SMS game introduced in IPL withdrawn

New Delhi, May 12 (PTI) The controversial SMS game introduced in the IPL, which evoked strong criticism for promoting to gambling, was today discontinued with the games' inventors taking note of the apprehensions expressed by Sports Minister M S Gill and many former cricketers.

Although no pressure was put for the game to be withdrawn, the organisers decided to stop it with immediate effect.

"There was no formal complaints about the game but the Sports Ministers' views were taken into account and the organisers have withdrawn the game," senior BCCI official and a member of the IPL Executive Board Rajiv Shukla told PTI.

Gill had last week denounced the SMS game in which fans made ball by ball predictions for cash prizes, saying it amounted to gambling.

"I see the commercial use of cricket for business gains, that is going on. I am concerned, at knowledgeable comments, from serious followers of cricket about the latest venture of encouraging viewers to make ball by ball predictions of runs scored for economic gain in the shape of cash prizes," Gill had said in a statement.

"This is viewed as 'openly encouraging gambling and betting', which official bodies do not resort to, even in countries where betting is legal; all this 'to make money and enlarge their TV viewership base'," the minister had added.

South African Airways to add 6 flights between India and SA

To cash in on the heightened cricket frenzy among Indians amid the ongoing IPL Twenty20 tournament, South African Airways (SSA) will deploy six additional flights between India and South Africa from May 18 to May 26.

"Seeing a sudden escalation in the demand for the India - South Africa route this season, due to heightened cricket craze among Indians, South African Airways has taken this strategic step to accommodate the growing passenger traffic," the airline said in a statement.

The additional flights will cater especially to the semi-finals and final matches of the tournament.

South African Airways' Acting Head for South East Asia Tauseef Khan said: "Our aim is to offer the best to our customers and thus we will continue working closely with the tour operators to offer the most affordable packages to South Africa for IPL (Indian Premier League)”.

The airline carries more than 7 million passengers a year and connects 34 cities in 26 countries. It has a fleet of 58 aircraft.

10,000 expected for final of IPL

Johannesburg: "The heat is on" is the catchword on Indian Premier League (IPL) hoardings strewn across Johannesburg. The IPL fever has caught on in South Africa and all seats for the semifinals and finals are sold out. But the selling point, going by the billboards, is not Sachin Tendulkar or Mahendra Singh Dhoni or Virender Sehwag. Instead, the focus is on Shane Warne, Kevin Pietersen, the South African who earned his spurs playing for England and Andrew Flintoff.

Durban has a 1.5 million strong African-Indian community. The Kolkata Knight Riders are a big hit among those of Indian origin. Shah Rukh Khan fans are contributing to the popularity of the Black and Gold team. Unfortunately because of KKR's dismal performance people are switching loyalties.

Tendulkar's Mumbai Indians are also a hot favourite and so is Adam Gilchrist's Deccan Charges and last year's champions Rajasthan Royals. "I have been trying to get a ticket for the semifinal but it has been impossible,'' said the cashier at the Hyatt Regency, a young boy of Indian origin.

Most South Africans are thrilled that the IPL is being held in their country rather than England or for that matter India. "Please don't think it is only in India that people are mad about cricket. We South Africans are as passionate about the game as the Indians," he said. IPL organisers hope at least 10,000 people will fly in from India for the finals but Cricket South Africa is more realistic and expects not more than 5,000, most of them celebrities and well-heeled fans.

Pak players not to travel to S Africa for IPL pay dispute

Karachi: The four Pakistani cricketers, who were supposed to meet Indian Premier League officials in South Africa to resolve their pay dispute, have changed their plan and will stay back to attend the camp for the Twenty20 World Cup. Instead, officials of the sports management company representing them will pursue the issue on their behalf in South Africa.

According to the sports management company representing the players, Shoaib Malik, Sohail Tanvir, Salman Butt and Kamran Akmal would not be traveling to South Africa now. The players have decided to give priority to national duty and attend the conditioning camp at Bhurban from Thursday, an official of the company said on Tuesday. He said that the company representative would now travel to South Africa to meet with IPL officials and the franchisee owners who had contracted the Pakistani players.

Apart from those four Pakistani players, Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul and Misbah-ul-Haq also had their IPL contracts cancelled or suspended after the Pakistan government advised the players not to travel to India for the second edition of the Twenty20 league, which was later shifted to South Africa because of the elections in India. The players claimed that the IPL authorities neither

allowed them to play in second IPL, nor explained why their contracts were either suspended or cancelled. The players also claim the IPL owes them outstanding contractual money.

