SPORT THIS WEEK – There has been a deluge of information on the internet regarding Pakistan’s semi final loss to India. There was an excerpt from a Facebook chat seemingly timed at 2:30pm India time, thirty minutes into the match, in which one person quoted a bookie as saying that India would score 260 and would win by 25 or so runs.
There were other comments regarding fall of wickets which also seemed accurate. But in this age of Photoshop, doctoring has become a fine art, although it was suggested in the post that the conversation and its timings were documented on the Facebook page. The ICC should take note of this conversation and liaise with Facebook to find out if indeed this chat took place and whether it took place at the time indicated.
Then there was the bookie on the Lucman Show on television, who claimed that let alone cricket, all sports is fixed. That seems hard to believe. No tennis player would tank a Wimbledon final for any amount of money. Nor would a golfer throw the Augusta Masters. The financial awards, the honour and recognition is too great.
Cricket is a different kettle of fish. The financial rewards are, relatively speaking not so great. The individual recognition and honour is somewhat diluted by the fact that it is shared by the entire team. The betting mafia is inextricably entrenched in the system and once you are in their clutches, you leave at the risk of your own well being. So we come to the million dollar question: Could this semi final have been fixed? Or did the team simply choke under the weight of their own expectations? In order for us to dig deeper into this subject, we have to first come to terms with whether a team is making errors such as dropped catches or is purposely determining the course of a match through actions that defy logical thinking.
Take the case of Kamran Akmal missing the run out in the Sydney Test. He could be forgiven for dropping three or four catches. They could, possibly, have been genuine errors. But the way he did not even try for the run out, something contrary to all wicketkeeping instincts, was a dead give away. This was supported by disclosures in England the following summer that the Sydney Test was fixed. And yet, here we have Kamran Akmal, one of the most erratic ‘keepers of all time, flashing his toothsome grin behind the wickets in the World Cup. And yes, he did drop Sachin Tendulkar early on. Ian Chappell has been quoted as saying that in order for Akmal to atone for his keeping mistakes, he would have to bat better than Bradman!
Do we have no other wicketkeeper in Pakistan who could hold on to catches and score a few runs? We had one but he ran off to London claiming the betting mafia was after him. The mafia knows that in order to fix a match, the keeper must be on board. Is that why Akmal has been retained for so long? Who has retained him? The selection committee? Or have the higher ups made sure that he stayed on?
In the semifinal against India, Pakistan dropped a slew of catches, allowing Tendulkar to turn the course of the match. One could say that the catches were not dollies and could have been dropped by anyone. But the mystery lies in the run chase. What compelled Misbah to keep patting half volleys back to the bowler. He played 40 dot balls in an innings which even a layman could see was putting Pakistan into a corner it could never hope to get out of.
Then, in the last couple of overs when all hope was gone, there were some attempts at big hits, without taking the power play and the inevitable catch in the deep. This was incomprehensible, especially coming from as astute a cricketer as Misbah. What was going on? Following the match, there was a surge in sms messages and emails suggesting that Pakistan had done well and should be congratulated for reaching the semi finals. The thought seemed to be that there should be no post mortem of the match. With all due apologies, this match is as solid a case for an inquiry as the Sydney Test against Australia. There were too many things against the grain of what is normal cricket, too many illogical happenings.
That the PCB has sat back and patted itself on the back for reaching the semifinals, hints at its own involvement. Former Pakistan cricketers have gone on the record on TV chat shows, one saying that if cricket was going to be played in this manner then it should be used for erasing our national debt. It doesn’t get any more blunt.
In the opinion of this column, a lot of things that went on were at variance with what is the norm of ODI cricket. An independent inquiry should be conducted, if not for match fixing, but then for finding where we went so drastically wrong. If we do not learn from and correct our mistakes, we are doomed to repeat them. Shoving under the rug is a recipe for further such disasters.
In his chat on television immediately following India’s World Cup win, Sachin Tendulkar mentioned the use of a sports psychologist some time prior to the start of the event. He said that this enabled them to mentally handle our expectations and those of the country. The Indians’ performance in the final was a clear indicator of the mental improvement in the side.
Ten years ago, had India lost Sehwag and Tendulkar in the first few overs, they would have folded in no time. Their body language would have turned negative and their shoulders sagged. The match would, essentially have been over. But the way Gambhir and their inspirational skipper, Dhoni batted, points to a new attitude. This attitude owes its genesis to Gary Kirsten, Dhoni, the IPL League and last but not least the sports psychologist.
The role of the IPL, from which Pakistan is excluded by purpose, also cannot be understated. The young Indian players rubbed shoulders with all time greats, trained with them, absorbed their attitudes and the difference was there for all to see.
Too many illogical happenings
