"Well paid. I mean well played India."
India registered a big win over Afghanistan at the T20 World Cup, however, it led to Pakistani Twitter users suspecting foul play.
In the match, India handed Afghanistan a 211-run target from its 20 overs.
From the start, Afghanistan looked like they would struggle to reach the target, with the opening pair of Mohammad Shahzad and Hazratullah Zazai going out inside the first five overs.
India won the match by 66 runs, however, Pakistani netizens began debating whether the match was fixed or not.
Many social media users claimed that Afghanistan deliberately bowled badly and dropped a few easy catches to hand India the win.
One person said: “It is so sad to see a country that fought with so much vigour and passion throughout the tournament to sell out to the bigger team and let them win at the highest stage of cricket.
“Sad to see India ruin the beauty of the gentleman’s sport.”
Another said: “Well paid. I mean well played India.”
Others shared memes, accusing Afghanistan of throwing the match in exchange for lucrative IPL contracts.
https://twitter.com/imtheguy007/status/1455951223580856323?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1455951223580856323%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.geo.tv%2Flatest%2F380091-india-vs-afghanistan-pakistani-twitterati-unleash-match-fixing-memes-after-afg-rout
One user alleged that the performance of Virat Kohli’s side had nothing to do with their win.
Money heist season 5?
#INDvsAFG pic.twitter.com/wkY3w93QiD— ???•. ? ? ? ? ? .• (@bellabajwaa) November 3, 2021
One comment read: “First time in cricket history 22 players playing for one team.”
Despite the match-fixing accusations, legendary Pakistani bowlers Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis rejected the claims, saying that they should be ignored.
Akram said the whole Twitter debate was “pointless” and added that he failed to understand why Pakistani citizens came up with the conspiracy theory.
He said:
“I don’t know why we like to create such conspiracy theories?”
“India are a very good team. They just had couple of bad days at the start of the tournament.”
Younis agreed: “It’s a pointless thing to say and people should not give it much attention.”
Pakistan‘s former fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar also dismissed the match-fixing claims. He said Afghanistan’s loss was down to their poor preparation.
Cricket coach Mushtaq Ahmed said the poor leadership skills of captain Mohammad Nabi while ex-cricketer Inzamam ul Haq said less experienced teams tend to falter when under pressure.
India’s win means they remain in the hunt for a place in the semifinals.
They now need to win their two remaining games by big margins and hope that other results fall in their favour too.
Their next game is against Scotland on November 5, 2021.
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