Bahutule was out in a bizarre fashion when he offered his pads to a Sanath Jayasuriya delivery. The ball bounced more than expected, struck the arm guards of the batsmen and went into the stumps. Bahutule had not even opened his account. After that, Badani and Dighe were only interested in playing out the day and used their pads more often than their bats. The last half an hour produced barely ten runs.
Players indeed are guilty but even more guilty are the officials.
The author, with 45 years of experience in sporting journalism, provides several instances of match-rigging. Whatever may be his viewpoint, the Sharjah authorities are vehement in saying that the desert centre is more sinned against than sinning. To go by it, there is much that is murky about those who play the game. According to Salve, who is a former Union minister, the father of a leading batsman in the 1970s had taken a bet that his son would be out cheaply during a Test match against the West Indies in Calcutta. The issue was even discussed at a meeting of the Union cabinet when a minister mentioned the rumour that the batsman would throw his wicket to enable his father to win the wager.