Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bangalore Betting Tips 03/05/2021

02:54, 2 May 2021

Senior Author

02:54, 2 May 2021

Zohaib Ahmed is a sports journalist whose profession is to report and edit but whose passion is to predict and bet. He’s been in the industry for more than a decade and has worked/written for various bookmakers/tipsters. His expertise is in cricket, football, MMA, boxing and basketball.

The 30th fixture of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 sees Kolkata Knight Riders take on Royal Challengers Bangalore on May 3 (Monday) at Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera, Ahmedabad. The match is scheduled to start at 7:30pm IST.

Teams Status

Kolkata Knight Riders

All is not right in KKR camp and it came out in the aftermath of their defeat to Delhi Capitals on Thursday – their fifth defeat in seven matches this season. Coach Brendon McCullum was scathing in his criticism, saying: “If you can’t change a man, change the man” as he warned the failing regulars that their days in the playing XI could be numbered.

McCullum’s message was for KKR openers Shubman Gill and Nitish Rana, the former of whom has scored just 132 runs all season at an average of 19 and also a lowly strike rate.

Rana has fared little better as he has 201 to his name at a strike rate of 122.56, which led their Kiwi coach to point out that his batters “didn’t play enough shots” and that “it’s become a bit of a theme.”

It remains to be seen what changes McCullum ends up making that could save KKR’s season. Currently, they are sixth on the points table behind only Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Like KKR, Royal Challengers Bangalore, too, are coming off of a defeat. But while KKR were always the second favourites against Delhi, RCB were expected to beat Punjab Kings but instead ended up losing in an upset.

The RCB bowlers had a bad first half of the innings as they fell prey to Chris Gayle and KL Rahul. They fared better in the second half, restricting KPBKS to 179. In response, RCB had a nightmare of a start as their big name batsmen all struggled and vanished one by one, resulting in a 34-run defeat, which could have been an even bigger loss, had the tail not added 50 runs for the seventh wicket.

Despite the defeat, RCB are near the top of the table and could see the KKR defeat as a minor hiccup in an otherwise successful campaign.

What Do the Sportsbooks Say?

Brand	Home team name	Away team name
	2.20	1.66
	2.205	1.67
	2.08	1.72

It takes no genius to find out who the favourite will be here. RCB are priced at 1.67 on 22Bet, 1.66 on Bet365 and 1.72 on LeoVegas. Meanwhile, KKR are available for 2.08 on LeoVegas, 2.20 on Bet365 and 2.205 on 22Bet.

Tipster’s Angel

Tip: Royal Challengers to Win @ 1.67

KKR are in tatters right now, with their openers just not clicking, something that puts a tremendous amount of strain on the batters that follow. Coach McCullum has threatened changes but we look at their roster and aren’t sure who he could bring in to make a difference.

Tip: Top batsman for KKR – Eoin Morgan @ 5.5

With the top order failing with such consistence, one option for KKR could be for their captain and best batsman, Eoin Morgan, to promote himself up the other. It could leave the side lighter in the middle and lower order but KKR’s current agenda is to get their front few working. If Morgan goes up the order, gets more overs and playing time, he could very well be KKR’s best performer.

Conclusion

In the head-to-head record, there is little to choose as KKR has 14 wins while RCB has 13. The number needs evening up and that might happen at the end of this upcoming game.