Cricket as Indian Political Tool 

Dr. Abdul Ruff Colachal

[India makes political capital out of its sport, especially the most misused cricket. By wasting huge resources as price for fictional successes to showcase Indian importance in the region and world, India takes pride in prior match-fixing in sports, above all in cricket, to boost its fake, contaminated image to outsmart Pakistan. Match fixing is a global phenomenon. Recently, prosecutors in Germany have revealed the scope of the match-fixing scandal that has shocked European football. Around 200 games are suspected of having been fixed, with more than 30 of those played in Germany. Imagine a cricket test match where all possible manipulations are executed to perfection without the knowledge of the public that watches the matches!].

 Now Sri Lanka drowns India in Gujarat

The Test match, fixing two mischievous innings, does to stand the scrutiny of any real cricket game as a competitive sport, resulting in disastrous draws- preplanned or otherwise. The Lankan-Indian first test match ended in draw as expected after the mammoth score from Sri Lankans on Indian soil for the fist time. Draw is not a crime, after all, tests are merely practice sessions, but the records set in Test matches with dubious standards do create problems.

This is about how Sri Lankan cricketers outsmarted the Indian outfits in their own turf demolishing the records set by Indians and others one by one in Ahmadabad cricket stadium where they clashed for the Test -1. As such for Sri Lankan winning the Test was less important than appeasing the guests after they got a massive score of 700 plus. Undoubtedly, Sri Lanka clearly has registered their first victory on Indian soil. The only plus point about Indian cricket team is Zaheer Khan who took two important massive wickets including of SL skipper Sangakkara. The remaining Indian parts are mediocre and meaningless.  The first Test between India and Sri Lanka was in favor of Sri Lanka, though it looked tantalizingly poised after day four's play.

Indian greatness looks very pathetic. Although Indian outfits managed to get one century each for Gambhir and Sachin, on the eve of announcements of Republic day awards for selfless, free services to this Hindu nation, they were crushed to the bottom level by the visitors. Mahela Jayawardene is the Man of Match MoM for his excellent 275 - his 27th Test century -and has broken some important "records" in Gujarat. They all slay the winner has been the wicket, but loser has been the cricket. The finale was continued until India's most pampered Sachin is offered a full 100 to his credit empty of genuine glory. Sachin thus won and India lost miserably, he got what he wanted- a 100 before pulling down the curtain in Ahmadabad, but India lost to Sri Lanka in all practical measures. Indian media argue if Sachin is not offered 100 what is the point in Lankan playing against India, especially when the guests could make several centuries and an almost triple century on Indian cash rich soil.  

Obviously, Sri Lanka, possibly on demand from the cricket mafia or Indian agencies directly, did not want to win that match and decided to go for the draw to appease Indian sponsors, mafia and lunatic cricket fans. But most intriguing fact is India did not agree for the draw as the situation warranted, as Pakistan and New Zealand did in NZ in their first Test on 19 Nov where Pakistan made better score in the first innings and New Zealand was still worse in the second innings.- but Indian greats insisted that the guests should offer a century each to those whom they dumped in the first innings, namely Sachin, Shewag and gambhir, etc. Sri Lanka perhaps had no choice but to oblige the hosts, lest Indian could engineer terror attack to terrorize the Lankan boys. Already when Jayewardene was batting, several Indian usual gimmicks on the pavilion were employed to coerce him to throw his bat, but failed. And, result, gambhir was offered 100 plus, Shewag a fifty plus and Sachin a super hundred and immediately India agreed to draw the match. Look at the way the so-called greats in cricket behaved: they coerced the guests to offer 100 to Sachin so that Indian greatness is not spoilt beyond certain point. The match at last ended not without Sachin getting a 100 from Sri Lanka- what a pity and it is shame on India asking for hundreds form guests and blast the news as Indian achievements followed with national/regional awards and special privileges for the select players!!

