Make your weekend perfect by placing these three bets from the Chennai vs Punjab encounter

BySBO Top, SportsCafe Editor

10/31/2020

One round to go, a spot in the final four up for the taking and Chennai in their way - it is all to play for, for Punjab come Sunday at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Kings can strike jackpot with a win, but so can you, the punter, regardless of the result - by just placing these three bets.

Chennai to restrict Glenn Maxwell under 16.50 runs @ 1.83

Fair to say Glenn Maxwell has been quite the disappointment for Punjab this season, after being bought for a hefty sum of 10.5 crore. Bought for his batting ability, his skill to bowl with the new ball has been his only saving grace and quite honestly, it’s a miracle that he’s managed to play every game this season. So let’s shift our focus to this bet. Will Chennai be able to restrict Maxwell under 16.50 runs? Absolutely - that’s what the numbers say. Across 12 innings this season, Maxwell has scored a meagre 108 runs at an average of 15.42. All season, Maxwell has managed to score over 16.50 runs just ONCE and barring the 32 he scored against Delhi three games ago, his recent scores read 6*, 12, 0, 10*, 11* and 11. The issue for Maxwell is that, aside from himself being in bad touch, the prodigal form of the Top three has meant that he’s hardly got time to get his eye in. In the last game, for instance, he only faced six balls and a similar tale ensued in the reverse fixture vs Chennai, where he got to face just 7 balls and score 11 runs. Maxwell not scoring over 16.50 is almost a certainty, thus just hop onto to SBOTOP to place this bet ASAP.

Highest individual score over 67.50 @ 1.83

Usually each bet has one or two enticing reasons that makes it worth taking a punt, but in this case, there are three reasons - CSK’s recent trend, Punjab’s seasonal trend and the Abu Dhabi factor. Let’s get to the venue, first. Abu Dhabi, interestingly, has been the most consistent and batting-friendly wicket all tournament and what this has meant is more batsmen getting their eye in and posting high scores. Across the last four games at this venue, there have been five individual scores over 67.50 and the last two games alone have seen two 67.50+ scores being posted. The game on Friday between Kings and Royals also saw Gayle (99) post a score north of 67.50. What makes this even more interesting is CSK’s recent trend. Across their last two games, twice CSK have had one batsman (Gaikwad) bat deep and in only their last game, the youngster struck a match-winning 72. Punjab, as we know, boast of batsmen who just love to score big - Four of their batsmen have posted individual scores of 67.50+ this season - and so it is almost certain that on Sunday, there will at least be one batsman in the game with a high score over 67.50. In their last H2H clash, there were two individual scores over 80 and another individual score of 63. That pretty much seals the deal. Head to SBOTOP to capitalize on this golden opportunity right away.

MS Dhoni to score under 18.5 @ 1.83

“Will we see the special Dhoni knock today?” is a question that has come out of every commentator’s mouth at some point in every match this season, yet 13 games in, there seems to be no sign of vintage Dhoni making a late appearance. Put simply, IPL 2020 has been a struggle for the Chennai skipper. With no fifties to his name, Dhoni has averaged just 25 this season but it’s the recent trend that’s worrying. Across his last 8 innings in this IPL, once thrice has Dhoni scored over 18.50 runs and in his last encounter, the right-hander was dismissed for just 1 run. Unlike Maxwell, thanks to top-order failures, Dhoni has actually had plenty of time to get runs under his belt, and he’s failed at doing the same. A major reason why this bet is a clever one is because of Dhoni’s struggles against leg-spinners. Since the start of IPL 2018, the CSK skipper has been dismissed 8 times by leggies - 5 more than any other bowler type - and what will work against it is Punjab boasting two wicket-taking leggies (Ashwin and Bishnoi) in their line-up. Dhoni’s last outing against leg-spin twins (vs Royals) was a monumental struggle, so Chennai fans, be prepared for the worst come Sunday. If you want some solace, however, you can always get on SBOTOP and bet against your Thala to make a quick buck.