IPL 2024: Delhi Capitals vs Lucknow Super Giants Best Bets

Two teams with slim hopes of making the playoffs go head-to-head in Match 64 of IPL 2024 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Tuesday. The Capitals need to win big and hope an improbable sequence of other results falls in their favour to have a shot at finishing in the top four while LSG have a slightly better chance. Let’s look at the betting preview and best bets for this encounter.

Venue: Arun Jaitley

Betting Preview

Delhi Capitals enter this match as favourites, buoyed by their formidable batting lineup and the high-scoring nature of their home ground, Arun Jaitley Stadium. This season, the venue has averaged a first innings score of 242, with the lowest being 221, perfectly aligning with Delhi’s strengths; they’ve won four of their five home matches. Their only loss at home came against Hyderabad, who set a towering 266/7. Despite their home form, Delhi has struggled on the road, placing them fourth in run rate this season, trailing behind KKR, SRH, and RCB.

Delhi’s revival in 2024 has been dramatic, initially struggling before Ricky Ponting’s pivotal decision to bring in Australian youngster Jake Fraser-McGurk. Fraser-McGurk has been a game-changer, scoring 330 runs at a strike rate of 237.41. His presence has allowed Delhi’s bowlers to exert more pressure, although they have the league’s highest economy rate at 10.16. Axar Patel, however, has been exceptional with his economical left-arm spin, and his leadership in the last game, stepping in for the suspended Rishabh Pant, highlighted his crucial role.

On the other hand, Lucknow has had a quieter, inconsistent season. They started strongly but have faltered recently, including a recent defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad. Hyderabad chased down Lucknow’s 165 in just 9.4 overs, showcasing Lucknow’s bowling vulnerabilities; Krishnappa Gowtham was the only bowler with an economy rate under 15 RPO. 

If the game leans towards aggressive batting, Lucknow may need to adjust their strategy, as three of their top five run-scorers have strike rates under 140, and their bowlers average only 5.25 wickets per match, the lowest in the league. Yash Thakur, despite being their top wicket-taker, has an expensive economy rate of 10.36. The strategy under coach Justin Langer is yet to deliver the expected results.

So far, the side batting first has won on all four occasions at this venue, but it might not matter this time as we believe Delhi Capitals will be too strong for Lucknow. Back the home side to win.

Prediction: Delhi Capitals to win at 1.74.

Key Battle: Lucknow might not have had their best season, but one man who has managed to keep them in games is Nicholas Pooran, with 363 runs at 60.50 this season. He struggled against left-arm leg-spin, though, having only scored 49 from 59 balls in T20s while being dismissed six times. Kuldeep Yadav will be the man to turn to, having removed Pooran five times in all T20 cricket while going for 52 from 57 balls. 

Key Stats

The average powerplay score at this venue is 48 this season, up from 54 last year and 49 across the entire IPL.

Jake Fraser-McGurk has been incredible during the powerplay, scoring 266 runs at 15.34rpo during that phase.

Lucknow has played Delhi three times in its history, winning every clash. 

Marcus Stoinis has scored 355 runs this season from 12 innings; however, 244 have come in just three innings. He averages just 15.8 (5-79) in all T20s against the last set of Delhi bowlers.

The five bowlers that Lucknow used in their most recent match have collective figures of 5/14 from 23 balls bowled to David Warner in all T20s.

Ravi Bishnoi has bowled 19 overs between the 7th and 11th this season.

He’s only taken two wickets at an average of 71.

Since 2019, Lucknow has won 58% of matches when entered as outsiders, while Delhi has won 56% as favourites. 

Axar Patel v Marcus Stoinis in T20s: 22 runs from 38 balls with two wickets. 

Best Bets

Best Bet: Highest individual score to be over 81.5 at 1.86.

Value Bet: Kuldeep Yadav to be Delhi Capitals top bowler at 3.40.