The Royal Challengers Bangalore pulled off one of their best wins of the season over the weekend. So when RCB takes on the Kolkata Knight Riders in Match 36 on Wednesday, they will be looking to build on their success and continue their push towards the top four. Can they do it? Let’s take a closer look with our latest free cricket betting picks.
- What; 2023 Indian Premier League - Match 36
- Who; Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kolkata Knight Riders
- Where; M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, India
- When; Wednesday, April 26th, 2023
- Time; 10 am ET
The Royal Challengers Bangalore defeated the Rajasthan Royals by 7 runs in their last outing on Sunday. After posting 189/9, RCB may have been forgiven for thinking that wasn’t enough against a Royals side who have been one of the betting favorites to win the competition outright.
But thanks to an outstanding effort in the field, led by Harshal Patel with 3/32, RCB managed to restrict the in-form Jos Buttler and the rest of the Rajasthan Royals team to 182/6, giving Faf du Plessis’ team their fourth win of the season.
The Go Green Game did not disappoint! 💚
Our bowlers take us home in a thrilling contest, and we pick up back-to-back wins! 🙌#PlayBold #ನಮ್ಮRCB #IPL2023 #GoGreen #RCBvRR pic.twitter.com/N9Mz4fHQOC
— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) April 23, 2023
The win wasn’t enough to take the Challengers into the playoff positions. But it does keep them in touch with the top four. And a win over the Royals will be a confidence booster for any franchise in the IPL.
Betting to win the 2023 IPL
After beating one of the current favorites, and now sitting just outside the top 4 in the table, the Challengers are starting to close in on the betting favorites to win the IPL. At the moment, RCB are +500 to win the competition.
The favorites with the best online cricket betting sites are the Chennai Super Kings and the Gujarat Titans, both at +350. Following the leading two are the Rajasthan Royals at +375. Then comes RCB at +500, followed by Lucknow Super Giants at +600.
More betting to win the 2023 IPL can be found below in our cricket betting odds table. These odds are brought to you by some of the best online betting sites on the world wide web. More information about these sites can be found by reading our online sportsbook reviews page.
| Latest 2023 IPL Winner Betting Odds |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gujarat Titans | +350 | +350 | +350 |
| Chennai Super Kings | +350 | +350 | +350 |
| Rajasthan Royals | +375 | +375 | +375 |
| Royal Challengers Bangalore | +500 | +500 | +500 |
| Lucknow Super Giants | +600 | +600 | +600 |
| Mumbai Indians | +1100 | +1100 | +1100 |
| Punjab Kings | +1600 | +1600 | +1600 |
| Kolkata Knight Riders | +5000 | +5000 | +5000 |
| Sunrisers Hyderabad | +6600 | +6600 | +6600 |
| Delhi Captials | +6600 | +6600 | +6600 |
RCB are looking for some consistency
RCB will be looking for their third win in a row when they take on the Knight Riders. So far the Challengers have won four and lost three this season. The wins were against the Mumbai Indians (8 wickets), the Delhi Capitals (23 runs), the Punjab Kings (24 runs), and the Rajasthan Royals (7 runs).
The three defeats came at the hands of the Knight Riders (81 runs), Lucknow (1 wicket), and the Super Kings (8 runs). A win one lose one record, has pretty much been the story of RCB this season, and inconsistency has dogged them for some years now. This match against a struggling Kolkata really offers them a huge opportunity to get a run of wins going.
KKR need to find the winning formula again
On the flip side to RCB, the Knight Riders will be looking to end a losing streak of four straight losses. In total, Kolkata has only won two of their seven matches this season.
Their last win came in match 13, when they beat the Gujarat Titans by 3 wickets. This was the match of the IPL season. The Knight Riders needed 29 runs off the final over. But Rinku Singh somehow managed to hit the last five balls of the innings for six, to pull off an unbelievable win.
In hindsight, this now looks like a real smash and grab win - Kolkata have lost the following four. But at the time, the win looked like it might be a sign that KKR were going to be a force to be reckoned with in this year’s competition. They really need to win this match to get their season back on track again.
RCB vs KKR Match Betting
Can KKR do it? Well, the cricket betting odds are certainly giving them a chance. On the moneyline, BetOnline has the Knight Riders at +110, with the Royal Challengers Bangalore at -130.
Okay, so the Knight Riders aren’t the favorites. But they certainly aren’t being written off at those odds.
Our Pick
These two sides have already met once this season, and on that occasion, the Knight Riders won by a massive 81 runs. That was match 9 of the IPL though, and a lot has changed since that day.
El-Primero ends with a W pic.twitter.com/pgtiafQiaQ
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) April 6, 2023
RCB are challenging at the top end of the table and will no doubt be expecting to win this match. As for the Knight Riders, they could do with the win to put an end to their current losing streak. A win would also help them to avoid becoming cut adrift at the bottom of the table, along with the Sunrisers and the Capitals.
Unfortunately for fans of the Knight Riders, the signs aren't very good. In their last match against CSK, they were never really in the competition. Chasing CSK's total of 235/4, Kolkata slumped to 70/4. Only a bit of middle order resistance from Jason Roy (an opener by trade) and Rinku Singh prevented an absolute thrashing. In the end, they ended up losing by 49 runs, a big enough defeat!
We're not convinced that the odd cameo role from one of Roy, Singh, or Venkatesh Iyer, will be enough to beat RCB. The Knight Riders used Jason Roy at No.5 against CSK. And although Roy top scored with 61 (from just 26 balls), he is an opening batter. This sort of team selection says that KKR are all over the place with their thinking, and means a wager on the Royal Challengers Bangalore to win this match is the only viable pick.
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