Feature
IPL-2018: KKR, Punjab look to continue winning streak
Table-toppers Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) will both be high on confidence after registering morale-boosting victories in their respective previous games, when they clash in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the Eden Gardens here on Saturday.
While KKR got the better of Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets in Jaipur, Punjab rode Chris Gayle’s blazing hundred to stymie Sunrisers Hyderabad’s three-game unbeaten streak and coast to a 15-run victory at home.
KKR had Nitish Rana — who fired with bat and ball once again — and their wrist spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Piyush Chawla to thank for the second triumph in a row.
Rana took two crucial wickets of Ajinkya Rahane and D’Arcy Short when both were looking good for a big score. With the bat, KKR’s most consistent player so far remained unbeaten on 35 to see them cross the line with ease.
Needless to say, Rana’s form augurs well for Dinesh Karthik’s men who also have Robin Uthappa among runs along with the captain himself.
Rana, who bagged the Man-of-the-Match award for the second game in a row, now has 162 runs in five matches at 40.50, and four wickets.
Backing up their batsmen, Kuldeep and Piyush kept it really tight the other day after they were handed the new ball. The pair returned combined figures of 2/41 in eight overs which is excellent in T20 cricket.
KKR’s worry would be the form of dashing Australian opener Chris Lynn who lasted just two balls against Rajasthan and departed cheaply without troubling the scorers.
Lynn has struggled against spin and was seen playing with a horizontal bat in only the second ball of his innings to K. Gowtham who castled him.
The likes of Punjab captain R. Ashwin and 17-year old Afghanistan offie Mujeeb Ur Rahman would be licking their lips when they bowl to him and it remains to be see how the Queenslander tackles them.
The other opener, Sunil Narine, has come good with his brisk cameos, but has shown susceptibility to shot-pitched deliveries, something Punjab would be aware of.
Coming to Gayle, the burly West Indian smoked 11 sixes en route his unbeaten 63-ball 104 to help his side post a challenging 193/3.
Hyderabad were never in the chase and lost comprehensively in the end. This was Gayle’s second consecutive match-winning innings after his 33-ball 63 against Chennai Super Kings.
Gayle’s innings was typical of him but in the manner in which he saw off Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s first spell and later unleashed a brutal assault on Rashid Khan’s legspin, underlined the reservoir of experience that came into play during the knock.
Besides Gayle, Punjab bat deep with the likes of big-hitting Aaron Finch, KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal and ageing Yuvraj Singh in their ranks. Their bowling lacks experience, especially in the pace department. Mohit Sharma went for a lot of runs against Hyderabad and will have to get his act together against KKR.
Having played one match less than KKR, Punjab have so far just lost once in four outings and are placed third. The two teams have met 21 times before and KKR have a superior 14-7 head to head record.
Teams (from)
KKR: Dinesh Karthik (c and WK), Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Chris Lynn, Robin Uthappa, Kuldeep Yadav, Piyush Chawla, Nitish Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Shivam Mavi, Mitchell Johnson, Shubman Gill, R Vinay Kumar, Rinku Singh, Cameron Delport, Javon Searless, Apoorv Wankhade, Ishank Jaggi and Tom Curran.
KXIP: R Ashwin (Captain), Axar Patel, Yuvraj Singh, Karun Nair, Lokesh Rahul (WK), Chris Gayle, David Miller, Aaron Finch, Marcus Stoinis, Mayank Agarwal, Ankit Rajpoot, Manoj Tiwary, Mohit Sharma, Mujeeb Zadran, Barinder Sran, Andrew Tye, Akshdeep Nath, Ben Dwarshuis, Pardeep Sahu, Mayank Dagar, Manzoor Dar.
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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