Bettors at Lord's Test

The historic Test match at Lord's between England and India - the 2000th official Test match that is being played and the 100th between India and England - has bookies cashing in on the game.
"While there was very little interest among punters in the recently concluded Test series between India and West Indies, the current Test match between England and India already has '18 to 22 crores on stake from the Lucknow region itself.The total amount from UP may go upto '75-80 crores," informs a bookie.
The current form of Team India notwithstanding, the odds are in favour of an England win. "Going by the records, India has never fared well in damp conditions where the ball swings a lot. On the other hand, England are playing on home soil and are very well aware of the conditions. So, the odds are 3:1 for an Indian win. For England win, the odds are 2:1. Since it's a Test match, a draw can also happen, so the odds for a draw are 5:1," says another bookie.
Adding to the bettors' interest is the likelihood of Sachin Tendulkar scoring his 100th international century. "Yes people are putting money on whether Sachin will make his 100th international century in this Test match. But going by Sachin's record at Lord's, he has never made even a half century in the seven innings he has played there. So, the odds - 8:1 - are not in his favour," adds one of the bookies.
But there's no dearth of optimists among bettors and a punter has bet Rs 4 lakhs on Sachin's chances of scoring his 100th international ton. "I am very confident that Sachin will score a century at Lord's. He looks determined to do well against England, as this could perhaps be his last tour there. So, I have put '4 lakhs on him making a century," says a punter.