2025 IPL Cricket Betting Preview – Best Cricket Picks and Predictions

The biggest event on the cricket calendar begins on March 22, 2025 with the 18th renewal of the IPL. Seventy-four matches played over nine weeks, with at least one match every day until the final four match play-off series.

Cricket betting expert Paul Motty will be offering daily bets packages on the matches and providing free tips on the outright markets. To begin, here’s his 2025 IPL Cricket opening portfolio, to be updated throughout, and his ranking of the ten teams.

1. Sunrisers Hyderabad

Improved remarkably from bottom place in 2023 to runners-up last term, following major personnel changes.

Not only is the core of the side now settled, including arguably the strongest overseas contingent led by Pat Cummins, Travis Head and Heinrich Klaasen, a glaring weakness has been resolved. Sunrisers’ squad lacked the highest level of Indians, especially bowlers.

In response, they’ve bought the second best domestic paceman Mohammed Shami, last season’s top wicket-taker Harshal Patel and international batsman Ishan Kishan.

They must be stronger. If there’s a weakness, it will be managing an outstanding batch of overseas players, when only four can be selected per game.

For example in addition to the aforementioned trio, Aussie spinner Adam Zampa and Sri Lankan all-rounder Kamindu Mendis are top-drawer.

Recommended bets:

Sunrisers to win the title (+600)

Sunrisers to reach the final (+340)

2. Chennai Super Kings

Without question, the pedigree franchise in IPL history. In 15 seasons, CSK have won five titles and been runner-up five times.

Their plan is consistent. Bat deep, with aggressive all-rounders, a top-class spin contingent to utilise conditions at their home ground, and at least one economical death bowler.

This squad is lined up to deliver the plan, and is slightly stronger than last year with Devon Conway back from injury, Rachin Ravindra established as world-class and Khaleel Ahmed signed after an excellent season of death bowling for Delhi.

Having narrowly missed on last year’s play-offs due to some surprising late slip-ups, they are unlikely to repeat the mistake. A must for any shortlist.

3. Punjab Kings

I’m raising Punjab well above their position in the betting and ignoring a horrific tournament record, which has seen them reach only two play-offs in 17 attempts.

The reason is an outstanding draft, which saw them lose several underperforming or ageing players in exchange for three domestic signings of the highest quality – Shreyas Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal and Nehal Wadhera – plus a batch of top-class overseas stars led by Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis and Marco Jansen.

This means they can pick seven high-class Indians in each game and balance any line-up with top-class all-rounders. On paper at least, they look world-beaters.

4. Kolkata Knight Riders

The defending champions have been weak in the betting as bettors delivered their verdict on squad changes. Out go two of last season’s top-scoring batsmen, Phil Salt and Shreyas Iyer, while makeshift opener Sunil Narine cannot be expected to repeat his extraordinary return of 488 runs.

All negatives, for sure, but picks-ups Moeen Ali and Quinton de Kock have bags of pedigree in their own right, and focusing on last year’s top order overlooks the extraordinary versatility of this squad.

In Andre Russell and Rinku Singh, they have two of the game’s great finishers, yet whose batting heroics were rarely required last term.

In Varun Chakravarthy, KKR have India’s leading spinner and second highest wicket-taker in 2024. Rule them out at your peril.

5. Gujurat Titans

2024 was a terrible season for Gujurat, having led the points table in their first two, winning the title in 2022 and finishing runner-up in 2023.

There were mitigating circumstances, however, having sold key all-rounder Hardik Pandya without replacement and losing Shami to injury.

Relatively poor seasons from Rashid Khan and David Miller (now gone) left them extremely weak. Titans are stronger this term, after big-name signings Jos Buttler, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Glenn Phillips, Gerald Coetzee and Prasidh Krishna.

That may be too much churn for short-term dividends, but Buttler alongside Shubman Gill is probably the best opening partnership in the league.

6. Royal Challengers Bangalore

RCB have yet to win this title and are perennially over-bet, thanks to the leadership of God-like figure Virat Kohli. This squad doesn’t look anything like their best, leaving little reason to think they will improve.

If Salt and new skipper Rajat Patidar’s power-hitting compliments ever-reliable Kohli, they can set platforms for some strong finishers but, as usual, the bowling looks ordinary.

They spent big on the promising Rasikh Salam and need him to deliver. Given that his fellow strike bowlers are all overseas players and unlikely to play anything like the full quota of matches, he looks a solid bet for Top RCB Wicket Taker.

Recommended bet: Rasikh Salam for Top RCB Wicket-Taker (+430)

7. Mumbai Indians

By far the best value bet of any IPL market is backing these once tournament favourites to finish bottom at 25/1. Not because they necessarily will – although they were bottom both last year and in 2022 – but because their status and odds are totally wrong.

