Indian Premier League

Cheerleaders in IPL

2010-05-02T14:34:00.000-07:00

More than cricket, cheerleaders bollywood and underworld matters in IPL. Let us look at some cheerleading moments at IPL tournaments.

Sunanda Pushkar Surrenders IPL Stake

2010-04-19T20:53:00.000-07:00

In an effort to save Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor from getting the sack, Sunanda Pushkar, his executive friend said in a statement, that was read out in Dubai by her lawyer Ashish Mehta, that she was “deeply distressed at the vile and malicious reporting of recent days surrounding her role in Rendezvous, the successful bidders for the Kerala IPL team.''

The statement, accessed by The Hindu, said: “As a woman professional, I am shocked to find how easily certain parties with vested interest questioned my credentials merely because I am a woman. I, therefore, voluntarily offer to return to Rendezvous the sweat equity they had offered me.''

Mr. Tharoor had denied the charge that he had any financial stake in the Kochi team and claimed that he was only “mentoring'' it being an MP from Kerala.

Mr. Tharoor, MP from Thiruvananthapuram, was once the country's candidate for the position of the secretary-general of the United Nations. The Opposition on Sunday night hailed Shashi Tharoor's resignation as Union Minister saying his position had become “untenable” in the wake of the Kochi IPL ownership controversy.

“Tharoor's position had become untenable and it was only appropriate that he resigned. There was so much evidence against him. The lady giving back her equity does not absolve him of the charges,” said BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman.

CPI leader D. Raja said the exit of Mr. Tharoor became inevitable and the Congress should have taken a decision long back when the controversy exploded. The reported decision of Ms. Sunanda surrendering her stake is itself “an admission of guilt,” he said.

The entire IPL functioning and its accountability needed to be probed and the role of the Sports Ministry will have to be redefined so that a regulator is created to monitor the IPL, Mr. Raja demanded. Congress spokesperson Jayanti Natarajan said the government had taken the “correct moral stand.”

“The Congress has nothing to do with the IPL. It was an issue of an individual Minister. The party has acted with the utmost restraint. It went through a very decent process by which it collected facts and a final view was taken by the Prime Minister,” she said.

Deccan Chargers Keep Semifinals Hopes Alive

2010-04-16T19:52:00.000-07:00

Defending champion keeps the semifinals hopes alive. Rohit Sharma of Deccen Charges scored his eighth IPL fifty and slammed six fours and three sixes in his rapid-fire 38-ball inning to keep semifinals hopes alive for the defending champions.
Mahela Jayawardene (93 not out) and skipper Kumar Sangakkara (52) scored fifties apiece to help Kings XI Punjab post 174/3 against Deccan Chargers.

Jayawardene ended the Kings XI innings in style adding 86 runs off 51 balls with Yuvraj Singh (20) to set up a respectable 175-run target against Deccan.

Jayawardene slammed 13 fours and 2 sixes in his 62-ball blitzkrieg whereas Yuvraj hit 1 four and a six in his 20-ball stay on the crease before getting out in the last over.

After losing Shaun Marsh (0) in the first over, Jayawardene and Sangakkara put on 86-run partnership for the second wicket to resurrect the Punjab innings. Punjab spinner Rahul Sharma dismissed Sangakkara in the twelfth over after the left-hander slammed nine fours and a six in his quick-fire 37 balls inning.

Deccan pacer Ryan Harris struck in the first over to dismiss Shaun Marsh (0) to reduce Kings XI to 1/1 in 0.5 overs.

Rohit Sharma (68 not out) and Tirumalsetti Suman (43) lead Deccan Chargers to five-wicket victory over Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League match at HPCA stadium, Dharamsala on Friday.
Deccan lost Andrew Symonds (4) and Tirumalsetti Suman (43) in consecutive overs after a decent 66-run partnership between Suman and Sharma.

Suman hit three fours and three sixes in his 31-ball quick-fire inning before Piyush Chawla dismissed him in the fourteenth over.

Kings XI pacer Vikramjeet Malik trapped Monish Mishra (20) LBW in the seventh over after Irfan Pathan struck in the second over to get rid of Adam Gilchrist (9).

Deccan skipper Adam Gilchrist won the toss and decided to field against Kings XI.

