It might be unfair to the combatants of a match that will be remembered for a long, long time but the recent barrage of fixing revelations and the attitude of the sports' power brokers make the fixing question inevitable.

How much do you want to believe? Last night’s IPL match between Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals had everything that makes sports special. There was victory under the most improbable of circumstances and under extreme pressure. There were heroes and villains. There was joy and despair. There was hope turning to agony and again to hope.

It was a crazy, roller coaster ride that took hold of your emotions and shook them around till you felt empty inside. But was it real?

The passion fans feel was evident at Phoenix Market City Mall in Mumbai, where the crowd in the food court kept up a non-stop chant of “Mumbai, Mumbai” over the final few overs. Every boundary on the big screen was greeted by a raucous cheer. There were plenty of empty plates on tables but nobody was leaving despite it being past 11 pm.

When Aditya Tare struck the winning blow, a waiter ran across the floor screaming “Mumbai Jeeta, Mumbai Jeeta”.

Yet even as the match neared its absurdist conclusion, with neither side understanding who had qualified for the playoffs as Ambati Rayudu sobbed on the field, a darker possibility was raising its ugly head on Twitter.

Hahahahhahahahahahaha lolololol they r bowling a spinner now? Fixedddddd #ShittyIPL — Illegal Indian (@ilegally_indian) May 25, 2014

@sokat7861 nothing surprising.. IPL is famous for fixing.. Not only this match.. But most matches are fixed..In simple words IPL not Cricket — Cricket India (@cric_ind) May 25, 2014

If you can't see what's really going on in the IPL, as in the rest of world cricket, I am sorry my friend, a pair of glasses won't fix you. — Fake IPL Player (@_fakeiplplayer) May 26, 2014

It might be unfair to the combatants of a match that will be remembered for a long, long time but the recent barrage of fixing revelations and the attitude of the sports' power brokers make the fixing question inevitable. This is the problem cricket in general and the IPL in particular have to face.

Unfortunately, the BCCI and the IPL do their best to duck the issue instead. Last season there was not even a single mention of the fixing scandal on Sony during its pre-match and post-match shows, despite it being on the front page of every newspaper in the country. The only change was Ajay Jadeja suddenly disappeared from the studio.

Contrast this with England, where Ravi Bopara was asked about fixing on live television on the opening day of Natwest T20 Blast earlier this month.

"It's horrible when the fans are questioning everything that happens," Bopara said. "As far as I know, everyone I've played with has played the game cleanly and we should do everything we can to keep the game clean.

"If there is any odd behaviour it should be reported. It can be drummed into county cricket a bit more just how important it is to report it. That is key."

Sadly, India's attitude to fixing comes from the top. Suspended BCCI president N Srinivasan didn’t bother to mention the IPL fixing scandal in the board's annual report, as if ignoring it would make everyone else forget it happened. A year after Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankit Chavan were arrested by the Delhi police, the board has yet to convict any of the three for fixing. Perhaps that is because the board president himself is under investigation for corruption – an investigation being supervised by the Supreme Court of India no less.

Meanwhile MS Dhoni, who was also accused of a cover-up and captains a franchise that is being investigated alongside Srinivasan, jokes about laundry and refuses to take serious questions. If a captain won’t lead, who will?

In such an environment, neither players nor administrators should be surprised or offended by accusations of fixing. It is simply a product of the atmosphere they have created. Every time something smells fishy, the natural reaction will be to look around for the fish.

Yes, professional wrestling draws huge crowds despite widespread knowledge that matches are predetermined and characters scripted, but surely cricket aspires to be more than wrestling?

One hopes the Supreme Court appointed Justice Mukul Mudgal-led investigation is the start of a tougher approach but it is important to note it is taking place against the wishes of the BCCI and not because of it. The BCCI actually absolved everyone of all the allegations of betting and fixing in its original investigation, under whose terms evidence could only be supplied by the board.

The conundrum was best summed up by former ESPNcricinfo writer Siddhartha Vaidyanathan:

The worst part about such exciting matches is that you don't know whether to be all 'OMG-I-can't-believe-this' or 'OMG-what-a-super-fix' — Sidvee (@sidvee) May 25, 2014

The worry is nobody involved in running cricket is listening. Or worse still, nobody cares.