Spirit of game takes a beating

Dambulla, Aug. 17: Sri Lanka may have played within its laws, but they certainly killed the spirit of the sport, crossing the thin line that separates the two. Suraj Randiv’s decision to overstep with Virender Sehwag on 99 and just one run needed for India’s win will leave a scar that will take time to heal.

Despite quick moves to damp down the controversy, the question remains: What is cricket without its moral fibre? In the past, the laws of the game has been blurred somewhat to win, but a no-ball by a mile to deny a batsman his hundred was in poor taste.

Tales of sportsmanship have added value to the game over the years. The world remembers G.R. Viswanath for his wristy elegance as much as his spontaneous act of recalling Bob Taylor during the Golden Jubilee Test in 1980. Randiv now has an infamous tale to relate for the rest of his life. It is reliably learnt that a senior batsman was behind Randiv delivering the no-ball. If found guilty, the batsman deserves a severe reprimand as well.

No team likes to lose, or for that matter, have a hundred registered against them but to act outside the scope of the game’s spirit was uncalled for. Sri Lanka had nothing to gain at that point. It was a brilliant effort from Sehwag on a difficult pitch and there was no shame in his reaching three figures.

Kumar Sangakkara downplayed the incident after the match. “I hope it’s not deliberate. That’s not the way I would like to play, if that was intentional that has no place in the field of cricket. Suraj (Randiv) is a really nice guy. I have no doubt that it was not intentional.” But Randiv paying a visit to Sehwag’s room to apologise painted another shade to the incident.

Sehwag for his part did express his displeasure but as a cricketer worth his salt, noted that the positive result for the team along with a bonus point was far more important than an international hundred. Sangakkara agreed the rules needed to be checked. “If the batsman scores the runs, he should get the runs, whether it’s a no-ball or not. If he scores it should count.”

Cricket is the only sport that is governed by laws and not by rules. The process of altering a law is time-consuming.

The underarm incident involving the Chappell brothers was another example of one team finding a loophole in the law. Kapil Dev running out Peter Kirsten when the batsman had backed out of the crease was after Kirsten took undue advantage of the bowler respecting the spirit of the game. Ironically, that came in a series that was branded the Friendship Series.

What Randiv did on Monday night was strictly within the laws of the game but he needs to be censured to set an example., even if he was coaxed into the act, With millions of young aspirants watching the game, it is vital that they get to see rolemodels in action, not abberant instances like this one.

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