‘Match-fixing’: Ex-PCB chief calls for probe into Pak-India World Cup semi
Britain's Daily Mail newspaper published excerpts of a book by sports-betting journalist Ed Hawkins in which he claimed an Indian bookmaker had accurately predicted what would happen in Pakistan's innings against their arch-rivals.
Hawkins said the bookmaker, Parthiv, sent him a Twitter message during the Indian innings correctly calling that when Pakistan batted, they would reach 100 runs easily, lose two wickets quickly, reach 150 with five down and lose by more than 20 runs.
India won the match by 29 runs to book their place in the final where they beat Sri Lanka to claim their second World Cup.
Hawkins does not make any specific allegation of match-fixing but cites a statistician as saying the odds of the bookmaker predicting the outcome in such detail purely by chance would be 405 to one against.
Suspicions were raised at the time, particularly over Pakistan's sloppy fielding; they dropped four catches from Indian batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar, allowing him to score a match-winning 85 runs.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) rejected the allegations in April 2011, saying there was no evidence to require an investigation into the match, but Ijaz Butt, the chairman of the PCB at the time, said there should be a probe.
"My suggestion would be that the matter should be investigated," Butt told ARY news channel in Pakistan. "There were a lot of allegations in Indian newspapers and even in Pakistani newspapers but there was no investigation,” he added.
Pakistan were in the thick of a fixing scandal a month before the semi-final when three of their top players -- Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer -- were handed long bans by the ICC for arranging no-balls to order during a Test against England in 2010.
The PCB refused to give any official reaction to the allegations.
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@gp65: Well thats why we all wants the truth should come out. India was not at all a team to win the world cup. You Indians should be grateful to our greedy and unpatriotic players who threw away the match for a few petty bucks. But ICC is a gutless organization run by Indians. ICC sucks.
"Hawkins said the bookmaker, Parthiv, sent him a Twitter message during the Indian innings correctly calling that when Pakistan batted, they would reach 100 runs easily, lose two wickets quickly, reach 150 with five down and lose by more than 20 runs...Hawkins does not make any specific allegation of match-fixing but cites a statistician as saying the odds of the bookmaker predicting the outcome in such detail purely by chance would be 405 to one against."
There were probably more than 405 twitter messages on the day of the match predicting what would happen, so if Parthiv's accuracy was correct then it just it means it was one of the 405 that proved correct as per the predicted statistical probability In fact it is like tly that there were 4050 twitter messages - just knowing how crazy the whole subcontinent is about cricket. SO there are probably 9 other people whom no-one has accused of fixing because their predictions came true based on a statistical probability. Go find them and scream louder still..
Am I missing something here? Pakistan lost the match so that must mean that they fixed the match and took money from bookmakers. If the bookmakers were Indians does that mean the players taking money were less guilty? I fail to see the logic here.
Why does Pakistan always fix to lose, why doesn't it fix to win once in a while?
@gp65
That was a great post. God for winings and Indian bookies for loss...ha..ha..ha.
@Green Oval
My information is that Prabhakar, Jadeja, Azhar all were investigated by Indian authorities and punished accordingly. BCCI didn't need to be told by others.
Yes the match was fixed bt not by bookies it fixed by two boards bcci and pcb..Bcci need the trophy and pcb need revival of cricket ties with india.every1 knows the money power of bcci
.Why are Pakistani cricketers so gullible and forth right corrupt into accepting money to fix games. They do not even pay taxes back home. There is no National honour BUT disgrace their country. Pure silly. They should be barred from all matches.
While travelling over river Chenab the driver of my car exclaimed , "Look at the water! You see these rivers had gone dry until recently but Indians released water because of the deal betwen Indian and Pak Governments - Pakistan lost the semi final since they couldnt play at Mumbai after what happened and the Indian Government released water into our rivers!! Pakistan could'nt have gone to Mumbai and played the final- There would have been riots!! It was a high level arrangement.
he predicted or fixed?
Publicity stunt..even if it was fixed(which I personally believe it was);but too late now to call the shots.
Cricket should be banned in India. Every team is pressurized to fix matches there. Hanse Cronje was doing fixing in India only, IPL is another example. India is mother of all match fixing. If you really want to stop this match fixing evil than cricket should be minimized in India.
@gp65: If the match was fixed, it means the Pakistani players took a payoff to allow India to win not the other way around. How then is BCCI involved?
The BCCI likely had a role in setting up the match. Logic dictates that how did BCCI overlook this, especially in an international world cup semi final that it was hosting? There is only one obvious answer to this. It will be interesting to see how the BCCI responds indeed. After all, for how long can it cover its collusion and probable double role.
@Critics: "First of all Indian gov shouldn’t allow these match fixers to come to India."
Or a more meaningful summary: "First of all, Indian government should not allow World Cups to be held in India in the future." This country is a global hub of bookies and fixers who will continue to do harm to the game; the world would be better off without them. If these allegations are true, what it means is that India's World Cup victory itself was also a pre-planned sham.
Now I really get what Afridi meant when he made that Indians being "small-hearted" comment. I totally agree, sir!
pakistani and their conspiracy theories...lol
Isn't it obvious that pakistani players fixed the match ?
grow up fellas..pakistan had the game under their control ofcourse...bt they couldnt absorb the pressure being created by the home crowd and the indian fielders..pakistan never chase well..go back into history..the guy who has written this stuff and the bookie should both be investigated.its just a ploy to bring disgrace to the team and the nation..nothing more!!
