MILESEY'S been keen to push cricket betting on the site. So let's see how his tips for today's Indian Premier League matches go down.
Sunrisers Hyderabad v Pune Warriors (3.30pm BST)
TV: Live on ITV4 and itv.com
Although Hyderabad are the new boys of IPL their side is very familiar having retained 20 players from the Deccan Chargers squad that lost its franchise. Since winning the 2009 renewal and losing the 2010 final, Deccan went steadily downhill, finishing seventh and eighth in the last two IPLs.
While there is plenty of talent throughout Kumar Sangakkara's squad the restriction on using four overseas players per game could leave them short. Much will depend upon their two best home players, brilliant opener Shikhar Dhawan and in-form spinner Amit Mishra so the former's absence for the first fortnight of IPL is a major blow.
After finishing in the bottom two on both previous IPL appearances, it's all change at Pune. In come more than a dozen new players, including three of the five most expensive signings. Alongside 11 overseas stars, Pune have sensibly complimented the experience of Yuvraj Singh and Robin Uthappa by obtaining the services of several highly-rated Indians such as Abhishek Nayar.
It may not be plain sailing from the start, however. Michael Clark's injury has meant further upheaval, with Angelo Matthews assuming the captaincy at the last minute. Under the circumstances, Pune will do well to find a settled order and rotation policy immediately.
With glorious sunshine, a temperature in the forties and little humidity forecast, Hyderabad could offer a batting paradise as it generally does in limited overs formats. Notably in one of last year's four IPL matches, 187 was chased down with more than three overs to spare, so batting second once the target is known may prove to be an advantage.
Despite Sunrisers enjoying home advantage for their IPL debut and their opponents' lack of tournament pedigree, the market is hot for this new Pune line-up. Their bowlers don't look particularly daunting, though, and on a pitch that often yields big totals, Pune could have trouble restricting the hosts. Moreover, with their line-up far from settled, they could be worth laying at 1.7 pre-match with a view towards banking a profit if and when market momentum shifts significantly in the opposite direction.
In the absence of Dhawan, the onus very much falls upon Kumar Sangakkara to lead from the front. You shouldn't go too far wrong backing openers to top score in T20, especially when they're the best batsman in the side. Sangakkara was in fine form against Bangladesh last month, so odds of 4.5 represent solid value.
It is far from clear how many and which of Pune's formidable overseas batsmen will make the starting line-up so it could pay to take a chance on one of the Indians. 6.0 chance Manish Pandy should retain a regular position around the top order and could be at his explosive best if batting conditions do turn out to be friendly.
Recommended bet (Lay to Back)
Lay Pune @ 1.75/7
Milesey
Resident football tipster at Scotland's most read newspaper, the Daily Record, for over 20 years and proud host of one the best betting communities on the web with daily betting tips.
Have to agree with you milesy. I have had 2/2 on the results so far and I really cannot see pune losing today. I think this year they will have a lot more consistency and there batting may be as strong as there fielding this year.
I believe rajistan royals still have a good chance this year though even though the bookies have labelled them 25/1 outsiders. What are your thoughts. They hhave always been a relatively consistent team and they do still have some stars about this year, admittedally without the batting power of Chris Gayle, Ricky longing or other stars, but they are usually very consistent
GREAT SHOUT.
I LAYED PUNE, AND IT WAS A NICE WIN FOR Sunrisers Hyderabad BY 22 RUNS, GOOD STUFF, KEEP EM COMING.
Don’t get arsey Phil. Sunrisers were nowhere near good enough to lay them to beat pine. I follow cricket aswell as milesy and he had 2/2 results so far. Todays tips were fair and justified. Simple lesson don’t back them if you have no idea yourself your just backing someones opinion who’s trying to help others mate.
sorry ?
I took the bet and LAYED PUNE,
Lay Pune @ 1.7
thought that was the play ?, so glad PUNE lost for i LAYED them.
Yes but you are getting mardy over tips which milesy clearly put a lot of time and effort into. You chose to back it so no good complaining try
Rajistan Royals and Chennai Super Kings tomorrow
Hope U listened to me Phil because the first one just flew in
Delhi Daredevils v Rajasthan Royals
Start Time: 11:30 BST
TV: Live on ITV4 and ITV.com
Delhi Daredevils
Having won the Champions League T20 just a few months ago, Mahela Jayawardene’s side were highly fancied to lift their first IPL trophy but a disastrous prelude to the tournament robbed them of key batsmen Kevin Pietersen and Jesse Ryder, leaving the decision to sell Ross Taylor to Pune an even more bizarre one.
Worse was to follow as Virender Sehwag pulled out of the opening match with KKR due to a back spasm while Morne Morkel, leading wicket take in 2012, is involved in the knockout stages of South Africa’s domestic Ram Slam.
Jayawardene has said that he expects Sehwag to return for Saturday’s game but Morkel is playing in Sunday’s Ram Slam final so the hosts are still looking depleted ahead of this vital clash.
