Mumbai, April 1 (IANS) The underground betting syndicate is in a frenzy over the India-Sri Lanka cricket World Cup final here Saturday. A mind-boggling sum of Rs.50,000 crore (over $11 billion) is at stake on the final showdown, sources said.If the punters are to be believed, India are a clear favourites at 46 paise against Sri Lanka's Rs. 1.38.

In simple parlance, if one bets Re.1 on India and it wins, the better gets his rupee back plus 46 paise. For a rupee bet on Sri Lanka, and it wins, the return would be a whopping Rs.2.38.

Reliable sources said that betting reached a feverish pitch when India beat Pakistan in the semifinal at Mohali Wednesday to book seat in the finals.

The amount could go up substantially depending on who wins the toss and elects to bat or bowl, sources said.

The bookies have also bet on players hitting a century at the final. The chance that an Indian player hits a ton has been pegged at 78 paise.

Among the players, Sachin Tendulkar is considered the best bet for hitting a half century at 90 paise, but a whopping Rs.5 for a century.

Virender Sehwag is next on the list for scoring a century at Rs.5.50 and Rs.1.05 for a half century.

Similarly, Gautam Gambhir's chances of hitting a century are pegged at Rs.6.00, but Rs.1.10 for a half century.

Next on the punters' list is Yuvraj Singh who stands at Rs.6.20 for a century and Rs.1.25 for a half century.

The sources said that this time, all betting is done through Goa and Gujarat using high-end laptops and mobiles.

"This time, Mumbai and rest of Maharashtra is out of the circuit for operating the business because of so many VVIPs, foreign dignitaries and multi-agencies security on land, in the air and at sea," a source told IANS.

The bets are being placed round-the-clock and rates keep changing all the time, he said. 

       
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