24.5 runs has odds of 1.72 , which is a tempting bet as he seems to be in great form and is their primary opening batsman.
- KKR to hit the most sixes has odds of 1.90, which is understandable as they have Morgan and Russell, who prefer the aerial route more often than not. RCB have odds of 2.20 to hit the most sixes, which is quite an attractive market as the likes of ABD can single handedly achieve that.
- Chahal to take 2 or more wickets has odds of 2.25 which is a given with his form, while Cummins to take 2 or more wickets has odds of 2.75, which is highly likely given his ability to take wickets in the death overs.
Our Top Betting Picks
- RCB to win the match @1.80
- RCB to hit the most sixes @2.20
- RCB to have the Highest Opening Partnership @1.80
- Chahal to be RCB’s top wicket-taker @3.00.
FAQ
