Shahid Afridi announces early retirement

KARACHI: Flamboyant Pakistani all-rounder Shahid Afridi announced an early retirement from international cricket, in protest against his removal from the captaincy of the national one-day team.

"The people have given me lot of respect and love and I don't want to waste that working with this board who don't know how to respect players," an angry Afridi said.

In a scathing attack on the Pakistan Cricket Board, Afridi described the current set of administrators as a disgrace to Pakistan cricket.

Afridi who announced his retirement from all international cricket as a protest against the board for removing him as captain of the national one-day team told Geo News channel that nothing was greater to him than his self-respect.

The experienced all-rounder said until the present board under the chairmanship of Ijaz Butt was in place he would not play international cricket.

"I will continue to play domestic and league cricket but not international cricket but it is not worth my while under this board which gave me no reason nor did it bother to hear me out before sacking me as captain," he said.

"I don't want to work with such disgraceful people. I don't know on what grounds they sacked me as captain. I worked hard on building up a broken team and turned it into a fighting combination. We played in the World Cup semifinal and yet they sacked me without hearing me out."

Afridi also claimed that there was a group of people belonging to the Punjab province in Lahore who had always been against him.

"This group has always kept on working against me. They are the ones who keep on filling the chairman's ears against me. Maybe they don't want me to play because I get in the way of their plans."

Afridi also claimed that as captain he was never consulted in selection of teams nor was he sure about his captaincy before a series until the last moment.

"This board never gave me a feeling of assurance that I would be captain. I would not know before a series until the last few days whether I was going to be captain and I can't continue to play under these circumstances."

Afridi also made it clear that he had spoken to some of his elders and seniors before taking his retirement decision and they supported him.

"I want to make it clear that till this board is there I will not play international cricket. When it goes and if people want me to play on I will consider a comeback," he added.

The retirement announcement came just a few days after the board chairman, Ijaz Butt had in a surprising move sacked the all-rounder as captain of the national limited overs team although Afridi had led the team to the World Cup semifinals and to a 3-2 win over the West Indies in the Caribbean.

It was after returning from the West Indies that Afridi ruffled the board feathers when he told the media that he didn't like people interfering in his work an obvious reference to an ongoing row with head coach, Waqar Younis over selection issues.

After issuing him a notice for speaking to the media on team issues in contravention of the players code of conduct the board while announcing the squad for the one-day series against Ireland replaced Afridi as captain with Test captain, Misbah-ul-Haq who on Monday led Pakistan to a 2-0 win over Ireland.

Afridi after the sack also pulled out of the series against Ireland telling the board that he wanted to stay with his father who was under treatment in the United States.

Afridi defended his statement saying he had only spoken the truth and nothing else.

"I didn't speak against anyone nor did I criticize anyone by name. What I said was for betterment of team. But if they don't want me to speak the truth than I can't accept working with such people," he said.

"I didn't want any problems what I said was keeping in the benefits of the team. I can't continue to play under a board that does not respect senior players," he added.

Afridi had last year already retired from Test cricket after losing the first Test to Australia at Lords.

Afridi after his sacking also pulled out of the series against Ireland telling the board that he wanted to stay with his father who was under treatment in the United States.

But the all-rounder reached England from the US and on Monday made his retirement announcement from London.

Afridi who played 325 ODIs and 27 Tests told the channel that whatever he had said on returning home was in the better interests of the team.
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1st Test: England seize dramatic victory over Sri Lanka

CARDIFF: Chris Tremlett led England to a sensational victory as they defied the elements to beat Sri Lanka by an innings and 14 runs in the first Test at Sophia Gardens on Monday.

Sri Lanka were skittled out for just 82 in their second innings, with fast bowler Tremlett taking the first three wickets to fall on his way to a return of 4/40 in 10 overs on the final day.

Off-spinner Graeme Swann followed up with 4/16 in seven overs as Sri Lanka's dramatic collapse continued.

Stuart Broad finished off the match with two wickets in three balls, the tourists second innings ending in the 25th over in under two dramatic hours.

England's victory in their first Test since a 3-1 Ashes triumph on Australia was achieved despite rain, which fell throughout this match, washing out nearly a whole day's play in total.

And the win was achieved despite England being without James Anderson, who was ruled out from bowling in the remainder of this match on Saturday with a side strain.

Tremlett struck sixth ball to have Tharanga Paranavitana well caught low down at first slip by England captain Andrew Strauss.

But it was all the 6ft 7in Surrey paceman's own work when he caught and bowled Sri Lanka skipper Tillakaratne Dilshan after a review confirmed the batsman had gloved a lifting delivery back to the bowler.

The experienced duo of Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene hung around until tea.

But both former captains fell shortly afterwards.

The hostile Tremlett removed Jayawardene with the aid of a Strauss slip catch before Thilan Samaraweera played on to Swann for nought.

Sangakkara was then held by Strauss off Swann and 43/5 soon became 43/7.

Prasanna Jayawardene, who had defied England with a century in Sri Lanka's first innings 400, fell for just three when he was given out on review, after gloving an attempted hook off Tremlett through to wicket-keeper Matt Prior.

England then reduced Sri Lanka to 52/8 when Rangana Herath, swinging wildly, was lbw to Swann before Broad wrapped things up.

There seemed little chance of England forcing a victory after rain washed out the whole of Monday's morning session and prevented play from resuming until 3.00pm local time.

England then added just five runs to their overnight total.

Strauss declared on 496/5 as soon as Ian Bell, who resumed on 98, completed a 159-ball hundred featuring a six and 11 fours.

Bell's was the third century of an England innings that saw his Warwickshire team-mate Jonathan Trott score 203 and opener Alastair Cook 133.

England will now head to Strauss's Lord's home ground, where the second Test starts on Friday, 1-0 up in this three-match series.

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'Upul Tharanga in trouble without TUE'

NEW DELHI: There are indications Upul Tharanga's failure to produce a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) certificate, required for athletes before using substances like prednisolone which are banned under the WADA list, may land him in trouble.

The player faces a ban of up to two years since the International Cricket Council has confirmed that it will follow the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) regulations to the letter while investigating the issue. "As a matter of policy the ICC doesn't comment on on-going investigations. The ICC, though, is completely WADA complaint and we'll follow the procedure laid down by the world body," ICC spokesperson James Fitzgerald told TOI.

Tharanga, incidentally, was the only cricketer to fail a dope test during the World Cup.

Prednisolone is part of WADA's 'specified list' of banned drugs. A glucocorticosteroid, it is widely used for the treatment of inflammatory and auto-immune conditions such as asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, Bell's palsy and multiple scelorosis.

Athletes can use it after applying for a TUE from WADA, though the ICC has its own TUE commission comprising of six medical experts. The ICC also considers any TUE from a valid National Anti-Doping Agency. The ICC would have considered Tharanga's TUE if it was filed 30-days prior to the event, in this case the World Cup.

"A TUE is easily obtainable in India if an athlete has the required doctor's prescriptions with him. I am not quite aware of the Sri Lankan procedure but it is the athlete's folly for not seeking the TUE in time," NADA director general Rahul Bhatnagar said, adding: "Prednisolone is a drug on the specified list, which means it doesn't carry any preliminary ban.

An athlete can ask for their 'B' sample and if that too comes out positive he will be subject to a hearing according to WADA rules. If the player is found guilty after the hearing he can be banned up to a maximum of two years. A panel will
take into account a player's argument before reaching a final decision."

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IPL players are chasing contracts: Harsha Bhogle

He's a well known face on television, especially when a cricket match is in progress. With former players sharing several technical views on the sport, Harsha Bhogle is often viewed as someone who balances his thoughts between the informative and the interesting aspects. CT got talking to him on the sidelines of his recent book launch in the city.

IPL 4: This season of the IPL has exposed the lack of quality of our domestic cricket. We don't have good enough players. It looks like a lot of them are chasing contracts! The other thing I've noticed is that players who've done well in the previous seasons are fading out. They are trying to be halfhour players; but for that, you'll need to first be a good four-day player!

Changes in the commentary box: I don't know about the changes in clothing for commentators because that's something the producer decides. As far as the three-commentator experiment goes, they're trying three points of view at the same time. I think it works if all three commentators have a good understanding with each other. But if they don't, there's no respite for the viewer. Sometimes it works, sometime it doesn't. I feel that sometimes, there needs to be silence too during a cricket telecast.

Time tales! In most cities, if you tell people to come for an event at 6.30 pm, you can rest assured that the event will start only an hour later. Keeping that in mind, for my book launch at 6.30 pm, I thought it would be safe to tell people to land up at 7 pm. But guess what, almost everybody was on time. Chennai just freaks me out! But seriously, it's so beautiful that it's a quality I strive for.

TOI

Impressive Aravind admits to not bowling well in IPL final

CHENNAI: Royal Challengers Bangalore's left-arm seamer Sreenath Aravind, the third highest wicket-taker in the IPL this season with a tally of 21 wickets from 13 matches, expressed disappointment at the defeat in the final to the Chennai Super Kings and felt that he also contributed to the loss by not bowling well.

"I bowled on the wrong lines. It is a lesson for me. I have said it is a batsmen's game, but one day the bowlers too will dominate. It is part and parcel of the game," said the 27-year old who went for 39 runs in his three overs, but took two wickets.

"We could have won this match. I was dreaming to win. It is unfortunate but part of the game. It was dream come true for me to take lots of wickets.

"I was well supported by Zaheer Khan and Daniel Vettori and especially coach Venkatesh Prasad."

While tacitly admitting that the absence of fast bowler Dirk Nannes (who was later replaced by Chris Gayle), Aravind felt that it provided opportunity for other players.

"Missing one player or some, it is part of the game. For that matter, we miss him, but it is a chance for youngsters to show their mettle and come up well in their career," said Aravind, a relatively late bloomer on the domestic circuit having made his first class debut only three seasons ago.

However, Aravind has been a revelation in this year's IPL and was a key member in the team that topped the league table and eventually finished runners-up.

"During the last two years, I have been improving a lot on each day by watching the seniors. I can say that in Karnataka, many people are helping me out in domestic circuit.

"Players like Robin (Uthappa), Vinay (Kumar), (Sunil) Joshi and my coach Sanath Kumar have been helping me a lot. This has helped me to build my confidence levels. I am looking forward to do better," said Aravind.

Taking an overview of his own performance in the IPL, he said: "Every delivery is a learning lesson for me. I have learnt how to bowl to good and experienced batsmen in such a competitive field. Zaheer Khan had been telling me how to hit right areas and bringing variations," he said.

