History
SRH have won the IPL 2 times, and have generally been one of the stronger sides in the tournament over the years. KXIP, in contrast have been among the poorest sides in the tournament historically, and have never won the tournament, with their highest finish being runners-up in 2014. These 2 teams have faced off 15 times in total, with SRH winning 11 of those, and KXIP winning only 4. Earlier this season SRH defeated KXIP heavily with a margin of 69 runs.
Team News
KXIP looked to be in incredible batting form initially. Both their openers, Rahul and Mayank have played two big innings each, including a century each as well. They have scored 200+ runs twice already, although their bowling has repeatedly failed them as RR managed to chase down the highest score in IPL history against them.
This disbalance has caused them to lost 4 matches in a row, and they are currently bottom of the table with just 1 win in 6 matches. They lost to SRH by a huge margin of 69 runs, but the performance of Pooran will be encouraging, as the over reliance on the openers has cost them so far. They suffered another heartbreak vs KKR as they lost by just 2 runs, after Glenn Maxwell came within inches of the boundary rope when they needed a 6 to tie the match.
Finally, their patience paid off as they managed to beat RCB to end a streak of 4 straight defeats. The resurgence continued with a dramatic win over Mumbai Indians which ended in 2 separate super-overs ! They followed this up with another impressive victory over then table-toppers Delhi Capitals, beating the top 2 sides in the league in back to back matches.
SRH lost both their opening 2 matches, and were rock bottom of the table before their clash with Delhi Capitals. However, they regrouped and beat the table toppers with an impressive bowling performance, led by Rashid Khan and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar. They followed that up with another impressive victory of Chennai Super Kings, but faltered against Mumbai Indians. After that they scored 200+ against KXIP for a huge win, before throwing away the game from a winning position against RR. They then lost to a resurgent CSK side by 20 runs, and followed it up with a 3rd consecutive defeat against KKR, clearly suffering from the absence of Bhuvaneshwar Kumar. However, in their last match against Rajasthan Royals, despite losing both their openers early, SRH secured an impressive win with a huge partnership between Pandey and Shankar.
Betting Preview, Picks And Prediction
To Win The Match
KXIP are the favourites to win the match with odds of 1.84 as per LeoVegas, which is not surprising considering they have won their last 3 matches in a row, including back-to-back wins against the top 2 teams of the league – MI and DC. SRH won their last match convincingly, but had been struggling before that, losing 3 matches in a row, and hence are 1.96 to win this match.
Top Team Batsman
After his consistent form all season, KL Rahul is the favourite to be Punjab’s top batsman, with odds of 3.00. He is followed by his opening partner Mayank Agarwal at 4.00, which is tempting as he has been in equally brilliant form. Chris Gayle’s return has changed things, with the big West Indian now second-favourite to be the top scorer at 3.50.
SRH captain David Warner is unsurprisingly the favourite to be their top batsman in this match with odds of 3.00. His opening partner Johnny Bairstow has odds of 3.50, while the dependable Kane Williamson has odds of 5.00. The consistent Manish Pandey has odds of 4.50, which is an attractive bet.
Highest Opening Partnership
Both these teams are equally poised at 1.90 to have the highest opening partnership. This is primarily because Bairstow and Warner are probably the best opening pairing in the world on their day, while KXIP now have Gayle back, and he along with Rahul can be explosive up top.
Top Team Bowler
Mohammed Shami is the favourite to be the top bowler for Punjab at 3.50, with Cottrel at 4.00 another attractive option.
Rashid Khan is unsurprisingly SRH’s favourite to be the top team bowler at 2.62, followed by Natarajan at 5.00 and Khaleel at 4.50.
Total Runs In The Match
Odds of there being more than 328.5 runs in this match are 1.76, as per LeoVegas. This seems highly achievable as both these teams have some brilliant batsmen and have scored plenty of runs this season.
Individual Player Betting
- Jonny Bairstow to score more than 24.5 runs has odds of 1.87 , which is a tempting bet as he would like to bounce back with a solid innings. KL Rahul to score more than 29.5 runs also has odds of 1.87, which is also a tempting bet as he would like to continue his current form.
- KXIP to hit the most sixes has odds of 1.70, which can be tempting with Gayle back, and also Rahul, Pooran and Maxwell, all can hit sixes. SRH to hit the most sixes depends heavily on their openers, and the odds are 2.62.
- Shami to take 2 or more wickets has odds of 2.10, while Rashid to take 2 or more wickets has odds of 2.00, which is attractive as he can snap up key middle-over wickets.
Our Top Betting Picks
- SRH to win the match @1.96
- KXIP to hit the most sixes @1.70
- SRH to have the Highest Opening Partnership @1.90
- Rashid Khan to take 2 or more wickets @2.00
