IPL -Bangalore Royal Challengers v Rajasthan Royals (Jaipur)

 
THE Jaipur story is the story of the IPL so far. Shane Warne's team that everyone wrote off - as much as $18 in pre-tournament betting markets - has been the surprise packet and the feelgood story of the IPL. With two wins from three games - and set to retain big guns Shane Warne and Graeme Smith for the tournament despite big names from other teams leaving - Jaipur are suddenly very much in calculations as a dark-horse IPL winner. The manner of their extraordinary win the other night -  chasing down 214 with one ball to spare - shows that you can never write them off.

Warne has been able to mould a low-profile team into a real powerhouse. Warne's bowling and tactical nous, Smith's blitzkreig batting and Shane Watson allround assault are the keys for Jaipur. They take on a Bangalore side which has been a bit hit and miss but has been boosted by the late arrival of impressive Pakistani batsman Misbah-ul-Haq. Really there doesn't appear to be a struck match between these sides - and betting also suggests that - so we won't be touching the match head-to-head markets. For Bangalore, a lot depends on how South Africans Jacques Kallis and Mark Boucher go with the bat. And for Jaipur the same can be said of Smith and Watson. It is too hard to say who will come out on top here and the captaincy dual between Warne and Rahul Dravid could have a big say in the outcome. So stay away from the match betting - but the good news is we have found a terrific exotic bet to make money on.
 
 

OPENING ASSAULT
 

WE love South African Graeme Smith (Jaipur) as an opener in these Twenty20 games because he not only has brute batting firepower but he also has great street smarts. He is the sharpest international captain in world cricket (and that includes Ricky Ponting) and also knows his strengths and weaknesses back to front. Smith is in tip-top form - hammering 72 off 45 balls against Hyderabad the other night. He is keen to impress to take some of the publicity and attention away from teammate Warne as the two have never really seen eye to eye. The chances are Smith will open with hard-hitting Indian batsman Yusuf Pathan who is coming off a bruising 61 batting at No.3 the other night. Bangalore's probable openers Rahul Dravid and Shiv Chanderpaul are very good players but aren't suited to this crash-and-bash format. There is no time for anchoring an innings or laying a platform here and both Dravid and Chanderpaul are out of their comfort zone in the IPL. We really, really like the look of Jaipur's openers to outshine Bangalore's openers and we will be making this a 2 unit bet at $1.90 with Centrebet, Sportsbet or Lasseters.

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