By James Jose, IANS,
New Delhi : Few in England expect an English win in the seven-match one day international (ODI) series against India, if one were to go by the bets placed with a top British bookie.
William Hill – a leading London-based sports betting house – favours an Indian win in the series. According to the odds it has placed on the two teams till Sunday, a bettor backing England would win Rs.1,500 on a wager of Rs.1,000, while it would only be Rs.500 if India was backed.
Before the series began, William Hill’s odds of 8/13 on India to win the first match and 6/5 on England meant a bettor would have won Rs.615 on every Rs.1,000 placed on the hosts, and as much as Rs.1,200 placed on the visitors.
In other words, the odds were against England winning.
“We hardly received a bet in favour of England on the eve of the first ODI and almost every bettor was expecting an Indian win,” William Hill spokesperson Rupert Adams told IANS.
“And as the game progressed, the odds on India came under pressure,” he added.
And now, after the opening match that saw Yuvraj Singh demolish the English attack with an unbeaten 78-ball 138 runs, the odds have tilted heavily in favour of India on the eve of the second ODI Monday – the odds on an Indian win have been set at 4/9.
With odds of 13/8 on an English win in the second match in Indore, William Hill is saying what Indian fans want to hear the most: Kevin Pietersen’s team will be bested once again.
Team India’s recent triumph in the Test series against Australia and the emphatic 158- run win over England in the first ODI at Rajkot have sent its winning odds spiralling.
Now, for the overall series, the betting house has put odds of 6/4 on England, and 1/2 on India. In other words, betting on India will bring less returns as William Hill and the betting community feel M.S. Dhoni’s boys are more likely to triumph.
At the beginning of the series, Yuvraj Singh was the third favourite to be India’s top run scorer in the series at 9/2, behind the explosive Virender Sehwag at 5/2, and Gautam Gambhir at 3/1. All that changed after his superb knock at the Rajkot ODI – his odds of becoming the highest scorer have gone up to 9/4, reflecting he is the favourite.
Odds are calculated on basis of team composition, playing conditions and a comparison of bets placed by other bookies. “We have two experts on cricket who individually gauge the odds of competing teams. They then evaluate their conclusions depending on technical analysis and finally take a stance on who could win,” said Adams.
Betting, incidentally, is illegal in India, and one cannot place bets with legitimate overseas bookies such as William Hill and Ladbrokes.
However, this hasn’t stopped people from wagering in the domestic grey betting market, known colloquially as ‘satta’, estimated unofficially to be more than $25 billion.