Rajasthan Royals
Since winning the very first IPL under Shane Warne’s stewardship, the Royals have been annual underachievers in this competition but they have a strong line up that suggests they should improve on last season when they finished seventh in the group table.
40 year old Rahul Dravid captains and coaches a squad that contains quality batters such as Shane Watson, Brad Hodge and Ajinkya Ranhane. In the bowling department, Shaun Tait’s radar needs to be switched on and if the Aussie can find his range then he can lead a competent attack that includes Sreesanth, Fidel Edwards and the veteran Brad Hogg.
Age and fitness could be an issue for Rajasthan over the course of a very long tournament but they should certainly be fresh enough to upset the odds in their tournament opener.
Venue and Conditions
The Feroz Shah Kotla stadium is known for producing dry and dusty first class pitches and while the T20 track isn’t going to turn square from ball one, runs are traditionally hard to come by.
2012’s IPL proved that a par score is around 150 – 155 so don’t expect a run feast in Saturday’s contest.
Match Odds
The Daredevils are favourites at 1.65 but seem to rely too heavily on Jayawardene, David Warner and a potentially patched up Sehwag. With Johan Botha coming in at number six against KKR, they have a long tail and the Royals look particularly generous at 2.44.
Top Delhi Batsman
Skipper Jayawardene stood out from his team mates with a sublime 66 on Wednesday and could be an obvious choice at 3.75 in the Fixed Odds market but if the Daredevils can prevent the Royals from taking an early wicket, David Warner should be able to play with more freedom. Warner looks the better bet here at odds of 3.75. Note – these are Fixed Odds prices; better prices may be available on the Exchange nearer start-time.
Top Rajasthan Batsman
Shane Watson will attract a lot of money in this market at 3.75 (on Fixed Odds) but fellow Aussie Brad Hodge has been in superb form in his freelance T20 activities over the last twelve months. After prolific displays in the Big Bash and Bangladesh Premier League, Hodge is the better option at odds of 5.0.
Recommended bet: Back Rajasthan Royals to win at 2.44.
Chennai Super Kings v Mumbai Indians
Start time; 15.30BST
TV: live on ITV4
Chennai
The two-time champions look like the team to beat once again and it is easy to see why. They have got the lot in terms of hitters, finishers, all-rounders, spinners and death bowlers. But they are not at full strength for this test. Faf du Plessis and Albie Morkel are unavailable. Du Plessis could be out for a month with injury while Morkel is on South African domestic duty. Nuwan Kulasekara and Akila Dananjaya will not be available for their home games as Sri Lankan players have been banned from playing in the state.
Mumbai
Mumbai are licking their wounds following a sorry loss to Bangalore when they appeared to be cruising to victory. They went down by two runs when needing 10 off the last over with seven wickets remaining. It was a rude awakening for Ricky Ponting, the Mumbai skipper, who was making his IPL debut. “I think I may have no finger nails left,” he said. There were some encouraging performances from Mumbai. Jasprit Bumrah, also on debut, took three wickets. Harbhajan Singh and Jacob Oram were also shrewd with the ball. Lasith Malinga is also set to return to the side after sitting out game one.
First-innings runs
Here are the first-innings scores from the 2012 season at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chepauk: 112-205-164-146-156-139-160-114-222-190. That is an average of 161. With the batting talent on show we should expect a total of 160 or more. Not surprisingly there is no rain forecast.
Match odds
Chennai are the 1.74 jollies for this one with the Indians approaching whopping status at 2.22. Granted the Super Kings more than live up to their name but should it be that a team with as many match winners as Mumbai – Tendulkar, Pollard, Sharma, Harbhajan, Malinga – are as big? One wonders whether there is a concerted effort to get Mumbai money. At the least we can trust Mumbai to trade as favourites and a back-to-lay is the order of the day as we would expect the odds to flip flop at some stage. Chennai are rusty compared to Mumbai. Mumbai won in Chennai last term and triumphed in the other group encounter. However, Chennai won in the knockouts.
Top Chennai runscorer
The Supers should have a top seven of Michael Hussey, Murali Vijay, Suresh Raina, Sub Badrinath, MS Dohni, Dwayne Bravo and Ravindra Jadeja. Useful, no? Dhoni top scored the last time the sides met with a half-century if that helps guide you through this embarrassment of riches. He is 4.50 at the moment but that will surely drift as it’s poor value. Vijay and Raina, 4.00 and 4.30, respectively may be the most popular choices.
Top Mumbai runscorer
Dinesh Karthik played superbly against Bangalore with 60 from 37 balls but he failed to finish the job. He is 4.50. Ponting and Tendulkar look criminally short at 3.50. Rohit Sharma is 4.30.
Recommended bet
Back-to-lay Mumbai at 2.22 to 1.80
On Behalf Of “” MILESEY “”
Plz send me tips