Proof of Fixing is in Cricket Played

70th match: Royal Challengers Bangalore v Chennai Super Kings at Bangalore - May 18, 2013

Royal Challengers Bangalore 106/2 (8/8 ov); Chennai Super Kings 82/6 (8/8 ov)

Royal Challengers Bangalore won by 24 runs

One doesn't have to go far to look for evidence of fixing. What is required is a little knowledge of/about cricket, seeing the cricket being played over some continuous period of time, a little common sense and its application. Knowledge about betting is not necessary now-a-days as fixing becomes too obvious in the cricket being played itself. This match comes under that category.

CSK win the toss, put RCB in and feed them with bowling to allow them to score 106 runs in an 8 overs a side match. Let us assume that is natural cricket as a result of RCB batsmen clicking that particular day.

One would suppose that CSK were playing to win. How do they go about chasing this big score with a number of distinguished hitters being in their ranks and all of them being in form, having come good this season. A boundary is scored first ball. Fine. No boundary is hit/attempted next 7 balls in an 8 over game, and chasing with required run rate of more than 13 runs per over. Then conveniently two quick wickets are lost, and next boundary is hit in the last ball of the 3rd over when required run rate has already touched impossible proportions. 

CSK captain, the super hero, Dhoni doesn't promote himself this time and comes to bat only after nothing is there to bat for. He hits 24 of 10 balls, a few big hits towards the end, before getting out. Had he come up the order and scored those runs, the odds would have had changed a lot, but his scoring as he did had no effect on the odds since match was already over.

What would any punter have expected from natural cricket in an 8 overs a side match? A number of fluctuations in the prospects of the two teams and a very close match, and would have placed bets accordingly. But early in the match, by 3rd over or so of RCB batting, the match swung in favour of one team and continued so without even a far competition by the best batting side of the tournament.