Mumbai Indians Beat Deccan by 41 Runs

2010-03-28T16:46:00.000-07:00

Mumbai Indians moved to the top spot with a comprehensive 41-run win over Deccan Chargers in their Indian Premier League match at the DY Patil Stadium in Nerul-Navi Mumbai on Sunday. Deccan Chargers skipper Adam Gilchrist won the toss and opted to bowl against Mumbai Indians in the at the D Y Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. "I just think the wicket has a tinge of softness and hopefully," said Gilchrist, explaining his decision.

Harbhajan Singh provided the first breakthrough to Mumbai Indians when he scalped Deccan Chargers skipper Adam Gilchrist in the IPL encounter. Gilchrist edged the ball to the slip where Tendulkar took a one hand stunner just few inches from the ground. Initially Harbhajan scored an aggressive 49 and took three wickets.

Rohit Sharma of Deccan charges fought a lone battle with a 28-ball 45-runs before being cleaned up by Zaheer Khan in the 17th over.

It was the team from Mumbai's fifth win in six matches and their second against the team from Hyderabad in five matches. For the Deccan Chargers, it was their third defeat in six games.

Deccans Monish Mishra(13) and Herschelle Gibbs(27) combined well to steady the innings, putting on 47 runs for the second wicket. The South African soon displayed his aggressive streak smashing Zaheer Khan for successive sixes, the first over long-on and the second over long-off, in the fifth over. However, Zaheer had the last word, having Gibbs caught by Pollard at cover point.

Mumbai Indians had slumped from 64 for one in the eighth over to 93 for six at the start of the 14th. However, Tendulkar went on to complete his seventh IPL fifty, his fourth in this edition, with a couple off Symonds. As the teams headed to their dug outs - for the second timeout 9after 16 overs) - Mumbai Indians were reeling at 110 for six.

And in the fourth ball after resumption, RP Singh accounted for Tendulkar for his third wicket of the innings. The Master Blaster, having hit a clever boundary over short third man in the previous ball, went for an encore. Only it was a failed attempt.

Tendulkar's 43-ball 55 was inclusive of nine hits to the fence and was a significant contribution in the Mumbai innings.

Final Score:

Mumbai Indians: 172/7(20.0 ov)
Deccan Chargers: 131/10(17.4 ov)

Kolkata Knight Riders beat King XI Punjab

2010-03-27T11:15:00.000-07:00

Kolkata Knight Riders beat Kings XI Punjab by 39 runs at PCA Stadium in Mohali on Saturday. Sourav Ganguly hit a 37-ball 50 soon after Kolkata Knight Riders crossed the 100-run mark. This is Ganguly's first IPL 50 after 16 inings and came when his team needed it the most. Ganguly's 50 came after Shalabh Srivastava had Mandeep Singh caught by Brett Lee at mid-on as Kolkata Knight Riders lost their second wicket.

This was Srivastava's second wicket in as many overs. Manvinder Bisla took a superb catch at deep square leg as Kolkata Knight Riders lost Chris Gayle in the third over.

Gayle mistimed a pull off a Srivastava delivery and Bisla running from deep mid-wicket, dived and plucked the ball out of thin air to take the catch just in front of the ropes.

Gayle's dismissal brought some relief to the Kings XI camp as the swashbuckling batsman had already hit 3 fours in his 12-ball 14 after Ganguly won the toss and elected to bat.

Kolkata have dropped Murali Kartik, Ishant Sharma, Chetweshwar Pujara, Harpreet Singh and brought in Ajit Agarkar, Manoj Tiwary, Iqbal Abdulla and David Hussey.

Punjab have dropped S Sreesanth, Mohammad Kaif and Juan Theron and brought in Vikramjeet Malik, Karan Goel and Brett Lee.

Preity Zinta along with Ness Wadia and others own the Mohali based King XI Punjab team where as Shah Rukh Khan has a stake in Kolkatta Knight Riders.

IPL Starts at Mumbai

2010-03-13T15:43:00.000-08:00

Shah Rukh Khan’s IPL team, the Kolkata Knight Riders, won the first IPl match of 2010. Although SRK’s team triumphed in the end at the D Y Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, they didn’t start out smoothly at all. The Knight Riders lost early wickets, including captain Saurav Ganguly who was out for a duck. That must have led to some real tense moments for Shah Rukh Khan. But it all turned out well in the end for the superstar’s team, and he posted on his Twitter account, “yippeeeeee.finally got to see my kids & the boys in kkr smiling.inshaallah the smiles will continue.still miles to go. but we will get there. SRK tweeted a little later, “dada said so sweetly...aapko smile karte hue dekhkar achha lagta hai. am so happy my team loves me so...and i do the same.”

