Bet on Tendulkar - to fail

The word is out that India will win the first Test! No, it's not a Cricinfo expose on match-fixing but what punters in Raipur in central India are predicting. India Abroad News Service reports that the bookies have collected bets worth a whopping Rs 560 million ($12.72 million) and the amount is expected to go past 700 million by the time the match ends. Raja, a top punter, is quoted as saying, "The betting money has come from 22 centres of Maharashtra's Vidarbha region, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Chhattisgarh".

Sachin Tendulkar, the safest bet in the past, is not finding many takers this time. "Market has shown good response for Dravid and Dhoni but people are reluctant about Sachin," another punter said. Apparently bookies will lose 80% if Tendulkar hits a ton. Hmm... how the wheel has turned...

Meanwhile, Tendulkar, who is 1.6 metres tall, has asked for larger sightscreens! Salim Altaf, director of cricket operations of the Pakistan Cricket Board, is quoted by Reuters as saying, "They [Indian team management] have said that Tendulkar has asked for the changes because he feels he might not be able to sight the ball leaving the bowler's hand properly in the backdrop of the current sightscreens ". Wonder whether the punters know about this...

Imran Khan, writing in the The Hindu bats for Greg Chappell: "Plenty has been written about the Sourav-Chappell politics and I simply don't know enough to comment. However, I have known Greg for a long time now, and he is a straight-talking guy. That's a trait that can land you in hot water every now and then, but it also means that he is an honest, hard-working, committed individual. Few people know more about strategy and pressure than Greg, and his batting pedigree is beyond question. If you judge a coach by his credentials, then few in world cricket can be compared to Greg."

Cricket diplomacy rolls on. Sharad Pawar, the BCCI president, will meet up with President Pervez Musharraf on Friday. Pawar, also the federal minister for agriculture, will be the first senior Indian cabinet member to call on Musharraf in recent times. The Press Trust of India reports that Indian players, with exclusive contracts with television channels, will besiege Pawar with requests to allow them to honour their contractual obligations. As per the new BCCI directive, all players have been told not to talk to the media on an exclusive basis, even to those with whom they have a contract to do so. Money talks, exclusively.

'Incredible'! - that is Nasser Hussain on the inclusion of Ganguly in the team as an opener. The exclamation mark does no justice to the former England captain's reaction on air. He rolled his eyes, shook his head and one needs to visualise cartoons where adjectives roll out as texts inside big bubbles. Imran Khan, sitting beside Hussain in the Ten Sports studio, is of the opinion that Rahul Dravid, better equipped technically, should open.

NDTV reports that the first batch of Indian fans, numbering 30, crossed over to Pakistan on Thursday. Twenty six of them preferred the land route, crossing the Wagah border, while the remaining four had taken the train to Pakistan. Three hundred more Indian nationals are expected to cross over.