Mumbai are a big-name outfit with plenty of stars who have not gelled lately. Their key man is the irreplaceable, best bowler in the world, Jasprit Bumrah. He missed the ICC Champions Trophy due to a recurring back injury and will miss at least the opening matches of the IPL.

If Mumbai aren’t in contention, he may barely play at all, in order to stay fit for the national side. Their batting remains potentially superb, led by Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Rohit Sharma and strengthened by emerging superstar Ryan Rickelton from South Africa.

Hardik Pandya is a world-class all-rounder, albeit unproven as captain, and they have bought some good overseas spinners.

However it is hard to forget recent catastrophic seasons, or to downplay the significance of losing Bumrah.

8. Rajasthan Royals

Another side who seem highly unlikely to improve following the draft. Royals lost four stars in Buttler, Chahal, Trent Boult and Avesh Khan. In return they’ve gained classy overseas bowlers in Fazalhaq Farooqi, Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana.

That amounts to a deficit but one positive is that they can pick a high-class top-five Indian batsmen in return for juggling those overseas bowlers.

With that in mind, Sandeep Sharma stands out at 8/1 to top their bowling list. He bowls well at the death, returning a decent 13 wickets from 11 starts last term, and seems bound to be a mainstay in this line-up now. Overall, Rajasthan look better than their position as tournament outsiders but unlikely to contend.

Recommended bet: Sandeep Sharma for Top Rajasthan Wicket-Taker (+850)

9. Delhi Capitals

Another perennial failure, never winning an IPL and reaching only one final in 17 attempts, Delhi demonstrate how this is a less wide-open event than implied in the betting.

They weren’t terrible last year, thanks in no small part to some heroic hitting from youngster Jake Fraser-McGurk at the top of the order. The Aussie hasn’t carried on in that vein though and they’ve lost Pant, impressive death bowler Khaleel Ahmed and now critical new signing Harry Brook.

Much now depends on veteran batters K.L. Rahul and Faf du Plessis, who may open together if JFM is out of touch.

The only positive for my money is the signing of Mohit Sharma, and he’s rock-solid value to be their top wicket-taker.

Recommended bet: Mohit Sharma for Top Delhi Wicket-Taker (+1000)

10. Lucknow Super Giants

After making the play-offs in their first two seasons, Lucknow went backwards last term and they look considerably weaker this year. By my count, they lost nine significant players in the close season, in exchange for seven, five of whom are overseas players.

Besides Nicholas Pooran and Ayush Badoni, they are minus the entire batting line-up, two spinners, plus two strong death bowlers.

The only significant gain is Rishabh Pant, and that is balanced by their promising bowler Mayank Yadav being injured. Even if the changes eventually work out, this is too much, too soon. Strong contenders for bottom place.

Cricket FREE PICKS:

2% SUNRISERS HYDERABAD TO WIN TITLE @ +600 (Already advised)

2% SUNRISERS TO REACH FINAL @ +340 (FanDuel)

1% SUNRISERS HYDERABAD VS CHENNAI SUPER KINGS FINAL @ +2600 (FanDuel)

0.5% SUNRISERS HYDERABAD VS PUNJAB KINGS FINAL @ +4200 (FanDuel)

0.5% CHENNAI SUPER KINGS VS PUNJAB KINGS FINAL @ +3100 (FanDuel)

1% MUMBAI INDIANS TO FINISH BOTTOM @ +2500 (Draftkings)

1.5% RASIKH SALAM FOR TOP RCB WICKET-TAKER +430 (FanDuel)

1% SANDEEP SHARMA FOR TOP RAJASTHAN WICKET-TAKER @ +850 (FanDuel)

1% MOHIT SHARMA FOR TOP DELHI WICKET-TAKER @ +1000 (FanDuel)

Get premium cricket picks from Paul Motty, one of the industry’s best using the button below!

Cricket In-Play Betting

Whilst there are dozens of pre-match cricket markets, the majority of betting action tends to take place in-running. These are the main markets offered in-play.

1: Money Line

2: Total team runs (over/under)

3: Next over/next 10 overs runs (over/under)

4: Batsman runs (over/under)

5: Method of next dismissal

Why Bet On Cricket?

Over a 40 year career betting on sports, I have long concluded this was the best one for betting purposes? Here’s why.

1: Knowledge is power. The rules of cricket, and the dynamics, are relatively complicated and reward the expert. Like most sports, most viewers are doing so for entertainment. They aren’t going to study the statistics at each ground, or of each player, or to be relentlessly following the wider conditions. Those who do will gain a big edge.