Shah Rukh also said that he was looking forward to the Mumbai Indians versus Rajasthan Royals match on March 13. Another tweet from him read, “shane & sachin. wow...will watch the match and enjoy it...no stress when ur team is not playing... “

Meanwhile, the opening ceremony of the third edition of the IPL tournament was a star-studded affair with performances by celebs including Deepika Padukone, Akon, Lionel Ritchie, and Ali Campbell of UB40. Watch more at IPL Kick Starts report.

T20 Team Manager Suspended

2009-06-18T18:59:00.000-07:00

VIJAYAWADA: The dust has barely settled on Team India's sorry exit from the ICC World Twenty20 in London when a new controversy has raised its ugly
head. The team's manager and Andhra Cricket Association (ACA) secretary V Chamundeswaranath has been suspended for various misdemeanours, including allegedly seeking sexual favours from women cricketers.

The ACA satrap was still in London along with Dhoni's men when, after an emergency executive meeting here on Thursday, ACA president Gokaraju Gangaraju said the decision to suspend Chamundeswaranath was taken in view of the serious charges levelled against him.

"A few women cricketers have approached the association with a complaint that the secretary had been harassing them for sexual favours in return for a place in the team. It has been decided to issue a show-cause notice to Chamundi to prove his innocence and keep him under suspension till the case is finalised,'' said Gangaraju.

The meeting, attended by 25 of its 32 members, also resolved to ask Gangaraju to act as secretary till July 26 when the extraordinary general body meeting will look into the explanation -- if Chamudeswaranath gives one.

Sources at the meeting said an enquiry committee report found irregularities in the purchases made by Chamundeswaranath for the stadium in Visakhapatnam. The report apparently claimed that a chair which he bought for Rs 1,350 does not cost more than Rs 600. Chamundi had bought 24,000 chairs at that price and the executive decided to seek an explanation from him for misuse of ACA funds.

Speaking to TOI from London, Chamundeswaranath wondered how he could have been involved in the affairs of women's cricket when a former India player, Poornima Rau, works with the ACA as a consultant as well as its selector.

"I don't get involved in selection matters, least of all that of women's teams. And then I have a proven record of helping sportswomen. When I can help Saina Nehwal and Sania Mirza who are not cricketers, how can I have such an attitude towards cricketers?" he said.

Chamundeswaranath felt that the timing of the emergency meeting betrays the desperation of some members to engineer such a decision in his absence as they know they can't do it in his presence.

"Even if the report submitted by the enquiry committee has proved my guilt, is it not fair that I was given a hearing before a decision was taken," asked Chamundi, adding that he is confident that he will come clean of all charges.

"I come from a zamindari family and I don't need to make money through illegal means," he said, adding that he does not need much time to turn the tide.

According to Chamundeswaranath, a conflict between players and non-players in the association has led to this situation. "I have involved all former cricketers in the affairs of the ACA and this has caused heartburn among the zonal secretaries who feel that they have little say in cricketing matters."

The charges and rebuttals notwithstanding, trouble has been brewing for some time now and ego clashes between Gangaraju, an industrialist with political clout, and Chamundi only fuelled the fire. Interestingly, the former was installed by the latter two years ago when the long-standing ACA chief N Venkat Rao was ousted from office.

Gangaraju has since been unhappy, with Chamundi running the show his own way and not surprisingly, the axe he wielded on `Mr Quickfix' came quicker than the BMW Chamundi drives.

Deccan Chargers win IPL Title

2009-05-25T17:04:00.000-07:00

JOHANNESBURG: For the second year in a row, the Indian Premier League was won by a team that had a fairytale run to the title.

If it was Team Jaipur that went from underdogs to champs last year, this time it was the turn of a squad that could do nothing right last year, Team Hyderabad, to pull off an amazing turnaround.

Hyderabad rose from rock bottom, shaken and stirred, to pull off a sensational victory in the final here at the Wanderers, thus adding another chapter to the sweet irony of last-year’s wooden spoon holders.

If 2008’s number seven and eight teams were destined to make the final, it was perhaps only apt that the number eight won the title. Knight Riders may well derive some hope for next year.

