Where To Bet on Indian Premier League?
We are 29 matches into the 2026 Indian Premier League and already the season has produced more drama than the entire regular phase of some previous editions. Punjab Kings have exploded out of the gates with the highest team total anyone has managed so far. Royal Challengers Bengaluru are defending the first title in the franchise's history under a new captain. A fourteen-year-old is sitting fourth in the Orange Cap race.
If you are betting the back half of this IPL, here is where things stand and what the markets actually look like.
Two franchises got name-changed in recent years, so if you have not been paying close attention make sure you are betting the right club. Kings XI Punjab became just Punjab Kings back in 2021. Royal Challengers Bangalore became Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2024. Same owners, same cities, slightly different names on the scorecard.
Here are the ten teams you will see on every card this season:
Here is the quick snapshot after Match 29 (Apr 19):
A few things jump out. RCB are defending their first-ever title under new captain Rajat Patidar and sitting second. Kolkata only got their first win of the season yesterday - they were winless through their opening five games, which is a brutal hole to climb out of. And Mumbai Indians are at the bottom of the table with zero points, which is something you do not see every day.
For the five-time champions to be staring at a 0-5 opening while a team that has never lifted the trophy sits on top is the kind of early-season inversion that either (a) self-corrects by May or (b) becomes the story of the season.
Current Orange Cap standings:
Quick note about Vaibhav Sooryavanshi: he is fourteen years old. Read that again. Fourteen. He is the youngest player in IPL history and he is currently fourth in the Orange Cap race, averaging 50-plus. If you had told me back in December that a fourteen-year-old would be on the Orange Cap leaderboard in April, I would have laughed. I am no longer laughing.
Kohli at 37 still being in the top three is its own quiet story. The man does not slow down.
Current Purple Cap standings:
Anshul Kamboj leading the Purple Cap for CSK is the sort of thing that happens every IPL season - someone you have barely heard of spends six weeks shredding top orders, then the auction sends him somewhere new and the cycle repeats.
Plenty of matches to go. Plenty of markets still open. And if Punjab keep batting like they did against Lucknow, the title odds board will look very different by the end of April.
If you are betting the back half of this IPL, here is where things stand and what the markets actually look like.
The Ten Teams in Play
IPL has been a ten-team league since 2022, when Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants joined the party. Gujarat actually won the title in their debut season, which still feels slightly ridiculous.Two franchises got name-changed in recent years, so if you have not been paying close attention make sure you are betting the right club. Kings XI Punjab became just Punjab Kings back in 2021. Royal Challengers Bangalore became Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2024. Same owners, same cities, slightly different names on the scorecard.
Here are the ten teams you will see on every card this season:
- Chennai Super Kings (CSK)
- Delhi Capitals (DC)
- Gujarat Titans (GT)
- Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)
- Lucknow Super Giants (LSG)
- Mumbai Indians (MI)
- Punjab Kings (PBKS)
- Rajasthan Royals (RR)
- Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)
- Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)
Where Things Actually Stand
Through 29 matches, Punjab Kings have come flying out of the gate. Last night Priyansh Arya (93) and Cooper Connolly (87) put together a 182-run stand against Lucknow and pushed Punjab's total to 254/7, the highest total anyone has posted this season. That win moved them to 11 points and the top of the table.Here is the quick snapshot after Match 29 (Apr 19):
| Pos | Team | Pts | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Punjab Kings | 11 | Leading |
| 2 | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 8 | Defending champs |
| 3 | Rajasthan Royals | 8 | Jaiswal + Sooryavanshi core |
| 4 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 6 | Klaasen hot |
| 5 | Delhi Capitals | 6 | Middle of the pack |
| 6 | Gujarat Titans | 6 | Krishna leading attack |
| 7 | Chennai Super Kings | 4 | Two straight wins now |
| 8 | Lucknow Super Giants | 4 | Just lost 254 chase |
| 9 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 2 | Finally got one |
| 10 | Mumbai Indians | 0 | Rough start |
For the five-time champions to be staring at a 0-5 opening while a team that has never lifted the trophy sits on top is the kind of early-season inversion that either (a) self-corrects by May or (b) becomes the story of the season.
The Orange Cap and Purple Cap Races
Two season-long individual awards, both with active betting markets at most books. Orange Cap goes to the leading run-scorer across the season. Purple Cap goes to the leading wicket-taker.Current Orange Cap standings:
| Player | Team | Runs |
|---|---|---|
| Heinrich Klaasen | SRH | 283 |
| Shubman Gill | GT | 251 |
| Virat Kohli | RCB | 247 |
| Vaibhav Sooryavanshi | RR | 246 |
| Rajat Patidar | RCB | 230 |
Kohli at 37 still being in the top three is its own quiet story. The man does not slow down.
Current Purple Cap standings:
| Player | Team | Wickets |
|---|---|---|
| Anshul Kamboj | CSK | 13 |
| Prince Yadav | LSG | 11 |
| Prasidh Krishna | GT | 11 |
| Bhuvneshwar Kumar | RCB | 10 |
| Ravi Bishnoi | RR | 10 |
The Season-Long Markets
Beyond the obvious "who wins the title" and the two cap races, the season-long betting menu at most books looks something like this:- Outright Winner (title)
- To Finish Top 4 (qualify for playoffs)
- To Finish Bottom (wooden spoon)
- Team to Hit Most Sixes in the Season
- Team with Highest Innings Score of the Season
- Most Fifties, Most Centuries, Most Ducks
- Top Team Batsman (for each of the 10 teams)
- Top Team Bowler (for each of the 10 teams)
- Man of the Tournament
Match-Level Betting
For individual games, which is where the daily volume lives, the typical menu is:- Match Winner (straight moneyline)
- Match Handicap (usually priced in runs)
- Team Totals (over/under for each team)
- Total Match Runs (over/under)
- Player of the Match
- Top Team Batsman (for that game)
- Top Team Bowler (for that game)
- Method of First Wicket (caught, bowled, LBW, run out)
- Top 6 Batsman (the player with most runs across both teams)
- Over/Unders on individual players (runs, wickets)
Sports-King's Note
If you are betting IPL 2026 week to week, the three most useful things to track right now are Punjab's ability to keep up this pace, whether RCB click into gear under Patidar, and how Mumbai respond to a 0-5 start. Everything else follows from those three threads.
The Orange Cap and Purple Cap markets tend to firm up by mid-May, so if you like a player at current prices, the window is now. By the time the playoff race tightens, the leaders in both races will already have short prices baked in.
One More Thing
The playoff schedule has not been announced yet as of this writing - the league matches run through late May, then the usual Qualifier 1 / Eliminator / Qualifier 2 / Final sequence plays out at venues to be confirmed. The final is locked in for 31 May.Plenty of matches to go. Plenty of markets still open. And if Punjab keep batting like they did against Lucknow, the title odds board will look very different by the end of April.
Gambling should be fun. If it stops being fun, visit GambleAware.org for free, confidential support. Must be of legal age to bet in your jurisdiction. Odds and markets mentioned are subject to change. Published by Sports-King.