Incidentally, the company representative is in London at present to meet with the President of the Federation of International Cricketers (FICA) Tim May to seek his advice on the dispute with the IPL. The company had earlier said four of the players, including Malik, Tanvir and Butt, would be traveling to South Africa this week to meet with the IPL and franchise officials. Malik said the players had authorised the company to negotiate with the IPL and franchisees on their behalf as they wanted to be financially compensated for missing out on the IPL and over the non-professional way the IPL had handled the contractual issues.

A press release issued by the company quoted Malik as saying that the players hoped that the IPL and their franchisees would be fair towards them and resolve the issues.

IPL launches 6UP; world’s first innovative cricket skills game

DELHI: The Indian Premier League recently launched 6UP the world’s first innovative cricket skills game at Durban. Set to revolutionize the way cricket will be watched by billions of fans across the globe, 6UP is a new innovation which will reward the skill and intuition of a cricket fan in real time while watching a live game of cricket.

Fans will now be able to play SMS mobile games through 6UP attempting to predict the outcomes of a LIVE game being played during Season 2009 of the DLF Indian Premier League here in South Africa and win prizes while doing so. Powered by IPLAYUP, fans will not only play exciting games like 6UP, but will also be able to interact with players, celebrities, experts and other fans during Season 2009.

6UP was launched by Lalit Modi, Chairman & Commissioner, Indian Premier League, legendary Australian spin king and brand ambassador for 6Up Shane Warne and the promoter of IPLAYUP George Tomeski.

Played on a mobile phone, 6UP is not only engaging, but also provides thrilling interactivity and can be played real time by cricket fans. It brings fans closer to the game they love by inducing a greater level of interactivity. The greater a cricket fans knowledge about the game and its nuances, the higher the probability of that fan reaping rich rewards in rupees that can be redeemed by them.

Lalit Modi, Chairman & Commissioner, Indian Premier League at the launch of 6UP said, “It is our endeavour to make the excitement of the DLF Indian Premier League available to our fans through multiple platforms and mobile is definitely one of the fastest growing platforms in the world. Through this new innovation we hope to enhance the excitement level and interactivity with our fans as the appeal for 6Up will cut across all segments of our viewers irrespective of age and gender.”

Spin legend - Shane Warne and Steve Waugh one of the most successful Australian captains are both significant supporters of IPLAYUP. Shane Warne, ambassador for IPLAYUP-6UP said “Cricket is a religion in India and through a game like 6UP, passionate Indian fans can use their knowledge and have fun while watching us play.”

6up can be played at only Rs 5 for an entry, thus contributing to a prize for the over, as each over has a minimum prize of Rs 10,000 that grows with each SMS. The important thing is the Rupee prize is won or shared by the player or players that demonstrate the greatest level of skill in an over. In addition IPLAYUP as part of its commitment to community will give part of the earnings to a charity.

Mr George Tomeski, Managing Partner 6UP, added “We are delighted to introduce our maiden venture 6UP, our proprietary skill game to India with the DLF Indian Premier League. This game is for the fans of cricket designed by fans themselves. We are providing entertainment against live cricket that is new, thus with 6UP have become pioneers of exciting new age of live sports entertainment.”

IPL cricket hit by 'gambling and betting' slur

NEW DELHI (AFP) — Indian Premier League chiefs were defending themselves on Sunday against government charges that the lucrative Twenty20 event in South Africa was "encouraging gambling and betting."

Sports minister Manohar Singh Gill was especially critical of an IPL mobile phone SMS competition in which participants win cash prizes for correctly guessing the sequence of runs scored in the subsequent over of the match.

"I see the commercial use of cricket for business gains that is going on," Gill, a former federal chief election commissioner, said in a statement.

"I am concerned about the latest venture of encouraging viewers to make ball-by-ball predictions of runs scored for economic gain in the shape of cash prizes.

"This is viewed as openly encouraging gambling and betting which official bodies do not resort to, even in countries where betting is legal -- all this to make money and enlarge their TV viewership base."

The IPL, already suffering dwindling viewing figures across India after the tournament was shifted to South Africa for security reasons, downplayed the sports minister's charges.

