Sri Lanka end the investigation into alleged match-fixing in the 2011 World Cup final

The Sri Lankan sports ministry has decided to drop the investigations surrounding alleged match-fixing in the 2011 World cup finals. Mahindananda Aluthgamage, who was the sports minister of Sri Lanka during the time had accused the team of “selling” the match to India. The decision comes after Kumar Sangakkara, the Sri Lankan captain during the tournament, Upul Tharanga and Aravinda De Silva, Sri Lanka's Chief selector at the time were all questioned.

"The ICC Integrity Unit has looked into the recent allegations regarding the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Final 2011," said Alex Marshall, the General manager of ICC’s Anti Corruption Unit. "At this time, we have not been presented with any evidence that supports the claims made or which would merit launching an investigation under the ICC Anti-Corruption Code.”

"There is no record of any letter regarding this matter sent by the then Sri Lanka Sports Minister to the ICC and senior ICC staff at the time have confirmed they have no recollection of receiving any such letter which would have led to an investigation. We have no reason to doubt the integrity of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Final 2011. We take all allegations of this nature extremely seriously and should we receive any evidence to corroborate the claims, we will review our current position,” he added.

Mahela Jayawardene, who scored a century for Sri Lanka in the final was also called in for questioning but did not face the probe as the investigation was already shut. With the investigation not revealing any signs of wrongdoing, the integrity of the game which gave India a World cup win after a 28-year wait, remains intact.

[Cricbuzz inputs]