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The arrests of Rajasthan Royals' players S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan in connection with spot fixing in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament is a reminder of the extent of such betting.
Police sources said betting for the current IPL was on in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Bangalore and in West Asia. The betting turnover for the 45-day season is expected to be at least Rs 25,000 crore.
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Police sources said match fixing and spot fixing are different. In the latter, there is no need for many in the team to be on the scam. Instead, one member, particularly one or two bowlers or a wicketkeeper, can be instrumental — the spot fixing can be for a no-ball, wide-ball, full-toss or missed fielding.
One might recall the August 2010 charge against Pakistani players Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir, on having agreed to deliver no-balls to order during a Test match at Lord’s. They were found guilty in a British criminal trial in November 2011.
Sources familiar with the betting told Business Standard: “There are 120 opportunities for betting when one side plays. This means each ball in the 20-over match is an opportunity. The betting is done for a player scoring a six or a boundary or rapid runs. Bets are also proposed for a maiden over or no-run made by a batsman. After 10 overs, when the real fight starts, every ball bowled has got value. Normally, a punter expects 10 runs an over when the run rate increases. This is seen as a golden opportunity for a bowler or a fielder to make a fast buck, as every wide or a no-ball or missed field can twist the result to either side.”
Punters and bookies also go by the player’s form, especially for the leading ones such as Sachin Tendulkar, Chris Gayle, Shane Watson, Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli. These are very important wickets, as the match can be turned by only the best. “Gayle’s early wicket can cost the punters and if he makes a ton, then they make money,” said a source.
Another claimed some players saw the IPL season as a lifetime opportunity to make money instead of concentrating on a career.
“It is quite obvious when awards worth Rs 25 crore are being given away at the end of the season for the winning team and other players for setting new records and scoring more runs or taking maximum wickets. The general trend is to make a fast buck and, therefore, there is every possibility of a match fixing or spot fixing,” he alleged.
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Bets are also proposed for a maiden over or no run made by a batsman. After 10 overs when the real fight starts every ball bowled has got value. Normally punter expects 10 runs per over when the run rate increases. This is seen as a golden opportunity for bowler or a fielder to make a fast buck because for every ball either wide or no ball or miss field can twist the result to either side."
Punters and bookies also go by the form of the player and especially for leading ones like Sachin Tendulkar, Chris Gayle, Shane Watson, Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli. For them these wickets are very important wickets as the match can be turned by only best batsmen or bowlers.
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"Gayle's early wicket can cost 40 paise loss to punters and if he makes a ton then they make money," source informed.
Another source claimed that some of the players see IPL season as an Life time Opportunity to make money instead of concentrating on career.
"It is quite obvious when awards worth Rs 25 crore are being given away at the end of the season for the winning team and other players for setting new records and scoring more runs or taking maximum wickets. The general trend is to make a fast buck and therefore there is every possibility of a match fixing or spot fixing," he said.
