More than $500 million is expected to be gambled illegally on the Champions Trophy final between Pakistan and India on Sunday.
The final at The Oval in England shapes as being one of the most watched matches in history between the two political enemies. The two countries have never met in a global 50-over decider.
While the Champions Trophy does not carry the same prestige as a World Cup, that India and Pakistan have won through to the final will more than ease any frustration officials may have had after the host nation was beaten in the semi-final.
There will be plenty of feeling between the teams, whose cricketing clashes have been restricted to key events either through the International Cricket Council or the Asia Cup for more than four years because of escalating political tensions. This has meant they have not played a Test match since 2007 or a bilateral series since 2012-13.
India reached the final after a nine-wicket win over Bangladesh in Thursday's semi-final in Birmingham, with skipper Virat Kohli crunching an unbeaten 96 off 78 balls to guide his team home. In doing so, he became the fastest man to 8000 one-day international runs - reaching the milestone in 175 innings, seven less than South African AB de Villiers.
Pakistan had secured their spot with a shock eight-wicket win over England in Cardiff on Wednesday.
"Regardless of who you play in the final, it's always going to be challenging because once you start thinking that it's a big game, then your mindset changes," Kohli said.
"What we are going to try to do is repeat the similar sort of cricket that we have played so far, knowing the strengths and weaknesses they have."
What is clear is that the two nations will generate enormous betting on the sub-continent, and in India, in particular, where it's illegal to bet on cricket largely due to The Public Gambling Act of 1867.
Pakistan versus India one-day matches generated about $500 million from gambling almost a decade ago, with sources on Friday indicating to Fairfax Media that figure almost certainly would have grown in recent years, particularly with technology making it easier to lay a bet on all sorts of machinations.
Betting syndicates still abound, although the two major parties, one run by the D Company in Mumbai and another run by a former partner of that firm, are said to be not as dominant as they once were. Syndicates have now spread to regions including south-east Asia and South Africa.
A growing issue for anti-corruption chiefs is pitch-siding, where, in India, a delay of about 12 seconds between on-field action and the live broadcast allows some spectators to pass information to bookies, or to bet themselves. This has meant players are less likely to be needed for corruption purposes.
Pakistan and India have a combined population of about 1.5 billion (not to mention those living elsewhere around the world), with a third to half of that figure expected to tune in at some stage to this latest game. Almost one billion tuned in to the 2011 World Cup semi-final between the nations. Queues at airports in India have been known to almost come to a standstill when the two countries have met.
That a world title is on the line has added to the sense of occasion for this latest clash - and one which officials say could be one of the most watched matches in history. The time difference - India and Pakistan are four hours behind England - will also suit audiences.
India and Pakistan did meet in the 2007 World Twenty20 final, with India prevailing by five runs. They also clashed in the final of the World Championship of Cricket in Melbourne in 1985, an event commemorating 150 years of European settlement in Victoria. India also won, this time by eight wickets, but that event had only the seven Test-playing nations of the time.