TOI

Sticking to basics was key to Vijay's IPL success

CHENNAI: The decision to stick to basics and work on his singles rather than playing just the big shots were the key to his success, said opening batsman Murali Vijay whose knock of 95 paved the way for Chennai Super Kings' 58-run win against the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League final in Chennai on Saturday.

"Personally, I was missing out on lot of singles in some of the previous games because Hussey is more of a timer and I was trying to play of my skin," said Vijay at the post-match media conference held in the early hours of Sunday.

"I had thought I could have ran a lot more singles for myself as well Hussey and the team's cause for a momentum. I was working on it consciously and today, I went out for it and excelled as well.

"I was batting well today. I was confident about my tasks and did not worry much about anything else. My only worry was that I was getting 30s and 40s and was thinking about performing.

"Everybody in our team was performing well. I raised my hand and said to myself that this is going to be my day and I succeeded."

Vijay was overjoyed that the Super Kings retained the trophy and said that although he was disappointed at missing out on a century, it was more important that the team won.

"A bit (disappointed) now. But at that time, I was trying to hit the ball because the wicket was deteriorating and I thought a total of 220 might be a good score.

"In this format, any total could be chased by the rivals. I tried to clear (the field) but it did not come out in the way that I wanted. However, I am happy that the team won," said Vijay who earlier in the week was selected for next month's Indian team's tour of the West Indies.

After having gone through a lean patch in the IPL this season, Vijay said he was determined to come out on top in the final, but did not bat any differently than he had previously.

"Actually, I was not trying to do anything differently. I was trying to see the ball and hit it when it was in my areas. I knew that if I bat well for the first six overs, then I can take it from there. I was just working on the basics."

On the forthcoming tour of the Caribbean, Vijay said that he was hoping to perform well in the Test series.

"I am enjoying this moment and looking on to improve on all aspects of my cricket, batting and everything. I am looking forward to join the Indian team in the Tests in which I really love to carry the momentum and do well," he said.

TOI

Impressive Aravind admits to not bowling well in IPL final

CHENNAI: Royal Challengers Bangalore's left-arm seamer Sreenath Aravind, the third highest wicket-taker in the IPL this season with a tally of 21 wickets from 13 matches, expressed disappointment at the defeat in the final to the Chennai Super Kings and felt that he also contributed to the loss by not bowling well.

"I bowled on the wrong lines. It is a lesson for me. I have said it is a batsmen's game, but one day the bowlers too will dominate. It is part and parcel of the game," said the 27-year old who went for 39 runs in his three overs, but took two wickets.

"We could have won this match. I was dreaming to win. It is unfortunate but part of the game. It was dream come true for me to take lots of wickets.

"I was well supported by Zaheer Khan and Daniel Vettori and especially coach Venkatesh Prasad."

While tacitly admitting that the absence of fast bowler Dirk Nannes (who was later replaced by Chris Gayle), Aravind felt that it provided opportunity for other players.

"Missing one player or some, it is part of the game. For that matter, we miss him, but it is a chance for youngsters to show their mettle and come up well in their career," said Aravind, a relatively late bloomer on the domestic circuit having made his first class debut only three seasons ago.

However, Aravind has been a revelation in this year's IPL and was a key member in the team that topped the league table and eventually finished runners-up.

"During the last two years, I have been improving a lot on each day by watching the seniors. I can say that in Karnataka, many people are helping me out in domestic circuit.

"Players like Robin (Uthappa), Vinay (Kumar), (Sunil) Joshi and my coach Sanath Kumar have been helping me a lot. This has helped me to build my confidence levels. I am looking forward to do better," said Aravind.

Taking an overview of his own performance in the IPL, he said: "Every delivery is a learning lesson for me. I have learnt how to bowl to good and experienced batsmen in such a competitive field. Zaheer Khan had been telling me how to hit right areas and bringing variations," he said.

TOI

Chennai home to IPL final again in 2012

CHENNAI: Chennai partied like never before on Saturday night, with celebrations around Chepauk and the Marina beach going on well past midnight, and now it seems there might be more revelry in store. Not only did cricket buffs here get to see Indian Premier League (IPL) team Chennai Super Kings retain their crown, the city may get to see the IPL 5 final too following decisions made by the IPL governing council.

The IPL committee has taken a decision that the team that wins the tournament will get to host the final the following year. "The IPL commission has taken a decision on those lines and as of now, next year's final will be in Chennai," a senior BCCI functionary told TOI. This is, of course, an added incentive for franchisees to go for maximum. Earlier, there used to be a bidding process for the IPL final, with the host-status going to the highest bidder.

CSK players are elated that the final will be back in Chennai. "It's a big boost for us. We have played well right through the tournament here and we know how to go about it," a senior CSK player said. The champions won all the eight matches they played at the Chepauk this year, with only a couple of games against Kolkata Knight Riders and Deccan Chargers going down to the wire.

Dhoni left 'a bit disappointed'!

On Saturday night, as the team partied hard after the game, skipper MS Dhoni sat glued to a TV set at a nightclub, watching Barcelona take on Manchester United in the Champions League final. "Dhoni is a big United fan. So he was a bit disappointed after his favourite team lost. But then, the mood in the camp was such that the disappointment didn't linger long," a source said.

CSK's owners too are delighted with the team's performance. TOI has learnt that the management will put in another Rs 10 crore - in addition to the Rs 10 crore IPL prize money the team won on Saturday - and the entire booty will be distributed among players and support staff.

However, all the players looked tired and with flights to catch on Sunday, the celebrations were called off earlier than planned. After all, quite a few players in the team will be leaving for the Caribbean soon to take on the Windies.

TOI

Mumbai Indians winners on social media

MUMBAI: As the Indian Premier League ( IPL-4) draws to a close, Mukesh Ambani-owned Mumbai Indians (MI) have gathered the most amount of support across social media platforms followed by liquor baron Vijay Mallya's Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). According to a report by NM Incite, a Nielsen McKinsey company, among the players, Indian skipper MS Dhoni has emerged as the most discussed player on social media websites with the West Indian star Chris Gayle taking the second spot. Interestingly, Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings (CSK) beat Gayle's RCB in the playoffs to book a place in Sunday's final.

On the brand front, Samsung, Vodafone, Cadbury and Volkswagen top the list of brands which were the most talked about on blogs, discussion boards and online forums, said the report which was shared with TOI.

"In this edition of the IPL brands have created campaigns that are capable of engaging the digital consumer effectively. We find that this triggers positive buzz which can result in increased purchase intent," said Adrian Terron,VP, Nielsen.

Although, social networking websites like Facebook and Twitter have become part of every brand's marketing strategy, blogs and forums have also been used by brands increasingly, said the report. The report was generated by analyzing data collected by monitoring social media channels from the start of the tournament till May 13.

Samsung, which ran television campaigns during the IPL for its smartphone, Galaxy Tab, as well as its 3G phone, Hero, backed it up with increased online activity in this year's tournament. It also advertised during the live streaming of IPL matches. "Given the committed viewership that the IPL generates, we used the platform to launch five new campaigns so that we could generate the visibility as well as create awareness around these products online," said Ranjit Yadav, country head, Samsung Mobile & IT.

While CSK captain Dhoni was the most popular on international forums, the domestic blogs and boards had RCB's Gayle topping the charts. Indian and international players were a part of the list of players leading online discussions with Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly featuring on it.

"When compared to the World Cup, brands haven't necessarily managed to draw similar linkages between themselves and the players that endorse them this time around," said Nielsen's Terron. Besides, the Mumbai and Bangalore teams, CSK and Shah Rukh Khan's Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) were also able to create a sense of community online. Even the two new franchises, Kochi Tuskers and Pune Warriors, appear to have garnered a fifth of social media mentions, said the report.

TOI

Sachin, Yuvraj and Gambhir ruled out of West Indies tour

CHENNAI: There's always a twist to the tale when it comes to national selection committee meetings these days. The Indian cricket fraternity was eagerly awaiting the result of the fitness test of Gautam Gambhir, but by the time the selectors came out of the meeting, there were a couple of more blows awaiting the fans.

Not only was Gambhir ruled out, Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh, too, opted out of the series opening the door for the likes of Virat Kohli, Abhinav Mukund and S Badrinath.

While Tendulkar wants some time off from a hectic schedule to be with his family, Yuvraj is suffering from an upper respiratory infection, with a small patch of pneumonitis in the left lung. With Yuvi and Gambhir opting out, two openings were created in the ODI squad as well and the selectors inducted Shikhar Dhawan and Manoj Tiwary in for the five-match series.

Predictably, Suresh Raina will lead the side with Harbhajan Singh being his deputy in the ODI squad. VVS Laxman, on the other hand will be the vice-captain for the Tests.

The selectors, though, made it clear they have nothing against Gambhir for opting to play for KKR and thus aggravating his injury. "There have always been injury issues and we have to live with it. Our job is to work with the options in hand and we have done that," chairman of selectors Krishnamachari Srikkanth told TOI.

Once it was made official Gambhir won't be going, TN lefty Abhinav Mukund was drafted into the Test squad. Mukund has amassed 1,211 runs in the first-class season and the selectors felt "the time was ripe to give him the break".

It will be an all Tamil Nadu opening combination with M Vijay being the other specialist in the line-up. Parthiv Patel, who pipped Wriddhiman Saha to the post for the second wicketkeeper's slot, will be the back-up opener.

But Tendulkar and Yuvraj's decisions to opt out came as a bolt from the blue for the selectors and that put them in a bit of a tricky situation. They didn't know beforehand that these two players won't be going and that's why it took them a while to finalise the Test squad. But the selectors don't think the team will do badly in the series. They feel that there's a nice combination of youth and experience and most of the new boys like Kohli and Badrinath will get to play in the first XI.

"The tour will provide us with the perfect platform to see how these boys shape up," Srikkanth said. The pace quartet for the Tests comprises Zaheer Khan, Sreesanth, Ishant Sharma and Munaf Patel, the three spinners are Harbhajan Singh, Amit Mishra and Pragyan Ojha.

Test squad: MS Dhoni (capt), VVS Laxman (vc), M Vijay, Abhinav Mukund, Rahul Dravid, Virat Kohli,S Badrinath, Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma, Sreesanth, Amit Mishra, Pragyan Ojha, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel, Suresh Raina, Parthiv Patel (wk).