"A lot of effort has gone into this concept (the SMS contest) and into making this possible," IPL commissioner Lalit Modi was quoted as saying in South Africa by the Times of India.

"It's a valid point (made by Gill). But the margin of something like that happening is one in a million. If this game works, fine. If not, then we will leave it aside."

Gill warned the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which owns the IPL, of the repercussions the contest could have in a country where betting is illegal, keeping in mind the match-fixing scandal of 2000.

"We have already had a match-fixing scandal in the game," he said.

"It seems the ICC (International Cricket Council) had expressed concerns about such possibilities in the IPL... the game has to be protected for future generations."

A spokesman for the BCCI, Rajiv Shukla, said: "SMS games are there in every sport all over the world. If there is any report of gambling within the game, we will look into it."

The tournament, which began on April 18, is due to end on May 24.

Fans root for 'Fake IPL Player' identity, vote in thousands

New Delhi (IANS): Even as the general elections head towards a climax, there's another poll unfolding — in cyberspace.

Between Saturday and Monday evening, nearly 29,000 readers of fakeiplplayer.blogspot.com — an Indian Premier League (IPL)-related blog that has spawned a cult following within the country and the Indian diaspora — have cast their vote to decide whether the mystery writer should reveal his identity or not.

The unknown blogger may not have turned out even once for his Kolkata Knight Riders team owned by actor Shah Rukh Khan, his rib-tickling posts have endeared him to thousands of fans, and attracted coverage by prestigious newspapers such as Britain's The Telegraph and The Independent.

"You rock, dude", is one of the most common refrains among fans, an overwhelming bulk of whom now wants to know who the cricketer-writer is, or if he is a cricketer in the first place, given his "mastery" over the English language.

Interestingly, the poll process has been initiated by the blogger himself, who goes by the moniker FIP (Fake IPL Player) and describes himself as a no-hope bench-warmer in a team that is at the bottom of the IPL heap with three measly points from 10 outings.

The voting follows a May 9 post headlined "It's decision time folks", where FIP wrote: "I had mentioned (in an earlier piece) about my decision to reveal my identity at the end of IPL... Whether FIP's identity should be disclosed or not, or how it should be taken forward, is as much as your decision as mine. I am putting up a poll on the right side. Pls take a few seconds to make your decision."

Alongside the post, FIP put up six categories, against any of which the blog's fans are required to mark their votes:

Yes, stick to your word man (to reveal his identity)

Yes, I'd like to see your a** kicked

No, let it (identity) remain a mystery

No, I fear for your safety

No, I want this to continue

Who cares a f***?

Till a little before 8 p.m. on Monday, nearly 19,000 blog fans or 64 per cent of the total "voters" till then had plugged for the faceless writer's identity to be revealed.

Wrote a fan under the pseudonym "Anonymous", echoing thousands of others: "of course! want your identity to be revealed. be a sport man! ppl wl love u all the more!"

There are others who noted his "celeb status", and advised him to hire a consultant to guide his career post-cricket, while another — clearly a die hard groupie — appeals rather plaintively: "If you reveal your identity and get your a** kicked, how can you do this next year?"

The popularity of the posts, most of which have attracted over 500 comments, stem from FIP's wicked wit, tongue-in-cheek sexual innuendoes, juicy details of players' drinking binges or womanising, and outrageous nicknames for fellow cricketers, the support staff, team owners including Shah Rukh, and IPL bosses and commentators.

Wrote he after a particularly humiliating loss that fuelled talks of staff sackings: "While our fielding coach was busy browsing naukri.com, our Throwing Coach accusingly glared at our wicketkeeping coach every time Skipper and Buddhiman Baba (Brendon McCullum and Wriddhiman Saha, both wicketkeepers) had their slip-ups in the outfield."

Then, not contented with taking a dig at these two coaches, FIP went for chief coach John Buchanan, referred to as "Bhookha Naan" in the blog: "I am waiting for the day Bhookha blames global warming for our performance."

Understandably, FIP's team management is livid, but the readers find the blog "awesome". Little wonder that the online edition of Britain's Telegraph newspaper ran a story under the headline "Fake IPL Player lights up Kolkata Knight Riders camp in South Africa".

And light up it has, and promises to do so for at least four more days —when polling ends.

