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Tendulkar rubbishes match-fixing allegations

Triumphant Indian skipper Sachin Tendulkar on Wednesday brushed off 'reports' emanating from Pakistan that Rameez Raja and his team deliberately lost the Sahara Cup series in order to save his (Tendulkar's) captaincy.

On arrival in Bombay this morning, Tendulkar said that was typical of how fans react to the defeat of their favourite side. Raja and his cricketers are fierce fighters, he said, and :like all professionals they do not ask, or give, charity on the field."

Referring to the Pakistan side, Tendulkar added that "They took the 4-1 defeat in the Sahara Cup in Toronto sportingly, though like any genuine cricketers would be, they were hurt with their showing. I and my team have felt similarly during our setbacks," he added.

Tendulkar said that off the field, he and his players had no problems with the Pakistan team and that he hoped to keep the rivalry only on the field of play when India goes to Pakistan on Friday for a three-match Independence Golden Jubilee series.

Describing the series win as the most memorable of his eight-year career, Tendulkar said, "That is the way this talented side should be playing all the time." He added, however, that he expected things to be much tougher in Pakistan, where the conditions will be different.

Tendulkar expressed himself as pleased with the form shown by Saurav Ganguly and Mohammad Azharuddin, and indicated that the Indian fielding had been out of the top drawer, and that this was one of the main reasons for the series triumph. "Ganguly's all-round ability should inspire the younger players, and it is now essential that all of us keep our heads high and carry on the good work," he added.

Though he himself had a poor run with the bat, scoring just one 50 in the last game, he did not seem inclined to discuss his own personal form. "It was not that bad as to merit discussion," was all he would say on the subject.

The team arrived in New Delhi late Tuesday night to a tickertape welcome. The original schedule called for the Indian side to fly straight to Pakistan from Toronto, but largely thanks to the intervention of the coach, Madan Lal, the BCCI permitted the side to fly home, rejoin their families for a couple of days, and then fly again to Pakistan.

"I wanted the boys to have the feeling of going home with a win," Madan Lal said. "They need to hear the phone ringing off the hook with congratulations, to savour a win and allow the feeling to sink in. It will be good for their morale," the Indian coach, whose term, ironically enough, ends this month, said.

The late night arrival of the team notwithstanding, Tendulkar and his side were greeted by a large number of fans who had gathered at the Indira Gandhi International Airport.

Saurav Ganguly was undoubtedly the star, and he handled questions about his dominant role in the series with aplomb. Asked how it felt to win a man of the series award, Ganguly said, "The entire team contributed to the win, mine was just a part of it."

For his outstanding individual effort, Ganguly is to be presented with an Opel Astra luxury car by the Sahara Group, sponsors of the Toronto tournament, at a public function in Delhi. In course of the tournament, Ganguly not only struck regular blows with the ball - producing a match winning five wicket haul in the third game - but also, with his 96 in the last game, became the highest scorer in the two editions of the Cup.

''It was nice to be complimented by my captain," smiled Ganguly, referring to Tendulkar's description of him as "my secret weapon."

Sahara Group director J B Roy said that though the credit for the win went to the entire squad, the story would be incomplete without a mention of Ganguly who, throughout the tournament, had consistently excelled with bat, ball and in the field.

Meanwhile, an elated coach Madan Lal showered praise on the side for its performance. Before embarking on the tour, he had said the team desparately needed a couple of wins to get back to the right kind of temperament.

"Now the boys are confident, after their victories in Canada, and are looking forward to the series in Pakistan,'' Madan Lal said.

Asked if playing Pakistan in Pakistan required a special mental effort considering the psychological pressures of the crowd, Madan Lal said that the atmosphere would be a lot different from Toronto. "However, on the plus side, the boys have emerged much stronger mentally after their recent win, and this should help them offset the disadvantage of an alien crowd," he felt.

Asked if there was any one decisive factor that led to the Indian win, Madan Lal said, "The entire team played good cricket, all players stuck to their tasks and performed well."

Asked about the performance of the rookie bowling lineup, Madan Lal said, ''True, the turf in Canada was conducive to bowling, but it must nevertheless be said that the young Indian bowlers exploited the conditions beautifully. Now they need to work on improving themselves for the future." Asked to pick any one bowler as the most outstanding, Lal said that they all bowled well, though he showered sufficient encomiums on Abey Kuruvilla and Debashish Mohanty for the way they spearheaded the Indian attack in the absence of Srinath and Prasad. ''It was an education for them and their success will spur them to playing with greater dedication."

Madan Lal indicated that the squad was one hundred per cent fit, physically and mentally, for the upcoming series in Pakistan.

Chariman of the national selectors Ramakant Desai, meanwhile, indicated that there would be no change in the Indian side to take on Pakistan in the three-game Wills Challenge beginning this Sunday.

Desai denied reports that Tendulkar had requested the inclusion of former vice captain Anil Kumble, who was rested at the end of the Sri Lankan tour. "No such request has been made by the Indian captain," said Desai. "As for the selectors, we need to make a change to the existing side only if one of the players is unable to make the trip on grounds of fitness or otherwise, but there are no such problems here, so why should we change a winning side?" he asked.

UNI