The new season of the IPL cricket is upon us and there are going to be plenty of exciting betting opportunities around for the duration of the tournament. The Indian Premier League is the ultimate Twenty20 club competition. This is now the eleventh season of the popular event which runs from April 7th through to the 27th May. Heading back to the tournament as the reigning champions is the Mumbai Indians.
2017 IPL Review
The Mumbai Indians got their hands on the title for the third time last season as they took a thrilling victory over the Rising Pune Supergiant in the final. This was Twenty20 cricket at its very best, as the Mumbai Indians claimed the win by just the one run. It was a brilliant culmination of the tournament and England’s Ben Stokes was named the MVP of the league.
Format
There are eight teams in the tournament and it is a straightforward round robin format where everyone gets to play everyone else. At the end of that, the top four sides move through to the final four knockout stage. It is NOT a straightforward knockout though. The teams who finish first and second face off in play off match. Then, in what is called the Eliminator, the third-place finisher takes on fourth.
The winner of the match between the top two sides moves ahead to the Final. The loser gets a second bite of the cherry as they will play against the winner of the Eliminator match between 3rd and 4th, with the winner of that then moving through to the final.
IPL 2018 Winner Odds*
Mumbai Indians 4/1, Royal Challengers Bangalore 4/1, Hyderabad Sunrisers 6/1, Chennai Super Kings 13/2, Kolkata Knight Riders 13/2, Rajasthan Royals 8/1, Delhi Daredevils 8/1, Kings XI Punjab 17/2* (betting odds taken on April 4th, 2018 at 11:31 p.m.)
Mumbai Indians
A good core of the team that won the Championship last season is back for their title defence. But they may have a weakness this season because they don’t look anywhere near as strong in the spin department as they have done. They have some powerhouse hitters and their batting is going to take some containing. JP Duminy, although not in the greatest form for a while, is their star foreign batsman. Among the pace bowlers they have some huge threats in the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Pat Cummins, and overall, and perhaps strangely so for the Mumbai Indians, they don’t have the big international flair in their ranks that they have been known for. They will probably be back in the final four.
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Things didn’t work out at all for them last season as they finished rock bottom. They gambled on a big batting line up, that was the focus of their game plan and it didn’t pay off so they have gone for balance this time. That having been said they have held on to Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers and they form what is still a powerful looking batting line up. To try and bolster their attack, and supporting Tim Southee, Chris Woakes and Umesh Yadav will be the always-exciting Washington Sundar, one of the best power play bowlers in the business. They really have the batting line up and now better balance with the ball in hand to get into the top four.
Hyderabad Sunrisers
Champions two years ago and they had a good auction to be fair to them. There should be huge things expected of them. They are well stocked with all-rounders now for options and even with David Warner not taking part, they still have NZ superstar Kane Williamson to carry the can for them, and he will be skipper. They have superb bowling variety and quality and there is experience with the bat through the likes of Shikhar Dhawan, Wriddhiman Saha and Manish Pandey. Top four all the way. They are going to be a much different beast to what they were last term.
Chennai Super Kings
There weren’t in last season’s Indian Premier League and indeed have been away for two seasons. They have a pretty strong core again there with the likes of Murali Vijay, Dwayne Bravo and Faf du Plessis in there. Captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni leads them again and should be fresh for this as he’s been on a break from international duty. You may not find a more accomplished batting line up that the one they can put out. Really. They have superb all-rounders and despite the age of the side, expect them to be somewhere at lease close to being in action still after the round robin is done.
Kolkata Knight Riders
Kolkata have lost their star batsman and former captain Gautam Gambhir who has been a rock in their success. They don’t have a full squad going into the tournament and really they are lacking heavily in the batting department. The bowling looks fine with Mitchell Johnson in there along with the likes of Kamlesh Nagarkoti and veteran Vinay Kumar. Mitchell Starc has pulled out though because of injury. They have a competitive spin lineup as well but they aren’t looking very strong with the bat and may miss out on a top-four finish because of that.
Rajasthan Royals
Australia’s Steve Smith has stepped down as captain of Rajasthan amid the ball tampering scandal for Australia. Even if he had been in the squad it probably would not have saved the Royals who may well only have the wooden spoon to look forward to. Australian bowling legend Share Warne is mentoring them and they have a good international influence with the likes of captain Ajinkya Rahane and England pair of Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler. They like to rely heavily on all rounders but they are lacking potency in the spin department. They look a young side, just a bit directionless.
Delhi Daredevils
Gautam Gambhir has moved back home from his time with Kolkata and that should be an immediate boost to Delhi’s chances this season. He is a brilliant captain and they have Ricky Ponting coaching them as well. They are going to be a force to be reckoned with as they have massive batting power with the likes of Colin Munro, Glenn Maxwell and Jason Roy in there. Heading up the bowling department is Kagiso Rabada and Trent Boult is in there as well. They are well covered for spin and looking at the balance of the squad, they can make a run at a top-four finish.
Kings XI Punjab
They have struggled to impress over the last few seasons but they have changed everything this time, taking a brand new approach. They have a new and pretty adventurous new captain in Ravichandran Ashwin. They have Australian duo of Aaron Finch and Marcus Stoinis in there as good support and Yuvraj Singh has teamed up with his hometown as well. Their bowling department still looks a little bit inexperienced and lacking in power to change their fortunes around that much. They will probably miss out on the top four.
IPL 2018 Predictions
Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Hyderabad look locks for a top-four berth. So that leaves us torn between the Chennai Super Kings and the Delhi Daredevils. The arrival in Delhi of Gautam Gambhir has to have a huge influence on them and they have a very well balanced squad and can get into the top four. As for the outright winner, Kane Williamson gets his crack at leadership and can carry Hyderabad all the way to the title.
