IPL 2009 Betting - Tight Finish Predicted for Top Four
by Juris Graney
Mumbai Indians v Kings XI Punjab
Their last match was a thriller and that’s what all the signs on the cricket betting lines are pointing to when Mumbai Indians (-115) take on Kings XI Punjab (-125) today in Pretoria.
When they met in match 20 on April 29 at Durban, Punjab (P10/W5/L5) posted a less than imposing total of 8/118 off their 20 overs thanks to the sterling efforts of Lasith Malinga (2/12 off four overs), however tight bowling kept Mumbai (P10/W4/L5/NR1) to 7/116 with the win coming from the last ball of the over.
Mumbai will hence need Sanath Jayasuria (0) and Sachin Tendulkar (1) to fire this time around against Punjab’s opening pair of Irfan Pathan and Vikramjeet Malik who took their chances early and respectively dismissed the dangerous duo to have Mumbai 2/4 off 1.2 overs.
Losing two marquee players in eight balls was disastrous enough however they then fell behind the required rate at the half way mark with the score on 4/47.
A 49-run fifth wicket stand between South Africa’s JP Duminy and Abhishek Nayar took them to close to a win but they failed to find the boundary in the last two overs, something that is considered a serious faux pas in Twenty20 cricket.
Punjab were guilty however of not capitalising on a steady start and when needing to accelerate the run rate in the last five overs, they lost a steady stream of wickets as the batsmen, who struggled to score freely at the start of the innings were forced into desperate big shots to push along the run rate.
It’s the kind of finish that kept the players on edge and the sports betting punters hearts racing and why the Indian Premier League is so popular with the cricket loving community.
With just one point separating the two teams on the competition table, a win is imperative for both teams to sneak back into the top four.
At the moment they are both two wins away from securing a top four finish but the closeness of this competition means it will come down to run rates which is something Punjab (-0.44) is struggling to establish while Mumbai (+0.44) would certainly like to be over the +0.50 mark.
In form stakes, Punjab are coming off a narrow win against Deccan Chargers which ended a two game losing streak while Mumbai’s 16-run win over Bangalore snapped a three game losing streak.
Our tip is for Punjab to continue on the merry ways towards the semi-finals.