Limited-overs squad: Suresh Raina (capt), R Ashwin, S Badrinath, Harbhajan Singh (vc), Virat Kohli, Praveen Kumar, Amit Mishra, Munaf Patel, Parthiv Patel (wk), Yusuf Pathan, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Vinay Kumar, Manoj Tiwary, Shikhar Dhawan.

TOI

Gayle blitz takes Bangalore into IPL final

Royal Challengers crushed Mumbai Indians by 43 runs to enter the IPL final in Chennai today.

Put into bat RCB rode on a whirlwind 47 ball 89 by Chris Gayle to pile up an imposing 185 run total. The RCB bowlers then bowled brilliantly taking wickets at regular intervals. The Mumbai batsmen hardly looked settled with the middle order collapsing at crucial moments.

Sachin Tendulkar (40) was the only Mumbai batsman who showed some grit but after his departure, it was all over with wickets crumbling at regular intervals.

Sachin was stumped by an excellent delivery by Syed Mohammad which turned sharply and for once even suprised the batting maestro.

Sreenath Aravind picked up two wickets at the start to to dent Mumbai Indians run chase.

Blizzard was the first to depart when he was caught at long on by Mayank Agarwal in the fourth over. Harbhajan soon followed when he was caught by Pomersbach at midwicket.

Earlier, Opener Chris Gayle butchered Mumbai Indians bowlers with a whirlwind 89 as Royal Challengers Bangalore posted an imposing 185 for four in the second qualifier of the Indian Premier League here today.

Gayle blasted nine fours and five sixes in his 47-ball innings and shared a 113-run opening partnership with Mayank Agarwal (41) in 10.4 overs to set the foundation for a big score for Bangalore at the MA Chidambaram Stadium here.

Sachin Tendulkar's decision to bowl first backfired as Gayle took the Mumbai attack by the scruff of its neck and helped RCB amass 111 in first 10 overs.

Mumbai came back strong in the second half and dismissed four of their batsmen in quick succession and did well to restrict the Royals inside the 200-mark.

Gayle gave Bangalore a blistering start, accumulating 27 runs in the first over off Abu Nechim studded with three fours and a six, besides a wides four behind the keeper.

Taking a cue from Gayle, young Mayank also clobbered Harbhajan Singh for a couple of boundaries through short third man in the second over.

Tendulkar then turned to Lasith Malinga but there was no respite for Mumbai as Gayle smashed his first ball through covers and then flicked one across the fine line boundary.

Mayank brought up the first fifty in 3.2 overs with a huge six over long on off Harbhajan and followed it up with a nice-looking four through point as RCB reached 57 in 4 overs.

Munaf Patel also rolled his arms but there was no difference in the result as Gayle clobbered him for a boundary between mid on and midwicket and managed to pick up another four across short fine leg.

Malinga pulled things a bit in the next over but Gayle was simply unstoppable as he blasted Patel across extra over for another four in the next over.

Rohit Sharma was then introduced into the attack but Mayank welcomed him with a four and a six as he bleded 14 runs in the eighth over.

Gayle too continued his blitzkrieg punishing Pollard for another boundary in the next over to not only bring up the hundred for Bangalore but also reached his personal score of 52 in 27 balls.

Pollard finally gave Mumbai something to chew on by dismissing Mayank in the fourth ball of the 11th over but not before Rohit had dropped him in the first delivery.

However, there was no respite for Mumbai as Gayle blasted three sixes in the space of four balls spread across the 13th and 14th over.

The former West Indies skipper first sent Pollard soaring over long off in the last ball of the 13th over and then hammered Harbhajan over deep midwicket in consecutive balls as RCB reached 145 for one in 14 overs.

Gayle was dismissed by Munaf in the next over with James Franklin taking a good catch at long on but by then the damage was done. Virat Kohli (8) also couldn't stay long and was sent packing by Nechim in the 16th over.

Malinga then pulled off a brilliant diving catch at short third man off Munaf to dismiss Luke Pomersbach (4) as Bangalore slipped to 157 for four in 16.2 overs.

However, AB de Villiers (21) and Saurabh Tiwary (8) stayed in the crease and took Bangalore close to the 200-mark.

Getting Gayle early will be top priority for Mumbai

CHENNAI: It's a matter of winning one more game to reach the final and the play-off between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) promises to be a cracker of a contest at the MA Chidambaram stadium on Friday. It's a great chance for RCB to reach the IPL final for the second time while Mumbai Indians, it's an opportunity to make their second straight summit clash.

Mumbai Indians, after winning back-to-back matches against Kolkata Knight Riders, are on a high and the Sachin Tendulkar-led side will look to carry the momentum into Friday's game. But RCB are a tough opponent and despite losing matches at the league stage, they have showed the gumption to fight back at crucial periods.

Royal Challengers owe their turnaround in IPL 4 to Chris Gayle. The Jamaican has almost single-handedly put the side into the play-offs. Gayle was ignored by all franchises during the IPL auction and was dropped from the West Indies squad for the home series against Pakistan. But the former Windies skipper, who replaced Australian pacer Dirk Nannes in the RCB squad, has dazzled with his whirlwind batting. Gayle is a great threat to any team and MI will need to keep him silent.

Mumbai Indians, too, have plenty of big-hitters in the squad. The likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Ambati Rayudu, Rohit Sharma, Aiden Blizard and James Franklin are in good nick and will definitely be a challenge for Daniel Vettori's boys. Tendulkar has been the lighthouse for his side, guiding youngsters like Sharma and Rayudu in the tournament.

Royal Challengers lost a close game against the Chennai Super Kings in the first playoff in Mumbai. Despite posting a formidable 175 on the board, they failed to stop the marauding defending champions. The likes of Zaheer Khan and Daniel Vettori looked patchy and the two have to pull up their socks if they wish to beat Mumbai Indians at Chepauk.

Most teams have played at least two spinners in the tournament but RCB have lacked the second spinner who can complement Vettori. Their bowling has mainly revolved around Zaheer but the Indian spearhead has not been at his best so far. But Zaheer is experienced and is capable of bouncing back. "As far as the second spinner is concerned, we have Gayle who has been supporting me well and I'm happy with Zaheer's form too. He has produced wickets upfront and has been exceptional with the ball so far," Vettori said.

Teams (from):

Royal Challengers Bangalore: D Vettori (capt), V Kohli, M Agarwal, S Aravind, Z Khan, B Arun Karthik, G Muralidharan, A Mithun, Mohd Kaif, R Ninan, A Pathan, C Gayle, AB de Villiers, C Langeveldt, L Pomersbach, S Tiwary, J van der Wath, S Mohammed, R Roussow, J Vandiar, A Kazi.

Mumbai Indians: S Tendulkar (capt), A Rayudu, Harbhajan, R Sharma, T Suman, M Patel, A Blizzard, K Pollard, L Malinga, A Symonds, D Jacobs, J Franklin, D Fernando, R Price, A Nechim, A Tare, A Murtaza, D Kulkarni, P Suyal, R Satish, S Kanwar, S Yadav, Y Singh.

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Injured Gautam Gambhir to miss West Indies tour

MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: Caught in the midst of a raging club-vs-country debate after he played the IPL eliminator game for the Shah Rukh Khan-owned Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) against Mumbai Indians on Wednesday, Gautam Gambhir has told the BCCI that he will be unavailable to lead India to the Caribbean.

Even as a controversy raged over whether Gambhir's IPL franchise had hidden the extent of his shoulder injury, the board said it was still to take an official call on the matter.

According to sources, Gambhir, who was supposed to stand in for regular skipper MS Dhoni in the ODI and T20 series against the West Indies, told the board on Thursday that he was "unable to take the load". This followed KKR physio Andrew Leipus's letter to the BCCI revealing the player's chronic shoulder and groin injuries. Leipus has advised the Delhi opener 4-6 weeks of rest.

Caught on the wrong foot, the BCCI asked Gambhir to clarify as to why he had played the IPL eliminator. He reportedly said he "didn't know" the exact nature or seriousness of the injury. Sources said Gambhir felt it would be better to rest for 4-6 weeks instead of aggravating his condition and risking a longer lay-off. Suresh Raina is likely to lead the squad now.

Meanwhile, even as the player refused to further clarify the matter, a comment he made at a press conference hinting that he had been kept in the dark about the seriousness of his injuries sparked a war of words between the BCCI and KKR. The issue has raised serious questions over who was responsible for hiding the nature of Gambhir's injuries - the franchise, the cricket board or the player himself. Sources suggested that once Leipus's report was leaked and it became apparent that he may not be able to tour the Caribbean, Gambhir may have had no choice but to play the IPL eliminator game, which KKR lost.

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Tendulkar's Mumbai bid for IPL final

CHENNAI: Sachin Tendulkar's Mumbai Indians are hoping the momentum from back-to-back wins will carry them into the IPL final in Friday's qualifier against Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Mumbai looked in danger of missing the play-offs but two victories against Kolkata Knight Riders have revived their campaign in the glitzy Twenty20 competition.

A win against Bangalore will take Tendulkar's men into a Saturday's title clash against defending champions Chennai, and offer them a chance to avenge their defeat against the same rivals in last year's final.

"It's obviously a knockout game for us," said Mumbai coach Robin Singh on Thursday. "We have done pretty well against Bangalore in the few outings we have had in the past.

"But this is a fresh game and we have to start from scratch. We have to refocus and regroup because the stakes are really high."

Bangalore will be counting once again on hard-hitting West Indies opener Chris Gayle to fire with the bat.

Gayle has been instrumental in guiding Bangalore to the play-offs, having scored 519 runs from 10 innings at a strike rate of 184 after joining the franchise as a replacement for the injured Dirk Nannes.

"You can't ignore the fact that Gayle is in terrific form," said Singh, a former India all-rounder.

"But we have been bowling exceptionally well. You have to back yourself to bowl well against anyone. We have thought about how we want to go about things. We have our own plans ready for what we would like to do."

Bangalore captain Daniel Vettori also praised Gayle but dismissed the suggestion that his side were too dependent on the muscular left-hander.

"We know Chris has played well and he has been the main scorer for us this season, winning so many games for us. But we have other batsmen like Virat Kohli who have stepped up and performed when needed," Vettori said.

"So if Gayle has an off-day, we are still confident that we can win games."

Mumbai are high on confidence following a spectacular last-ball victory against Kolkata in the final league game and another by four wickets with four balls to spare in the first play-off on Wednesday.

But Mumbai may bring in Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds to replace West Indies batsman Kieron Pollard, who has just 143 runs from 15 matches with a high score of 28.

