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India, Australia eye semis berth in virtual quarter-final
Mohali :India will aim to continue their winning momentum and seal a place in the semi-finals of the World Twenty20 when they take on Australia in a virtual quarter-final clash at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium here on Sunday.
The hosts, who possessed superb form in the run-up to the tournament beating Australia 3-0 in the Twenty20 International series followed by the Asia Cup triumph, have not had it easy in the World T20 so far.
After losing their campaign opener against New Zealand, the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side had to fight hard to ensure wins against Pakistan and Bangladesh and now face a strong Australian side in their final Group 2 match.
On the other hand, Australia, who also got their campaign off to a poor start losing to the Black Caps, but thereafter, came back strongly with wins against Bangladesh and Pakistan.
Hosts India outplayed Australia in January earlier this year in the shortest format of the game, but on Sunday it will be a fresh game for both the sides, considering it to be a world tournament and conditions completely different to what it was Down Under.
India as always will rely on their batting to do the damage in the crucial encounter.
Openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan, who have not been among heavy runs, will aim to give India a good start followed by flamboyant Virat Kohli, who failed against Bangladesh but will be raring to unleash his skills against Australia.
The presence of experienced Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, hard-hitting newcomer Hardik Pandya followed by skipper Dhoni make the batting look extremely strong.
Skipper Dhoni does not have to worry much about the in-form bowling unit with young gun Jasprit Bumrah along with experienced Ashish Nehra and spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja delivering in every outing.
Australia too have enough match-winners in their squad to outclass their opponent on any given day and Dhoni’s men should be well aware of their opponent’s threat.
The likes of an in-form Usman Khawaja, Aaron Finch, David Warner, skipper Steve Smith, all-rounder Shane Watson, Glenn Maxwell, all among runs lately; the side’s batting power looks a threatening one.
Watson, who has already announced his retirement from international cricket post the World T20, will be raring to give his all – both with the bat and ball.
Young leg-spinner Adam Zampa has impressed in the ongoing competition and might come handy if the Mohali wicket offers spin. All-rounder James Faulker and pacers Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Coulter-Nile are expected to fill in the bowling line-up.
The game will be a big game for India who will get a chance to avenge their 2015 World Cup semi-final defeat to Australia and will aim to storm into the last-four.
The squads:
India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Harbhajan Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Pawan Negi, Ashish Nehra, Hardik Pandya.
Australia: Steven Smith (captain), Ashton Agar, James Faulkner, John Hastings, Usman Khawaja, Glenn Maxwell, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa, Shane Watson, Peter Nevill, Mitchell Marsh, Josh Hazlewood, Aaron Finch, Nathan Coulter-Nile, David Warner.
International online casino Casino Days has published a report sharing their internal data on what types and brands of devices are used to play on the platform by users from the South Asian region.
Such aggregate data analyses allow the operator to optimise their website for the brands and models of devices people are actually using.
The insights gained through the research also help Casino Days tailor their services based on the better understanding of their clients and their needs.
Desktops and Tablets Lose the Battle vs Mobile
The primary data samples analysed by Casino Days reveal that mobile connections dominate the market in South Asia and are responsible for a whopping 96.6% of gaming sessions, while computers and tablets have negligible shares of 2.9% and 0.5% respectively.
The authors of the study point out that historically, playing online casino was exclusively done on computers, and attribute thе major shift to mobile that has unfolded over time to the wide spread of cheaper smartphones and mobile data plans in South Asia.
“Some of the reasons behind this massive difference in device type are affordability, technical advantages, as well as cheaper and more obtainable internet plans for mobiles than those for computers,” the researchers comment.
Xiaomi and Vivo Outperform Samsung, Apple Way Down in Rankings
Chinese brands Xiaomi and Vivo were used by 21.9% and 20.79% of Casino Days players from South Asia respectively, and together with the positioned in third place with a 18.1% share South Korean brand Samsung dominate the market among real money gamers in the region.
Cupertino, California-based Apple is way down in seventh with a user share of just 2.29%, overshadowed by Chinese brands Realme (11.43%), OPPO (11.23%), and OnePlus (4.07%).
Huawei is at the very bottom of the chart with a tiny share just below the single percent mark, trailing behind mobile devices by Motorola, Google, and Infinix.
The data on actual phone usage provided by Casino Days, even though limited to the gaming parts of the population of South Asia, paints a different picture from global statistics on smartphone shipments by vendors.
Apple and Samsung have been sharing the worldwide lead for over a decade, while current regional leader Xiaomi secured their third position globally just a couple of years ago.
Striking Android Dominance among South Asian Real Money Gaming Communities
The shifted market share patterns of the world’s top smartphone brands in South Asia observed by the Casino Days research paper reveal a striking dominance of Android devices at the expense of iOS-powered phones.
On the global level, Android enjoys a comfortable lead with a sizable 68.79% share which grows to nearly 79% when we look at the whole continent of Asia. The data on South Asian real money gaming communities suggests that Android’s dominance grows even higher and is north of the 90% mark.
Among the major factors behind these figures, the authors of the study point to the relative affordability of and greater availability of Android devices in the region, especially when manufactured locally in countries like India and Vietnam.
“And, with influencers and tech reviews putting emphasis on Android devices, the choice of mobile phone brand and OS becomes easy; Android has a much wider range of products and caters to the Asian online casino market in ways that Apple can’t due to technical limitations,” the researchers add.
The far better integration achieved by Google Pay compared to its counterpart Apple Pay has also played a crucial role in shaping the existing smartphone market trends.
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