After India lost their first game in the ICC World Cup 2019 against hosts England on Sunday, many were quick to allege that the team had purposefully held back their otherwise staggering capabilities to lower the chances of Pakistan qualifying to the semi-finals.Former Pakistan cricketer Sikander Bakht a day prior to the crunch match, expressed his qualms about India letting other teams win just so Pakistan’s fate in the tournament could be negatively impacted. “If India are already through, they will in their final match allow the opponents to win to ensure that Pakistan are knocked-out,” he said during a live transmission. Moreover, Basit Ali, former Pakistani right-handed batsman also had the same doubts about the Indian intentions as he said during an interview on a local news channel: "India will never want Pakistan to reach the semi-finals. They have matches remaining against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Everybody saw how India won against Afghanistan."“They (India) will play in such a way that nobody will know what has happened. What happened against Afghanistan?” he added. On the other hand, Indian experts are also on the same page as earlier, cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle criticized and question MS Dhoni’s poor strike rate on display during yesterday’s clash. "Disappointing finish. A run-a-ball partnership can’t win games," he tweeted. Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar was just as puzzled and confused as he called India’s final two overs ‘baffling’. Veteran batting icon Sachin Tendulkar also expressed the same concerns as he admitted: "There was no positive intent."
from The News International - Sports https://ift.tt/2YqOMaI
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