'Azhar' could not be blamed for taking such a cynical view of the most important match of the entire tournament because there was a lot at stake for both sides.
The tournament from the first match (also between India and Sri Lanka) was plagued by bad weather which to a certain extent deprived the spectators of their money's worth of entertainment and the players from exhibiting good cricket.
The final was decided on the toss. When the two countries first met in the competition, which, like the final was a 25-over shoot-out, Arjuna Ranatunga, the Sri Lanka captain won the toss and inserted India into bat first and won the match.
Cricket is said to be a great leveller. So, when the two sides met again in the final (which was also 25-overs a side) the toss favoured 'Azhar' on this occasion and from that point, unless his side bowled badly on a wet pitch, he knew the Singer Cup was his.
India did not do anything senseless. They restricted Sri Lanka to a moderate total of 98 for 9 and won with six wickets and 14 balls to spare to become the first holders of the Singer Cup.
Even in normal conditions, for the side batting first to pace itself in a 25-over game is almost impossible. Thus, on a wet square the side batting first was in an even worse position. And Sri Lanka, who had come through the qualifying stage unbeaten with a 100 per cent record - beating three past World Cup winners, India (1983), Australia (1987) and Pakistan (1992) did not deserve to play a final in these conditions and lose.
Prior to the tournament, Sri Lanka's cricketing image had taken a severe denting with a 2-0 Test and 4-1 one-day drubbing at the hands of Pakistan. Ranatunga's career as captain was on the line and things were not looking all that rosy for the home side.
However, the Singer Cup turned out to be a blessing in disguise for the Sri Lankans to regain some of their lost image. In some way, it saved Ranatunga the captaincy.
Ranatunga not only led his side with inspiration but won the 'Man of the Series' award with some pyrotechnic batting which saw him aggregate the most runs (195). It included two consecutive 'Man of the Match' awards against Pakistan (82 n.o.) and Australia (59).
The Australians for their part used the Singer Cup as a preparation for the tour of Pakistan. As a result, they did not play their full side against Sri Lanka - leaving out Craig McDermott, David Boon and Glenn McGrath and lost by six wickets. Had they beaten Sri Lanka with their full side, India would have been shut out of the final, as their match against Pakistan was washed away by rain.
Australia's objective in using this tournament as a preparation for a tour of Pakistan came for some stick from several quarters. Any team participating in a tournament does so with a specific objective which is to win. If Australia had viewed this tournament as a trial then it need not have participated because it was not fair on the organisers and the spectators who had paid money to come and watch these games.
Australia won only against Pakistan and thus failed to qualify for the final.
Pakistan were the favourites for the tournament, but after their resounding successes over Sri Lanka in both the Tests and onedayers, their performances to say the least, were dismal in the Singer tournament.
They were surprisingly beaten by both Australia and Sri Lanka and when rain washed out their game against arch rivals India, Pakistan's chances of squeezing into the final, totally vanished.
Thus, the first attempt by a sewing machine manufacturer in enabling Sri Lanka to stage a major one-day tournament with four nations started and ended with a shortened match, the only difference being that the loser of the opening game of the tournament, was the winner on the final day.
Had it not been for the dogged weather the tournament would have gone down as a memorable one. That it was not so, was too harsh on the organisers, who made every effort to make it a success in this their maiden venture.