RCB out of the IPL running after dismal start to campaign

This year's IPL is well underway, and while there's an awful lot of cricket still to be played before it's determined who will be the 2019 winners, the odd-setters at Bet365 seem fairly certain which sides are out of the running already.

Bangalore Royal Challengers, three-times runner-ups but never yet the victors, don't look like changing that record in a hurry after a dismal start to the campaign in which they've lost six matches out of six, often from apparent positions of strength.

They have slipped to a distant 40-1, an invitation to punters to throw their money at a lost cause ... although when a pumped-up Virat Kohli is in one's ranks, it's unwise to complete discount their chances of reaching the play-offs. His leadership has been under fire in recent weeks, but his stature as a gamechanger remains indisputable.

Rajasthan Royals are in a similar trough at the moment. They began the campaign as second-favourites, but have won just one match out of five to date - in spite of intermittently strong contributions from their overseas stars, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer.

However, RR always knew they would need a strong start to the campaign, given the impending departure of those three for the start of England's World Cup campaign. As such, it's hard to see them making the late surge they'll need to overturn their current odds of 25-1.

Instead, there seems already to be a split among the eight teams, with the top four still closely packed after their strong starts - Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad are all priced between 10/3 and 4/1, with Delhi Capitals and King's XI Punjab a further step back on 8/1 and 17/2 respectively.