Taylor trumps McCullum in IPL cricket battle

CENTURION, South Africa (AFP) — Ross Taylor triumphed in the battle of the New Zealanders against Brendon McCullum Tuesday as Bangalore defeated Kolkata by six wickets in an Indian Premier League thriller.

McCullum struck an unbeaten 84 at Centurion Park as bottom team Knight Riders reached 173-4 from 20 overs only to be passed by Royal Challengers, who made 176-4 in 19.2 overs with unbeaten 81-run Taylor the hero.

Friend and foe praised Taylor after one of the most exciting finishes in the five-week Twenty20 tournament as teams chase a top-four finish and a place in the semi-finals next weekend.

"Ross was fantastic and took the game away from us after I thought our total would be good enough to secure victory," said McCullum of official man-of-the-match Taylor.

Bangalore and South Africa wicketkeeper Mark Boucher added: "The innings of Ross was as good as it gets. We were under a lot of pressure to win and he pulled us through."

Taylor said: "The innings was a relief as I have been struggling in the IPL this season. I desperately wanted to repay the faith shown in me by the coaching staff."

McCullum struck two sixes and 10 fours as he stayed at the crease from start to finish of a Kolkata innings that gathered momentum in the second half after labouring to 69-2 by the 10-over 'tactical break'.

The Kiwi also pulled off the catch of the tournament so far to send South African Jacques Kallis packing after his opening partnership with Kiwi Jesse Ryder had yielded 58 runs for Bangalore.

Ryder departed five runs later and after Bangalore were in run-rate trouble for several overs, Taylor let loose and his five sixes and seven fours steered the team home.

Victory lifted Bangalore two places to fifth on the eight-team standings, one point behind defending champions Rajasthan Royals with three round-robin fixtures to play.

IPL teams may list on the stock market!

Like gladiators, cricketing stars from across the globe are battling it out for their respective Indian Premier League teams in the IPL T20 Cricket Tournament. The competition is on the cricket field today, but the day is not far away when it might move to the stock markets.

The huge success of the IPL has heralded a new innings in the history of Indian cricket. A huge money spinner, the two-year-old IPL is worth a whopping $2 billion, according the United Kingdom-based brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance.

"The IPL brand alone has a value of over $311 million. The brand can certainly create long-term value with its strong intrinsic strength and foundation. The IPL is just like any company today and it holds a long-term shareholder value. In 2-3 years, the IPL clubs may get listed on the bourses just like the popular English Premier League football teams," says Unni Krishnan, Country Manager, Brand Finance India.

This innovative form of the cricket has attracted a huge fan following across the globe. The IPL is a now a product with a 'made in India' tag and a huge brand value.

Rajasthan Royals top IPL-2 points table

Centurion, May 07: Statistical highlights of the Twenty20 Indian Premier League match between Rajasthan Royals v Royal Challengers Bangalore here on Thursday.

Rajasthan Royals, with five wins have now got eleven points in 9 games. Their tally is the best by any team in the 2009 edition.

Royal Challengers Bangalore (105) have registered their lowest total against Rajasthan, obliterating the 132 for nine at Jaipur on May 17, 2008.

Royal Challengers Bangalore became the second team to lose 5 games or more. Kolkata Knight Riders (7) have lost most games in the second edition.

Naman Ojha has recorded his second half-century in three IPL games in 2009.

Ojha has averaged 60.00 in the 2009 edition - 120 in three innings. In Twenty20 cricket, he has averaged 28.00 in seven matches, aggregating 168 runs in seven games.

In the 2009 edition, Graeme Smith could not get going, aggregating 162 in eight games at an average of 23.14.

Playing in his 50th Twenty20 game, Smith took his runs tally to 1528 at an average of 34.72, including one century and nine fifties.

Smith, during the course of his 20, became the eighth batsman to aggregate 600 runs in the IPL - 603 at an average of 37.68, including four fifties in 19 matches.

Amit Singh (4/19) has recorded his career-best haul in Twenty20, bettering the 3 for 9 on his debut against Kings XI Punjab at Durban on May 5, 2009.

Amit has now claimed seven wickets at an average of 4.00 with a economy rate of 3.50 in just two Twenty20 games.

Amit, thanks to his brilliant bowling performance, has got his first MOM in the IPL.

Ravinder Jadeja (3/15) has produced his best bowling performance in the IPL, surpassing the 1 for 22 against Deccan Chargers at Port Elizabeth on May 2, 2009.

