Former Pakistan cricketer Abdul Razzaq. (Screengrab) Former Pakistan cricketer Abdul Razzaq has implied that Australia’s victory over India in the World Cup final was a win for the sport of cricket, because of how lopsided the advantage was towards the Men in Blue, who were hosting the showpiece event.
The all-rounder’s comments came just days after he had to apologise to making disparaging comments about an Indian actress on stage at an event.
“Indians were over-confident (in the final),” Razzaq started as he analysed India’s performance in the World Cup final and what went wrong for the overwhelming favourites. Australia won the toss and against conventional wisdom, chose to field first. But Pat Cummins was proved right in the big decision as Australia, who were rare underdogs in a World Cup final, claimed their sixth trophy.
“Agar sahi baat kare toh aaj cricket jeeti hai. Aap conditions ko apni tarah utilise karke, ye kabhi bhi nahi aisa hota. Agar aaj India jeet jaati toh fir cricket jo hai naa vo India ki taraf ho jaati. Bilkul fair pitches honi chahiye, bilkul fair atmosphere hona chahiye, ki dono teams ke liye balance hona chahiye. Aaj bhi India ne advantage liya. (If I am being honest, the sport of cricket won today. The host country was using the conditions to their advantage. Cricket showed that it favours the team which is brave. If India would have won, I would have felt very bad. The pitches and the atmosphere should be fair. There should be balance for both teams. India tried to take advantage even in the final,” Razzaq said on Pakistani TV show ‘Hasna Mana Hai’ on Geo TV.
He went on to add that if Virat Kohli, who was dismissed on 54, had scored another century, India would have won the match and their third World Cup trophy.
Pakistan pacer Mohammad Amir, who was also on the panel, chimed in that the pitch at the Narendra Modi Stadium, which was the same one used for the big-ticket group stage clash between Indian and Pakistan, was not up to the mark for a game of the stature of a World Cup final.
“This didn’t look like a World Cup final wicket. It was a very strange pitch,” he said.
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