SJS said:
Sorry Pratyush I have a difference of opinion.
1) The only spectators who matter are not those from one team.
2) If india dont think they have a chance to beat australia then they should be satisfied with a number two spot. If they reach the finals in this way by keeping australia out, I would lok at the victory hollow in a sense.
As I said at the start, its a matter of opinion. Its the game that loses.
Okay I will give a varied scenario which would make it much more difficult to justify not throwing the match.
Suppose India did beat Australia in the first of a series of round robin matches courtesy excellent innings by Sehwag and Tendulkar. Now India IS in a better position due to their superior performance in the earlier match compared to Australia.
Would India not have a RIGHT to chose its opponent if it is in a position to do so. If India feels it has more of a chance to beat Kenya rather than Australia, why should it not contrive to face Kenya.
I do not think it is doing injustice to the spectators of any of the teams because the teams are playing to WIN the entire tournament and improving its chances for that.
A bit like the Peleton so famous in cycling I would say. A Peleton is basically the huge group of cyclists who race together in a cycling race. Now we have Lance Armstrong in the Postal team (his former team) and 3 other team mates (say) in the Peleton. It is a common strategy in the Peleton for the other three members to slow down the speed to increase the gap between their team leader, in this case Armstrong and the huge group which follows. Its a lot about team work and stratey.
Now would the three cyclists be doing an injustice to the spectators.
Its not an exact example but an anology neverthless. The main objective is to WIN the tournament remaining within the rules. If I feel I want to face X team instead of Y as I feel I have a better chance to win it (cos I am a bit less confident about my ability against Warne or McGrath), and I am in a position to decide the opponent I can chose because of my superior results in the past, I have every right to do so and logic says I should.
Its okay you disagree with me
Perspectives can indeed be different/varied