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IPL-2018: Resurgent Mumbai, dodgy KKR face off in crunch clash
Back in the mix riding consecutive victories, a buoyant Mumbai Indians (MI) will cross swords with an iffy Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for a second time in a space of three days in a crunch Indian Premier League (IPL) encounter at the Eden Gardens here on Wednesday.
Recovering from a slow start, defending champions MI recorded back-to-back wins against Kings XI Punjab and KKR to jump to fifth spot (8 points from 10 games) in the table, a rung below their rivals (10 points from 10 games) on the morrow.
KKR, meanwhile, have blown hot and cold, winning five and losing an equal number of matches.
While the Dinesh Karthik-led side have not managed to string together consistent performances, MI led by India’s limited-over Vice Captain Rohit Sharma have looked like a team on a mission to turn the tide in their favour at the end of the season.
Mumbai were on the verge of falling by the wayside after a series of reversals before they managed to pull through in the previous two games.
While against Punjab it was a Rohit and Krunal Pandya blitz that kept them alive in the competition, a challenging 181/4 coupled with well-directed short balls during KKR’s chase helped MI stay afloat and stake a claim for a playoffs berth.
KKR looked like getting away with the points at various junctures of the match but planned short deliveries from the likes of Mitchell McClenaghan at the start and Hardik Pandya towards the end helped MI pick up wickets at regular intervals as well as break crucial partnerships.
Given the role of an opening batsman, Suryakumar Yadav has been a revelation for MI, scoring as many as four half centuries in 10 matches. The 27-year-old former KKR player is MI’s highest run-getter amassing 399 at 39.90.
One concern for Rohit would be MI’s middle order which continued to struggle against KKR and had it not been for Hardik’s innovative shots at the end, they would have not managed to post 181 despite getting off to an explosive start.
MI also lack depth in bowling and Robin Uthappa almost exposed that in the last match.
Coming to the home team, KKR were not at full strength against MI in the away game, with young pacer Shivam Mavi’s injured finger joining the team’s long list of injuries this season.
It remains to be seen whether Mavi, an U-19 World Cup winner, plays on Wednesday. Otherwise KKR might again opt for little-known Prasidh Krishna who made his IPL debut the other evening.
Led by West Indian mystery spinner Sunil Narine, KKR’s spin battery will again be the key with chinaman Kuldeep Yadav and leggie Piyush Chawla expected to choke the opposition.
Karthik has been very consistent with the bat and he would want his other batters to stand up and be counted.
Nitish Rana has been in fine touch for the purple brigade from the outset while Andre Russell has played a few devastating knocks. Young Shubman Gill, who was sent in to open the batting along with Lynn against MI, could again get the opportunity.
In the head-to-head count, MI lead KKR by a long long way at 17-5 in 22 meetings so far. Both teams need to win on Wednesday to keep their chances alive and not leave their fate to other teams.
Teams:
KKR: Dinesh Karthik (captain), 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, Tom Curran.
MI: Rohit Sharma (captain), Suryakumar Yadav, Evin Lewis, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Mayank Markande, Mitchell McLenaghan, Mustafizur Rahaman, Jasprit Bumrah, Akila Dananjaya, Ben Cutting, JP Duminy, Rahul Chahar, Sharad Lumba, Adam Milne, Siddhesh Lad, Md Nidheesh, Mohsin Khan, Anukul Roy, Pradeep Sangwan, Tajinder Singh, Aditya Tare, Saurabh Tiwary.
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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