Former Pakistani captain Shahid Afridi reacted in affirmative after a Pakistan TV reporter claimed that ICC is pulling all the stops to ensure that 'India reach the final', after the Men in Blue defeated Bangladesh by 5 runs in Adelaide in a rain-affected encounter.
Virat Kohli and KL Rahul’s half-centuries helped India post 184/6 in 20 overs after Shakib Al Hasan won the toss and chose to bowl first in overcast conditions. Hasan Mahmud took three wickets, while the captain took two scalps himself.
In reply, Litton Das gave Bangladesh the perfect start by hitting a 21-ball fifty and the Tigers raced to 66/0 in 7 overs. But then the rain came down and the match was halted for 30 minutes. Bangladesh was ahead of the DLS par score of 49/0 by 17 runs and had the match not resumed, Shakib and co would have ended up as winners.
However, the match resumed after the ground staff worked hard and Bangladesh was given a revised target of 151 in 16 overs, needing a further 85 runs in 9 overs with all 10 wickets in hand. But the Tigers panicked after Litton Das got run out and only managed to make 145/6 in 16 overs with Nurul Hasan making 25* to take the match to the last over.
After the match, during a show on a Pakistan TV channel, a reporter, in reference to the match restarting after the rain delay, went to the extent of saying that ICC is pulling all the stops to ensure that 'India reaches the final'.
"Shakib Al Hasan bhi yehi keh rahe thhe. Aur woh screen par bhi dikhaya gaya. Aap ne ground dekhi... geeli thi. Par mujhe lagta hai ki ICC ka jhukaav jo hai, woh zara India ko kisi tareeke se semifinal pohuchaane ke liye kar raha hai. Aur umpires bhi wohi thhe jo Pakistan ke match mein the. Puuri duniya ke behtereen umpire ka award bhi unko jaana Chahiye. (Shakib Al Hasan said the same thing and it was shown on the screen as well. You saw the ground how wet it was. But I feel that the ICC is somewhat inclined towards India. They want to ensure that India reach the semifinals at any cost. And the umpires were also the same who officiated the India vs Pakistan game. The world knows they will get the best umpire awards),” he said live on SAMAA TV.
Shahid Afridi, who is a panelist on the show responded to the claim and said: "I know what happened. Given the amount of rain that happened, the game resumed immediately after the break. It is very evident that ICC, then India playing, then the pressure that comes with it, there are many factors involved but Litton's batting was amazing. He played positive cricket. After six overs, we felt that if Bangladesh didn't lose wickets for another 2-3 overs, they would have won the match. Overall, the fight shown by Bangladesh was brilliant.”