The IPL ended in spectacular fashion as one IT city barely held off the other in a match that went down to the wire. Defending a mere 143 runs, Adam Gilchrist’s men provided the much needed spark to swing their side’s fortunes in an exceptional manner.

Some electric fieldwork by Andrew Symonds, Rohit Sharma and Herschelle Gibbs, excellent left-arm spin from Pragyan Ojha and aggressive captaincy by Gilchrist worked wonders.

Gilchrist’s hurricane innings in the semifinal had single-handedly given his team a ticket to the final. But it burdened his team with the expectation of a repeat performance.

It seemed as if the third ball of Hyderabad’s innings had decided the fate of the final when Gilchrist was clean bowled by Anil Kumble, trying to come down the track and missing the line.

Kumble deserves a mention despite his team losing. He reserved his best for the all-important clash, but even his superb spell of 4-16 could not see his squad through.

The IPL final on Sunday yet again showed the virtue of someone staying put and anchoring the innings. After Adam Gilchrist left, scoring runs became tough hell for a seemingly mentally-subdued side.

Herschelle Gibbs, normally flamboyant, batted through the innings, keeping one end intact. But there was no acceleration forthcoming from the other end. Andrew Symonds briefly flourished, but Anil Kumble cut his innings short. Rohit Sharma too did his bit, but Hyderabad's 143/6 seemed barely adequate.

The Challengers began their chase well. with Jacques Kallis providing a stable start, Roelof van der Merwe's run-rate boost adding meat to the effort and Ross Taylor indulging in some sensible strokeplay.

However, to hold your temperament in a crunch situation, inside the Bullring, with a frenzied atmosphere adding to the tension, can never be easy.

For the fielding side, 11 players getting into a huddle every other moment is a way to derive confidence. For two batsmen out in the middle left to fend for themselves, watching the run-rate increase with every ball can be horrifying. That's precisely what was happening to the Challengers as the chase began to lose its way.

143 from 120 balls came down to 100 from 82, 65 from 48 and the sequence remained in that order till the end. There was always the need to surge but a vigilant Hyderabad, also a bit lucky, never provided the chance.

Two stumpings by Gilchrist, the second one a stunner, along with excellent spells from Ojha and Symonds sealed Challengers' fate.

Royal Challengers beat Deccan Chargers by 12 runs

2009-05-21T19:22:00.000-07:00

CENTURION: The IPL has thrown its first unknown Indian superstar. Manish Pandey came from nowhere to smash an unbeaten 114 that helped Royal Bangalore Royal Challengers celebrate victory against Deccan Chargers at SuperSport Park in Centurion.

It not only helped Royal Challengers beat Team Hyderabad by 12 runs, but also allowed them a day’s breathing space before the semis. They will now take on Team Chennai on Saturday while Gilchrist’s men will be up against Team Delhi, the table toppers, on Friday.

The game was all about the little-known Pandey, who became the first Indian to score a century in the IPL. Royal Challengers coach Ray Jennings took a gamble by sending Pandey to open the batting, and the 19-year-old, after the initial struggle, cut loose.

He made a little room for himself and anything pitched in his zone kept vanishing into the stands. Pandey was an absolutely unknown quantity for Hyderabad captain Adam Gilchrist and he just didn’t know how to contain him.

He shuffled his bowlers around, but the Karnataka batsman simply marked his spots and found the gaps with effortless ease. There were a couple of dropped chances, but that doesn’t take anything away from the stupendous effort of the teenager in such a pressure game.

He only got a little quiet when he was past 95, but Pandey made that up brilliantly once he crossed his century.

A couple of huge hits followed and as he finished the innings off with an over-boundary, Gilchrist was the first one to come up and congratulate him.

The Aussie legend, though, got his team off to a whirlwind start, and along with Herschelle Gibbs, they put on 68 runs off 6.5 overs.

Even after Gilchrist got out, Gibbs kept up the chase with some breathtaking batting. When Robin Uthappa dropped Gibbs at long-on, the Hyderabad fans believed it might just be their day, but that was not to be.

Gibbs departed soon after and when Symonds and Rohit Sharma got out a little later, it was all over for Hyderabad.

Royal Challengers were once again well served by the bowling of captain Anil Kumble and B Akhil who both got two wickets each while giving away very little.

