Punjab Kings vs Chennai Super Kings Betting Tips 16/04/2021

17:49, 15 Apr 2021

Senior Author

17:49, 15 Apr 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.

Punjab Kings and Chennai Super Kings will face each other in the 8th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 match on April 16 (Friday) at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The match is scheduled to start at 7:30pm IST.

Teams Status

Punjab Kings were lucky to win their first match of the tournament. They were within one Sanju Samson hit of seeing their 222-run target tracked down. Their batting had done quite well, especially captain KL Rahul and middle-order batsman Deepak Hooda. Rahul had smashed a 50-ball 90 and Hooda’s whirlwind 64 off just 28 deliveries had given Punjab a sizable tally.

In the bowling department, Mohammad Shami and Arshdeep Singh were the standout performers for Punjab, taking two and three wickets each. The other three bowlers, though, were pretty ordinary, combining to leak a total of 147 runs in their allotted 12 overs.

The Kings have a decent batting unit, which also boasts Chris Gayle aka the Universe Boss. However, their bowling is missing a true superstar and it could see them concede more runs than they like as the tournament progresses and the legs get heavier.

Chennai Super Kings, the three-time former champions, had their worst-ever campaign last season, finishing second-last on the points table. Their bid to get back among the contenders this year got off to a bad start as they lost their tournament opener Delhi Capitals, whose opening pairing of Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan proved the difference.

Where the Capitals’ openers had formed a 138-run stand in the successful run chase, CSK’s starting duo of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf du Plessis had failed miserably, contributing a 5 and a duck respectively. If it wasn’t for the middle-order’s rescue act, the match could have been far more lopsided.

The other cause of concern for the MD Dhoni-led side was their bowling. Chris Woakes and Avish Khan were excellent but everyone else was taken for runs at will.

Against Punjab’s stacked top-order, CSK ball hurlers will have to be on their game.

What Do the Sportsbooks Say?

Brand	Home team name	Away team name
	1.9	1.9
	1.9	1.9
	1.79	2.00

Both the teams are priced evenly at 1.9 on 22Bet as well as Bet365. LeoVegas, though, sees Punjab Kings (1.79) as the minor favourites compared to CSK (2.0).

Tipster’s Angel

Tip: Total runs over 339.5 – Yes @ 1.8

CSK did not have the best of the times last season while Punjab Kings have long been the also-rans of the IPL. That said, both sides have enough star power and depth in their respective batting units to make it a regular, run-of-the-mill IPL-style run-fest.

Thus, backing both the sides to combine for 340 or more is not a risky play at all. Not at odds of 1.8.

Tip: Kings XI Punjab Total runs in first 6 overs under 43.5 – Yes @ 2.5

Both Punjab openers failed in the last game, combining for five runs off 11 balls and leaving the team at 7-2. The poor start put pressure on the rest of the batting line-up. There is a good chance that in order to atone for that performance (or lack thereof), they would play a bit more cautiously, especially early on. That could, in theory, mean that runs may not come easily in the first few overs, which is why this play seems interesting.

Conclusion

This is a toss-up really. Any of these two can win, depending on which gets the luck to bend on their side. With a gun to the head, we’ll back Punjab Kings to get the job done against an ageing CSK side.