Indian sponsors dictate terms to the other teams and manages records for its players and glorifying such wins. When a nation is defeated, rather crushed badly, the fanatic media don’t show that global insult, but still praise a much pampered batsman, it looks funny. The case in point is terror India and its cricket team thrashed badly by Sri Lanka for the first time in history inside India. It is shameless but a country and leaders, who have stolen the Kashmiri properties and killed over a lakh Muslims there by using India-UK-Russo-Israeli terror machines, cannot be expected otherwise. Indian media, both state and private, print and radio stations, intentionally announced Sri Lanka was at 375 for 5 wickets for too long even when it had reached 520. Is it not Indian small mindedness? Or, greatness of Hindus who own the fanatic media? That is a state or media crime, as the case may be. Was there any understanding that Sri Lankans would be out with 375/5?

These days India celebrates even crucial defeats as victories these days. That is fine. But India glorifies substandard as the greatest. Is there any Indian cricketer who never failed to defend the stumps? Is there any batsman who never scored a zero run at the crease? Or, is India support its cricketers who got clearly bowled or run-out and made the stumps scattered all over India and behind him? No! Then can India boast of its select cricket players, thereby calling other players as wild monkeys or Indian jungle donkeys?

 Jayawardene Eclipses Indian records

An incredible innings from Mahela Jayawardene virtually ensured that SL can’t lose this test from here and they did not lose as forecast by India.  Mahela Jayawardene ground the Indian bowlers into the Ahmedabad dust, almost ruling out a defeat for Sri Lanka in the first Test— perhaps the agenda of the visitors. This was only the second time that Sri Lanka took a first-innings lead in India, and only the first time they crossed 450 in the country. Jayawardene's sixth double-century, and twelfth 150, was one of his easier ones because for more than half his innings India didn't try to take his wicket, and only towards the end was he made to work hard for singles.

Jayawardene began resetting world records by breaking the Dravid's 173 record the previous day and then went on thrashing several records with a good partnership. Sri Lankans are ranked second behind South Africa in the official test rankings and are aiming to win their first test match on Indian soil since their first visit in 1982. Jayawardene, who shared in a Sri Lanka record unbroken sixth wicket stand of 216 with wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardene (84), has given the tourists a good chance to achieve that goal.

Sri Lanka was egger to set up a good score on board so that it can easily negotiate with Indian team at the appropriate time. Jayawardene had started assuredly, and never gave India a serious look-in. Despite that Mathews wicket to what turned out to be the last ball before lunch, the Jayawardenes thwarted any hopes of a quick Indian comeback. Jayawardene was supported by Thilan Samaraweera in the first session, Prasanna Jayawardene in the second and third, and by muddled thinking from India in both. Their fast bowlers couldn't generate any swing, conventional or reverse, but still looked the only ones capable of making things happen.

Both batsmen Jayawardene and Samaraweera reached fifties during that spell, and brought up their ninth 100-run stand. The sixth over with the new ball, bowled by Zaheer, was the best of the day from India's perspective. He beat Samaraweera with an away-going delivery, got him into an uncertain position with a bouncer, and then hit him in the midriff with another. Post tea second day, both sides called ceasefire. Doni got spinners to bowl from round the stumps with 6-3 leg-side fields, while the Jayawardenes didn't seem interested in taking too many risks, and were happy scoring in ones and twos and occasional boundaries.

Jayawardene double has flattened India, its loud claims. The Sri Lankans' stand was broken after Mahela (275), who completed his double ton, was dismissed while trying to loft the leg-spinner over cover only to have his stumps rattled. The batsman tried to play the leg-spinner over extra cover but missed the line of the ball completely in a rare loss of concentration. Before going back to the pavilion, Mahela also completed 9000 runs in Test cricket to become the ninth highest run-getter in this format. The senior Jayawardene didn't let fatigue get the better of him and reached the double with two overs to go, while Prasanna took the opportunity to move towards what would be a risk-free second century.