Michael Clarke to join $1m IPL club

2009-01-27T20:22:00.000-08:00

Last year, Michael 'Pup' Clarke chose to skip the Indian Premier League in order to spend time with his ailing father. This year, he's set to make a big bag entry, with a reserve price of $1 million - the minimum that the franchisees will have to bid for him at the second IPL auction on February 6.

The Australian vice-captain is thus set to become only the second foreign player to breach the $1 million mark, after Andrew Symonds got a fee of $1.35 million last year.

Clarke's reserve price puts him way ahead of the other 88 players on the list for this year's auction, with his colleagues Brad Haddin, Stuart Clark and Jason Krejza being priced much lower at $250,000.

Howver, Clarke might not eventually end up as the biggest buy. Now that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has confirmed the availability of its players for a three-week window, the players' list will be updated and there is a strong likelihood of Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff drawing bigger bids than Clarke.

There are some other 'hot picks' like South Africa's JP Duminy, who is there in the preliminary list, although no reserve price has been earmarked for him just yet.

Last year, Indian skipper MS Dhoni drew the highest price at the inaugural auction, with Chennai Super Kings forking out a whopping $1.5 million. In contrast, this year's auction, a one-day affair in Goa, is expected to be relatively low-key, unlike last year when it had extensive TV coverage and Bollywood presence.

Though there are players from Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh and a player from Zimababwe, the franchisees don't sound too excited about the names. Also, this year each IPL team has a $2-million budget in contrast to $5 million last year.

However, there are a few new names which have created interest among the franchisees: Rory Kleinveldt of South Africa has a base price of $225,000, above some tried and tested players like Australia's Brad Hogg who is pegged at $200,000.

Although every player wants to be a part of the IPL, only 15 to 20 per cent are likely to be sold, with the IPL not liable to pay any payday money to those who fail to find a buyer, according to the new rules.

The recession coupled with the fact that most teams already have their lineups more or less in place has meant reduced clamour for new players this year. "Where is the money? Some of the players from Australia are not even available for the entire season, so what is the point," a team official said. Teams are likely to go for just a player or two, or a maximum of four in some cases. The eight teams are now waiting for the final updated list, with the inclusion of England players.

Akshay Kumar is the brand ambassador of the Special Olympics World Winter Games

2008-12-21T06:40:00.000-08:00

Akshay Kumar and Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit particepating in a programme Special Olympics World Winter Games 2009 at Red fort in New Delhi.

Akshay Kumar speaks during the Special Olympics World Winter Games torch relay in New Delhi.

Akshay Kumar and a police officer hold the Special Olympics World Winter Games torch in New Delhi.

Akshay Kumar particepating the Flame of Hope during a programme 'Special Olympics World Winter Games 2009' at Red fort in New Delhi.

India beat England to seal series

2008-11-23T11:28:00.000-08:00

India beat England by 19 runs (Duckworth Lewis method) in the fourth One-dayer at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore to take an unassailable 4-0 lead in the seven-match series.
Chasing a victory target of 198 run in 22 overs, England managed 178/8 runs for their fourth consecutive defeat in the series.

Paul Collingwood (22) was the last English wicket to fall when he hit a Munaf Patel delivery to mid-wicket for Sachin Tendulkar to take the catch.

England were reduced to 161/6 when Samit Patel hit to mid-off for Gautam Gambhir to take the catch off Zaheer Khan.

England were in the game till they lost Andrew Flintoff and Owais Shah in successive overs to be reduced to 145/5 in 18 overs.

Ishant Sharma had Flintoff (41) caught at mid-off by Zaheer off a slower delivery in the over after Owais Shah's brilliant innings of 72 came to an end when he was dismissed by Zaheer. Flintoff hit 3 fours and a six in his knock.

Shah played across the line to a full toss and edged it high up in the air for Tendulkar to take the catch in the covers after hitting 9 fours and 3 sixes.

Flintoff joined Shah at the crease when England were reeling at 52/3 and put up 82 runs for the fourth wicket.

Ishant Sharma dismissed England captain Kevin Pietersen who was looking to cut the slower ball to third man, missed and was clean bowled.

Harbhajan Singh got India the second breakthrough by dismissing Ian Bell whose painful innings of 12 runs off 15 balls came to end when tried to slog sweep but missed the ball being early in the shot and was clean bowled.