All of cricket is fixed, just look at the number of bookies around the world and you'll no what I mean. World sport is nothing more than a hoax right now.
@Critic: First of all Indian gov shouldn’t allow these match fixers to come to India
Or a more accurate statement: "First of all, Indian government shouldn't allow any cricket world cup to be held in India" - since the country is a global hub of bookies who are out to destroy the game.
Afridi was right when he said Indians are small-hearted people. Now I can see what he really meant. Shame.
Yup 100% fixed. You know the amount of money wagered on such games? If you did, then you'll know this is 100% true.
It was NOT fixed. Why would pakis fix semi-final match? It was an important match
Pakistan didnt have a chance.
Shameless pakistani cricketers, always disloyal to their country
Pakistanis take money to lose even at world cup semis.
Looks like Pakistanis in general and Pakistani cricketers in particular have absolutely no shame.
"Suspicions were raised at the time, particularly over Pakistan’s sloppy fielding; they dropped four catches from Indian batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar, allowing him to score a match-winning 85 runs." Why blame BCCI??,why dont PCB do internal inquiry about their players role in match fixing and ban them as claimed by mr ex PCB chief .it was the responsibility of pakistan player to catch sachin wicket but they dropped 4 times so why blame India for this.India has done its duty by batting well but if pakistan drops catches then it their problem and their board should ask then not BCCI or ICC for probe and as far as twitter is concerned many people says many thing but 1st bring evidence and then talk.Pakistan always talks and fails to gives evidence so ICC rejected their claim.Only throwing mere allegations on India doesn't work.it seems ex PCB chief trying to save his face and playing politics to return to PCB once again but it is pakistans internal matter
the bhartee glory factory is exposed now , we must take this to un international court since icc is sitting in lap of bhartee cricket control.
It is interesting to see Pakistan keeps oscillating between two extremes of extcomplicity and incompetence. Not a great choices but this does not deter an average Pakistani from a spirited discussion on any subject ranging from cricket to Abbotabad.
the team being accused here is pakistan, nothing to do with bcci. which makes half of the comments irrelevant.
This only means the obvious...that Pakistani batting is so pathetically predictable that anyone can predict whats gonna happen...as simple as that...
@Critics: "First of all Indian gov shouldn’t allow these match fixers to come to India.Someone said cricket is a game of gentle men , but paki players are not only match fixers , but loose canons like Afridi and Tanveer".
Oh, really, now tell us where all the bookies come from? Where do Parbhakar, Ajay Jadeja and some of the other proven and punished guilty fixers come from? Loose cannon? what about the pundit who has the famous nephew and the "Baap" guy Shewag and cry baby Gautam who loves to fight like school kids. Grow up and get a life.
@romeo: "World cricket is ruled by BCCI and ICC is a poodle of BCCI. The semi-final was fixed there is no doubt but ICC have got no guts to probe in to this allegation since ICC do not want to disobey the order of their master."
If the match was fixed, it means the Pakistani players took a payoff to allow India to win not the other way around. How then is BCCI involved? Logic would suggest that it is Pakistani players who should be investigated, if what you say is true and it was a fixed match.
So when India wina a match it is because Indian bookies fixed it. When Pakistan fares better as in the recent T20 - it is the grace of Allah. I was very much in favor of Pakistan coming and playing India in December. But if this is going to be the attitude - all wins by Pakistan due to Allah's grace and all losses by Pakistan due to the greedy Indian bookies - then the team might as well stay home. Have a little sportsman spirit. Look at ROmney's gracious concession speeach and he is a politician not a sportsman. There is dignity in conceding gracefully also instead of being perpetual cry babies.
............tell us something new and with substance. This is all talk in the air.
First of all Indian gov shouldn't allow these match fixers to come to India.Someone said cricket is a game of gentle men , but paki players are not only match fixers , but loose canons like Afridi and Tanveer.
@romeo: Doesn't this mean Pakistan team fixed the match? Why blame BCCI here?
So why isnt ICC investigating this time, they do it even if it is published any evening magzine....
I knew it. It was only a matter of time. Pakistan can never loose a cricket match, unless it is fixed by someone. My guess is, it is the short man who was dropped four times. Taliyaa...please. And please, don't remind of such crap as 'you need two hands to clap'.
Anything goes when it comes to Pakistan cricket and cricketers these days.The sad part is that they are not the only ones playing this sort of games but they are fool enough to fall in the obvious traps and get caught. Some of them can sell out for peanuts, Salman Butt and and co. are the recent examples. Asad Rauf another example of stupidity, what in the world was he thinking when posing for those snapshots knowing that he is a public figure with family and children. Some people just don't ever learn or don't care.
"they would reach 100 runs easily, lose two wickets quickly, reach 150 with five down and lose by more than 20 runs."
Sorry, but this sounds like most matches, and doesn't sound like much of a prediction. Anyone can say anything, and it comes true, it doesn't mean the match is fixed.
All roads lead to Indian book-makers; until this cess-pit of vipers is cleaned out, no game of cricket played anywhere in the world by any team will ever be safe
World cricket is ruled by BCCI and ICC is a poodle of BCCI. The semi-final was fixed there is no doubt but ICC have got no guts to probe in to this allegation since ICC do not want to disobey the order of their master.
No doubt it looked like a fixed match. India did not deserve to win the world cup.