IPL: Mahela shines as Delhi still on top

DELHI: Sri Lankan batsman Mahela Jayawardene knocked a brilliant half-century to steer Delhi Daredevils to an easy five-wicket win against Kings XI Punjab in the fifth edition of the Indian Premier League here at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium on Tuesday.
Delhi are now going ahead of all other teams with 20 points in their 14 matches in the tournament while Punjab failed to get into top four.
Chasing 137, Delhi reached the target in 19 overs when Jayawardene struck three consecutive boundaries off Azhar Mahmood.
Jayawardene remained not out on 56 after adding 45 runs in five overs with Irfan Pathan (19 not out) for the unbeaten sixth wicket partnership.
For Punjab, medium-pacer Parvinder Awana claimed three wickets for 22 runs.
Earlier, Kings XI Punjab captain David Hussey won the toss and elected to bat first but they were restricted to 136 for eight in the allotted 20 overs.
Hussey top scored with an unbeaten 40 with five fours and a six.
Pacemen Umesh Yadav took three for 21 and Varun Aaron two for 19.
Geo Super, Pakistan’s premier sports tv channel, showed this match live from Delhi.

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Five IPL players suspended over 'fixing'

NEW DELHI: Five Indian Premier League players were suspended from cricket on Tuesday as fresh fixing allegations hit the game and threatened to further tarnish a competition already dogged by controversy.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) moved swiftly after a sting operation by a local TV channel highlighted alleged fixing and corruption in domestic matches.

The five -- T. P. Sudhindra, Mohnish Mishra, Abhinav Bali, Amit Yadav and Shalabh Srivastava -- are all first-class players, but have yet to break into international cricket.

"The BCCI has decided to suspend these players from all cricket till preliminary investigation into the whole episode is completed," IPL commissioner Rajiv Shukla told reporters.

The inquiry will be carried out by former police officer Ravi Sawani, who has previously served on the International Cricket Council's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit, Shukla added.

Hindi-language India TV showed Sudhindra, of the Deccan Chargers, allegedly agreeing to bowl pre-arranged no-balls in a local amateur match, while Kings XI Punjab player Srivastava was reportedly heard boasting he could do the same in the IPL.

The channel claimed it had taped seamer Srivastava telling its reporters he could deliver a no-ball in the IPL for one million rupees (about $18,500).

Srivastava, 30, who has played two seasons of first-class cricket for the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, denied the allegation and threatened to take the TV channel to court.

"The voice which suggests that I am ready to spot-fix is not mine," he told the Indian Express newspaper. "I am ready to clarify this to the BCCI, my team owners and the IPL governing council.

"I will definitely file a case against them."

Another Kings XI Punjab player, Yadav, was taped saying he had reason to believe that last season's IPL match against Delhi Daredevils was fixed, but could not substantiate his claim.

Mishra and Bali also featured in the sting, which India TV editor-in-chief Rajat Sharma said had been worked on for almost a year.

"We stand by our story and will co-operate fully with any investigation the BCCI plans to carry out," Sharma told reporters.

Sudhindra has played in three IPL matches this year and Mishra played one game for Pune Warriors, but Srivastava, Yadav and Bali have not featured in the current tournament.

The IPL, which began in 2008 as a high-octane mix of glamour, entertainment, rich purses for players and the excitement of slam-bang T20 cricket, has endured a difficult ride over the past four years.

The tournament, which features world stars playing for rich franchise owners, is already being investigated by government agencies for alleged fraud and foreign exchange violations.

Its founder Lalit Modi, who was suspended from the league in 2010, is holed up in London facing Indian government and BCCI charges of misappropriation of funds.

Three Pakistan players -- Test captain Salman Butt and fast bowlers Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif -- plus their agent Mazhar Majeed were last year found guilty of spot-fixing during the 2010 Lord's Test against England and jailed.

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Azhar Mahmood welcomes CLT20 invite for Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistan all-rounder Azhar Mahmood has welcomed the BCCI's decision to include Pakistan's T20 champions Sialkot in the Champions League T20.

The BCCI, during its working committee meeting last week, cleared the decks for the inclusion of Pakistan's domestic Twenty20 champions in this year's CLT20 for the first time since the event's inception.

"Sialkot will play here in CLT20 in October. It is a very good step from BCCI. Now PCB too need to take a step forward and join hands with India," Indian website indiansportsnews.com. quoted Azhar Mahmood, as saying.

"Both countries should join hands and put in a combined effort to revive bilateral series," he added.

Since joining Punjab in the middle of the ongoing IPL tournament, Mahmood has played a key role in turning the fortunes of the Punjab outfit, who are currently in seventh spot in the standings with 14 points from 13 games but are very much in with a chance of advancing to the play-offs.

"Definitely we can go to semi-finals. We are playing good cricket. We have 14 points now and two more wins will see us through to the play-offs," he said.

A tough battle awaits Kings XI Punjab in their next match as they take on table toppers Delhi Daredevils at the Feroze Shah Kotla ground on Tuesday.