Munaf Patel denied England a good start when he dismissed Ravi Bopara (1) in the second over. Bopara hit the shot wide of long on where Ishant Sharma dived to his right to take a splendid catch.

Yuvraj Hits Second Consecutive Century

2008-11-18T14:57:00.000-08:00

Yuvraj Singh reacts after scoring a century against England during the second One-Day International in Indore

Meerabai Not Out

2008-11-13T13:06:00.000-08:00

Now that he has retired from cricket, Anil Kumble has opted for a rather sticky wicket – Bollywood!
Anil Kumble will be seen in a sports flick titled Meerabai Not Out. But this is no googly! Anil insists that it’s a small role in which he plays himself. “So it wasn’t that difficult,” he tells us, adding, “This is the first film I’ve done and it’s releasing at a time when I’ve announced my retirement! So, it just looks like I’m opting for Bollywood. But I’m really not looking at it as an alternate career.”

Well, this khiladi isn’t opting for Bollywoodbaazi. But, doing a small role once in a while, will help him remain ‘not out’, and of course, keep the ball rolling...

Well done Virender Sehwag

2008-11-01T05:38:00.000-07:00

Anil Kumble congratulates Virender Sehwag for taking Shane Watson's wicket on the fourth day of the third Test in New Delhi on 10/31/2008.

First Test Ends in a Draw

2008-10-15T14:01:00.000-07:00

First test between India and Australia at Bangalore ends in a draw. Now three more tests to go in this series. However Sachin Tendulkar fell short of breaking world record.

Shane Watson gets warm welcome

2008-09-26T10:21:00.001-07:00

Australian all-rounder Shane Watson being garlanded by a girl at India Habitat Centre in Jaipur.

Rajasthan Royals To Become Public

2008-09-26T10:10:00.000-07:00

Rajasthan Royals, the winners of the inaugural Indian Premier League, could soon be going public. According to sources, the owners of the team, Emerging Media, have decided to float some equity in the market and get listed on the stock exchange.

The company spoksmen said, it was certain that the franchisee would go public "very soon". "There are many ways to go public and they are working out the modalities," a source close to Emerging Media told TOI on Wednesday.

Twenty20 Champions League tournament-2009 Schedule fixed

2008-09-05T12:41:00.000-07:00

Twenty20 Champions League tournament-2009 will be conducted between September 25 and October 11.

The cricket boards of India (BCCI), Australia and South Africa, joint founders of the League, have decided that as compared to this year's December 3-10 tournament featuring eight teams, the 2009 edition would have 12 teams, who will play 23 matches during prime Indian festive season, according to a statement on Cricket South Africa's website.

The venues and commercial partnership details of the coming first edition in December, for which the reigning winners and runners-up from the domestic T20 competitions in India, Australia and South Africa, along with English T20 winners Middlesex and Pakistan's champions of this format (to be held next month) have been invited, would be finalised soon, it said.

The inaugural competition carries a total prize fund of $6 million with the winners taking home half of it and the spoils would be shared between the teams and their players, it added.

The Governing Council of the event, together with its founding cricket boards, are of the opinion that significant prize money to be shared by the teams and players will ensure that the benefits of the event will foster cricket's development by injecting new funds into domestic level cricket.

It will also handsomely reward domestic level cricketers and provide opportunity for a higher public profile for players at a level below international cricket, it feels.

Preity Zinta Gets Award

2008-09-05T12:25:00.000-07:00

Priety Zinta Gets Smitha Patel Award for recognizing her contribution to Bollywood film industry. Along with boyfriend Ness Wadia she is a co-owner of the Indian Premier League cricket team Kings XI Punjab.

India score 33 run victory over Lanka

2008-08-24T17:39:00.000-07:00

India made mess of a brilliant start as they just managed to scrape through to a narrow 33-run win in the third One-dayer to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.

Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardene raked up a sensational 94-run knock and brought his team close to the doors of an incredible victory but could not finish the game in his team's favour as the hosts innings folded at 204 in 49 overs.

After putting up 237 on board, India had the Lankans on the mat as the hosts were reduced to 94 for seven at one stage but visitors dropped as many as four catches to put themselves in an embarrassing situation in the flood lit affair.

A sloppy fielding allowed Jayawardene - dropped once and Thilan Thushara - dropped twice - to stitch an 81-run stand, raising hopes of a Lankan win at R Premadasa stadium.

