The IPL is back! Bio bubbles and all the different COVID measures will be in place as IPL 2021 is raring to go. Let’s take a look at the squads and where I see some value on a betting front.
MUMBAI INDIANS – aka The Premiers
Spin: Krunal Pandya, Chahar & Chawla
Death bowling: Bumrah & Boult
Big hitting finishers: Pollard & Hardik
Big scorers: Rohit & De Kock
Verdict: Lack of a seam depth behind Bumrah could be a concern as well as the wrist spin department. That Pollard & Pandya finishing combination does spell total destruction though.
CHENNAI SUPER KINGS – aka Dad’s Army
Spin: Tahir, Jadeja & Moeen Ali
Death bowling: Dwayne Bravo
Big hitting finishers: Dhoni
Big scorers: Du Plessis & Raina
Verdict: The most crucial aspect of the Kings’ campaign could be the efficiency of their medical staff and trainers in keeping the old wheels in their ranks well-greased. I struggle to see yesterday’s heroes rise to the occasion to get them to the final.
SUNRISERS HYDERABAD– aka The Top Heavies
Spin: Rashid Khan
Death bowling: Buvi Kumar & Natarajan
Big hitting finishers: Mohamad Nabi, Vijay Shankar & Kedar Yadav
Big scorers: Warner, Bairstow & Williamson
Verdict: Losing Mitch Marsh was a big blow. Jason Roy is a match-winner but where SRH fall short is in the big hitting lower order department – the exact role Marsh would have played. The Sunrisers will need the trio of Sandeep, Buvi and Natarajan to be at their best to make up for some batting frailties or else darkness will fall in 2021 rather than a new dawn.
KOLKATTA KNIGHT RIDERS – aka Spin Doctors
Spin: Harbhajan Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Sunil Narine, Shakib Al Hasan & Varun Chakravarthy
Death bowling: Pat Cummins
Big hitting finishers: André Russell & Eoin Morgan
Big scorers: Shubman Gill
Verdict: Look left, look right and still no sign of any quality local quicks available to KKR. They will rely on their spin options but Morgan and Russell need to be at their best if the men in purple are able to be competitive. Hit Cummins with the biggest Voltaren jab you have cause he is about to be tasked with carrying a team!
RAJASTHAN ROYALS – aka Middle Class
Spin: Rahul Tewatia, Mayank Markande & Shreyas Gopal
Death bowling: Jofra Archer, Chris Morris & Mustafizur Rahman
Big hitting finishers: Ben Stokes, Shivam Dube & David Miller
Big scorers: Sanju Samson & Jos Buttler
Verdict: They may have the most expensive player in the league (Morris) but with Archer missing initially this could be a campaign delivering rocks rather than diamonds unless the Poms in their ranks go Royal on a regular basis. I rate them being lower middle class instead of Royal.
PUNJAB KINGS – aka The Princes without a Throne
Spin: Ravi Bishnoi, Murugan Ashwin & Fabian Allen
Death bowling: Chris Jordan & Mohammed Shami
Big hitting finishers: Nicholas Pooran & Moises Henriques
Big scorers: KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal & Dawid Malan
Verdict: Plenty of exciting batters but not enough quality in the bowling ranks. More pauper than king in my opinion.
ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE – aka Big dog, no bite
Spin: Chahal, Zampa & Sundar
Death bowling: Siraj, Saini & Kane Richardson/Daniel Sams
Big hitting finishers: Washington Sundar, Glenn Maxwell & Dan Christian
Big scorers: Kohli & AB
Verdict: We’ve seen this movie before – RCB have beautiful sport cars at their disposal (Kohli, De Villiers & Maxwell) but do they have the ugly SUV or pick-up truck that gets the daily grind done this season?
DELHI CAPITALS – aka Fast & Furious
Spin: R Ashwin, Axar Patel & Amit Mishra
Death bowling: Rabada & Nortje
Big hitting finishers: Pant, Stoinis, Billings & Hetmeyer
Big scorers: Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Rahane & Steve Smith
Verdict: Finding the right balance in their batting will be vital for Delhi as they have plenty of solid options at the top but will need to blend that with necessary stroke players. KG & Anrich will once again be vital to their cause as they look to go one better in 2021.
BETOLIMP Best Bets for IPL 2021 Outrights
Top Punjab Kings Bowler – R Bishnoi @ 5.50
Top Tournament Bowler – JJ Bumrah @ 7.00
Player to score the most sixes in the tournament – Rishabh Pant @ 11.00
Player to score the most sixes in the tournament – Jos Buttler @ 15.00
Top KKR Batsman – Shubman Gill @ 2.75
Top Rajasthan Royals Batsman – Sanju Samson @ 3.10
Top Tournament Runscorer – Johnny Bairstow @ 21.00
To finish Bottom – Chennai Super Kings @ 5.50
Delhi Capitals & Mumbai Indians to play in the Final @ 10.00