The 32-year-old  Sri Lanka batsman Mahela Jayawardene became only the seventh batsman in test cricket to score six or more double hundreds when he made 204 not out against India in the first test on 18 Nov in Ahmadabad, Gujarat, India. It was Jayawardene's 27th test century but the first on Indian soil. Australia's Don Bradman tops the list with 12 double hundreds and West Indian Brian Lara is second with nine. England's Walter Hammond (7) and Pakistan's Javed Miandad and Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara and Marvan Atapattu (six each) were the other members of the select club.

Mahela Jayawardene was bowled for 275 just, luring the batsman out of his crease and beating him with flight and turn. The dismissal of Mahela ended a partnership which yielded 351 runs - the highest ever for the sixth wicket. The former captain went past the 250-run mark and later scaled 9,000 runs in Tests - only the ninth batsman in a list to achieve the mark. Sri Lankan batsmen Mahela Jayawardene and Prasanna Jayawardene broke a 72-year-old world record for the highest sixth-wicket partnership in Tests by putting on a 351-run stand against India on the fourth day of the first cricket Test in Ahmedabad. Mahela and Prasanna, who came together on Wednesday, went past the 346-run stand that was put together by Australian great Don Bradman and Jack Fingleton against England in Melbourne in 1937.

"After playing for so many years I have realised what my strengths and weaknesses are and how to manage my innings and how to build the innings," Jayawardene told reporters after notching his second double hundred of the year. "Once you get to a stage, you realize how to pace your innings and how to attack and how to play on different surfaces," said the former captain whose test best is 374 against South Africa in 2006.

 Indian anti-Pakistani Agenda

Any one who thinks Indian cricket is just for fun and entertainment of Indians, they should finally change their view right here. The choice of Gujarat, on the sea shores of Arabian Sea that also washes the shores of Pakistan, was chosen by the military intelligence precisely to show case Indian power to Pakistan. India wanted to defeat Sri Lanka in Gujarat sending a political message to Islamabad. But all their efforts went ashtray since India was badly thrashed by the visitor from Colombo immediately after beatings from Australians. When entire cricket world listened to terror India and rejected Pakistani offers to play cricket there, it was only Sri Lanka that went boldly there to play. But Indian terrorists attacked them as a sheer punishment to ignoring their demand not to go to Pakistan. The same Lankan team was asked to play against Indian in Gujarat, a traditional anti-Islamic turf.  

Gujarat, a western anti-Muslim, fanatic state on Arabian Sea that separates India from Pakistan has killed many Muslims with support from the central government and Manmohan Congress party. Gujarat, birth place of MK. Gandhi, who in his final days desired to go to Pakistan to live the rest of his life there but his ambition was cut short by Indian Hindus with UK bullets, is being ruled by the extremist Hindutva BJP with iron hand harming the interests of Muslims and terrorizing them.

Historically, BJP is a byproduct of Congress party of Manmohan. Gujarat has a strong BJP extremist regime evoking anti-Muslim and anti-Pakistani sentiments to say in power. In fact almost the entire western belt of states of India, if one looks at the map, is being occupied by the extremist Hindu parties. From Karnataka, Maharshtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan and upward, the Hindu Jehadi Hindu-Al-Quada fanatics have full control with Congress party playing second fiddle rather effectively. Congress never declared Muslims rights in the country and never defended the state support for Muslims as the largest minority, because they are anti-Muslims.  

Indian state media outfits and commentators in private media outfits predicted that the Sri Lankan openers should be out any time soon and that Dilshan looked ready for a whack, but the Sri Lankan outsmarted not only the media outfits, but even the players themselves. When the news spread about India hidden agenda in Gujarat, India had almost lost the match, but repairs were done by making adjustments with Sri Lanka. Indians were so frightened on 19th Nov in fourth day end, that when Dravid was thrown out of the match in stead of Sachin or Dony who were in the list of Indian batsmen in order, a tail Misra was sent as a night watchmen, because Sachin cannot be a night watchman, not even Doni or any body else who are there only for fake runs record and awards. The commentators in a silly way of explanation claimed the Indian doe snot want to lose Tendulkar so soon, hence he was not sent.

 Indian cricket attacks have both regional and global dimensions.