But Mahmood said his side had enough firepower to upstage Delhi in their own backyard. "No doubt Virender Sehwag and David Warner are two of the best players in ODIs and Twenty20 cricket. But if they are in form, we also are in form," he remarked.

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Anderson wins England player of the year award

LONDON: James Anderson was named England's cricketer of the year for 2011/12 at a ceremony at Lord's here on Monday.

The Lancashire seamer saw off competition from fellow nominees Stuart Broad and Alastair Cook for an award voted for by the English cricket media.

The award recognises outstanding performances in all formats of international cricket over the past year beginning with last year's domestic international programme and encompassing the recent winter tours.

Anderson, who is currently the number three ranked bowler in the ICC's Test rankings, enjoyed an impressive 12 months with England which saw him take his 250th Test wicket and rise to fifth on the list of England's all-time wicket-takers in Test cricket.

The 29-year-old Lancashire seamer, who is set to lead England's attack in the first Test against the West Indies starting at Lord's on Thursday, said of his award: "I am flattered to win this award and would like to thank everyone who voted for me.

"I have been pleased with my performances over the last year and was delighted with the way I bowled on the recent tour of Sri Lanka -- but I take even greater pleasure from being part of such a successful England team."

In 2011 England rose to number one in the ICC's Test rankings, a position they retained despite losing four out of five Tests against Pakistan and Sri Lanka during their (northern hemisphere) winter tour

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Mushtaq unlikely to become PCB bowling coach

ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistan Test leg-spinner, Mushtaq Ahmed is unlikely to get a green signal from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for appointment as the new bowling coach of the national cricket team.

Mushtaq, who has been working with the England team as spin bowling consultant for the last three years had expressed interest in working with the Pakistan team but at the same time he wanted certain conditions to be fulfilled.

"Mushtaq in a meeting with PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf had told him that he would only work with the board if he will be given a three-year contract will with a particular clause that the board can't sack him mentioned in it," a source close to Mushtaq was quoted as saying.

The source said but the board is not willing to accept his terms and conditions. "After that the PCB has not spoken to him, which is unfortunately a signal that they are not willing to accept his conditions," the source said.

The source added that Mushtaq is likely to sign another fresh contract with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) as he was being offered a good financial package and incentives and he has adjusted well with head coach, Andy Flower.

However other contenders for the Pakistan bowling coach's position are Mohammad Akram, Jalal-ud-din, Ian Pont and Sabih Azhar, but according to reports the national team's head coach, Dav Whatmore is more interested in bringing in a person of his own
choice on the support team.

The PCB did not announce the bowling coach for the upcoming tour to Sri Lanka, confirming that the matter had been delayed for obvious reasons. But Intikhab Alam, who heads the coaches committee in the board, said that the board was taking its time as it wanted to make the right decision.

"The appointment of the bowling coach will be made after the tour of Sri Lanka. The main reason for this is that we don't want to rush the appointment for an important position as this - it has to be the right person," Intikhab said

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IPL Spot-Fixing: BCCI suspends 5 players

NEW DELHI: The Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) has suspended five players from the IPL who were caught on tape admitting to spot-fixing during a sting operation.
The sting operation which was conducted by India TV showed the five players representing IPL teams admitting to taking part in fixing
The sting operation alleged murky deals in the IPL and suggested that many players had confessed to under the table transactions. The sting operation also alleged involvement of Indian cricket stars, international players and even team owners. The TV channel reports of match fixing as well.
The channel claimed that an IPL player confessed that he was getting Rs.1.45 crore from its owner whereas he was in the Rs 30 lakh slab. It named an IPL player, claiming he had bowled a no-ball in last year's first class match on the insistence of the channel's reporter. He had also assured to change his team in future if he was paid Rs.60 lakh, the channel said.
Another player demanded Rs 10 lakh for bowling a no-ball in an IPL match, it said.
The channel said a pattern has emerged where a particular bowler pitches easy deliveries and there are dropped catches.

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IPL spot-fixing sting operation: BCCI calls an emergency meet

