Indian Premier League: Cricket’s High-Stakes Betting Extravaganza

As the 18^th edition of the IPL gets underway this week, we look at what interests the fans of cricket’s biggest event. Entain only operates in regulated or regulating markets, so we have no customers in India. All the data below refers to customers betting on the IPL from those markets, with the most popular being the UK, US, South Africa, and Canada.

The IPL is breaking all kinds of records for run scoring and high chases. Last year’s first innings average score was 191, easily the highest it has ever been, and the highest any T20 tournament has ever seen. It is one reason why these 74 games over two months make up almost a quarter of our annual cricket market and represent the biggest cricket betting event of the year.

Betting on cricket is as unique as the sport itself, with a focus on in-play staking where the amount of interest in the outcome tends to spike midway, typically after the first innings. There are extraordinary number of variables that fans need to be mindful of, including the weather, pitch conditions and the key differences between stadiums. Fans judge these throughout the match, but Entain’s Global Sportsbook reveals a tendency to prefer high scores and even bigger run chases.

“Generally, the two biggest factors for those looking to bet on cricket are: high run-scoring feats and record-breaking chases. The IPL delivers both of these in abundance.”

Andrew Harriott, Group Head of Cricket Betting at Entain.

How our IPL market breaks down:

90% Bets in-play
10% Pre-match

Betting breakdown in 2024

Match Betting 40.1%
Next Over Runs 14.6%
Team Runs 11.8%
Brackets (1st 6 Overs) 9.2%
Player Runs 8.1%
FOW 3.8%
Boosts 1.7%

The thrill of the chase

“Cricket is more complex than most sports for bookmakers in that it has a third dimension, because of how much the pitch can impact a winning score. This can be challenging and leave us feeling like meteorologists at times.”

Andrew Harriott, Group Head of Cricket Betting at Entain

Over 90% of the bets placed with Entain’s brands on IPL matches occur in-play, typically after the first innings. Customers tend to hold off on forming a strong opinion about the match winner or place a bet until the first innings is finished, focusing on the first innings runs markets before then.

Statistically, there is no advantage to batting first or second, with 49% of 2024 IPL games won by the team batting first. However, 55% of games were won by the home team, a slight increase from 53% in the previous year, but up from 40% in 2023, as teams are tailoring their squads more to their specific stadiums.

Super Sub rule has increased run scoring

The 2023 Introduction of the Super Sub rule effectively extended each team’s batting lineup by one batsman. In Duckworth Lewis terms, adding an extra wicket to a team’s batting adds about 5% to their resources. While the jump in scores last year was in line with expectations, there were two weeks when scoring went off the charts.

Previously, nearly all first innings were between 150 and 175, with 160 being considered a good score. This is no longer the case. Team’s first innings average climbed to 183 in 2023, before reaching as high as 191 in 2024. It was also reflected in the number of sixes hit per match, up from 15.5 in 2023 to an average of 17.9 in 2024.

Time will tell if this increase in run scoring is sustainable, but in the last two seasons, we have witnessed more totals above 200 than in the previous ten editions of the tournament combined, as IPL teams continue to recalculate what is possible.

Weeks 15 and 16 of the 2024 season may offer a glimpse into the IPL’s future, with teams recording higher first-inning run-scoring feats that have been successfully chased down more often, including some more record-breaking chases, notably 197, 211, 224, and a world record 263.

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Teams tailor who they buy at auction to their stadium

Another dimension is the difference between how teams adapt to their stadiums. Some grounds are bigger than others, some are better for batting, and some produce good results for bowlers early on.

Delhi’s notoriously small Arun Jaitley Stadium is the highest-scoring ground, which recorded a 235 first Innings average over five games, with no team successfully chasing down a total. Kolkata (204 over six matches) and Hyderabad (205 over six matches) represent other stadiums unable to tame the modern batter. Traditional high-scoring grounds like Mumbai and Bangalore averaged 191 and 196, respectively.

In the IPL, the bats are big, and grounds are small, which means even mishits are left heading for 6. With shorter stays at the crease, modern players are training themselves to be boundary hitters.

While teams need to be strong in both departments, teams still believe bowlers hold the key to winning the IPL, which is reflected in the auction prices. Once again, overseas fast bowlers were in high demand despite a good supply of Indian quicks. After superstars like Rishabh Pant and Jos Buttler were selected, overseas opening batsmen were generally available at more budget friendly prices.

Player betting markets

Sunil Narine was hugely valuable to Kolkata on their way to winning the 2024 title with an economy rate of 6.69 from 55 overs. He was only bettered by the world’s best bowler, Jasprit Bumrah, whose economy rate was 6.48. It was Harshal Patel of the Punjab Kings, who was top of the wicket-taker standings, claiming the Purple Hat with 24 wickets.

Sunil Narine was remarkably also KKR’s highest run scorer in IPL 2024, with 448 runs. Virat Kohli scored the most runs by a huge 158-run margin, making 741 runs over his 15 innings (strike rate of 155). Of those who scored more than 500 runs, Travis Head was the most valuable, doing so with an extraordinary strike rate of 192.

With relatively fresh squads each year, Championship outright specials are hard to predict. Still, Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad have emerged as early favourites, with the Pat Cummins-led Sunrisers proving particularly popular. They maintained a run rate above 10 last year, with scores above 250 a regular occurrence, only to suffer a batting collapse in the final.