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Warner’s 178 helps Australia thrash Afghanistan by 275 runs

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Perth: Opener David Warner (178) powered Australia to the World Cup’s highest total — 417/6 in 50 overs — as the hosts hammered Afghanistan by 275 runs in a Pool A match at the WACA here on Wednesday.

Warner’s 133-ball 178 was the highest score by an Australian in World Cup history. He shared a 260-run second-wicket partnership with Steven Smith (95), their highest in One-Day International (ODI) cricket, to drive the four-time World Cup winners to 417/6. Glenn Maxwell fired 88 in 39 balls.

In reply to the monumental target, Afghanistan were bowled out for 142 in 37.3 overs. They crumbled against the pace bowling trio of Mitchell Johnson (4/22), Mitchell Starc (2/18) and Josh Hazzlewood (2/25). Maxwell also bagged a wicket.

For Afghanistan, Nawroz Mangal (33) and Najibullah Zadran (24) showed some resistance but to no avail.

The 275-run victory is Australia’s biggest while batting first in ODI history. With this win, Michael Clarke-led Australia registered their second victory in the tournament, while the Afghans succembed to their third loss in four matches.

Earlier, opener Aaron Finch (4) perished early in the third over against pacer Dawlat Zadran (2/101) with the score at 14. Australia dropped senior all-rounder Shane Watson from their playing XI in favour of left-arm bowling all-rounder James Faulkner, who made a comeback following an injury.

It forced Smith to come up the order and flourished in his new role in style. He joined Warner and they put up Australia’s highest partnership for any wicket, beating former captain Ricky Ponting and Shane Watson’s unbeaten stand of 252 against England in 2009.

Warner’s fourth ODI century also became the highest score by an Australian in Cup history, bettering former left-handed opener Matthew Hayden’s 158 against the West Indies in 2007.

The left and right hand combination smashed the hapless Afghanistan bowlers all around the park and upped the ante after scoring half-centuries. Warner got his fifty in 40 balls while his hundred came in 92 balls.

He went berserk after reaching the three figure mark as his next 78 runs came in just 41 deliveries. During his 133-ball knock, the 28-year-old hit an incredible 19 fours and five sixes. When he got out to Shapoor Zadran (2/89), Australia were at 274/2 in the 38th over.

Smith, 25, played a perfect foil to the aggressive left-hander. Playing risk-free cricket, he scored eight fours and a six to register his fourth half-century.

Even after dismissing the duo, Afghanistan’s agony didn’t end. Big-hitting Maxwell raced away to 39-ball 88 as the 26-year-old smashed seven sixes and six fours.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Brad Haddin (20 not out in nine balls) helped Australia to go past the highest World Cup total of 413/5, recorded by India against Bermuda in 2007. Australia added 118 runs in the final 10 overs thanks to Maxwell’s pyrotechnics.

For Cup debutants Afghanistan, Dawlat leaked 101 runs in 10 overs and took two wickets. Seamer Shapoor gave away 89 runs in 10 overs and bagged the wickets of Smith and Warner. Mangal and Hamid Hassan scalped a wicket apiece.

Brief scores: Australia 417/6 in 50 overs (David Warner 178, Steven Smith 95, Glenn Maxwell 88; Shapoor Zadran 2/89, Dawlat Zadran 2/101) beat Afghanistan 142 in 37.3 overs (Nawroz Mangal 33; Mitchell Johnson 4/22, Mitchell Starc 2/18, Josh Hazzlewood 2/25).

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Meghalaya Reserves Legalized Gambling and Sports Betting for Tourists

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PureWin Online Betting

The State Scores Extra High on Gaming-Friendly Industry Index

Meghalaya scored 92.85 out of 100 possible points in a Gaming Industry Index and proved to be India’s most gaming-friendly state following its recent profound legislation changes over the field allowing land-based and online gaming, including games of chance, under a licensing regime.

The index by the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) uses a scale of 0 to 100 to measure the level of legalisation on gambling and betting achieved by a state based on the scores over a set of seven different games – lottery, horse racing, betting on sports, poker, rummy, casino and fantasy sports

Starting from February last year, Meghalaya became the third state in India’s northeast to legalise gambling and betting after Sikkim and Nagaland. After consultations with the UKIBC, the state proceeded with the adoption of the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021 and the nullification of the Meghalaya Prevention of Gambling Act, 1970. Subsequently in December, the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021 were notified and came into force.

All for the Tourists

The move to legalise and license various forms of offline and online betting and gambling in Meghalaya is aimed at boosting tourism and creating jobs, and altogether raising taxation revenues for the northeastern state. At the same time, the opportunities to bet and gamble legally will be reserved only for tourists and visitors.

“We came out with a Gaming Act and subsequently framed the Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021. The government will accordingly issue licenses to operate games of skill and chance, both online and offline,” said James P. K. Sangma, Meghalaya State Law and Taxation Minister speaking in the capital city of Shillong. “But the legalized gambling and gaming will only be for tourists and not residents of Meghalaya,” he continued.

To be allowed to play, tourists and people visiting the state for work or business purposes will have to prove their non-resident status by presenting appropriate documents, in a process similar to a bank KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure.

Meghalaya Reaches Out to a Vast Market

With 140 millions of people in India estimated to bet regularly on sports, and a total of 370 million desi bettors around prominent sporting events, as per data from one of the latest reports by Esse N Videri, Meghalaya is set to reach out and take a piece of a vast market.

Estimates on the financial value of India’s sports betting market, combined across all types of offline channels and online sports and cricket predictions and betting platforms, speak about amounts between $130 and $150 billion (roughly between ₹9.7 and ₹11.5 lakh crore).

Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Delhi are shown to deliver the highest number of bettors and Meghalaya can count on substantial tourists flow from their betting circles. The sports betting communities of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are also not to be underestimated.

Among the sports, cricket is most popular, registering 68 percent of the total bet count analyzed by Esse N Videri. Football takes second position with 11 percent of the bets, followed by betting on FIFA at 7 percent and on eCricket at 5 percent. The last position in the Top 5 of popular sports for betting in India is taken by tennis with 3 percent of the bet count.

Local Citizens will Still have Their Teer Betting

Meghalaya residents will still be permitted to participate in teer betting over arrow-shooting results. Teer is a traditional method of gambling, somewhat similar to a lottery draw, and held under the rules of the Meghalaya Regulation of the Game of Arrow Shooting and the Sale of Teer Tickets Act, 2018.

Teer includes bettors wagering on the number of arrows that reach the target which is placed about 50 meters away from a team of 20 archers positioned in a semicircle.

The archers shoot volleys of arrows at the target for ten minutes, and players place their bets choosing a number between 0 and 99 trying to guess the last two digits of the number of arrows that successfully pierce the target.

If, for example, the number of hits is 256, anyone who has bet on 56 wins an amount eight times bigger than their wager.

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