Feature
It is Mumbai Indian vs ‘Half CSK’ Pune Supergiants in IPL 9 opener
And the ninth season kicks off by pitting the defending champions Mumbai Indians against newcomers Rising Pune Supergiants. MS Dhoni has been put front and centre, and so has the best batting track in the country. Amid all the criticism that the tournament endures, the organizers certainly do know how to sell it and the audience are quite happy to buy into it.
Pune have formidable players. But Dhoni’s success with CSK was based on chemistry with & loyalty of players. The question is, can he strike similar rapport quickly with the new team?
By feeding off a rivalry that has defined the IPL, of course. Mumbai are the only team that has a favourable win-loss record against the suspended Chennai Super Kings, whose key figures – captain Dhoni, lead spinner R Ashwin and head coach Stephen Fleming – have broken away to form the core of the Supergiants.
The world’s best will be in action again, a mere six days after a World T20 where new heroes emerged, low-scoring matches were still competitive and, despite the host nation being knocked out, the final was played at Eden Gardens in front of a near-capacity crowd. The finish – how did it go down again? Ah yes – with a flurry of sixes, a commentator screaming, and a team emerging from damn near unwinnable situations to become champions was very IPL. It’s immensely hard to imagine that being matched, but never say never with this tournament.
Mumbai made only seven purchases at the auction, and Jos Butler was their most expensive buy. His price soared to INR 3.8 crore, despite his limited experience in India, purely because of his ability as a 360-degree player. Now he has had the experience of playing in these conditions – for a world championship no less – and his presence in the middle order may just free up Rohit Sharma to play in his preferred opening slot.
The English presence this IPL season is reasonably strong. And even at the age of 35 and with only franchise cricket to sustain himself, Kevin Pietersen was among the best batsmen in the Big Bash League 2015-16. Only two men scored more than his 323 runs and none matched his four fifties in nine matches.
Lasith Malinga’s injury might mean Mitchell McClenaghan would be tasked with leading the Mumbai attack, especially considering Tim Southee has not played international cricket in over a month. The other choice Mumbai may need to make is between Kieron Pollard, who has just recovered from injury, and Corey Anderson, who has been out of form, in the XI. Harbhajan Singh will likely be their lead spinner, but which of J Suchith, Krunal Pandya (both left-arm spinners) and Kishore Kamath (the legspinner who was bought for INR 1.4 crores) will partner him?
Squads:
Mumbai Indians (probable) 1 Lendl Simmons, 2 Rohit Sharma (capt), 3 Unmukt Chand, 4 Ambati Rayudu, 5 Jos Buttler, (wk), 6 Kieron Pollard, 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 J Suchith/ Krunal Pandya/ Kishore Kamath, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Mitchell McClenaghan
Rising Pune Supergiants (probable) 1 Ajinkya Rahane, 2 Kevin Pietersen, 3 Faf du Plessis, 4 Steven Smith, 5 MS Dhoni (capt and wk), 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 R Ashwin, 8 Irfan Pathan/ Ashok Dinda, 9 Ishant Sharma, 10 Ishwar Pandey, 11 M Ashwin
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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