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Franklin is okay with IPL, unlike his fellow countryman Oram

MUMBAI: Unlike his compatriot Jacob Oram, who said he could not connect with the Indian Premier League, Kiwi batsman James Franklin said he was enjoying being part of the league.

After playing just two IPL games, Oram returned to his country and said he felt disconnected with the event due to after-match parties, heavy presence Bollywood stars and fashion parades.

Franklin yet again played a good hand in Mumbai's win as he scored an unbeaten 29 in a tight situation on Wednesday.

"I have enjoyed it. It's my first experience. I'm with a great franchisee Mumbai Indians. I have really enjoyed thus far. Hopefully we have two games to go and we do go all the way. It's been pretty good fun till now. The passion for the game is amazing here. I have been here for four months since the World Cup. I'm still enjoying my stay here," he said at the post match press conference.

"After nearly every game there's an after party, there's Bollywood stars there and fashion parades; the drinks are free and the cheerleaders are around. It's a different world.

"Sometimes you wonder if you're here for cricket or not. Ultimately you are. It is good fun, but at the same time I don't think it's reality," Oram had said.

About Wednesday's match, Franklin lauded the effort of his bowlers for restricting Kolkata Knight Riders to 147/7 and said it gave them the control of the match.

"I thought we did a really a good job to restrict them under 150. In the last game here between Chennai and RCB the par score was between 160-165. Boys did a great job with the ball. We had a great start with the ball. It got us on the front-foot and we did hold on from there," he said.

The left-hander, however, felt that the team left it till the end and brought themselves under undue pressure.

"We are leaving it too late at the moment. We had a great start with (Aiden) Blizzard and Sachin (Tendulkar). They gave us a good platform. If we are trying to seek perfection we probably lost too many wickets in the middle and put too much pressure on ourselves. Harbhajan came and played a couple of good shots and we crossed the line."

Franklin, who had scored a quick-fire 45 not out in Mumbai Indians' thrilling five wicket win over the same rivals in Kolkata on Saturday, felt that victory didn't mean too much coming into this game.

"Every game is a new start. The boys weren't thinking what happened in Kolkata two nights ago. We started afresh. I'm sure KKR had done the same," he said.

Franklin said he expected a tough challenge from that Royal Challengers Bangalore in the second qualifier.

"That game is sudden death. A semifinal. Royals lost last night. But they have an extra day's rest. They are a tough side. They have done well in the last two-two and half weeks and have won many games in a row. So its going to be a tough game. We are looking forward to it."

Asked about the wild celebrations by Harbhajan Singh after he had finished the match with a six off Shakib-Al-Hasan, Franklin said, "I think when you win tight games like that you are excited and pumped up. Harbhajan is a man who lets out his emotions. The boys are pumped up for the next game."

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Mumbai Indians beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 4 wickets

MUMBAI: Harbhajan Singh hit the winning six for Mumbai Indians, roared, and all but thrust his boot towards the Knight Riders’ dugout. It was his way of telling everybody the kind of frustration his team has endured so far and how they have come out fighting.

Mumbai Indians should have won the contest easily. They however made it tougher for themselves, barely managing to reach the modest target of 148 only in the last over at the Wankhede on Wednesday.

The IPL Eliminator went all the way down to the wire even though, at one stage, MI were cruising at 81 for no loss in 7.5 overs. After losing the hard-hitting Aiden Blizzard for 51 (30 balls, 7x4, 2x6), they lost three quick wickets to land in a familiar position.

But James Franklin rallied around for 29 not out (25 balls, 2x4) to star in the team's rescue act. In the end, the Knights got eliminated and Mumbai Indians squeezed their way into the tournament's second qualifier to be played in Chennai against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Friday. The winner of that clash will face Chennai Super Kings in the grand finale on Saturday.

The contest became all the more close because of a combination of bad batting, bad umpiring and some serious sledging. It provided for the last-over finish.

Mumbai Indians won the toss and decided it would be better to chase. However, when the Knight Riders began, the Wankhede didn't seem all that bad for the team batting first. The ball came on to the bat nicely, the weather cooled down and Ryan ten Doeschate, the best batsman of the day, showed everybody the way.

Yet, it was the Kolkata top-order's suicidal approach that made matters difficult for them early on. Lasith Malinga compensated for what he had missed out in Mumbai Indians' previous match against Kolkata Knight Riders. On Wednesday night, he unleashed all the firepower to once again return with amazing figures of 19 runs from four overs and a wicket. However, it was the manner in which Munaf Patel, Dhawal Kulkarni and Harbhajan Singh supported Malinga that made the Mumbai Indians attack all the more dangerous.

Patel took three wickets in his four overs, most importantly sending back the very dangerous Jacques Kallis early on in the innings to a brilliant Tendulkar catch at mid-off. The very next over saw Harbhajan roar as loudly as possible, castling Gambhir, as the batsman attempted a clumsy slog sweep.

Kulkarni did his bit too, removing Manoj Tiwary - the second highest scorer for Knight Riders this season - and that was when the visitors got into serious trouble. However, nothing of what they did could collectively match the way Knights were ready to throw their wickets. If not for Doeschate's perseverance, they wouldn't even have reached the 100 mark.

Doeschate and gave Malinga the respect he deserved, but Pollard and Kulkarni suffered at the batsman's hands. The Dutchman became the highlight of the evening for his batting also because of the way he handled Harbhajan, who had come into his own.

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Question mark over Gambhir's tour to Windies

MUMBAI: Kolkata Knight Riders captain Gautam Gambhir, who injured his right shoulder while fielding during the IPL game against Mumbai Indians in Kolkata on Sunday, is uncertain to lead the Indian team in the ODI series in West Indies starting on June 4.

Gambhir had undergone an MRI scan in Kolkata, the result of which is yet to be analyzed by the cricket board (BCCI). An official call in this regard will be taken on Thursday.

"It is unlikely that Gambhir will miss out on the tour of West Indies," BCCI sources told TOI. "It does not look very serious at the moment. He'll certainly travel to West Indies and if he has to rest then he'll opt out of a couple of matches," sources added.

However, IANS reported that Gambhir has been advised rest for six weeks to nurse his "sore shoulder". Knight Riders' team physio Andrew Leipus, in a letter to BCCI, said Gambhir needs at least four-six weeks of rest.

"The clinical findings supported the mechanism of the onset of the acute injury. However, he did report having corticosteroid injections on two occasions over the previous few years. In the last match where KKR played MI, Gautam again felt an aggravation of the shoulder pain on one particular throw," Leipus said in his letter.

"On arrival in Mumbai we thought it was prudent to get both an MRI and a consultation with a leading shoulder orthopaedic surgeon. Both the doctor and I believe that he should follow an intensive, supervised and conservative rehabilitation pathway, he will need to avoid both throwing and batting for a period 4-6 weeks," the letter said.

"In this regard, I would expect that the BCCI medical committee would need to consider the ongoing management of Gautam's shoulder injury beyond the IPL and the possibility of his missing any immediate future tours until the shoulder is fully rehabilitated," the letter added.

On Wednesday, Gambhir got out after scoring just four runs while going for a slog sweep. However, at no point during his brief stay did he look uncomfortable. When the Knight Riders walked in to field in the second innings, Gambhir walked out too and seemed to be at absolute ease using his right hand to catch and throw the ball.

Suresh Raina will lead the ODI team in case Gambhir is ruled out. The team will leave for West Indies on May 31.

Gambhir was appointed skipper for the West Indies tour in the absence of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who was advised rest.

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How do Mumbai and Kolkata teams measure up?

SWOT ANALYSIS

Mumbai Indians

Strength: It is the intimidating line-up of the Sachin Tendulkar-led squad that makes them look the strongest of the lot. Individually, Tendulkar, Symonds, Sharma, Pollard, Malinga and Harbhajan are match winners.

Weakness: Pressure. With so many big stars in the team, they have enormous pressure on them to do well.

Opportunities: With his last ball six, Ambati Rayudu should've gained a world of confidence against Knight Riders in the previous game. If Rayudu carries that confidence into the playoffs, MI will benefit a lot..

Threats: The team's batting - up the order - hasn't clicked the way MI would have wanted to. The batting order too hasn't been consistent with Symonds and Pollard continuously in the order.

Kolkata Knight Riders

Strength: To be fair to Gautam Gambhir's team, they've made it to the playoffs riding on a commendable team performance. KKR haven't banked on any individual to help their cause, which makes them so dangerous. To top it, Gambhir's captaincy has been inspiring for a team that was desperate to have a new leader.

Weakness: The biggest disadvantage for Gautam Gambhir in this tournament has been the lack of performance from his pace attack. Brett Lee hasn't figured among wickets much while Laxmipathy Balaji has been way too costly.

Opportunity: Yusuf Pathan is yet to make his mark in this IPL and he'll have his best chance in the playoffs. If Pathan gets going the way he's done in the past, no target would seem very high for the Knights.

Threat: Gambhir's team has to be wary of not letting away the initiative in the end overs.

KEY CLASHES

Kallis vs Malinga

Jacques Kallis will have to click up the order for Knights to get off to a good start and that will mean the South African having to deal with the lethal Lasith Malinga. The fast bowler has troubled batsmen from all teams this tournament and therefore, this is will be a mouthwatering contest to look forward to.

Rohit vs Abdulla & Yusuf

Rohit Sharma has been a vital cog in the MI batting line up while Iqbal Abdulla and Yusuf Pathan have been KKR's highest wicket takers. The Wankhede will be humid enough for the dice to roll in favour of spinners and therefore, how Sharma deals with these bowlers will be crucial.

Tendulkar vs Gambhir

Both Tendulkar and Gambhir had said that peaking at the right time will be crucial for any team looking to stay right till the end. The time has come and from here, how the captains instill confidence in their team members will be the deciding factor. Tendulkar's experience versus Gambhir's flair will certainly be the talking point.

X-Factor

Mumbai Indians: James Franklin

The Kiwi pacer can wield the long handle and the Knight Riders will vouch for the mayhem he can cause after what he did to them at the Eden Gardens. Franklin not only swings the ball, but gets the odd ball to bounce with his seamless bowling action. The quickie will give the hosts the psychological edge after his Eden heroics.

