Feature
RCB win toss elect to bowl against Pune Supergiants
Royal Challengers face a familiar set of worries. It seems as if whatever combination of bowlers they play, the results are depressingly poor. In their last match, against Kolkata Knight Riders, it was their most reliable bowlers to date, Shane Watson and Tabraiz Shamsi, who were taken apart, between them leaking 89 runs in seven overs. The side wasn’t helped either by a stream of wides, wicketkeeping errors and missed chances. Unless they can tighten up their act with the ball and in the field, their glittering batting line-up will continue to struggle to get them out of jail.
Supergiants will take heart from their win over Delhi Daredevils, despite the latter’s eyebrow-raising selections, sloppy errors and questionable decision-making. Ajinkya Rahane continues to be a rock at the top of the order, while the addition of Usman Khawaja and George Bailey should bolster the rest of the batting. MS Dhoni is showing signs of form, while Rajat Bhatia and Scott Boland have had a good couple of games with the ball. These are certainly grounds for modest optimism.
Having said that, Supergiants’ bowling has not been too flash either. The fast bowlers have been expensive, while the spinners have struggled to take wickets. As two weak bowling teams tussle in a batting paradise, a run-fest may well be on offer.
Stuart Binny was Royal Challengers’ surprise package in their previous game. He followed a hard-hitting cameo with an impressive display of swing bowling up front. It is the latter skill that will most interest his captain. If he can replicate that display against Supergiants, he will certainly be a handful. He may even get his full quota of overs this time.
In a rather shaky bowling attack, Ashok Dinda and Rajat Bhatia could hold the key for Supergiants. Dinda has bowled well with the new ball and has picked up a number of wickets. His strike rate of 12.8 is the second best among bowlers who have bowled at least 10 overs this season. Early wickets against a top-heavy Royal Challengers’ batting order could be invaluable in limiting the final score. Equally important will be Bhatia’s contribution in the middle overs. His slow, wicket-to-wicket cutters have been difficult to get away, leaving him with an economy rate of 6.40. Will he be able to effect such strangulation at the Chinnaswamy?
Royal Challengers Bangalore (probable): 1 KL Rahul (wk), 2 Chris Gayle, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 AB de Villiers, 5 Shane Watson, 6 Sachin Baby, 7 Stuart Binny, 8 Chris Jordan, 9 Varun Aaron, 10 S Aravind, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal
Rising Pune Supergiants (probable): 1 Ajinkya Rahane, 2 Usman Khawaja, 3 Saurabh Tiwary, 4 MS Dhoni (capt, wk), 5 George Bailey, 6 Thisara Perera, 7 Rajat Bhatia, 8 Scott Boland, 9 R Ashwin, 10 M Ashwin, 11 Ashok Dinda
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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