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IPL 4 starts this Friday (all coverage on ITV4) and the campaign kicks off with Chennai Super Kings v Kolkata Knightriders as Chennai look to be the first side in IPL history to win the competition twice in a row.

This year's competition sees the franchises rise up to 10 teams. The 10 franchises are as follows:

Chennai Super Kings (6/1 SkyBet)
Chennai are the current Champions in the IPL and are the most successful, they reached the first IPL final in 2008 (Runners Up) and were Semi-Finalists in 2009.

They finally got their hands on the trophy in 2010 and will look to be the first team in history to regain the title. In Suresh Raina they have the highest run scorer in IPL history and he is great value to be Top Chennai Batsman at 10/3 (Bet365). 33/1 is good price for the tournament outright.

Other players to watch out for are the experienced Indian Captain, MS Dhoni who has just come from the World Cup, guiding his side to World Cup victory with an impressive display in the final hitting 91 off 79 balls.

Dhoni is a great leader and always looks to pressure on the other side with his bowling changes and fielding positions. Also, leading the side at the top of the order is Murali Vijay, a powerful hitter and will be hoping to get his side off to a positive start and sit a platform for the likes of Dwayne Bravo and Albie Morkel to come in down the order and see the team home.

They also have the experienced Mike Hussey to help them out later in the tournament; his experience will really help the side. Leading the bowling attack they have young New Zealand international Tim Southee who's just come back from a good World Cup picking up 16 wickets, he will be looking to build on that performance and impress in the IPL. Southee is priced 5/1 with Stan James to be Top Chennai Bowler in the tournament.

Deccan Chargers (10/1 Boylesports)
Deccan are one of three sides to win the IPL, they won it under wicket-keeper batsman Adam Gilchrist, however this year wicket-keeper batsman Kumar Sangakkara is leading the side. Sangakkara has been in fantastic form with the bat over the last couple of years and had an impressive performance in the Cricket World Cup as he was the third highest run scorer in the competition.

He is 9/4 for the Top Deccan Batsman but the value lies with JP Duminy at 6/1. Duminy is an amazing 100/1 for Top Score Overall with Ladbrokes, with the next best prices 50/1. He's well worth an each-way shot. Leading the bowling attack they have pacey South African Dale Steyn. He is 4/1 to be the Top Deccan Bowler.

Delhi Daredevils (10/1 Various)
Delhi are lead by explosive batsman Sehwag, he only knows how to bat one way. Opening the batting with him is David Warner who bats in the same mode as Sehwag, the side will be reliant on these two to make the runs. However, the way they both bat could hinder Delhi's chances as there's not much else to come down the order.

Aaron Finch is a talented batsman and he may have to pick up the pieces if one of the opening batsman goes early. However, the experienced Sehwag has scored runs all the way through his long career and while 15/8 (SkyBet) isn't great value, he will be up there. If you want more value Warner is 10/3 (Paddy Power) and Finch 4/1 (Stan James). Irfan Pathan is leading the bowling attack, and the Indian left arm seamer is 3/1 to take the most wickets.

Kings XI Punjab (16/1 Boylesports)
Kings XI are lead by experienced former Australian captain Adam Gilchrist, he will open the batting and keep wicket. The batsmen to look out for is Dinesh Karthik, Shaun Marsh and David Hussey.

All three are powerful hitters and can bat through an innings. Shaun Marsh is good value at 7/2 (Paddy Power) for Top Kings XI Batsman.

Leading the bowling attack they have Praveen Kumar and Ryan Harris (7/2 Stan James) The bookies see Kings XI having a limited chance, I tend to agree as the squad doesn't look that strong, after losing talented all rounder Yuvraj Singh.

Kochi Tuskers Kerala (10/1 Sporting Bet)
Kochi are one of the new franchises and in the auction they've added some good experienced players to their ranks. Jayawardene will lead the side, he is a very talented batsman and score a century in the World Cup final but unfortunately was on the losing side.

He is 3/1 with SkyBet to be Top Kochi Batsman. Kochi also have two out of the top 3 highest run scorers in T20 history, which include explosive batsman Brendan McCullum who is currently third in the all time list and they have Brad Hodge who is second.

They have a wealth of experience in the batting ranks. Other batsman to look out for are Owais Shah, Ravi Jadeja and the experienced VVS Laxman. Kochi will have talented young Australian all rounder Steven Smith to come into their squad after he has fulfilled international duties in Bangladesh. Kochi also have experienced bowler Muttiah Muralitharan who is the highest wicket taker in the history of cricket. He is 7/2 to be Top Wicket Taker for Kochi and 25/1 for Overall Top Bowler.

10/1 for Kochi is good value and worth an each-way bet, they have a wealth of experience as well as some talented youngsters.

Kolkata Knightriders (8/1 Ladbrokes)
Kolkata are set to lose 3 key players from their squad due to the Bangladesh v Australia ODI Series. This means that world number 1 all rounder Shakib Al Hasan misses out, whilst Brett Lee and wicketkeeper batsman Brad Haddin will be playing.

These three are set to miss the first few weeks and it's a massive blow to Kolkata as Haddin has been in top form with the bat. The dangermen for Kolkata are Gambhir, who is captaining the side and he was a key player in Indias World Cup campaign were he scored a match winning 97 in the final. He is 5/2 with Paddy Power to be Top Kolkata Batsman.

Other players to watch out for are all rounders Kallis, Ten Doeschate and Yusuf Pathan. Ryan Ten Doeschate hit an impressive 307 runs for World Cup Minnows Holland in the recent world cup at an average of 60. Pathan is a power hitting who last season for Rajastan Royals hit 100 off just 30 balls.