M: 6, Wkts: 3, Best Bowling: 2-35, Avg: 29.66, Econ: 9.70

Kolkata Knight Riders: Shakib Al Hasan

At the start of the tournament KKR bowling consultant Wasim Akram had dubbed the Bangladesh all-rounder as a trump card in the side's hunt for its maiden IPL title. Shakib's more than a wicket-taking bowler with the guile to stymie the run rate in the middle overs. He hasn't set the stage on fire though with just 9 wickets under his belt.

M: 6, Wkts: 9, Best Bowling: 3-28, Avg: 16.77, Econ: 6.81

Likely Teams

Mumbai Indians: Suman, Tendulkar, Harbhajan, Rohit, Pollard, Franklin, Rayudu, Sathish, Abu Nechim, Price, Malinga

Kolkata Knight Riders: J Kallis, S Goswami, G Gambhir, M Tiwary, Y Pathan, Doeschate, R Bhatia, Shakib Al Hasan, B Lee, L Balaji, Iqbal Abdulla

Mumbai Indians:

Top three batsmen: Tendulkar, Rohit, Rayudu

Top three bowlers: Malinga, Munaf, Harbhajan

Kolkata Knight Riders:

Top three batsmen: Kallis, Gambhir, Pathan

Top three bowlers: Lee, Shakib, Abdulla

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Chennai Super Kings beat Royal Challengers Bangalore to reach IPL 4 final

MUMBAI: One wonders if MS Dhoni is a movie buff. If he is then jail breaks like Shawshank Redemption, Escape To Victory and the Great Escape must be the DVDs that grace his home theatre system.


His side, Chennai Super Kings (CSK), the defending IPL champions, got out of jail in the first playoff against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to win by six wickets and two balls to spare to enter the final to be played in Chennai on Saturday. The second playoff between RCB and the winner of Wednesday’s eliminator between KKR and MI will throw up the second finalist.

Chasing 176, they seemed down and out, but Suresh Raina 73 not out (50 balls, 4x4, 6x6), the ultimate warrior and limited-overs finisher, played a great T20 knock and Albie Morkel 28 runs (10 balls, 1x4, 3x6) showed why he is so highly rated by his franchise to finish things off.

It all seemed very uphill for CSK after Zaheer Khan had got Mike Hussey out for a duck and S Aravind dismissed Murali Vijay cheaply.

Zaheer bowled a miserly first spell (3-0-11-1), but sadly, like the World Cup final, it was his second spell that turned out to be the spoiler as Raina carted him for two sixes off the 17th over and Dhoni struck another maximum to start the turnaround.

The southpaw then trained his guns on S Aravind as he belted the left-armer for three more sixes in the 19th over that went for 21. Earlier, Abhimanyu Mithun too went for 23 runs in one over.

With 12 needed off the last over from Vettori, Morkel hit a four, two and six off the RCB skipper to break Bangalore's hearts in a match worthy of a final.

Earlier, Virat Kohli negated the early loss of two of RCB's big-ticket overseas players - Chris Gayle and AB De Villiers - to take RCB to 176. The talented youngster showed why he was being touted him to be the next great Indian batsman as he struck a sublime and unbeaten 70 (44 balls, 5x4, 3x6).

The first playoff was billed as a clash between Super Kings vs Super Gayle. RCB have piggy-backed a ride into the playoffs on the big-hitting West Indian's solo effort. So prolific has the Jamaican been for the boys in red that there were murmurs about the team being a one-man army. 'Get Gayle, get RCB' seemed to be mantra. But though they might be guilty of overlooking the others, in the end Raina's blitzkrieg, which bettered Kohli's, took them home.

Teams:

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Daniel Vettori (Capt.), Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Mohammad Kaif, Saurabh Tiwary, Luke Pomersbach, Sreenath Aravind, Abhimanyu Mithun, Zaheer Khan.

Chennai Super Kings: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Capt.), Michael Hussey, Murali Vijay, Suresh Raina, Albie Morkel, Subramaniam Badrinath, Dwayne Bravo, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravichandran Ashwin, Doug Bollinger, Shadab Jakati.

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Mumbai Indians beatable, insists Gambhir

KOLKATA: It was almost as if Gautam Gambhir had anticipated the barrage of bouncers that would be hurled at him by the media after the heart-breaking last-over loss to Mumbai Indians, which cost Kolkata Knight Riders a top-2 finish in IPL 4.

The KKR captain wasted no time in going on to the front foot and dispatching all of those with disdain.

Sample a few exchanges.

Despite Sunday's defeat, you would be going into the playoffs with heads held high?

"Nothing has happened for which we have to keep our heads down."

Was it a mistake giving Balaji the final over?

"Who would you have given the ball to? I have a lot of faith in Bala, that's why I gave him the final over. Nine times out of 10, in such a situation when 21 are needed in the last over, he would do the job for us. It was one of those days."

Do you think you were about 10 runs short?

"We had a very good total on board... It was more than a par score at Eden."

What positives will you take into the playoffs?

"Everything we take are positives, except the last over. When you are among the four top teams among team, there must be more positives than negatives."

There were some questions that didn't irritate him, like how he rated James Franklin's and Ambati Rayudu's heroics.

"They are quality players... This is such a format that if you don't get things right, you will be punished."

Looking ahead to Thursday's Eliminator, which will again pit KKR against MI, Gambhir said: "The playoffs will be a different ball-game, there will be pressure on both sides as defeat will send them out. Today on the other hand, they (MI) had nothing to lose, while we had to win to clinch a top-2 slot," said the angry man of Indian cricket.

Asked if would be possible for KKR to bounce back from a demoralising defeat like Sunday's, Gambhir was practical. "We have to do things the hard way. But we know they are beatable, if we play good cricket."

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'Actor' Tendulkar allowed to claim tax deduction

MUMBAI: An Income Tax tribunal has allowed ace cricketer Sachin Tendulkar to claim deductions from his taxable income pertaining to earnings from modelling in advertisements.

The two-member tribunal, which gave its order on May 20, upheld the cricket legend's argument that he was an 'actor' while appearing in commercials.

Asha Vijayaraghavan, judicial member of the tribunal, and RK Panda, accountant member, gave the ruling on four appeals filed by the batting maestro against the verdict of chief commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) for assessment years 2001-02 to 2004-2005.

Tendulkar argued that he had claimed deductions under Section 80 RR of I-T Act on the ground that he was an 'actor' while appearing in advertisements. He submitted that the CIT (A) had wrongly held that he was not an actor as cricket was his principal profession.

Tendulkar further argued that he was a cricketer and not a professional actor. He submitted his appearances in advertisements made him an actor and thus he was entitled to deductions. Moreover, he argued that such deductions had been allowed to him earlier.

He cited cases of popular figures like Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Tarun Tahilyani and Harsha Bhogale, who had also claimed deductions from their income through advertisements.

"In the present case, the assessee, while appearing in advertisements and commercials, has to face the lights and camera. As a model, the assessee brings to his work a degree of imagination, creativity and skill to arrange elements in a manner that would affect human senses and emotions and to have an aesthetic value," the tribunal held.

"No doubt, being a successful cricketer, it has added to his brand value as a model. But the fact remains that the assessee has to use his own skills, imagination and creativity. Every person, or for that matter every sportsman, do not possess that degree of talent or skill or creativity and face the lights and camera etc," the members said.

"We are of the considered opinion that the income received by the assessee from modelling and appearing in TV commercials and similar activities can be termed as income derived from the profession of an artist," they said.

Therefore, there is no bar on the part of the assessee to have its second profession as an artist apart from playing cricket, the tribunal noted.

"We accordingly hold that the amount of Rs 5,92,31,211 received by the assessee amounts to income derived by the assessee in the exercise of his profession as an artist and therefore entitled to deduction u/s 80RR of the Act."

The tribunal noted that Tendulkar had received an amount of Rs 19,92,27,085 as gross receipts from sports sponsorship and advertisements, which included an amount of Rs 5,92,31,211 received in convertible foreign exchange from ESPN Star Sports, Pepsico Inc and VISA.

The cricketer had claimed deduction u/s 80 RR amounting to Rs 2,08,59,707 on account of receipt of Rs 5,92,31,211.

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How the Bangalore and Chennai teams measure up?

Swot Analysis

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Strengths: Red-hot Gayle. His raw power and high-percentage connectivity apart, Gayle has put team's cause ahead of his ego. With the ball, skipper Vettori is one of the most consistent and frugal bowlers in IPL 4

Weaknesses: The middle order has failed to return anything meaningful. So, if Gayle fails, RCB are on the back foot. A decent pace-bowling all-rounder is missing so is the variation in attack.

Opportunities: With slower tracks in the offing for playoff matches, Syed Mohammad can form a two-pronged left-arm spin attack along with Vettori.

Threats: A Mithun's indifferent form has been a matter of constant worry, particularly his no-balls.

Chennai Super Kings

Strengths: The middle-order. Despite a couple of low-key performances, CSK have the depth in batting to wriggle out of difficult situations. They have the perfect mix of big hitters and sound run-makers and that's going to stand them in good stead

Weaknesses: Inability to adjust to 'away' conditions -- The Chepauk wicket has been tailor-made for their attack, where CSK have won all seven of their matches. But of the seven away, they have managed only two wins and that may just hurt them against RCB

Opportunities: Doug Bollinger and R. Ashwin are the two bowlers who really make the CSK attack lethal. While it's very difficult to hit Bollinger away both in the initial and slog overs, the canny Ashwin has the ability to take vital wickets

Threats: CSK looked clueless against Chris Gayle in Bangalore. Even Ashwin, who can take the ball away from Gayle, couldn't resist him. CSK will have to chalk out some plan to resist the marauding West Indian

X factor

CSK: R Ashwin

The off-spinner has been one of the most reliable bowlers around in the death overs. Dhoni will turn to him in pressure situations, and expect Ashwin to deliver more often than not. It would be interesting to see if Ashwin can get early the way he got Shane Watson during the World Cup quarterfinal.

M: 14, Wkts: 16, Best Bowling: 2-12, Avg: 21.18, Econ: 6.16

RCB: S Aravind

This left-arm seamer has impressed many people, including the likes of former India pacers Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad, who also happens to be RCB's bowling coach. Aravind seems to be revelling under the guidance of Zaheer, and has been an integral part of the RCB attack this season with 16 scalps.

M: 10, Wkts: 16, Best Bowling: 4-14, Avg: 16.87, Econ: 7.29

Key Clashes

R Ashwin vs Chris Gayle

Ashwin loves the challenge of bowling to the big hitters with the field up in the powerplays and has the variations to trouble the best of the lot. Gayle, as has been seen is in murderous form. Expect him to try and play out the crafty offie and attack the medium pacers. Gayle would also be keen to keep an eye on the carom ball and keep his pads out of the way against it. This could well be a match-defining contest.

