Next Wednesday, when India meets Pakistan for the crucial World Cup semi-finals, besides ardent cricket fans of the two nations, a whole lot of bookies will be rivetted.
According to top Mumbai bookies, the satta bazzar or illegal betting turnover is expected to hit Rs 5,000 crore, an all-time high for a single match. The betting rates opened in Dubai at noon today and include all sorts of permutations and combinations.
The main bets, of course, are on India winning the match. The odds for India are at 60 paise (for a rupee’s bet). For Pakistan, it is at Rs 1.55. The lower the odds, the higher are the perceived chances of a team winning. Clearly, there is an overwhelming belief, for now, that India will do so.
| YOU BET! | |
| INDO-PAK MATCH | |
| Team | Odds (on every rupee bet) |
| India | Rs 0.60 |
| Pakistan | Rs 1.55 |
| SCORING A TON | |
| G Gambhir | Rs 8.50 |
| S Raina | Rs 8.00 |
| Y Singh | Rs 6.00 |
| V Sehwag | Rs 5.25 |
| S Tendulkar | Rs 4.50 |
| REACHING THE FINALS | |
| New Zealand | Rs 7.50 |
| England | Rs 12.50 |
| Sri Lanka | Rs 5.20 |
Then, there are bets for Sachin Tendulkar’s 100 centuries at Rs 4.50. Similarly, a ton by Virendra Sehwag or Yuvraj Singh is going at Rs 5.25 and Rs 6, respectively.
“Clearly, India is a favourite among punters after its decisive win over defending champion Australia,” said an Indian bookie on phone from Dubai.
He added the match could see one of the highest turnovers in the betting market. The India-Australia match had seen the turnover cross Rs 2,500 crore. Even the last season Indian Premier League final turnover did not exceed Rs 3,000 crore.
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Bets will be accepted on ‘lambi pari’ and ‘first session.’ Betting on lambi pari means predicting how many runs will be scored in the first 50 overs. First session refers to the number in the first 15 overs.
Since India’s bowling attack is weak, punters believe Pakistan could score 310-320 runs, if put to bat in the first innings. Similarly, India is expected to put up a score of 280-290 runs in the first innings. All these are even bets and gains will be one rupee on every rupee bet.
Apart from the big players in West Asia, bets are being accepted from Pakistan and other neighbouring countries. Bets are also being accepted on which other team is likely to reach the final. Till they were knocked out, bookies were betting on an India-South Africa final. Till late evening, New Zealand was seen as the most unlikely candidate to reach the final, but its odds improved dramatically after that.
The northwestern Mumbai suburb of Borivali is the main centre for accepting bets in the city. There are even two websites used by the bookies, betfair.com and betdhu.com.