Betting tips / Paul Bugeja / 05 May 2012 / Leave a comment Bet Now View Market

Ed Hawkins previews the King's XI Punjab v Rajasthan Royals contest in Mohali.

King's XI

Punjab are on something of a charge having won three of their last four. The catalyst for their revival seems to have been the injury to Adam Gilchrist with David Hussey taking over the captaincy. The longer Gilly remains out of the side the better it would seem, especially as it makes room for the influential Azhar Mahmood.

Rajasthan

Rajasthan have lost their way with four straight losses and it may be time for them to shuffle the pack. Paul Collingwood could replace Owais Shah while Johan Botha has a shout of coming in for Brad Hogg. They need some runs from Shane Watson, too.

Venue and conditions

First-innings totals of 115, 124, 163, 168, make the Mohali pitch difficult to read. However, all four have been won by the side batting second.

Match odds

King's did not convince in the early part of the season but do now. Rajasthan are the opposite. So we have two teams equally capable of being good and bad plus a toss bias which may be worth respecting. The obvious conclusion is to go with the bigget priced team and that is the Royals, who are 2.04, King's are 1.92.

Top King's bat

The batsmen are in a rich vein of form if the victory over Bangalore Royal Challengers is anything to go by. Mandeep Singh hit 43 off 30 balls, Nitin Saini 50 from 36 and Hussey 45 from 29.

Top Rajasthan bat

There is nothing wrong with an opening pair of Rahul Dravid and Ajinkya Rahane. The pair put on 71 for the first wicket in the defeat by Delhi. It is the middle order which has not performed, most notably Brad Hodge and Shah.

Recommended bet

Rajasthan to win @2.04