2011 ICC world cup...any thoughts?

Though your question is in the wrong forum, I will enter my opinion, since I had exactly the same doubts after watching this match. Clearly your answer can be factually answered only by those who "fixed" this match, whether it is ICC or someone else. Anything else is an opinion and here is mine.

Last time the world cup was a flop show due to the early exit of the subcontinent teams. The prima-facie interest in holding the worldcup this year in the sub-continent is clearly the commercial interest to benefit from the larger interest for cricket among the people here when compared to the waning interest for the sport in the other countries like Australia, England etc. That brings to the question of whether it is simply chance and skill that brought India, Pak, SL to the semis and pushed out the rest? I have some differing views here.

1. Indian subcontinent is where the interest in cricket still is on an upward trend and this country is the future for cricket - the money is also here! 2.

After India, the countries where cricket is flourishing is Pak, SL, Bangladesh. In other words the entire subcontinent plus the small island. Interest in this sport is waning or remaining constant in the old stalwarts of WI, England, Aus etc due to various reasons.

3. Imagine if India goes out of the WC in the QF - There will be a sudden drop in interest in the event here and 70% of the audience for TV and other media will simply vanish overnight. The sponsors and advertisers who are paying prime money simply loses the chance and will complain.

Now if India remains till the end and possibly also wins the cup this interest can be sustained till the end and everyone benefits! If India actually wins the cup, the interest for ODIs and therein to T20s will only go up for the long term (at least till next WC) in the country - market increases for advertisers, BCCI, commercial interests - everyone is happy! I don't know whether the match results themselves are fixed, but it is clear there is a huge commercial incentive to do so in the favor of the sub-continent teams rather than for the Occidentals and Down-Unders.

So maybe they are fixed, maybe they aren't. I don't know the answer to that question. With this some predictions are in order.

1. India will win the finals of the WC. 2.

SL who has been playing amazingly well so far, will see a collapse of the top-order. 3. The match will be again a "near" and "fighting" one, but India will emerge triumphant at the end.

Moral of the story - If you see too many coincidences, it reflects an underlying pattern, not randomness...!

World Cup ICC 2011 is scripted ... 30 Million people in Pakistan bet on cricket matches so you can now imagine how many people bet on a single match from all over the world ... so every team has its own rate for every match and the bookies siting all above can change face of the match any time.. Leave cricket just search on Google about other sports ... now a days every type of sports is being fixed. Yes Pakistan Vs India was fixed. I don't know you don't know only Mafia and Government of India and Pakistan knows ....