The Indian Premier League, commonly referred to as the IPL, is the most popular T20 cricket league in the world. While Test cricket and the ICC World Cup are still prominent cricket betting events, the IPL has grown into one of the most commonly wagered-upon leagues in the sport.
In 2008, the Indian Premier League began and quickly became the largest cricket league on the planet, featuring a North American franchise system with now eight teams from Indian cities and states.
Understanding How To Bet On The IPL: Twenty20 Format
The T20 cricket format is one of the newest versions of the sport. It originated in the early 2000s in an attempt to boost the game’s popularity with a new generation and to produce a faster-paced, more accessible and thrilling iteration of the centuries-old game.
This guide, which includes free cricket betting tips, will cover how to bet on IPL online or through betting apps, the different betting formats, and the intricacies of the league you should know about before you gamble on IPL cricket.
IPL Rules
The main difference between the IPL and other cricket formats like Test or ODI is the game length. In T20 IPL cricket, each team bats only once for a total of two innings, and each team bats for only 20 overs. The shortened game length should always be taken into account by fans and punters learning how to bet on IPL cricket.
Like many cricket formats, the IPL has unique fielding restrictions, but the T20 format also has other specific rules such as a bowling maximum. Bowlers in the IPL may bowl a maximum of four overs in an innings, meaning teams must rotate through bowlers fairly evenly. This is important for IPL bettors to note as it affects prop bets such as a star bowler’s ability to take the most wickets.
Another unique IPL/T20 rule is the tiebreaker. If an IPL match ends with a tied score, a “Super Over” or a one-over-per-side match crowns a Sportsbook.
IPL League Structure
The IPL is made up of eight teams, and each team plays every other team twice during a round-robin format. At the conclusion of the round-robin league stage, the top four teams qualify for the playoffs. The IPL playoffs are very exciting and can be a great place to start if you are just learning how to bet on the IPL and cricket predictions.
In the playoffs, the top two seeded teams play each other in a head-to-head match, with the Sportsbook going directly to the league final. The loser plays the Sportsbook of a match between the third and fourth seeds to determine the other entrant in the final.
What Teams Are In The IPL?
How To Read IPL Odds
Just like all sports betting lines, some IPL cricket betting markets may list match odds or betting lines in Decimal or Fractional odds, but Odds Shark and many American Sportsbooks use American odds.
American odds indicate the favorite with a negative (-) number and the underdog with a positive (+) number. The negative number is the amount you would need to bet on the favorite to win $100, and the positive number is how much money you would profit with a $100 bet on the underdog.
In the example above, when making a match prediction bet, if you were to bet $100 on the +170 underdog, the Delhi Capitals, and they were to win, you would profit $170 (receiving your $100 bet back, and $170 more). Betting $100 on the -200 favorite, the Mumbai Indians, you would profit $50 (getting back your $100 bet, and $50 more) if they were to win.
You can use our Odds Shark odds calculator to convert between odds formats and calculate potential profits when you are first learning how to bet on the IPL online.
How To Bet On The IPL And Win
Like any sport or league, there are unique bets for the T20 and IPL format that those learning how to bet on IPL cricket should familiarize themselves with to enhance their IPL wagering options. Even within the sport of cricket, there are some gambling formats or bets that are exclusive to or at the very least more common to the T20 or IPL formats. It is important for cricket bettors looking to get started to develop and utilize an IPL satta strategy.
Coin Toss
In all cricket formats, the Sportsbook of the IPL coin toss determines which side will begin batting and which side bowling. Though it may not be the best format to test your knowledge, this pre-match bet at most sportsbooks offers the ability to place a stake on which side will win the toss, and what the result of that toss will be (heads or tails).
In the IPL it is very rare for a team winning the toss to elect to bat first, and most of the winning sides elect to bowl. There is rarely a significant effect on the outcome of a match for winning the coin toss, but it can give a team a morale boost and give bettors the opportunity to start their day with a win.
Total Wickets
When researching how to bet on IPL cricket, you may come across various bet formats centered around the wickets taken. Most sportsbooks offer the ability to bet on which bowler will take the most wickets in an innings, which team will take the most wickets during the match, or a chance to specifically predict the number of wickets taken by a side or bowler.
Betting on wickets and runs in a specific over or innings are also common for live bettting to see how many punters can make during a cricket match.
Total Ducks
If you feel like a specific batsman will be severely outmatched during an IPL match, you can wager on ducks — a batsman being retired with a score of zero. Due to the shortened game format and more offensive pace, batsmen are often more aggressive in the IPL, giving a better opportunity for ducks.
Man Of The Match
Betting on an IPL man of the match allows those just learning how to bet on IPL cricket the opportunity to focus on the big names and the league’s stars. Predicting the man of the match does not require an in-depth knowledge of bowler/batsman matchups and statistics, and can be a fun prop bet if you want to cheer for a specific star player.
How To Bet On IPL Futures
With the IPL running from March until May every calendar year, futures bets give punters the opportunity to be invested in a player or team throughout the entire league year. Though there is no such thing as a risk-free bet, if you feel confident about a team’s success in the IPL, a championship future is the online betting format for you.
League Sportsbook Futures
The most popular long-term bet in almost any sports league, including the IPL, is betting on the league Sportsbook. Before and during the IPL season, fans can place bets online with ever-changing odds on who will hoist the Indian Premier League Trophy at the end of the season.
Individual IPL Awards
Alongside the team championship, a common route for those researching how to bet on IPL futures is in the individual batsman and bowler awards. The Orange Cap is awarded to the top batsman who scores the most total runs in a season, and the Purple Cap belongs to the top wicket-taking bowler. There is also an IPL tournament Most Valuable Player award determined by a league rating system.
Now that you are familiar with the different ways to bet on Indian Premier League cricket, you can read up on free IPL handicapping tips and begin to wager. While some fans may be researching how to bet on the IPL in India, there are ample online IPL betting sites available all over the world to place cricket bets and start to win.