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After India’s cricket team lost to Australia in the
World Cup final, Abdul Razzaq went on a new offensive. Former Pakistan
all-rounder Razzaq, who has previously attacked India with inane remarks and
come under fire for a derogatory remark about Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai
Bachchan, has now claimed that India did not deserve to win cricket’s greatest
prize because they artificially altered the pitches excessively.
The blow of India’s Sunday six-wicket loss still
hurts. Before they misjudged the circumstances, the Men in Blue looked sure to
go all the way as the clear favourites to snap their 10-year wait for an ICC
title. The Australian bowlers bowled India out for 240 on a wicket that was a
little slow, and Travis Head’s century in the chase gave Australia a
record-tying sixth World Cup victory. Razzaq referred to India as being
overconfident and accused them of manipulating the Ahmedabad pitch for their
own benefit, despite the fact that the entire country and a number of previous
cricket players have come out in support of the squad and encouraged them to
bounce back from the heartbreak stronger.
“Indians were over-confident. Cricket won and
India lost. Had India won the World Cup, it would have been a very sad moment
for the game. They used conditions to their advantage and I have never seen
such a bad pitch for any ICC final before. It’s great for cricket that India
lost,” he said on the Pakistani TV show ‘Hasna Mana Hai’.
After the dew cleared in the second innings,
run-scoring became simpler and the threat of spinners was neutralised as
Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja went wicketless, as India staggered to just
under 250 on what appeared to be a dangerous ground to bat on. Of course, Head
also occurred. Razzaq went on to say that no team, least of all India, should
win the World Cup as they attempted to create circumstances that would be more
beneficial for them.
“Had India won, we would have felt very bad,
because they were utilising the conditions, one semi-final they scored 400, the
other team scores 350. In the other semi-final, 220-230 runs were scored. Then
in the final 240 runs were scored. That means there is something wrong (with
the conditions). The pitches and the atmosphere should be fair. There should be
fair pitches, fair atmosphere, both teams should have balance. Today also India
took advantage. Had Kohli (Virat) scored 100, then India would have won the
World Cup,” he pointed out.