The Indian Premier League offers bigger and better online betting action than any other domestic Twenty20 cricket competition in the world. Read on for all you need to know about having a punt on the IPL, including where you can bet safely with Australian dollars on the Web.
Best IPL betting sites for Australians
William Hill – Britain’s best-known bookmaker launched an Australian branch in 2015 and hasn’t looked back since. Keen punters can enjoy highly competitive odds and a host of year-round betting specials, while new customers can score up to $700 in bonus bets just for signing up and making a deposit.
CrownBet – The amalgamation of BetEasy and Crown Resorts has spawned an ever-growing giant of the Australian online gambling industry. The desktop site is attractive and easy to use, the mobile platforms are convenient and intuitive, and the CrownBet Rewards scheme offers great incentives for regular punters.
Sportsbet – Owned by Irish giants Paddy Power, the Sportsbet brand is now the most recognisable on the Australian punting scene. It’s mobile betting apps for iOS and Android are among the best in the business, as is the $501 free bet welcome package for new punters.
Bet365 – For global reach, few bookies can compete with Bet365.com. It might not have the most attractive website (nor the best advertising campaigns), but it delivers great odds on a wide range of sports markets day in, day out.
Luxbet – Tabcorp’s online betting brand is one of the best for T20 cricket, offering a huge spread of futures and match markets for the IPL, Big Bash, and many other leagues. Create a new account and add some cash to collect a $500 match deposit bonus.
How to bet on IPL cricket
If you’ve never bet on the Indian Premier League before, the sheer spread of options at our safe T20 betting sites will be enough to boggle the mind at first sight. Once you understand the difference between the various market types, however, it’s a piece of cake. Here’s how they work.
Head-to-head betting
These are the simplest IPL bets on offer. All you have to do is pick who will win the match: Team A or Team B. The favourite is whichever side is paying the lowest odds for the win. For example, if Gujarat Lions are $1.85 and Delhi Daredevils are $2.05, the Lions are favourites to win the match.
Match markets
Head-to-head bets aren’t the only wagers listed as match markets by online bookmakers. Other options include:
– Which team will have the highest opening partnership?
– Which team will score the most runs in the first six overs?
– Which team will hit the most fours?
– Which team will hit the most sixes?
– Which team will win the coin toss?
– Which team will have the top-scoring batsman?
– Will there be a half-century scored?
– Will there be a century scored?
Over/under wagers
Another popular form of match betting is over/under lines. These can cover all manner of propositions, but the premise is always the same: you must pick whether a team or player scores over or under a certain amount.
For example, let’s say we want to bet on the total number of runs Royal Challengers Bangalore will score against Mumbai Indians. The options are over 165.5 runs and under 165.5 runs. If we choose over 165.5, RCB must score at least 166 runs; and if we choose under 165.5, they must score 165 runs or fewer.
Popular IPL lines include:
– Over/under total team score
– Over/under total match sixes
– Over/under total match fours
– Over/under total player score
– Over/under first over runs
First innings bets
These wagers are a vestige of Test cricket betting, where markets are often split into first innings and second innings bets. As such, many of the options traditionally listed under this category are effectively match wagers in T20 cricket (highest opening partnership, any player to score a century, et cetera).
However, there are a number of ‘true’ first innings exotics that apply only to what happens in the first 20 overs of the game – regardless of which team bats and which team bowls. For instance:
– Fall of the first wicket
– Mode of dismissal for the first wicket
– Number of runs scored in first over
– Direction of the first boundary
Player betting
Betting on the performance of individual players is now the main attraction in many team sports, and Twenty20 cricket is no exception. You can pick who will top score for the match, or who will take the most wickets for their team, or even back one star to outshine another in a head-to-head battle. Most IPL bookies will feature markets like:
– Top team batsman
– Top team bowler
– Top match batsman
– Top match bowler
– Man of the match
– Player vs. player total runs
– Top team batsman/bowler double
IPL futures markets
Futures and outright bets can be placed several months in advance, sometimes just days after the previous tournament’s conclusion. They cover ‘big picture’ outcomes across the entire competition, rather than one-off results or specific incidents within a match. Major T20 outright markets include:
– Which team will win the title?
– Which teams will reach the final?
– Which teams will make the playoffs?
– Who will score the most runs for the tournament?
– Who will take the most wickets for the tournament?
2017 Indian Premier League teams
The make-up of the IPL has undergone some significant changes since the competition’s launch in 2008. The likes of Deccan Chargers and Pune Warriors have folded in recent years, while big wigs Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals are currently serving suspensions. Here’s how the field will look for the 2017 IPL season.
Delhi Daredevils
Home ground: Feroz Shah Kotla
Coach: Paddy Upton
Captain: Zaheer Khan
Best result: Semifinals (2008, 2009)
Since reaching the semis in the first two seasons of IPL cricket, it’s been lean pickings for India’s capital franchise. Another mediocre campaign in 2016 means they have now reached the finals only once in the past seven years. Some fresh blood is needed.
Gujarat Lions
Home ground: SCA Stadium
Coach: Brad Hodge
Captain: Suresh Raina
Best result: Qualifying final (2016)
The Lions made their debut in IPL 2016 and very nearly went on to snatch the title, falling to a rampaging Royal Challengers in the penultimate game of the season. With an experienced playing group and a young coach who knows T20 cricket inside-out, they could go deep again in 2017.
Kings XI Punjab
Home ground: PCA Stadium
Coach: Sanjay Bangar
Captain: Murali Vijay
Best result: Runners-up (2014)
No IPL franchise is under more pressure to perform than KXIP, who have reached the playoffs only twice in nine campaigns. They very nearly won it in 2014, thanks in no small part to Glenn Maxwell’s chaotic slogging, but have followed up with back-to-back wooden spoons.
Kolkata Knight Riders
Home ground: Eden Gardens
Coach: Jacques Kallis
Captain: Gautam Gambhir
Best result: Champions (2012, 2014)
It was a slow start to Premier League life for KKR, but two titles in three years have seen them emerge as one of the competition’s more fashionable outfits. Although they haven’t made the final since 2014, the outlook is good with South African legend Jacques Kallis at the helm.
Mumbai Indians
Home ground: Wankhede Stadium
Coach: Ricky Ponting
Captain: Rohit Sharma
Best result: Champions (2013, 2015)
The comeback kids stunned Indian cricket in 2015 when, after losing five of their first six games, they roared home to smash Super Kings in the final and win their second IPL crown. Their title defence was poor, however, so Ricky Ponting and company will be looking for more consistency going forward.
Rising Pune Supergiants
Home ground: MCA Stadium
Coach: Stephen Fleming
Captain: MS Dhoni
Best result: League stage (2016)
Whereas Gujarat flourished in their maiden season, the Supergiants flopped to a seventh-place finish. Injuries were to blame, as overseas stars Faf du Plessis, Mitchell Marsh, Kevin Pietersen and Steven Smith missed most of the campaign. They should improve in 2017.
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Home ground: M. Chinnaswamy Stadium
Coach: Daniel Vettori
Captain: Virat Kohli
Best result: Runners-up (2009, 2011, 2016)
When you look at RCB’s squad, it’s hard to fathom how they haven’t yet won the IPL title. The current triumvirate of Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers may be the most frightening top three in the history of cricket.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Home ground: Ravij Gandhi Stadium
Coach: Tom Moody
Captain: David Warner
Best result: Champions (2016)
Sunrisers claimed their maiden title in 2016 with a stunning performance against Bangalore in the final. The Aussie leadership combination of Moody and Warner appears to be working a treat, with the latter’s fearless captaincy matching his powerful top-order hitting.