2: Conditions are critical. In cricket, the weather or pitch conditions have a transformative effect. Consider this example.

At a ground such as Headingley in England, sunny conditions on day one of a test match usually mean a par total is beyond 450. 600 is possible.

Yet if it is cloudy overhead, the ball tends to swing prodigiously through the air, favouring the bowlers. In this case, the par score falls to 200, and 50 is possible.

Compare that to a more simple sport, such as soccer. Weather conditions, the size of the pitch, the state of the turf, only make a marginal difference.

3: Those conditions change constantly. Understanding the effect and knowing how to exploit that information for betting gain is priceless. That applies pre-match but especially in-running. 

Conditions can change dramatically within minutes. Over the course of a five day test, they will change multiple times.

There will be periods during an innings where the bowlers have the upper hand, because of the overhead conditions, or because a dry pitch is offering pace bowlers ‘reverse swing’ or sharp turn for spin bowlers.

At others, pitch conditions will be benign, favour the batters and be conducive to high scoring. Each change could transform the match situation and betting, offering big rewards for those who can predict the change.

4: The above dynamics tend to make for betting volatility. In five day test matches, momentum tends to swing back and forth. So too in T20 to a considerable extent, but much less so in ODIs. The maxim ‘Back High, Lay Low’ sounds simplistic, but I can attest it absolutely pays off in cricket. Huge-priced upsets in play, or turnarounds, are frequent. This is rarely a sport in which betting at short odds-on makes sense.

5: There is a wealth of statistics to exploit. Cricket is a very stats-oriented sport, and anyone can access those stats easily and free of charge, via websites such as cricinfo.com.

There, one can find the career records of any player, team or ground. How does a particular bowler fare at a particular ground, or against a particular team? Which batsmen fare best against pace bowling, or spin? Which players have a good record facing another?

Furthermore, doing this research isn’t especially time-consuming. Most professional cricketers play all year round, either for their country or for multiple franchise teams. Watch cricket regularly, and you will soon get to know the players, their characteristics, strengths and weaknesses.

Cricket Betting Strategies

1: Back franchises with winning pedigree. The betting on T20 leagues tends to be very close, implying they are wide-open. This simply isn’t true. The formbook stands up. 

Take the Indian Premier League (IPL). When this ten team event starts, the favourite is usually around 5/1 and the outsider around 10/1. Yet in 15 seasons, Chennai Super Kings have won five titles and been runner-up 5 times.

In 17 seasons, Mumbai Indians have won five titles and reached 10 play-offs (top-4 finish). But Punjab Kings have never won in 17 seasons and only reached 2 play-offs. Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore have also never won the title in 17 attempts.

These are not coincidental numbers. There is an art to running a franchise, selecting well at the draft, balancing a side. Success breeds success. T20 is no lottery.

2: Back results at enhanced odds in-play during test matches. Usually, pitches deteriorate and get harder for batting as the game progresses.

As mentioned above, momentum tends to shift in-play, as conditions changes. If batting is easy early in the game, the draw odds will likely shorten.

Here’s a successful system that I pioneered on the Cricket Only Bettor podcast, which has paid dividends for several years. 

As the match starts, or after the toss has been made, take the starting price for the two positive results and double them. Wait until each team’s odds reach that calculation, then back them if and when hitting the target price. Back both to return the same. For example:

England +100 (target price is +200)

Australia +200 (target price is +400)

Draw +400

Set target to back England 5 units @ +200

Set target to back Australia 3 units @ +400

In the worst case scenario, you will hit both targets, the result is a draw, and lose 8 units. Another losing scenario involves hitting only one target, and in this case losing either 3 or 5 units.

If hitting both targets, either positive result yields 7 units profit. To reiterate, this has proven highly profitable since I invented the system.

3: Always keep a batting collapse onside. Whilst there are plenty of situations where backing ‘overs’ on runs is a smart play, I would argue ‘unders’ more often represents value. Why? Because bettors prefer psychologically to bet overs, and with each run scored, the market ticks up.

The nature of cricket, however, means that when wickets fall, they tend to fall in clusters. In a test match, if the batting side is 100 for 1 wicket (100-1), and the par line is 400, under 300 will be big odds – lets say +600. Under 250 will be +2000.

But conditions can change in the bowlers favour. One breakthrough transforms their mindset and conditions suddenly becomes very hard for the replacement batters.

In less than an hour, the score changes from 100-1, to 150-5. Now that 250 line is an even money chance. 

That scenario is not particularly extreme. It happens regularly. My strong advice is to always keep ‘extreme unders’ onside. Small risk for big reward. The classic cricket betting strategy.

Any questions? Want to discuss further? Feel free to reach out to @paulmotty via Twitter/X.

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