Indian strike bowler Zaheer Khan came to the rescue of his team when he bowled Thushara (30) with a yorker but tension was yet to evaporate from Indian faces as Jaywardene was still at the wicket.

Trophy for India-Sri Lanka Test

2008-07-15T13:53:00.000-07:00

Sri Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardena (left) and Indian Test skipper Anil Kumble with the trophy for India-Sri Lanka Test series in Colombo.

IPL and dope test

2008-07-14T14:53:00.000-07:00

Delhi Daredevils speedster Mohammed Asif faces a possible life ban for testing positive a second time at a random test conducted during the Indian Premier League (IPL) in May.

IPL chairman and commissioner Lalit Modi confirmed Monday that the 25-year-old Sheikhupura-born player, failed the dope test. He is a member of Pakistan Teram.

The IPL came to the conclusion after comparing the result from the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA)-approved laboratory in Switzerland with the data collected by IDTM, the Sweden based independent agency which organised the anti-dope testing in accordance with the WADA code.

The IPL chairman also said that Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the Daredevils' franchise owner GMR have been informed about the adverse analytical findings (AAF) of Asif's samples. But the nature of the banned substance was still not known.

The fast bowler can now request the IPL to analyse his B-sample and the once its is done the fast bowler has to appear before the IPL Drug Tribunal comprising Ravi Bapat, Sunil Gavaskar and Shirish Gupte.

Since it is Asif's second offence, the Mohammed Asif can face a life ban for violating Article 10.2 of the WADA Code. For his first offence in 2006 he was handed out a one year ban.

Modi also said Asif, who was nursing an injury on his bowling arm when he came to play in the IPL, had not applied for Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE), which perhaps could have saved him.

Asif's testing positive has shamed the PCB and the governing body of cricket in Pakistan has sought legal advice the moment they heard Sunday night that a subcontinental fast bowler was tested positive.

The PCB had to do a lot of damage control and faced adverse criticism for its role in the previous doping scandal that hit Pakistan cricket when Asif and fellow pacer Shoaib Akhtar failed dope tests in 2006 just before the Champions Trophy in India.

Asif is also facing a PCB inquiry after being detained for 19 days in Dubai for possessing a banned drug.

Asif, who had undergone a one-year ban after testing positive for banned anabolic steroid nandrolone during the Champions Trophy in India, suffered from an elbow injury and that saw him miss seven of the 14 games that his team played in the IPL.

The WADA officials arrived in India from Sweden May 18 when the 44-day IPL was moving towards its final phase to do random dope tests.

A day before the WADA testing, Asif sat out of the game against Kings XI Punjab and wasn't part of the team in subsequent three games. The reason given for Asif's absence was an elbow problem and the player was found wearing a strap around his elbow as his team mates continued to practice.

Later, the injury was described as non-serious though Asif hasn't played much competitive cricket since then because of his stay at the Dubai detention centre.

Beat the heat!

2008-06-27T20:21:00.000-07:00

This summer is harder than ever before and any would like to dive into the pool to cool off. You might be spending a fortune to maintain the pool. There are easy options available now like deploying a Robotic pool cleaner.

Aquabot Turbo T4 T2 T SRC Automatic Pool Cleaners & Parts123 Aquabot is offering automatic swimming pool cleaning solutions. Some of the Aquabot Models we offer are: T4 T2 and T-SRC. The parts section is friendly to use and has an easy order form.

SRK prepares for next IPL season

2008-06-17T18:53:00.000-07:00

Everybody knows about Shah Rukh Khan’s penchant to be a winner all the way.

Far from sulking about his team, Kolkata Knight Riders being defeated at the recently concluded IPL, he is already making all the necessary arrangements like getting international cricketers (one of whom is Andrew Flintoff) on board for the next IPL season.

A source says, “SRK is leaving for London for a few days to join his wife Gauri and children, Suhana and Aryan, who have already left in a private aircraft. Apart from shooting for his next film, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi in London, SRK’s main agenda for the trip is to get some of the biggest international cricketers for his IPL team.
”
When contacted, a source close to the actor confirms and says, “Yes, it’s true that SRK is in advanced talks with Flintoff. Shah Rukh Khan has taken complete charge and he’s leaving no stone unturned to make his IPL team a winner next year.” And when one talks about SRK, can entertainment be far behind? The source adds, “His team of cricketers will also perform on stage along with him within the next day for the international audience.”