NEW DELHI: The Board of Control of cricket in India (BCCI) has announced that it will examine the footage of a sting operation done by a Hindi news channel on spot-fixing in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The sting claims to have uncovered the lid on spot-fixing, and also black money deals in the IPL.
In its official press release, the BCCI announced that the entire footage of the 'sting operation' will be sought and examined thoroughly. The IPL Governing Council will also meet on an emergency basis to review the footage and take an appropriate action.
The BCCI said that it has asked the Governing Council of the IPL for a tele-conferencing of the governing council to go into this matter. "We will act to show that this is not tolerated," the BCCI said.
The BCCI said that it would not tolerate any violation of regulations and any act of corruption.
BCCI chief N Srinivasan has said, "We will have to see the tapes. If there is any truth in it, we will act, even if it means suspending the player immediately. But this has to based on some evidence and fact. We will act to show this is not tolerated. IPL, we believe is clean. But if there is a shred of evidence, we will take the strictest possible action."
"We will ensure that the integrity of the game is protected. BCCI believes in the integrity of the game. We will take the strictest possible action. We will have to have the tapes and the moment we see it, whoever is the player, we will take very strict action."
"IPL, we believe is clean. We have got the Anti-Corruption Unit covering it. They are the in-charge of the security. We have got Ravi Swami, who was heading BCCI's Anti-Corruption Unit to take it up for us."
"People can make allegations. But if there is any shred of evidence, we will take action.
The sting operation alleges murky deals in the IPL and suggests that many players have confessed to under the table transactions. The sting operation also alleges involvement of Indian cricket stars, international players and even team owners. The TV channel reports of match fixing as well.
The channel claimed that an IPL player confessed that he was getting Rs.1.45 crore from its owner whereas he was in the Rs 30 lakh slab. It named an IPL player, claiming he had bowled a no-ball in last year's first class match on the insistence of the channel's reporter. He had also assured to change his team in future if he was paid Rs.60 lakh, the channel said.
Another player demanded Rs 10 lakh for bowling a no-ball in an IPL match, it said.
The channel said a pattern has emerged where a particular bowler pitches easy deliveries and there are dropped catches.

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Bravo’s last-ball six steals win for Chennai

KOLKATA: Chennai Super Kings recorded a thrilling five-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders when Dwayne Bravo hit a six off the final ball of the match in the Indian Premier League – season V here at the Eden Gardens on Monday.
Chasing 159, Chennai completed their eighth win to keep hopes alive in the tournament.Now, both teams are in the last four with 17 points each.
Australian batsman Michael Hussey top scored with 56. He hit four sixes and as many fours.
He made 97 runs for the first wicket with Murali Vijay (36). Later, captain Mahindra Singh Dhoni made 28 off 21 balls.
For Kolkata, off-spinner Sunil Narine of the West Indies and pace-man Rajat Bhatia claimed two wickets each.
Earlier, sent into bat by Chennai, Kolkata made 158 for six in the allotted 20 overs after captain Gautam Gambhir (62) and Brendan McCullum (37) provided a solid start of 99 runs.
Slow left-arm bowler Shadab Jakati took two for 26

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Mumbai snatch 5-wkt win from Bangalore

BANGALORE: Ambati Rayudu and Kieron Pollard powered Mumbai Indians to a sensational five-wicket win against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the fifth edition of the Indian Premier League here at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Monday.
Chasing 171, Mumbai Indians made a disastrous start losing five wickets for 51 including star batsman Sachin Tendulkar, who got a first ball duck.
Then, Rayudu and Pollard came together to rescue and batted steadily to take their team out of trouble. They added 122 runs for an unbeaten sixth wicket partnership to steer Mumbai Indians to an unbelievable victory with two balls remaining.
Rayudu made an unbeaten 81 off 54 balls with six fours and four sixes while Pollard scored 52 not out from 31 balls with three sixes and five fours including the winning boundary.
Earlier, sent into bat by Mumbai captain Harbhajan Singh, Bangalore made 171 for six in the allotted 20 overs.
Mayank Agarwal top scored with 64 not out, hitting four sixes and six fours in his 30-ball innings while Sri Lanka’s Tillakaratne Dilshan made 47 with four fours and a six.

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England Lions crush West Indies by 10 wickets

LONDON: England Lions crushed West Indies by 10 wickets on Sunday, dealing a further blow to the brittle confidence of the tourists ahead of the first Test which starts at Lord's on Thursday.

Joe Root (115 not out) and Michael Carberry (72 not out) led the Lions to victory in Northampton with a session to spare on the final day of the four-day game, finishing on 197-0 after the West Indies had been bowled out for 390 in their second innings.

As well as defeat, the West Indies also saw seam bowlers Kemar Roach and Ravi Rampaul suffer new injuries ahead of Thursday's first Test at Lord's.

The tourists' mid-match fightback -- with Kieran Powell (108) and Shivnarine Chanderpaul (77) -- came to nothing on the final day after they were dismissed after just 30 minutes in the morning session.

The Lions moved to 61 without loss at lunch while the West Indies -- without Roach, who took a blow on his right hand batting against Stuart Meaker -- also saw Rampaul leave the field after four overs with the new ball.

Darren Bravo was required to bowl only his second spell in first-class cricket and Root and Carberry were predictably untroubled.

The Lions' openers, who discovered that team-mate Jonny Bairstow will be the man to replace the injured Ravi Bopara in England's squad for Lord's, turned on the style as victory was wrapped up after lunch

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IPL: Two matches today

BANGLORE: Two matches will be played in the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Monday
,Royal Challengers Banglore and Mumbai Indians will clash in the first match here, which will start in the afternoon at 3.30 P.M.
 (Pakistan Time)In the second match, Kolkata Night Riders will take on Chennai Super Kings. This will start in the evening at 7.30 P.M. (Pakistan Time)

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