Skipper Dhoni guides Super Kings to 178

BACK TO FORM: Mahendra Singh Dhoni came up with a controlled innings to take Chennai Super Kings to a challenging total.

EAST LONDON: An unbeaten 58 (37 balls, 6x4, 1x6) by skipper M.S. Dhoni enabled fifth-placed Chennai Super Kings pile 178 for three against league leader Deccan Chargers here on Monday.

Following two wins on the trot, Chennai went into the match with an unchanged line up. Dhoni elected to bat and Mathew Hayden — the top run-scorer in IPL 2009 — spurred and steadied the early innings.

Brisk start

Hayden (43, 26 balls, 5x4, 3x6) cleared the ropes off R.P Singh, Dwayne Smith and Rohit Sharma to assist his side to 53 without loss after six overs.

The Aussie opener almost decapitated medium pacer Shoaib Mohammed with a bludgeon straight down the pitch, but was out next ball — top-edging to third man — when he went for another big strike.

Dhoni promoted himself up the order and walked out to bat on Hayden’s dismissal. While the skipper dug in, M. Vijay (31, 33 balls, 2x4, 1x6) kept the runs flowing, scampering twos and thumping Harris to mid wicket for maximum; Chennai was 84 for one at the 10-over tactical timeout.

Tightening things

Chargers’ slow bowlers appeared to tighten things after the break. Aside from a brutal six that Dhoni hit over his head, Pragyan Ojha was control personified, giving little room to the batsmen.

T.S. Suman was equally effective from the other end and lured Vijay to hit a high ball to Gibbs at long on, an event that brought Suresh Raina to the middle.

Big hitting

Raina destroyed Suman’s bowling figures in the 15th over with 4,6,6 all directed towards long on and at 130 for two, after 15 overs, Chennai was set for the final assault.

R.P. Singh returned for his second spell with a superb over, claiming Raina (32, 19 balls, 1x4, 2x6) and giving away just five runs.

Dhoni brought up his fifty in the last over with a pulled boundary off R.P. Singh and followed it with another gloved four to fine leg. Chennai scored 48 runs in the last five overs.

Who’s The Better Captain in DLF IPL 2009?

Among the foreign captains only Shane Warne (Rajasthan Royals) and Adam Gilchrist (Deccan Chargers) have done well. But they are the exceptions. And they were part of the first season and knew the workings of their team well. The Deccan Chargers are leading the points table with 8 points and Rajasthan Royals are placed 5th with 7 points. In between the two there are the Delhi Daredevils, Mumbai Indians and Chennai, all captained by Indians.

As for the Kolkata Knight Riders and Bangalore Royal Challengers, they have landed at the bottom of the table, and it seems unlikely that they will get a lift up anytime during this season.

Vijay Mallya, owner of the Bangalore team, bought England’s Kevin Pietersen to replace Rahul Dravid, and things have only been downhill for this team. They have won only 3 of the seven matches played so far, with a paltry net run rate of -0.329.

Things have been even worse for the Kolkata Knight Riders. In all of John Buchanan’s experimentation, Brendon McCullum replaced Sourav Ganguly as the captain and has failed miserably. Last year he gave the Knight Riders several scorching openings, but now he has failed as much with the bat, as he has as captain. In fact, team owner Shahrukh Khan is so distraught with the performances that he has returned to India. There are also rumours making their way around that Brendon McCullum has offered to resign as captain. Pietersen too failed with the bat, but his run in the IPL is over for now, hopefully things will be looking better for Bangalore from now on.

Sprite launches its latest consumer initiative for DLF IPL

Riding on the passion of T20 cricket amongst consumers, Brand Sprite, Associate Sponsor and the Official Pouring Partner of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) today announced the launch of a Special edition ‘Sprite Kolkata Knight Riders’ bottle. The latest initiative is a part of brand Sprite’s larger consumer engagement program to leverage the second season of DLF IPL, 2009. The limited edition PET bottles will be made available with insignia of key players of the Kolkata Knight Riders team. Consumers have a twin option of choosing either a Sprite bottle featuring Saurav Ganguly, Ishant Sharma and David Hussey or one with the insignia of Saurav Ganguly, Brendon Mc Cullum and Murli Kartik. Sprite’s no-nonsense, honest and cut-through attitude complements KKR’s competitive spirit and official theme, “Korbo, Lorbo, Jeetbo Re” (To Do! To Fight! To Win!).

