IPL Rajasthan v Bengaluru: Latest Odds & Analysis

Rajasthan v Bengaluru predictions: 

• RCB to hit the most sixes - 1.66 @ 22Bet Sports
• Tom Kohler-Cadmore under 22.5 runs - 1.83 @ 22Bet Sports
• Trent Boult under 20.5 PP points - 1.83 @ 22Bet Sports

When: Wednesday 22 May, 7:30pm IST

Where: Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad

Watch: Star Sports and JioCinema

Best Odds: Rajasthan 2.1, Bengaluru 1.73

The franchise nicknames of these two sides - Royals and Royal Challengers - already lends weight to expectations of a battle of monarchs.

In this cut-throat 2024 Indian Premier League eliminator, one of Rajasthan Royals or Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will be exiting the tournament in a classic clash between the kings of the first half of the season, and the dominant force of the second.

Thanks to their stellar momentum of six straight wins heading into the playoffs, RCB have been graded as warm favourites by cricket betting sites and are now the third most likely to lift the trophy this Sunday according to IPL betting markets. 

Rajasthan had a late season stumble with four consecutive losses but showed early in the season that they’re capable of defeating anyone, and they still have the services of all but one (Jos Buttler) of their strongest XI.

The Numbers That Matter

• The betting outsider won ten of RCB’s 14 matches this year
• Four of the last five H2Hs were also won by the underdog
• Riyan Parag and Virat Kohli top scored for their teams six and five times this season
• Yash Dayal took 2+ wickets in three of his last four games but averages 83 in Ahmedabad

Six kings during six in a row

• RCB struck the most match sixes in each of their last five games

After studying each of the additional markets offered by our favourite cricket betting apps outside of the traditional match winner, we've identified one where RCB reign supreme, particularly during their resurgence. 

RCB finished the league stage as the team with the most sixes (15.47 per innings) of the competition, even overtaking a Sunrisers Hyderabad outfit that broke all kinds of run scoring records in 2024. 

They cleared the ropes at least 16 times in five of their last eight games, including the memorable loss to Sunrisers when coming close to chasing 288. 

Kohli led the way with 21 sixes during their six straight victories, but his compatriot Rajat Patidar was not far off with 18, and Patidar’s rise throughout the second half of the campaign has been a crucial part of the team’s success.

But as a result of their bowlers conceding ten or fewer sixes in each of their six consecutive victories, they were able to ‘win’ the six count five times during that period.

Rajasthan, on the other hand, scored only 38 sixes in the last six rounds compared with RCB’s 75, which is an enormous gap between the two teams even when taking into account Rajasthan having one game abandoned.

Good luck to you if you attempt to pick a winner in this one - this appears to have a better likelihood for its price than RCB winning the game.

Prediction: RCB to hit the most sixes - 1.66 @ 22Bet Sports

Headline 2

Tom Kohler-Cadmore was drafted in later in the season when it became apparent that Jos Buttler would miss the playoffs through international duty and/or parental leave, and was cruelly denied the opportunity to settle in by the uncooperative Guwahati weather.

That would have given him a valuable chance to sharpen up against one of the league’s most potent bowling attacks (Kolkata) before facing one that doesn’t fare as well as the Knight Riders when it comes to wickets or economy.

Recently explaining to the host broadcaster of the IPL how much he has learned just by observing the game from the sidelines and as a training squad member prior to his debut, the affectionately dubbed ‘TKC’ insists he’s improving off the field despite some poor numbers in 2024.

Kohler-Cadmore’s previous T20 stint prior to the IPL was in the Pakistan Super League, where he couldn’t clear the 22.5 run mark set by betting sites in India for this game on six of eight occasions. 

Against a team that’s arguably currently the best in the league and the most confident, it would need a phenomenal effort from him to make an impactful score in just his second IPL appearance after months of low returns.

Prediction: Tom Kohler-Cadmore under 22.5 runs - 1.83 @ 22Bet Sports

Boult’s bothersome numbers

Speaking of below-par returns, Trent Boult certainly hasn’t been anywhere near his best, has he?

He and South African fast bowler Nandre Burger had formed a formidable powerplay bowling partnership in the first half of the season, when Rajasthan were almost unbeatable, but his poor form has coincided with his team’s downfall.

Boult, who was retained to be their leading strike bowler, has since fallen behind Avesh Khan and Yuzvendra Chahal and has almost been caught by Sandeep Sharma, who has played five fewer matches.

The 34-year-old Kiwi was held to 0-1 wickets in ten of his 13 matches this season, so a smart play based on those numbers could be for Boult to score fewer than 20.5 ‘player performance’ points against RCB.

For those not familiar with the ‘player performance’ markets, a bookmaker awards each player 1 point per run, 10 per catch and 20 per wicket.

Taking under 20.5 allows him to take one wicket against RCB, accompanied by no catches or runs. 

He has batted only four times this year and taken only four catches, so the likelihood of him adding to his wicket count appears low. 

When compared with a price of 1.44 for him to take under 1.5 wickets, this is excellent value.

Prediction: Trent Boult under 20.5 PP points - 1.83 @ 22Bet Sports