A Word with cricket boards

India seeks a peace of cake, even if blood stained,  in every thing in the world and Indian Manmohan Singh has been summoned by President Obama for sharing Indian wealth with America to save its down-downing economy, but India wants a piece of Afghan-Iraqi-Pakistani blood-stained cake along with a major say in Pakistani affairs. Energy resources are the common focus of all energy hungry states.

Cricket is known for all manoeuvrings, all hidden agendas, including political. The huge scores at Ahmadabad are now in the public domain. The irony of Indian fate is that a batting-friendly track created for favouring the Indian side that as expected to bat first, has turned against it and supported the opponents.  Now Indian cricketers say such anti-bowler-friendly tracks would kill cricket's longest format. Seven of the last 12 Tests in India have been draws. One factor is confusing; how come even after scoring 700 plus runs in one innings, almost double of Indian outfit- Sri Lanka had to go for a draw? Does it not mean there is something awfully wrong with the Test cricket?  Do you say, cricket itself is an anomaly in as a sport?

If Indian batsmen are so afraid of Lankan team and quickly rescheduled the bating order by not sending Sachin as decided before after the fall of Dravid, one can image the nature of Indian cricket and what sort of players the Indian cricketers are. This wickedness exposes Indian wicket mindset. Cricket racket and mafia role are evident from this Indian horrid action. It is an insult, rather a bold slap on those in their faces who offered Sachin like sportspersons awards and other profits plus privileges. How long will the Indian cricket mafia, including the military intelligence, make Sachin continue to "blast' with opponents help and offer awards and cash?

Test is the least trustworthy game among all forms of cricket today. In hailing Sachin, foolishly, as the only great cricketer of India, the media and leaders insult the team, team spirit of a collective sport in cricket, they insult other cricketers who play with him making adjustments to let Sachin score the maximum for India. Did India pressure Jayawardene to end his shots?  Possibly, Mahila Jayawardene just threw his bat when he scored 275 perhaps on signal from the cricket mafia or even from organizers' side after ignoring their calls deliberately for hours. (Now it looks SL was trying to delay Indian final defeat)  The Sri Lankan fast bowlers failed, rather refused, in the second innings to replicate the swing they got in the first innings.

One fails to understand the rationale or logic behind two innings in Test, apart from offering enough scope for manipulations and other forms of match-fixings for records. Why not restrict to one full innings for maximum of 100 runs so that chances for match fixing could be reduced. If it were the case, Sri Lanka has won the test number one by huge margin on Indian soil.

Like the follow-on innings if the team that chases the target setter that played first, there should be a rule to declare a team the winners if they make 200 more or 50% more of runs, whichever is less, over and above the other team that has bated first and all bowled out.  If this rule is applied Sri Lanka have already won the match with double innings belonging to both- or a simple one inning.

Indian predicament is interesting: Australians can defeat India, because they re business partners of joint military exercises, but Ceylon is a small island nation under the threat of disappearance and should not beat a great nuclear India either in Lanka or in India. Indians psyche is petrified about Pakistan and Bangladesh too in almost similar fashion. A defeat from Pakistan cannot be tolerated by Indian outfits and hence cannot be digested for a long period of time. Bangladesh team does not pose any danger to Indian outfits, but Pakistan does and hence India employs terrorism plus terror plank to cut Pakistan to some size.  

One does not know the future strategy of both Lankan and Indian cricket outfits for the second and third tests. Probably, Indian would p press for their turn in making more two hundreds and “create” some "records" of Indian outfits with help from Lankan boys. Both the teams are in a star hotel and sponsors and mafia connect them to make decisions before the matches. Sri Lanka seems to have lost three bowlers so far and India in the name of entertainment of affordables is interested only in profitable cricket in all respects, including political- both domestically and internationally. Cricketers make sumptuous profits too.

 -----------------------

Dr. Abdul Ruff Colachal

Specialist on State Terrorism

Independent Columnist in International Affairs, Research Scholar (JNU) & the only Indian to have gone through entire India, a fraud and terror nation in South Asia.