They have strength in depth and will be a good side later on in the IPL when they have players returning. The unique Eoin Morgan is also amongst the ranks and if you're looking for a bit of value, he is 13/2 (Bet365) to top score for Kolkata.

Mumbai Indians (5/1 Generally)
Mumbai are favourites for the IPL and rightly so, losing finalists last year, they will want to change their fortunes this time around. They have key players throughout the squad.

Opening the batting they have Sachin Tendulkar who is the leading run scorer in the history of cricket and he captains the side. However, I think the player to watch is Rohit Sharma, he is a talented batsman who quietly gets on with batting and scores a lot of runs. He is 4/1 to to be Top Mumbai Batsman, which is a lot better value than Tendulkar at 13/8.

Other batsman to look out for are Aiden Blizzard (7/1 Betfred) and Kieron Pollard who is a very talented all rounder and can change a game immediately. The Trinidadian is a powerful hitter and scores runs quickly.

Leading the bowling attack they have Lasith Malinga (5/2 SkyBet for Top Mumbai Bowler), his unorthodox action is tricky for batsman to pick and he is a real danger with the bowl. The spin option is Harbhajan Singh who is an experienced campaigner and will play a crucial role for Mumbai, who have a solid side throughout to win this competition.

Pune Warriors (9/1 SkyBet)
Pune are the other new franchise and they've built a very good squad. 9/1 is fantastic value and well worth an each way dabble. They have the experienced Graeme Smith opening the batting and the powerful hitting of Jesse Ryder up top. However, the inform Yuvraj Singh captains the side and had a great world cup for India as he was a good influence with both bat and bowl.

He is 4/1 to top score for Pune, however another player to look out for is Manish Pandey, the young Indian has the highest score for an Indian player in T20 history when he hit an impressive 114 in last years IPL and is 6/1 to top score for Pune.

Pune have some good all rounders in Angelo Mathews and Nathan McCullum who will play key roles. Pune also have a reasonable strong bowling attack with Alfonso Thomas and Murali Kartik who took a lot of wickets in the English Domestic T20.

Pune also have pace men in Jerome Taylor and Wayne Parnell to round off the bowling attack. They are a good all round team and are ones to watch and have two good additions in Callum Ferguson and Tim Paine to come back from Australia duty later on in the tournament.

Rajasthan Royals (20/1 Boylesports)
Rajasthan will lose the services of Shane Watson for the opening few games due to Australian duty, he is a big loss to the side as he opens the batting and he is the form player. Which means they will have to rely on Ross Taylor, who is a powerful hitter and can score runs at a quick rate, Taylor is 4/1 (SkyBet) to be Top Royals Batsman.

Rajasthan also lose Shaun Tait due to international duty and he will be a big loss. However, spin will play a big part as Shane Warne is captaining the side along with off spinner Johan Botha. Losing two key players limits Rajasthan chances but when the players return they are a team to watch.

Royal Challengers Bangalore (13/2 Generally)
Bangalore have a very strong batting line up, with Dilshan opening the batting, he scored an impressive 500 runs in the World Cup just gone and was the leading runscorer. He is 3/1 (BetFred) to top score.

However, RCB have other batsman that are capable of scoring big, with AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli in their ranks. Also they have Saurabh Tiwary who is 10/1 for Top Bangalore Batsman with Bet365. He finished 7th in the overall run scorers last season, scoring 419 runs, at 10/1 I think it's seriously over priced and the left hander is one to watch if you want a bit more value.

Captaining the side is Daniel Vettori and the left arm spinner will play a vital part with the ball. As well as the spin of Vettori, RCB have a lot of pace in the side with the likes of Zaheer Khan, Dirk Nannes and Charl Langeveldt. Zaheer Khan was the leading wicket taker for Indian in the World Cup and he is 7/2 with Stan James to be the leading wicket taker for RCB.

Bet Breakdown/Predictions

Tournament Outright: Pune Warriors (EW) 9/1 SkyBet, Kochi (EW) 10/1 Sporting Bet

Top Batsman outright: Sehwag (EW) 16/1 SkyBet, S.Raina (EW) 33/1 (SkyBet) JP Duminy (EW) 125/1 (Ladbrokes)

Top batsman (as per franchise)

Chennai: Raina (10/3 William Hill)

Deccan: Duminy (6/1 SkyBet)

Delhi: Sehwag (15/8 SkyBet)

Kings XI: Marsh (7/2 Paddy Power)

Kochi: Jayawardene (3/1 SkyBet)

Kolkata: Gambhir (5/2 Generally); Morgan (13/2 Generally)

Mumbai: Sharma (4/1 Generally)

Pune: Yuvraj Singh (4/1 Generally); Pandey (6/1 Stan James)

Rajasthan: Taylor (4/1 SkyBet)

RC Bangalore: Tiwary (10/1 Bet365); Dilshan (3/1 BetFred)

Top Bowlers Outright: Malinga (EW) 14/1 Stan James, Muralitharan (EW) 28/1 (Bet365)

Top bowlers (as per franchise)

Chennai: Southee (5/1 SkyBet, Stan James)

Deccan: Steyn (4/1 Stan James)

Delhi: I.Pathan (10/3 SkyBet)

Kochi: Murali (7/2 Stan James)

Mumbai: Malinga (5/2 SkyBet)

Pune: Karthik (7/2 Stan James)

Bangalore: Z.Khan (7/2 Stan James)

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