Our expert tipster has cast their eye over the final match of the opening weekend in the 2021 IPL season; Rajasthan Royals v Punjab Kings, and he’s leaning towards a Kings win.
Rajasthan Royals v Punjab Kings
12th April
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Live on Sky Sports Cricket
Rajasthan Royals v Punjab Kings Preview
The Punjab Kings enter this season looking to impress, and they’ll be expected to take a victory in their first game. The Rajasthan Royals were the inaugural IPL champions, but last season they were rooted to the bottom of the table. We’re expecting a not dissimilar season this year, which means we’d be slightly more confident in a Punjab Kings win than even the bookies are this week. Neither of these sides had a great season in 2020, and it’s been almost 7 years since the Punjab Kings reached the play-offs. Australian trio Jhye Richardson, Riley Meredith, and Moises Henriques will make the team more flexible, but it’s tough to see either of these sides challenging top teams like the Mumbai Indians this year. However, we’re sure to be in for a tight game when these two sides face off on Monday evening to close out the first quartet of matches.
Rajasthan Royals v Punjab Kings Odds
As far as win probability, the NetBet calculator has this game as impossible to call at 49%-51%. They’ve played each other 7 times since 2015 with the Royals winning 4 and the Punjab Kings getting 3. A Rajashtan Royal win is priced at 4/5 , while a Punjab Kings win is 10/11.
Rajasthan Royals v Punjab Kings Tips
There’s next to no value in the match betting odds, but we fancy the Punjab Kings to impress when it comes to bowling. Mohammed Shami is favourite to be the away team’s top bowler at 2/1, and that’s a great shout, but if you fancy an outside bet, why not take a look at the young Arshdeep Singh at 9/2? He had a pretty decent season last year, and with the introduction of some new players it’s going to be competitive, so he’ll be looking for a good performance. Jos Buttler as the Rajasthan Royals’ top batsman at 13/5 is an interesting bet as well.
Jos Buttler to be Rajasthan Royals’ top batsman – 13/5
RR have a whole host of talented batsmen, with Ben Stokes the same price and an equally good bet here, but we fancy Jos Buttler to be on form to open the season.
Mohammed Shami to be Punjab Kings’ top bowler – 2/1
We wish we could suggest the youngster for this, but we’re doubtful. Shami is the safe bet, and at 2/1 still stands to make you double your money.
Squads
Rajasthan Royals Squad
Sanju Samson (c/wk), Jos Buttler (wk), Ben Stokes, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Manan Vohra, Anuj Rawat, Riyan Parag, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Mahipal Lomror, Shreyas Gopal, Mayank Markande, Jofra Archer, Andrew Tye, Jaydev Unadkat, Kartik Tyagi, Shivam Dube, Chris Morris, Mustafizur Rahman, Chetan Sakariya, KC Cariappa, Liam Livingstone, Kuldip Yadav, Akash Singh.
Punjab Kings Squad
KL Rahul (c/wk), Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Mandeep Singh, Prabsimran Singh, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Deepak Hooda, Murugan Ashwin, Ravi Bishnoi, Harpreet Brar, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ishan Porel, Darshan Nalkande, Chris Jordan, Dawid Malan, Jhye Richardson, Shahrukh Khan, Riley Meredith, Moises Henriques, Jalaj Saxena, Utkarsh Singh, Fabian Allen, Saurabh Kumar
For more betting odds on the 2021 Indian Premier League, head over to the NetBet Cricket page.
*Odds are subject to change.