Zaheer vs Hussey

Well on the way to becoming one of India's greatest fast bowlers, Zaheer Khan can dismiss and work out left-handed batsmen even in his sleep. He has a good record against Hussey and his slower-knuckle ball has troubled the Aussie before. One can expect Hussey to stand outside his crease to negate Zaheer's movement. An arresting clash this.

Vettori vs Dhoni

Two inspirational captains. Two great leaders. While tactically, Dhoni may steal a march over the affable Kiwi, Vettori has come into his own and has won the respect of some of the biggest stars with elephant-sized egos in the team. Expect Vettori to bring himself on against the CSK skipper as he is a scratchy starter against slow bowling. Vettori also has one of the best arm balls in the business and against Dhoni, who has an extravagant backlift, it can be a handy weapon.

Venue blues: What to expect

After 3 World Cup and 7 IPL matches, the Wankhede track is worn out. It has lot of turn and bounce for spinners.

RCB:

Top three batsmen: Gayle, Kohli, de Villiers

Top three bowlers: Zaheer, Vettori, Aravind

CSK:

Top three batsmen: Dhoni, Raina, Badrinath

Top three bowlers: Ashwin, Bollinger, Albie Morkel

Track Record

CSK - M: 14, Won: 9, Loss: 5

RCB - M: 14, Won: 9, Loss: 4

Head to head (IPL 4): CSK: 1, RCB: 1

Head to head (overall): CSK: 4, RCB: 5

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Domestic players on IPL auction table next?

NEW DELHI: Keeping in mind the controversies which surfaced regarding the signing of domestic players for the IPL season this year, the BCCI is mulling bringing them into the auction pool in 2014.

This means all IPL cricketers will come under the hammer in a three-day affair instead of the existing two-day one.

Details of the mechanism are yet to be finalized, but sources said that domestic and IPL performances of these players in the next three years would be considered before listing them in different groups. Like other players in the competition, even uncapped players would get a base price in the auction.

Salaries of domestic cricketers have been pegged at Rs 30, 20 and 10 lakh according to seniority, which led to some dissatisfaction in leading domestic stars who wanted to bargain for better returns.

At the next auction now, they cannot bargain for more money and can't even arm-twist team owners to pay more. The players felt that if the top stars can bargain beyond their base price, they too can ask for much more unofficially. Now, they can't complain about missing out on big bucks.

IPL franchises have had skirmishes over uncapped players in the past, necessitating the move.

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Mumbai Indians beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 5 wickets

KOLKATA: Even before the first ball was bowled in the match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians at the Eden Gardens on Sunday evening, the second spot on the points table was for KKR to lose.


With Chennai Super Kings going down to Royal Challengers Bangalore in an earlier match of the day, KKR, with a better net run rate than CSK, had to win Sunday's match with a relatively decent margin to take the position ahead of CSK. But the Gautam Gambhir-led side failed to do so as New Zealander James Franklin played a dream innings, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat to give Mumbai Indians five-wicket victory.

Needing 21 runs to win in the last over, Franklin hit Laxmipathy Balaji for four consecutive fours. Ambati Rayudu facing the last ball, needed to hit at least a boundary for victory, after Franklin took a single on the fifth ball.

Rayudu did a Javed Miandad, hitting a huge six over the deep square leg to silence a capacity Eden crowd. The result meant the two sides, finishing three and fourth, will face off again in the playoff eliminator tie on Wednesday. CSK finished second, ahead of Mumbai, on better run rate.

If it was opener Jacques Kallis whose innings of 59 helped KKR post a challenging total of 175 for seven, the highest score at the Eden Gardens in this IPL season, Delhi lad Rajat Bhatia made an impact with the ball, removing Harbhajan Singh, Rohit Sharma and Sachin Tendulkar in three consecutive overs to restrict MI's run chase. Bhatia ended with three for 22 from his four overs.

It was again a batting collapse for MI but they finally managed to win after three successive defeats. Except for brief period when Harbhajan Singh and Tendulkar shared a 57-run second wicket stand, MI never really looked like capable of romping home.

Only Franklin thought otherwise. The Little Master, who played his first IPL match at the Eden Gardens on Sunday, held fort at one end and played some glorious shots to the delight of the capacity Eden crowd. But he ran out of support and fell trying to clear the field.

Put into bat by MI skipper Sachin Tendulkar, the Knights were on the backfoot losing two quick wickets - that of opener Sreevats Goswami and Gambhir.

But local lad Manoj Tiwary, who is having a great IPL this season, once again took charge of the proceedings to take KKR out of the woods.

Just when he threatened to take the match away from the visitors, the Bengal Ranji Trophy skipper perished for 35 failing to beat a direct throw from Harbhajan Singh at short third man while trying to return to his crease.

The stage was thus set for senior pro Kallis to show the way and the South African all-rounder came up with a classic innings.

He played the typical waiting game in the initial overs, trying to gauge the pace of the wicket and playing second fiddle to Tiwary and Yusuf Pathan.

Teams:

Kolkata Knight Riders: Gautam Gambhir (Capt.), Jacques Kallis, Shreevats Goswami, Manoj Tiwary, Yusuf Pathan, Rajat Bhatia, Ryan ten Doeschate, Shakib Al Hasan, Brett Lee, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Iqbal Abdulla.

Mumbai Indians: Sachin Tendulkar (Capt.), James Franklin, Ambati Rayudu, Rohit Sharma, Kieron Pollard, Rajagopal Sathish, Tirumalasetti Suman, Abu Nechim Ahmed, Harbhajan Singh, Ray Price, Lasith Malinga.

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Gayle takes Royal Challengers Bangalore to the top

BANGALORE: The success of Chris Gayle and Royal Challengers Bangalore went hand in hand on yet another occasion. But the home side's convincing eight-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings, which made them table-toppers in IPL 4 league stage, was not about Gayle magic alone.

The hard-hitting Jamaican scored his third half-century of the IPL edition, embellishing his unbeaten 75-run knock (50b) with six sixes and four boundaries but Chennai's agony was planted and watered way before, thanks to an impressive RCB bowling.

Even a blazing 40-ball 70 by CSK skipper MS Dhoni couldn't stop RCB from ensuring a straight tilt at the title clash in the playoff phase and also an assured spot in the next Champions League T20.

RCB skipper Daniel Vettori and pace ace Zaheer Khan returned to the eleven and more importantly made their presence felt to restrict the defending champions to 128/8 on a good batting track.

Three of the four CSK batsmen at the top of the tree gifted their wickets with loose strokes even as the discipline and attitude shown by Zaheer (2-19), Vettori (2-14) and S Arvind (2-20) ensured persistent pressure on the opponents.

Defending a small total, Dhoni tried the spin of R Ashwin first-up against Gayle and even placed an unorthodox straighter mid-on for the West Indian southpaw against pacers but couldn't halt the juggernaut.

After the one-match break, Zaheer looked fresher "physically, mentally and technically" as was mentioned by coach Ray Jennings on the eve of the match and the left-arm pacer struck rhythm right from the first ball.

The pace spearhead removed the in-form duo of opener Michael Hussey and Suresh Raina in successive overs during an inspirational first spell (3-1-10-2).

In between those strikes, RCB nudged ahead in the contest with the other left-arm pacer Arvind accounting for Murali Vijay in the fourth over.

By the sixth over, the CSK innings read a sorry 23/4 after Chennai's regular saviour S Badrinath perished at long-off in Vettori's first over. But RCB couldn't afford to relax, particularly after throwing away the advantage of a similar good start against Kings XI Punjab in their previous encounter.

The responsibility to resurrect the CSK innings was thrust on skipper Dhoni, not for the first time in the season. After splicing up a 42-run stand in company of Wriddhiman Saha for the fifth wicket, Dhoni reserved his best for last with yet another display of impeccable power-hitting.

The right-hander bludgeoned six of the seven sixes that spotted the CSK total, all big hits coming in the concluding half of the innings.

His penchant for the on-side while executing those maximums was noticeable but more noteworthy was the raw power he generated with the bat-swing.

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I am interested in a consultancy job in IPL: Warne

MUMBAI: Australian spin legend Shane Warne, who played his final competitive game on Friday, made it clear he won't be returning as a full-time coach for the Rajasthan Royals or any other team next season but said he was interested in a consultancy role.

"This is my last game, never say never but at this stage of my life I don't see myself playing a game again. I am certainly not coming back as full time coach," Warne said after bringing down curtains on his two-decade long career with a 10-wicket win over Mumbai.

"I won't be 100 per cent in the entire tournament. Definitely no point in being here for seven weeks if you are not playing. I may come in as consultant may be ten days prior or some time in between. If they are happy I will be here for a week or so. If not I am done with the tournament will watch it on the telly," he added.

Warne said his team Rajasthan Royals was the best in the IPL competition when everything falls in place.

"We showed that when we do fire we are the best team in the competition. Our batsmen fired at the top," said the 41-year-old Australian legend after the Royals finished their IPL engagements on a high though they couldn't qualify for the playoffs.

Warne said that the blistering knock of 89 by Shane Watson that flattened Mumbai who had a modest score of 133 to defend indicated his Australian compatriot was among the very best in the world.

"If Watson is not the best batsman in the world currently, I don't know who is? He's fantastic, you could argue if he is not he is among the top two batsmen in the world. He has already apologised to me for not doing it in the earlier games. He came away with his confidence high after scoring 180 in Bangladesh," he said.

Warne also rued that prior to Friday's game, the Royals played poorly at home and lost their qualifying hopes.

"We won six games, had a washout and did not play well in the last three or four games. Disappointed with the way we have played the last three or four games. But the way we played the last game we have showed we can turn it on. One or two games here or there, that would have fetched us 17 points," he said.

"Unfortunately our batsmen did not fire through the tournament. If (Shane) Watson had one more innings like that, Ross Taylor had one or two innings like that, we would have been first or second."

Warne was also proud of Rajasthan Royals' record in four editions of the tournament in which they stood second only to Chennai Super Kings in the number of matches won.

"I am really proud of the way our guys conducted on and off the field. We have won the second most number of games after Chennai in the four years. It's a tremendous record. I am proud of the way RR have played over the last few years. I am surprised myself at how well I bowled at the age of 41."

The 41-year-old cricketer also wanted the International Cricket Council to provide a clear window for the cash-rich T20 league.

