Did Sangakkara order no ball for Sehwag?

Dambulla:

Sri Lankan Cricket board was examining stump microphone audios to determine whether captain Kumar Sangakkara or any of his teammates had played a role in coaxing Suraj Randiv to bowl a 'no ball' to prevent Virender Sehwag from scoring a century. (Video Special: The Virender Sehwag Controversy)

Sources said that SLC had sought the tapes from the official broadcasters to investigate as what transpired between the bowler and his teammates during the fag end of the tri-series match. (Read: Sri Lanka launches probe into no ball incident)

Sehwag was just one short of his 13th ODI hundred when Randiv, who had not bowled a no ball in the Test or ODI series this season, bowled one which was hit by the opener for a six.

Also Read:

Sehwag and team over with no ball incident: Biswal

However, it did not count because the no ball amounted to India's winning run leaving Sehwag on an unbeaten 99. According to audio tapes, captain Sangakkara had heard instructing Randiv in Sinhalese "If he hits the ball, he gets the run".

Although it appeared to be an innocuous comment, some TV channels were interpreting it as an attempt to influence the young bowler to overstep the line and deny Sehwag what could have been his 13th ODI century.

Sangakkara has, however, maintained that he had only asked Randiv to keep the ball tight and not allow Sehwag score a run. (Read: Sri Lanka cricket apologises to Sehwag)

Interestingly, Sangakkara said he hoped the no ball was not a deliberate one. "If it's deliberate of course I'd like to have a chat with him. I'd also have to see whether there was any chat before the delivery," he said. (Also Watch: If deliberate, will talk to Randiv: Sangakkara)

The commentators and the viewers were left in no doubt that the no ball was deliberate. The question is was it team orders or Randiv acting of his own accord. However, Sangakkara's former teammate Muttiah Muralitharan jumped to his defence.

"This incident has nothing to do with the captain. He was the wicketkeeper and he would have been heard on the stump mic if he gave instructions. I can comment on one thing, Sanga would never influence him (Randiv) on decisions. Sanga is a very fair player and captain and I think Sanga would have spoken to Viru after the match," Murali said. (Read: Muralitharan defends captain Sangakkara | Watch)

According to a SLC source, the report of the manager, who has been asked to initiate an inquiry into the incident, would be submitted to the board on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the International Cricket Council has welcomed Sri Lanka Cricket's decision to inquire into the deliberate no ball controversy and said it would expect SLC to share the outcome of the report with the game's governing body. (Read: ICC backs SLC's move to probe no ball row)

(With PTI inputs)