2025 IPL season predictions, betting tips and odds: Capitals and Kings look underrated in trophy betting

Where to watch the 2025 IPL

All matches will be broadcast on Sky Sports Cricket, from 2pm Saturday

Best bets

Delhi Capitals to win the IPL
2pts 12-1 Betfair

Punjab Kings to win the IPL
2pts 11-1 bet365, BoyleSports

Abhishek Sharma to be top tournament runscorer
1pt each-way bet365, Betfair, Paddy Power

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2025 IPL odds

Here are the latest odds for the 2025 Indian Premier League which starts on Saturday, March 22

Odds correct at time of publication

2025 IPL prediction

Kolkata Knight Riders were worthy winners of last season's IPL but runners-up Sunrisers Hyderabad have been backed into favouritism for the 2025 tournament.

The Sunrisers produced some stunning batting displays in the 2024 league stage, racking up three of the four highest totals in IPL history.

However, their batting unit failed to deliver in the playoffs as they were bowled out for 159 by KKR in Qualifier 1 and skittled for just 113 by the same opponents in the final.

Hyderabad's main market rivals this season are Mumbai Indians, who finished bottom of the ten-team table in 2024.

They clearly have the potential to improve but paceman Jasprit Bumrah's back injury is a major concern and it could pay to back a couple of Mumbai's bigger-priced rivals.

Delhi Capitals missed out on a playoff place on net run-rate last term but their new captain Axar Patel leads an exciting squad.

Axar and Kuldeep Yadav are top-class T20 spinners and the Capitals pepped up their pace attack with the signings of Mitchell Starc, an IPL winner with KKR last season, and T Natarajan.

Faf du Plessis and KL Rahul, two of the top 15 runscorers in IPL history, add class and experience to an explosive batting line-up featuring Abishek Porel, Tristan Stubbs and Jake Fraser-McGurk, who thumped 330 runs from just 141 balls in 2024.

Despite lifting the trophy, Kolkata opted to release captain Shreyas Iyer and he could inspire a significant upturn in the fortunes of Punjab Kings.

Coach Ricky Ponting has assembled a strong Australian contingent including brilliant all-rounder Glenn Maxwell and the Kings also have a host of thrilling Indian talents.

Prabhsimran Singh and Shashank Singh played some dazzling innings last season and big things are expected of opener Priyansh Arya, who averages two sixes per game in his domestic T20 career.

Skipper Shreyas should be full of confidence after reaching 40 in seven of his eight ODIs this year, culminating in India's Champions Trophy final victory against New Zealand.

His squad is nicely balanced by all-rounders such as Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Azmatullah Omarzai and Marco Jansen and he also has some excellent specialist bowlers.

Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal became the first player to reach 200 IPL wickets last season and left-arm quick Arshdeep Singh was the joint-leading wicket-taker at last year's T20 World Cup.

Chennai Super Kings, IPL champions in 2023, were pipped to the final playoff place by Royal Challengers Bengaluru last season and they look short enough in the outright market.

RCB's Virat Kohli was the leading batsman in 2024, amassing 741 runs, but Sunrisers opener Abhishek Sharma is well worth an each-way bet this time around.

Alongside Australia star Travis Head, Abhishek caused carnage in the Powerplay overs last season, scoring 484 runs from 237 balls and hitting a tournament-high 42 sixes.

His highest score was a relatively modest 75 not out but he has the potential to bat for longer periods.

The left-hander scored 100 against Zimbabwe last July, in only his second T20 appearance for India, and cracked 170 off 96 balls in a 50-over match for Punjab on New Year's Eve. 

Abhishek started January's T20 series against England with a 34-ball 79 in Kolkata and ended it with an extraordinary innings of 135 at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium, where 13 of the 54 balls he faced were smashed into the crowd.

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2025 IPL format and schedule

The league stage of the IPL runs from Saturday, March 22 to Sunday, May 18. The ten franchises each play 14 fixtures, seven at home and seven away, and the top four teams in the standings qualify for the playoffs:

May 20 – Qualifier 1: 1st-placed team vs 2nd-placed team
May 21 – Eliminator: 3rd-placed team vs 4th-placed team
May 23 – Qualifier 2: Qualifier 1 loser vs Eliminator winner
May 25 – Final (Eden Gardens, Kolkata): Qualifier 1 winner vs Qualifier 2 winner

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