After two weeks of action, the IPL table should always start to take shape and that’s certainly been the case in 2018. After four matches, the defending champion Chennai Super Kings were the early pace setters but they’ve been edged out at the top by Kings XI Punjab.
All sides remain in with a chance of progression but Royal Challengers Bangalore will be desperate for points as they sit at the bottom of the table with four defeats from four. It’s a vital week ahead so what do we have in store?
Thursday Thriller
Week 3 kicks off with a clash between the Delhi Capitals and Sunrisers Hyderabad. It’s a relatively close betting market for this one with Delhi available at +110 while SRH are on offer at -137 but there is one key area where the game will be won and lost.
Both teams feature high-class batting lineups but the Capitals’ dramatic collapse against Kings XI Punjab will definitely give some cause for concern. For the Sunrisers, Jonny Bairstow and David Warner have been blasting away at the top of the order and we expect Hyderabad to seal the win here.
Desperate Bangalore
Can the Royal Challengers claim their first win of the competition when they host Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday? Form suggests not and RCB needs Virat Kohli to fire with the bat if they are to have any chance of success. The skipper has had to carry this side for such a long time and it’s perhaps not surprising that he’s been subdued at IPL 12.
Kohli and company can do it but the Knight Riders look better value for the win at -120 as opposed to RCB at -111.
Weekend Feast
As is common at this stage of the season, we have four games in store across Saturday and Sunday this week. Starting us off are the Chennai Super Kings hosting Kings XI Punjab in a battle between the top two sides.
Kings will be thrilled at the manner in which they beat Delhi last time out as a Sam Curran hat trick sealed a dramatic win. Momentum could be important here but CSK is expected to bounce back from their defeat to the Mumbai Indians on Wednesday. The early odds for this game show Chennai as favorites at -151 while Kings is out at +130.
Saturday’s second game is between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians. The teams look evenly matched here and we wouldn’t bet against a Super Over but maybe this is the chance for leg spinner Rashid Khan to show that he can be Sunrisers’ match Sportsbook.
We now head to Sunday and the early tie is the contest between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Capitals. RCB won’t have a better chance of getting their first win against a Capitals side who are in danger of slumping after losing to Kings XI when they were in such a winning position.
The weekend comes to a conclusion with the fixture between Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders. As KKR are playing on Thursday, we have no odds on this one at the time of writing but it would be safe to assume that Kolkata will start as favorites.
The Royals are a talented bunch of players but they’re not quite getting it together as a unit right now and they need to provide more batting support for Jos Buttler.
Closing out the week
On to Monday now and the solitary tie features Kings XI Punjab at home to Sunrisers Hyderabad. KXIP will be keen to have Chris Gayle back in their side as they somehow need to match Sunrisers’ powerful batting lineup. If Gayle is unfit or falls early in his innings, SRH should coast home.
Tuesday’s clash sees Chennai Super Kings hosting Kolkata Knight Riders. Both franchises are giants of the Indian Premier League and this looks to be the toughest game to call from Week 3. The key to their individual successes is resilience and the ability to win from losing positions and we may want to wait for the toss before taking a punt.
The chasing side could have the edge in this one but if pushed to make an early prediction, we would look to Chennai and their greater batting depth to get them over the line.
Week 3 then concludes with the Mumbai Indians against Kings XI Punjab. This will be Kings’ second fixture in three days and at this stage of the campaign, traveling and fatigue can have a say in results. Mumbai will be nice and rested and also have greater quality in their squad so we’re backing Rohit Sharma’s men to close out the week with a victory.
