Welcome
This article is dedicated to the second monster tournament of the IPL season. It consists of six teams across three games, where you have to pick eleven players to complete your squad (six players maximum from each team).
FanTeam IPL Monster Contest begins Friday 29rd April at 15.00am BST 16.00 CET.
Entry to this contest is set at €12 with a €1,500 prize pool.
Normal FanTeam Cricket scoring applies.
STRATEGY
For those of you that are purely cricket lovers, you won't be too familiar with strategies surrounding building squads with multiple matches involved, as most FanTeam contests are just one-off games.
There's one strategy which takes precedence above all in a monster game mode and that's "stacking". By this I mean selecting certain teams, more specifically certain departments of teams to really target and go all in on. Rather than spreading your bets across a multitude of fields.
If you do spread your bets to a large extent, you almost guarantee yourself no shot at coming close to winning the competition, rather placing somewhere close to the threshold of players starting to cash. Someone will go all in on a certain set of combinations and be very successful with all, give yourself every opportunity to make sure that's you. Don't be scared.
Come the end of this monster, the squad of the highest scoring eleven players will also have some "stacks" in them. So, let's dive in and analyze which one's look the best!
FIXTURES
Friday - Punjab Kings vs Lucknow SuperGiants
Saturday - Gujarat Titans vs Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals vs Mumbai Indians.
Punjab Kings vs Lucknow SuperGiants
This game is being played at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium. The latest game this ground hosted produced a low scoring one, however in games prior there were certainly more runs to be had. As such I prefer to look at the personnel these sides have in greater detail to justify my selection.
The bowling attack of PK doesn't excite me at all and as such I won't be looking there. Their batting on the other hand looks a lot better. I would be going with the former Shikhar Dhawan ($10.5m) and Liam Livingstone ($9.0m), they both have very high ceilings. B. Rajapaska ($8.5m) is an explosive player and a good enabling option.
I like Krunal Pandya ($9.0m) as the bowling assets from this game, not only did he pick up three wickets in his last game but he can also score runs given his position in the side.
Finally, from this game, KL Rahul ($10.0) is nailed in my team. Second highest run scorer with two hundreds, that justifies it perfectly. World class player.
Gujarat Titans vs Royal Challengers Bangalore
This ground has produced batting spectacles this year, and as such we will be targeting batting assets from this game.
The names that first spring to my mind are Hardik Pandya ($10.0m) and Faf Du Plessis ($10.0m), third and sixth this year in the race for the orange cap, respectively. The run machines in their teams and at a batting venue like this, it's good to have both of them. Pandya may bowl depending on his fitness situation as well.
If you didn't want to go Buttler as your keeping option, Saha ($8.5m) is a decent option given his blistering fifty yesterday.
David Miller ($8.5m) will likely have a low ownership but given his price point could be a good differential and enabler. Rashid Khan ($9.5m) given his ability can deliver a monster score in any game, batting at number six also helps his case, quite like the option.
The only option I like from Royal Challengers Bangalore is Maxwell ($9.5m), well priced (could easily be $10m) and an X-Factor player. If he has one of his days and you don't have him, significantly damages your chances of getting close to that number one spot.
Picking players with high ceilings is always the way to go.
Rajasthan Royals vs Mumbai Indians
The Royals face a Mumbai Indians side who are winless from eight games and look in utter disarray. Mumbai Indians have struggled in many departments, but the batting is the biggest concern.
The game is being played at the DV Patil Stadium. The ground has an average/par score of 150-160. I'd say in relative terms this shows it's one of the better places to have a fair contest between bat and ball in the country, especially considering how many high scores we have seen at Brabourne and even the Wankhede in the last game.
Combining Mumbai Indians batting form and the statistics above, it's clear the Royal's bowling assets should be at the forefront of your mind.
Whilst Ravichandran Ashwin ($9.0m) is listed as an all-rounder, he's certainly someone who will be in my team. He's one of the best spin bowlers in the world, especially in sub-continental conditions where he can get the ball to really grip and spin. His carrom ball in these conditions makes him even more dangerous. He's in good form with the ball after picking up a brilliant 3-17 in his four overs against Royal Challengers Bangalore
Furthermore, he was promoted to number three and looked very comfortable there. I watched his innings and was very impressed by the execution of shots, albeit a short stay at the crease.
Kuldeep Sen ($8.0m) and Yuzvendra Chahal ($9.0m) are the two bowling assets I would select from the Royals. I like picking players who are in good form, may as well jump on them whilst they are beaming with confidence and that is exactly what Sen will be after his 4-20 against Royal Challengers Bangalore . Not only is Sen a good option but also a great enabler at his price. Chahal is the purple cap holder with 18 wickets this season, not much more needs to be said about that.
Finally, Josh Buttler ($9.0m) takes up the last spot from my Rajasthan Royals selection.
He's the best T20 player in the world, facing the worst side in the competition (this year) which makes him a captaincy option alongside the fact he's a standout pick.
I hope this article has given you some food for thought, especially those who know very little about the IPL but want to play in the monster contest
Some background on myself, this is the first Cricket article I have produced. I've been a Fantasy Football content creator for over a year now. I played Cricket at a relatively high level in England, and have captained my sides; that is where my knowledge stems from. For some reference I won the inaugural IPL monster event!
@FPL_JianBatra (Twitter)
HOW TO GET INVOLVED
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Best of luck in the IPL monster contest.
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