"IPL is a fantastic tournament. ICC should say no international cricket for six weeks that would do away with all the sledging. IPL is good for Indian cricket, good for world cricket.

He recalled when the IPL was conceptualised no one really knew what to expect and also complimented former chairman Lalit Modi for making it a success.

"My best memory is 2008. No one knew what was going to happen in the IPL. No one knew what to expect with franchise teams, players' auction and so on. We were the first to introduce spin and others copied it. I am happy. We came up with innovative ideas. Lalit Modi did a great job," he said.

Going ahead Warne felt IPL could do with some innovations in the form of super rounds to allow more than four foreigners in the playing eleven.

"In South Africa (in 2009) I was tossing around with plans to have two super rounds with five foreign players somewhere in the middle of the tournament to help teams struggling and make the tournament more exciting. If people like it you can increase the super rounds to three with each round coming after four games," he said.

Talking about his future plans, the leg spin legend said that this was the happiest phase of his life.

"I would like to concentrate on my poker, being with my three kids and with Elizabeth (Hurley). I am happier than I have ever been. I have made a lot of friends and business wise I have 3-4 businesses with a few more in the pipeline," he said.

He also said he had plans to start an academy for spinners.

"I want to start a spinners' academy where anyone can come and train for free. I am looking out for sponsors."

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Rajasthan Royals crush Mumbai Indians by 10 wickets

MUMBAI: It was billed as a big showdown - the last encounter between the Sheikh of tweak Shane Warne and the batting genius Sachin Tendulkar - but it turned out to be an anti-climax.

The two did come face-to-face for two overs but seemed out of sorts. Tendulkar failed to force the pace, while Warnie couldn't get his big spinners going.

In the end, however, Warne emerged the winner with the Rajasthan Royals' batsmen making a mockery of Mumbai Indians' modest total of 133, rattling up the runs in just 13.1 overs without losing a wicket. It was just the perfect icing on their captain's farewell cake and only the fourth 10-wicket win in IPL history.

Shane Watson and Rahul Dravid made their bats blaze to make the night - it was the last meeting of two legends Sachin and Shane - their own. Watson bludgeoned the MI attack scoring a whirlwind 89 (47 balls; 9x4, 6x6) while Dravid gave him fitting company with 43 (32b; 6x4). It must have rankled Warne a bit that the Royals had to bow out of IPL 4 after such a cracking show.

Earlier in the evening, a wait of eight long overs came to an end for the Mumbaikars as saw Warne marked his run-up in his trademark style. To their delight, Tendulkar had by then already had his big share of two lucky escapes, surviving two lbw appeals off left-arm spinner Ankit Chavan in the second and seventh overs.

Tendulkar went on to score a sedate 35 but the skipper did steer his side out of the woods after opting to bat first. Mumbai Indians made one of their slowest start of the season producing only 20 runs in five overs losing two wickets.

It was only after the arrival of the classy Rohit Sharma, who made 58 (47balls, 5x4,1x6) that the scoreboard really picked pace with Warne conceding as many as 11 runs in his first over.

Rohit rose to the occasion with both grace and patience and displayed his full arsenal of strokes to push MI ahead. His partnership of 48 runs in 7.3 overs with Tendulkar set the tone for an otherwise pedestrian innings on track that offered turn.

Once Tendulkar departed, slashing straight to Watson at third man off Amit Singh, Rohit took charge but his best just wasn't enough.

Teams:

Mumbai Indians: Sachin Tendulkar (Capt.), James Franklin, Ambati Rayudu, Rohit Sharma, Kieron Pollard, Andrew Symonds, Tirumalasetti Suman, Dhawal Kulkarni, Harbhajan Singh, Munaf Patel, Lasith Malinga.

Rajasthan Royals: Shane Warne (Capt.), Shane Watson, Rahul Dravid, Johan Botha, Ashok Meneria, Ajinkya Rahane, Ross Taylor, Pinal Shah, Ankeet Chavan, Amit Singh, Sidharth Trivedi.

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Making betting legal in India would help fight corruption: ICC

NEW DELHI: ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat believes making betting legal in the Indian sub-continent would help in monitoring the bookmakers and also "make the fight against corruption easier".

"If the industry was regulated you could actually work with them, monitor them better and everything would be legal so there is reason to go underground. So our view is if it was to be regulated it would make the fight against corruption much easier for us," Lorgat said.

Corruption in the game had come to light from time to time with the latest being the spot-fixing scandal which rocked international cricket last August in England, where three Pakistani cricketers were found guilty of being involved in the scam.

Lorgat said the ICC is now toying with the concept of 'mystery shopper' to ensure that such an incident doesn't occur again.

"We have a review ongoing at the moment, an external review, to see what we have learnt out of the last decade of this anti-corruption and security unit. We certainly don't want a repeat of last year's incident," he said.

"Having said that we thought it might be worthwhile to have an independent review to see what sort of recommendations or suggestions could come out that could improve the operations or the fight against corruption.

"One of the suggestions being mooted, is the concept of a mystery shopper. Meaning that we may well have people posing as a bookmaker, and approaching players to see if they report back to the anti-corruption and security unit, which is an obligation they have got," he added.

Asked what sort of reaction the ICC have received from the players on the mystery shopper issue, Lorgat said, "Well the players I haven't heard much from but I'm conscious of the fact that the players association, FICA, initially their response was not very supportive because they felt it was some sort of entrapment.

"But it's early days it was just a thought we had, let's see what the recommendations are and if we think it's a worthwhile idea we will engage with the players and the association to see if it's implementable."

Lorgat said he was confident that the players would support the idea.

"Absolutely, I think those are things we need to support. I'm confident that the majority of players are honest and play the game in the right spirit and they would have no reservations in supporting such a move," he said.

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Warne, spin genius with soap-opera life

SYDNEY: Shane Warne mixed legendary cricket deeds with lurid headlines away from the pitch in a career as bewitching as his famed wrong 'un.

Warne, who bows out of professional cricket aged 41 on Friday with the Indian Premier League's Rajasthan Royals, was never one for half-measures throughout his extraordinary 15-year Test career.

The greatest leg-spinner of them all carved out a flamboyant lifestyle cast outside the mould of a traditional cricketing icon, often putting himself at odds with the game's purists.

Vainglorious Warne did things his way and will be remembered for his dalliances and forthright opinions as much as for his pioneering 708 Test wickets in a 145-Test career that made him the scourge of batsmen worldwide.

Warne is entrenched in Australia's sporting pantheon - in the eyes of many he is second only to cricket's immortal Don Bradman.

Yet his achievements are tempered for some by his penchant for a zesty private life, including a recent tabloid affair with British actress Liz Hurley.

But Warne's contribution to cricket is inarguable, notably after he resurrected the waning art of leg-spin, became the first bowler to take 700 Test wickets and delivered the most famous ball in the sport's history.

Warne posted inauspicious figures of 1-150 in his 1992 Test debut but knuckled down under spin guru Terry Jenner. Eighteen months later, Warne riveted the cricketing world with the "ball of the century" against England.

Warne's first leg-break delivery in an Ashes Test turned viciously to bamboozle England's Mike Gatting at Old Trafford in 1993 that heralded the arrival of a cricketing superstar.

He was a master of mind games, targeting batsmen ahead of a series and warning he was working on a new mystery ball to bowl out his "bunnies" in the opposition line-up.

He gave a man-of-the-match performance when Australia won the World Cup in 1999, and is known for a sharp and inventive cricketing brain which saw him long touted as Australian Test skipper.

But even Warne himself once described his life as a soap opera, such was the litany of off-field controversies.

"Warney", also nicknamed " Hollywood", survived drug and bookmaking scandals and pursued an energetic love life which is widely thought to have cost him the Australian captaincy.

In 1998 it emerged that Warne and Australian team-mate Mark Waugh had been fined three years earlier for supplying information to an Indian bookmaker.

Warne was stripped of the Australian team vice-captaincy in 2000 after it emerged he had bombarded an English nurse with lewd text messages after meeting her in a nightclub.

A series of infidelities culminated in his very public break-up from his wife of 10 years, Simone, with whom he has three children.

And yet his performance in Australia's failed Ashes campaign in England in 2005 is regarded by some pundits as the pinnacle of his career, when he overcame his disintegrating marriage and a tabloid frenzy to take 40 wickets.

He also missed the 2003 World Cup in South Africa after he tested positive on tournament-eve for a banned diuretic - a weight-loss pill sometimes used to mask steroids - in a drug scandal which saw him banned for a year in 2003.

Warne returned to Test cricket in March 2004 but never again played international one-day matches, instead preferring to concentrate on the longer form of the game.

Warne was always sensitive about his weight and recently shed more than 10kg (22lbs) after dropping alcohol and fast food and replacing them with water and health shakes.

Warne continued playing after ending his Test career in January 2007 and scripted a title triumph with a rag-tag team in the IPL Twenty20 competition's first edition in 2008, highlighting his nous and motivational skills.

But his final season in charge of Rajasthan this year did not offer his hoped-for fairy-tale finale.

He started well, initially managing to fox batsmen with his turn and flight, but gradually lost his rhythm as even inexperienced youngsters began hitting him for sixes with ease and regularity.

Off-field troubles also spoiled his valedictory season.

He had an ugly spat with a local cricket administrator, a tiff with Indian superstar Sachin Tendulkar, and appeared dejected in his final matches after criticising the pitch used at home games.

This week Warne was fined $50,000 over a row with the secretary of the Rajasthan Cricket Association, whom he berated in front of TV cameras over the choice of wicket.

Right to the very end, Warne's cricket career was never dull.

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Our focus is to move to second spot in IPL table: Gambhir

MUMBAI: Relieved to secure a comfortable seven-wicket victory over Pune Warriors, Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Gautam Gambhir on Thursday said his team would aim to win their next match and finish atleast in the second spot in the IPL points table.

Gambhir admitted he was nervous before their match against Pune and attributed their comfortable victory to the all-round display of his side.

"Very important two points today. It was a very important game and I was nervous, we had everything to lose today. We needed to be professional. We had come so close we couldn't afford to let it slip from here," he said.

"We needed to be up there, up the energy and if I am asking so much from the team I needed to have that first so I wanted to lead from the front and bring that intensity in the field.

"Credit goes to the entire team. We were never too keen on batting in a hurry for the Net run rate. It wasn't that kind of pitch," he added.

Asked about their next match against Mumbai Indians, Gambhir said, "We want to go out there and look to win the next game as they we would have a very bright chance of moving into the second spot in the table, so that's what we will focus on."

