Rapper Drake pledges ₹2.7 cr on KKR to lift IPL trophy

Canadian rapper Drake, who was recently in news for his ‘beef’ with Kendrick Lamar, is now making waves in the sports arena after making a mark in the music industry.

The Grammy-winning artist has placed his first cricket bet, backing Shah Rukh Khan’s team, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), for the IPL finals. The eagerly awaited match will be held in Chennai today at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, where KKR will compete against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).

On May 25, Drake shared this exciting news with his followers on Instagram. He posted a screenshot of his story, showing his $250,000 (₹2.7 cr) bet on KKR with odds of 1.70. If KKR wins, Drake stands to earn $425,000 (₹3.52 cr).

Experts back KKR

Former India spinner Anil Kumble and ex-Australian all-rounder Shane Watson also picked KKR as favourites. 

"It gives Sunrisers an edge for sure as they know how the wicket plays, especially when there is no dew. They will have to back-up, and regenerate their mental and physical energy quickly, but for me, KKR are the favourites. They are fresh as a daisy; they have got world-class players through their team, and they are going to be very hard to defeat," said Watson on the broadcast.

“Both these teams have redefined how to go about in the powerplay, and we saw that. This is a surface that requires you to utilise the powerplay and we saw how SRH did that. Two teams that have done well throughout the tournament dictated the terms right from ball one consistently and no wonder they are playing the finals in Chennai on Sunday,” said Kumble.

“KKR has been the all-round team, with the ball or with the bat. You name it, you have the players with Rinku Singh yet to chip in. When you have a side with explosive batters, a bowler like Starc who is coming into his form, we saw his impact in the last game and Shreyas Iyer. Even he has done exceptionally well as a captain, he has been calm and used his resources well. He got the best out of Andre Russell and they have the firepower with both the bat and ball,” he added.

On the other hand, former Indian all-rounder Suresh Raina picked SRH to win.

“Sunrisers should back their batting first approach and put runs on the board, but the eight overs of spin will be crucial. With KKR having won an IPL in Chennai, the pressure will be different. The key point for SRH is Pat Cummins who has already won the World Cup, he knows how to keep the dressing room running. You follow the process, you are switched on for the finals, the players know their roles, and everything will be organised,” Raina said.

(with inputs from IANS)