The India-Sri Lanka game had not even finished, and a controversy was waiting to occur.
Former Pakistani players and commentators Rameez Raja and Waqar Younis blasted Sri Lanka for not beating India. They also accused Sri Lanka of favouring India to reach the final and blamed captain Mahela Jayawardene.
The game between India and Sri Lanka was to virtually decide the second team to play in the final.
India needed to win and Pakistan's fate was not in their hands. India chased down a total of over 300 quite comfortably.
Rameez Raja and Waqar Younis were quick to pounce on the fact that the Sri Lankans were not quick in the field. They also stated that Sri Lanka favoured India as their opponents in the final.
These allegations are absolutely nonsensical. Firstly, no team would like to face a stronger side in the final when they are given an option. What is the logic behind facing a stronger India than a relatively weak Pakistan ?
No smart person would want to face a deadlier opponent in a trophy winning encounter. So if Sri Lanka were given a choice, which they virtually were, they would have definitely taken Pakistan.
The commentators also accused Sri Lankans of fielding a weaker team against India on purpose.
This was completely understandable as the Lankans would not want more injured bowlers or players in the final. The fact that their best bowlers were not playing in the final, would have hurt Sri Lanka in more ways than one.
Fielding their best side would also mean that India would get a taste of the likes of Mendis, who has not faced India as of yet. In short, the Indians would be better equipped to face him having already faced him once.
These allegations levelled against the Lankans are absolutely amateurish and the commentators need to realise that professionalism and a non-biased attitude must be upheld at all times.
In the end, these comments only show that the commentators and fans are tired of the board politics played by the PCB. They are all hoping for a decent side to be picked to face world class teams like India.
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3 months ago
lol.. can't you see the blatant bias commentators of like Rameez, Waqar and even Aamir Sohail.. they should be blaming their team for not qualifying - besides, I do feel that Sri Lanka were below par against India, but not to the extent of getting themselves beaten.. that's stupid.
3 months ago
well commentators from pakistan have always had this problem...and Ramiz Raja in particular.. if pakistan losses a game the mans face is red.
Having said that the controversies in India come from variuos sources....its like if India is playing poorly they are a bad side and when they start winnning ppl come up wiht nonsense like match fixing and op. thorwing the game away.
it almost looks like Indians and Indian media cant take it that the team is performing very well .....
as far as that night's game is concerned, let me remind them that anything can happen in the world of sport....the way Sri Lanka played was very much similar to the way India played just the night before aganist Pakistan.
3 months ago
Commentators around the world have various problems..Lets not take these guys seriously
3 months ago
It very simple .India was having a dream run at the Asia Cup owing to the exploits of Sehwag , Raina and Dhoni's captaincy.More than selecting the team they would have liked to play in the finals , the Sri Lankans wanted their best bowlers to rest and be fit for the finals and that was what they did.Had they not done that India would have found it difficult to win , but if they would have won which India finally did, they would have beaten them in the finals, then the result would have been different.Mahela Jayawardene did well to hide Ajantha Mendis from the Indians & that was his master trick , I sincerely laud him for that.Losing the game may have been a part of the game plan.
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