Feature
U-19 World Cup: Sri Lanka beat England, set up semis clash with India
Mirpur: Opener Avishka Fernando struck a fluent 95 after Wanidu Hasanranga grabbed three wickets as Sri Lanka defeated England by six wickets in the quarter-final match here on Sunday and thus set up a semi-final clash against India in the Under-19 cricket World Cup.
Fernando hit 11 boundaries and one six as Sri Lanka dismissed England for 184 in 49.2 overs and then surpassed the modest target scoring 186 in 35.4 overs. Leg-spinner Hasanranga grabbed three wickets for the island nation.
Sri Lanka will take on India in the first semi-final in Mirpur on Tuesday. The second semi-final on Thursday will feature hosts Bangladesh against the winner of Monday’s Pakistan-West Indies match.
This is only the third time Lanka have reached the semi-final of this tournament since its inception in 1988.
In the home event in 2000, they reached the final where they lost to Mohammad Kaif-captained India, while in 2010 in New Zealand, Sri Lanka reached the last four and finished in fourth position.
Callum Taylor top-scored with 42 after England won the toss and elected to bat, but the rest of the batting fell apart against the sustained pressure applied by the Lankan bowlers.
Leg-spinner Hasaranga finished with three wickets for 34 runs after seamer Asitha Fernando had wrecked the start with two dismissals.
In reply, Sri Lanka made a breezy start racing to 51 for no loss in eight overs before the lunch break, with Fernando contributing 35 of those runs.
Kaveen Bandara helped Fernando put on 76 for the first wicket by the 14th over when he was run out for 22.
Fernando was about to steer his team towards an emphatic win before he was caught behind off Saqib Mahmood when just 14 runs were needed for victory in 17 overs.
Skipper Charith Asalanka, who put on 69 for the third wicket with Fernando, fell for 34 soon after, but Sri Lanka cruised home easily.
Asalanka was delighted to see his team bounce back after losing to Pakistan in the last league match.
“We had not batted well against Pakistan, so it was important to settle down and build big scores, which is what Avishka was able to do today. But the bowlers won us the game today. We bowled well and fielded very well too. But the plus point is that we have improved our batting,” Asalanka said after the win.
Asalanka said Lanka will test India with spin in the semi-final.
“We know India players are good facing spin, but spin is our strength and we will stick to that. We are confident of doing well in the semi-final,” the skipper said.
Brief Scores: England 184 in 49.2 overs (Callum Taylor 42; Wanidu Hasaranga 3-34, Asitha Fernando 2-16) vs Sri Lanka 186-4 in 35.4 overs (Avishka Fernando 95).
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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