When the Delhi Police came up with taped evidence with the relevant voice matches, there was consternation all around. The people of planet cricket- those who sleep cricket, dream cricket, eat cricket, and do other unspeakable things with cricket (except win) were aghast that the allegations could be leveled so freely. We at Jaal went into an electronic huddle. There were two views: Match fixing, we've never heard of it outside the various matrimonial pages of our esteemed national dailies. This was the view espoused by those who actually paid good money to go see the some matches where our boys (naturally) lost. Then, a more cynical strain manifested itself. This came from a quarter that believed, even before Bindra said it, all cricket matches were fixed anyway. Weren't there allegations of match fixing in soccer, in Vietnam? Hadn't Russia moved to set up a body to enquire into the match fixing business? Hadn't soccer players in Kenya been suspended for fixing matches? Hadn't sumo wrestling matches been fixed? Another pundit, a punter on the side, who held that all games were basically vehicles for gambling, suggested that the disclosures had been deliberate, and that it would have the effect of increasing the market prices for individual fixing fees. Thus if Warne had got only $5000 for his version of the weather and pitch conditions, he could now part with similar innocuous information for a good deal more money. We already have bribery, drugs, vote-selling, which have become as much a part of sports as anything else, match fixing is another logical strand. Thus when cricket players have their biographies ghosted they can honestly tell their poor readers that the most critical defining moments in their careers were often off the field, with bookies. Jaal decided to speak to a few bookies and it transpired that for this purpose, we didn't have to go outside the office.
The biggest bookie works out of Jaal. He occasionally edits Jaal, even. For the purposes of authenticity and to indemnify ourselves against any action, considering the investigative mood, we have to say "sample imaginary snippet." Please bear with us. That way we can always say we made it up.

Sample imaginary conversation with fictitious bookie:
Conversation snippet One: You know I was in Madras (as it was known then) and I was watching from the press box that day when Hirwani took sixteen wickets against the West Indies. That was truly glorious. I'll never forget that moment all my life.
Sample imaginary rejoinder from Bookie: Yup, You can thank me for that. I can tell you now, but off the record that it was a real ball breaker to convince those West Indian guys to throw their wickets, some of them twice. Were there really sixteen though? How time flies. It cost me a pretty packet, I can tell you. Back then players were not so amenable to do the right thing. I got a financial hernia fixing that. Now that is what is match fixing. But I cleaned up after that. It set me up for life. All I had to do was settle with the police later. Otherwise they threatened to reveal the tapes.

Sample conversation snippet two: Mr Imaginary Bookie, what is the toughest part about your job. Please be honest about this one.
Bookie: You know son, the toughest part is to prepare the excuses beforehand. The other parts are easy. For the Indian team, it is especially hard. We have run out of all the excuses and yet we have to come out with new and plausible ones. It is a real drain on our creative resources to keep the millions of spectators in the game.

Sample conversation snippet three with bookie: You know the Government of India is thinking that the cricket board should provide an explanation for the Indian cricket team's abysmal track record. How would you view this development?
Bookie: This is the best thing that can ever happen to the game. If the board becomes answerable to the Government then the Government becomes answerable to the spectators.

Sample conversation snippet four: How is that?
Bookie: I'll tell you how that works out. Remember Atlanta. That joker Dhanushkodi Adityan promised that in the Sydney Olympics, India would clean up a 100 gold medals. Imagine that, a hundred gold medals. Well, Sydney is round the corner, will the Government take the responsibility if we don't get the hundred medals?

Sample conversation snippet five: I am sure that Dhanushkodi was speaking figuratively. It is there for all to see, we haven't even gone into double digits in gold medals in all the Olympics put together, how can we clean up a hundred in Sydney?
Bookie: You know this whole match fixing thing is also similarly figurative. They will take years to figure it out. On the other hand, if they approach us for a reasonable solution, I am sure we'll be able to deliver better results.

Sample imaginary conversation snippet six: Yes, now that you guys have taken over cricket, I must say that the Indian team's record looks great.
Bookie: It is going to look even better in the coming days.

Seven: Really?
Bookie: Yup. You can bet on it.

Eight: What would be a really tough match to fix?
Bookie: A Kenya versus Bangladesh goodwill exhibition played, say, in Singapore with no TV rights.

Nine: What would you call an India-Pakistan match?
Bookie: A mis-match.

Ten: Can it be fixed?
Bookie: I've said enough already. If I say everything in this issue, how am I going to get out the next issue of Jaal?