BCCI rejects fixing claims of India-Pakistan World Cup semifinal

NEW DELHI: The Indian Cricket board (BCCI) on Sunday refused to accept that the India-Pakistan World Cup semifinal match in 2011 was fixed saying such claims are an insult to Team India.

BCCI president N Srinivasan was reacting to a news published in a British newspaper which claimed that the semifinal game that India won was fixed.

"Such claims are an insult to our team," said Srinivasan.

Britain's Daily Mail newspaper had published extracts of a book by sports-betting journalist Ed Hawkins in which he claimed an Indian bookmaker had accurately predicted what would happen in Pakistan's innings against their arch-rivals.

Hawkins said the bookmaker, Parthiv, sent him a Twitter message during the Indian innings correctly calling that when Pakistan batted, they would reach 100 easily then lose two wickets quickly, reach 150 with five down and lose by more than 20 run