AHMEDABAD: International Cricket Council chief Haroon Lorgat Wednesday blasted media allegations that the World Cup match between Australia and Zimbabwe was under investigation for match-fixing. The Times of India claimed Tuesday that the Feb. 21 match in Ahmedabad was being probed by the ICC's anti-corruption body. “The article...can only be described as fictional,” said Lorgat. “We do not comment on the activities of the ICC's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) and for good reason. “However, after several misleading and downright false stories appearing in recent weeks it is time for us to show our displeasure and expose those responsible for affecting the integrity of the media. “It is also patently false of the reporter to claim that the ICC ever suggested to it that the match was corrupted. The ICC confirms that, in terms of its policy, at no stage did anyone from the ICC speak to the journalist on this topic. “To uphold the integrity of the media I expect the Times of India to retract such baseless stories.” ICC defends Wankhede Stadium ICC chief Haroon Lorgat defended the decision to stage the World Cup final in Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium, saying it would provide the perfect setting for the city's favorite son Sachin Tendulkar to script a “fairytale” ending. Choosing the arena for the finale raised a few eyebrows amid growing frustration for shortage of tickets as the 33,442-seater stadium has the second lowest capacity out of the eight Indian venues hosting matches during the six-week tournament. While Kolkata's revamped Eden Gardens could hold almost 60,000 fans, Delhi's Feroz Shah Kotla and Ahmedabad's Sardar Patel grounds have around 50,000 seats but all of them were overlooked for the April 2 final. “You know you have got choices to make,” Lorgat told reporters Wednesday. “Can you imagine a (more) fairytale ending with Sachin Tendulkar getting a hundred in the final and India winning at the Wankhede which is his home ground? “And no matter what the number (of seats), we do not have sufficient tickets.” Fans, seeking tickets, have regularly clashed with baton-wielding police in the subcontinent bringing the tournament on the verge of being a public-relations disaster. “Attendances have been phenomenal. We expect that from the quarter-final stages every single seat in the house will be sold,” Lorgat said. Bangladesh fans shun World Cup Cricket fever in Bangladesh appeared to be over after the national team crashed out of the World Cup with few takers for Wednesday's quarterfinal between Pakistan and the West Indies. For the first time in the tournament, the usually bustling Sher-e-Bangla stadium wore a deserted look when the captains went out to toss under a hot sun for the day-night match. Barely 5,000 local fans were in attendance at the 25,000-seater stadium, which had earlier seen full houses in the four league matches Bangladesh played in Dhaka. “It's a working day and I will be surprised if more than 10,000 turn up by evening,” local media official Rabeed Imam said. “It seems the fans have lost interest in the tournament after their team went out.” “Those who have taken the trouble to come must obviously be big fans of the Pakistani team,” said businessman Sikdar Rahman, who was present at the stadium. Chartered accountant Yasin Ali said he thought twice before deciding to come for the match. “I am at the stadium because I did not want my ticket to go waste.” Dhaka journalist Shawkat Hossain, however, chose to stay away. “I have tickets, my friends have tickets, but we are not interested,” he said. “Our World Cup is over.”