"Jacques' been doing a great job, his injury gave me an opportunity to open today. I want to give credit to the entire bunch of bowlers, everyone bowled well," he added.

Man of the Match, Yusuf Pathan, who scored 29 runs and scalped two wickets, said he was relaxed before the match.

"No tension ahead of the game. Gauti (Gautam) utilised me very well with the ball, I could get wickets and keep the runs down," he said.

Pune Warriors skipper Yuvraj said toss played a crucial factor and reckoned 140 would have been a good score in this pitch which turned a lot in the beginning.

"135-140 would have been a good score. Toss would have been vital, it turned a lot earlier in the first innings and not much in the second half. But credit goes to KKR they bowled according to a plan. we lost too many wickets in between," he said.

Yuvraj said he was giving the youngsters chance to bat up the order so that he can handle the pressure down the line.

"I am happy to allow youngsters bat ahead of me up the order. I have batted for India in tough situation and can handle the pressure," he said.

The left-hander said things didn't work out for his team once again and it was disappointing.

"It is difficult when you are out of reckoning and you have to play for your pride. Today again things didn't work for us, shots were going to fielders," he said.

Asked about Callum Ferguson whose two overthrows fetched Kolkata two boundaries, Yuvraj said, "All I could do when Ferguson's throws were going for four was smile, I think this is the best medicine in such situations and so that's what I did."

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Sreesanth's loss is Vinay Kumar's gain

CHENNAI: Sreesanth's ringtone says "I believe I can fly". But his performances of late haven't been upto the scratch and the Kerala paceman is now out of the Indian ODI side. R Vinay Kumar, on the other hand, has nothing of the flash and flair of Sreesanth. The hardworking Karnataka player, now an integral part of the Kochi Tuskers team, goes on performing day-in-day-out and despite bowling at a pace of 130, has worked his way back in the Indian One-Day side.

While Sreesanth has found himself in the middle of controversies even in this IPL, Vinay has just got on with his job. The Kerala player has lost his place in the team, too, once in a while, but the Kochi management has probably understood that it is something they have to live with. "We always wanted him to express himself. He is at his best when he expresses himself in his own way," Kochi's stand-in skipper Parthiv Patel said on Wednesday.

But one thing he didn't say is that Sree hasn't delivered what was expected of him. Vinay on the other hand, has been right on the money. "I do not try to do too many extravagant things... I always look to stick to my basics and I think that is paying the dividends," Vinay Kumar told the TOI on the sidelines of a Kochi practice session.

Vinay Kumar and Sreesanth are different people, both in terms of attitude and bowling styles. While Vinay works on subtle variations, swing and change of pace, Sreesanth is more of an attacking bowler who looks to experiment. That works for him on occasions, but in ODIs it goes against him too.

The World Cup final was a prime example when Dhoni played him ahead of R Ashwin, but the paceman disappointed. But Kochi's stand-in captain indicated that he is determined to get his rhythm back. "He is working hard at the gym. We all believe he can get back into the Indian team," Parthiv said.

Vinay Kumar, on the other hand, is looking to cement his place in the Indian team. "It was disappointing to miss out. But I had given a decent account of myself in the games that I have played. So I felt I can come back," he said.

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Kings XI Punjab crush Royal Challengers Bangalore by 111 runs

DHARAMSALA: It was supposed to be left-handed hatchet man Chris Gayle's party at the HPCA Stadium on Tuesday. But another left-hander, commendably assisted by yet another southpaw, gate-crashed in such stunning, hair-raising fashion that the night became an ode to him, a monument to his legendary powers.


Adam Gilchrist needed one defining knock in IPL 4, one which would make his season and measure up to his stature. It came against table toppers Royal Challengers Bangalore, a blistering 106 off 55 balls which had eight fours and nine sixes, one of which went into the valley past the upper tiers beyond the mid-wicket boundary.

His second IPL ton and his record-shattering second-wicket stand with fellow Aussie Shaun Marsh, worth 206, took Kings XI Punjab to the season's highest 232/2.

And when Gayle was taken out by Ryan Harris for a duck in the second over of the RCB reply as the visitors chased an improbable target, the contest was as good as over. RCB meandered along to 121 all out in 17 overs to lose by a whopping 111 runs. A buoyant Kings XI, who won their fourth game on the trot, stay at fifth in the points table. They are breathing down KKR's neck and you cannot fault them for harbouring high hopes of making the playoffs. They play their last league game against Deccan Chargers on Sunday.

The Gilchrist-Marsh tango was the biggest in all T20 cricket, comfortably overshadowing the 186 Justin Langer and Cameron White put together for Somerset against Gloucestershire in 2006. Marsh (79 not out, 49b, 7x4, 5x6) was more than a good foil for his captain and played his part in the merciless dismantling of the Royal Challengers Bangalore attack.

It was a wet day in Dharamsala with intermittent drizzle threatening to disrupt the match which, thankfully, did not happen. But when the drizzle stopped, it began raining fours and sixes. Such was the ferocity of Gilchrist and Marsh's onslaught that one thought even the Dhauladhar and Shivalik ranges which encircle the scenic HPCA stadium would be quaking in fear.

It helped that RCB rested Zaheer Khan for the game. Without him, the bowling was easy fodder for Gilchrist and Marsh. New-ball bowlers JJ van der Wath and Charles Langeveldt went for 50 and 48 runs respectively while S Aravind and A Mithun too could not stem the tide.

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Time to trial VJD method instead of D/L?

MUMBAI: Ten years after an engineer from Thrissur in Kerala, V Jayadevan, first introduced his self-invented VJD method for weather-affected cricket matches, the formula may gain some kind of recognition at last.

The technical committee of the International Cricket Council (ICC) is expected to call Jayadevan later this month to give an official presentation of how his system works and will take a call on it after understanding all its implications.

Senior cricketers have been asked for their views on Duckworth-Lewis and many have come forward giving it a thumbs-down in recent past. That, in turn, has encouraged certain ICC members to give the VJD method a fair hearing.

For Jayadevan, this is a huge and emphatic step forward to help introduce the VJD method to the world, especially because in the last ten years, all his efforts to do so have been in vain.

The Duckworth-Lewis Method, first introduced by two English statisticians Frank Duckworth and Tony Lewis in 1996-97, has been used by the ICC in all international matches officially since 2001 and no other system, including the VJD method, has been given a try. In 2005, the Duckworth-Lewis method was revised and updated and once again the VJD method was left in the cold without a hearing.

The D/L method — as Duckworth-Lewis is called — is a mathematical formula designed to calculate the target score for team batting second in shorter formats of the game interrupted by weather. Experts have generally accepted the D/L method to be fair and accurate in setting a target score, but it has not happened without controversies.

Experts say D/L's G50 rule — in which the possible target is calculated based on the whole 50 overs of play in the first innings — is the method's biggest weakness because it does not take into account the possibility of a team scoring less than the set score that is projected by the computer-generated program.

"When the interruption comes in the first innings, you have to find out a projected score through a more validated method. D/L does not provide that," says an expert. VJD's biggest strength, he says is: "It assumes various milestones in a match. The advantage is that the VJD model lies much closer to the actual situation than the D/L model."

The D/L is universally accepted and regardless of how players themselves view it, the model has stood the test of time. However, it is unfair if the concerned authorities have refused to give the other method — equally good and one that claims to be better in certain situations of the shorter format of the game — a fair opportunity to present itself.

"It is primarily the BCCI's responsibility to ask for a VJD presentation and forward it to the technical committee to study it," says the expert.

The technical committee of the BCCI, headed by Sunil Gavaskar, has studied the VJD method in the past and has recommended it to the BCCI, particularly asking that the method be introduced in the Indian Premier League. The Indian Board, however, has steadfastly refused to consider it. It gets worse because neither the BCCI nor ICC has even bothered to inform Jayadevan why the VJD has not been considered.

Asking Jayadevan to give a presentation of his model is the least the board or ICC can do. The first step has been taken in that direction.

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Dravid hopes to better 2006 performance in the West Indies

MUMBAI: Former captain Rahul Dravid is hopeful about the Indian cricket team improving upon its 2006 performance in the upcoming tour of the West Indies.

During the 2006 West Indies tour, the Indian team created history under Dravid's captaincy when they won a Test series in the Caribbean for the first time in 35 years.

"We won the series there last time around but I hope we will do better this time," he said on the sidelines of a promotional event on Tuesday.

"If the West Indies play their full strength side, they will be a tough team to beat. But it will be interesting to see if they have their full side."

Dravid became only the second Indian skipper, after Ajit Wadekar, to have won a Test series in the West Indies when he led India to a 1-0 victory in a four-match rubber in 2006.

Meanwhile, Dravid was confident that the last chapter in the rivalry between spin wizard Shane Warne and batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar, with the former announcing his retirement from the IPL, would be an engrossing one when Rajasthan Royals take on Mumbai Indians on Friday.

"Both are great players. If we see the history we will agree both are legends. It will be a good show by great cricketers. Every one will like to see such contests. Hopefully, there would be a good contest," he said.

The 38-year-old cricketer, who is part of the Jaipur outfit, said inexperience was the reason behind Rajasthan Royals' failure to make it to the playoffs of IPL 4.

"Look, our side has got a little bit of inexperience if you look at our game. There are 10 teams and at the end of the day other teams had probably more experienced players in this competition."

"We are not in a position to get to the play-offs. We have got some up and down performances. We have some youngsters doing well for us. We can improve next year," Dravid said.

He pinpointed Rajasthan Royals' Ashok Menaria and Ajinkya Rahane as the players to watch out for in the future.

"Happy to see some young players like Ajinkya Rahane and Ashok Menaria come through...they have shown a glimpse of what they can do. Rahane has done well for Mumbai in Ranji and domestic cricket while Menaria has done well for Rajasthan."

Meanwhile, South African Johan Botha, who was also present at the event, said he would be happy to succeed Warne as the Jaipur outfit skipper if he is asked to do so.

"I think when Warnie stops, a few guys could take over. If I get the opportunity, I will take it. But there are a lot of guys to take over like (Shane) Watson and Ross Taylor."

Asked about Gary Kirsten's chances of succeeding the outgoing South African coach, Corrie Van Zyl, Botha said, "I think honestly Gary has had a good time with the Indian team. If he takes over everone will be happy."

New Zealanders Jacob Oram, Ross Taylor and Rahane were also present on the occasion.

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