NEW DELHI: The buzz around the England-India Test match at Lord’s is heating up, and with it the Satta Bazaar. Bets are already being placed on match winners and individual scorers – and the stakes are high on Sachin Tendulkar’s hundredth 100.
For every rupee bet on Sachin’s 100th century, one will get a return of Rs. 3.60 paise. But bookies feel there’s a greater chance that Sachin will score a half century instead, as for every rupee bet on his half century, one gets Rs. 2.60.
Among India’s top batsmen, Sachin is also the clear favourite among bookies to be the top-scorer in India’s first innings. Betting on this, one makes Rs. 4.60 against every rupee bet.
VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid and Gautam Gambhir are also not far behind as favourites. If a rupee bet is placed on Laxman to be India’s top-scorer, one gets richer by Rs. 5.10, while in case of Dravid the return is Rs. 5.20, and for Gambhir Rs. 5.50.
However, the betting market for win/loss at Lord’s is loaded in favour of the hosts with a gain of Rs. 3.60 for every rupee bet, whereas betting on an Indian victory, a rupee bet earns Rs. 15.
England is currently also the favourite to win the series, though by a narrow margin. For every rupee bet on England, one can take home Rs. 1.82. But for every rupee bet on India, the return is of Rs. 3.90.
These odds, however, could change as the match progresses and the performance of the two teams is re-analysed.
