India will certainly win, you bet!

Betters’ favourite team is South Africa, though Sachin Tendulkar takes the cake for being the most sought-after player. "Sachin could make or mar some committed speculators," said one.

Though unlawful, betting usually goes unreported, mainly because it takes place within the confines of club houses or individuals. "It is only when there are disputes that we get to know," said a police official.

The amounts vary – from as low as Rs 10 to Rs 1,000. "It all depends on how much you want to risk. But with the World Cup fever, the stakes will go up," said a regular’ in the business.

While the smaller players’ prefer dealing through agents who have mushroomed in the city, the ones who can afford to pitch in more are even calling up places like Delhi and Bombay, sources said. But if you involve an agent, you should be prepared to give his share, which is usually one or two per cent.

There are at least eight centres in and around the city where one can try ones luck. With the right contacts you can even fix up over the phone. Since money changes hands only after the match is over, the customer must be known to the agent, said a student who made small amount when India played against Pakistan last at Sharjah.

Betting takes various forms. It may be over the toss of the coin’ – indicating who will win the toss. Often two parties select five batsmen from each side playing a match. At the end of the match total runs scored by those selected five players are calculated, which is then subtracted from the total runs scored by the other five players. And the party, whose players have scored more runs takes the money.

There is another form. The difference in runs is multiplied by the rate per run which is decided earlier and the amount is paid to the other party. Suppose the difference between the two set of players comes to 50 runs and the run rate is Rs 100, then the party which lost the bet has to pay Rs 5,000.

Parties also bet on bowlers. They could pick two bowlers from each side and the bet can be on the bowler taking the maximum number of wickets. The rate per wicket is a bit higher than for runs – it goes as high as Rs 2,000 per wicket.

Those who stake on impulse prefer viewing matches to playing cards during the cricket season. They bet on anything from a catch dropped to the number of catches taken by a wicket-keeper. "Playing cards sometimes get boring, so I prefer betting when the matches are on. I make money while having fun," said a cricket enthusiast.