Complimenting the packaging innovation, Sprite is also rolling out a special ‘Kholega Toh Milega’ digital initiative in association with Kolkata Knight Riders and Nokia. The innovation aims to connect and engage with the youth across the country by tapping into their key passions – Cricket and Mobile phones.

As part of same initiative, consumers just need to drink their favorite soft drink- Sprite and look out for a unique 9 digit code under the crown / behind the label and SMS the code to 58558. Additionally consumers also have the option to Call 186 0233 2233 and register the unique code through an Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS). Lucky consumers get once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet Shahrukh Khan and members of the Kolkata Knight Riders team. In addition, consumers also get a chance to win a Nokia mobile phone every hour till 19th June ‘09. The entire initiative is applicable on 200 ml, 300 ml returnable glass bottles (RGB) and also on all PET packs of Sprite.

To create awareness about ‘Kholega Toh Milega’ digital initiative, the company would also be launching a mass media campaign featuring Shahrukh Khan, owner Kolkata Knight Riders, to be telecast on all the leading TV channels across India.

According to Srinivas Murthy, General Manager- Marketing (Flavors), Coca-Cola India, “Over the years, Sprite has grown to be the largest selling sparkling brand in the clear lime segment. Independent research reports have shown, out of the 230 million mobile phone users in the country, the youth continues to be the largest users of mobile phones. Combining this key insight with the passion of T20 cricket, we have launched a special edition ‘Sprite Kolkata Knight Riders’ bottle. In addition, as part of our 360 degree consumer engagement program, we are also rolling out the ‘Kholega Toh Bolega’ digital initiative. I am confident that all soft drink consumers would find this entire initiative appealing.”

Delhi thrash hapless KKR

Hoping for a resurgence, Kolkata were ready to take on a confident Delhi side at Kingsmead, Durban. McCullum won the toss and he elected to bat first. While Delhi fielded an unchanged side, Kolkata made two changes. Moises Henriques replaced Chris Gayle and Laxmi Ratan Shukla made way for Yashpal Singh.

van Wyk opened the innings for Kolkata along with McCullum. The Knight Riders captain started off aggressively, trying to prove his detractors wrong. He took the attack to the opposition, dealing in boundaries and sixers. He was well supported by van Wyk, who played the ideal foil for McCullum. However, the Kolkata captain could not convert his start into a big score as he was dismissed by Sangwan in the 7th over. This brought to an end, a partnership of 58 runs between McCullum and van Wyk. After an expensive beginning, The Delhi bowlers bowled a tight line and brought down the run-rate. At the end of 10 overs the Knight Riders were at 69/1.

Brad Hodge was the next man in and was slow to start off. Meanwhile, van Wyk doned the role of an aggressor, scoring quick runs after the break. van Wyk took the attack to Sangwan, scoring three consecutive fours off the 13th over. However, the bowler got his break dismissing Brad Hodge in the same over. Henriques came in at the fall of the wicket and he gave good support as van Wyk was blazing away. van Wyk went on to score his first fifty. The pair continued to score at a fast rate, taking Kolkata to a good score. After a splendid innings, van Wyk was out to Nehra in the last over, going for quick runs. The explosive batsman managed to score 74 runs off just 48 balls. His innings included 11 boundaries. Kolkata ended the innings at 154/3, thanks to explosive batting by van Wyk, well supported by McCullum and Henriques.

Delhi began the chase with Gambhir and Warner at the crease. The duo started off well, playing for singles and twos with boundaries in-between. Warner and Gambhir complemented each other as they scored at a good rate. On the other hand, Kolkata's fielding woes continued as mis-fields and dropped catches dominated the proceedings for the Knight Riders team. The captain McCullum himself put down a sitter off Agarkar's bowling, giving Gambhir a second chance. However, Agarkar got his break dismissing the aggressive Warner in the same over, thanks to the safe hands of Henriques. A partnership of 60 runs by the Delhi openers was brought to an end with Warner's dismissal. Dilshan came in at number three and he continued the good start provided by Warner. Going into the 'Strategy Timeout' Daradevils were 76/1, requiring 79 more runs to win off 60 balls.

Gambhir and Dilshan resumed after the break playing in a risk-free manner. Gambhir's drop catch proved costly for Kolkata as the left-hander went on to his fifty. The fielding of Kolkata got from bad to worse when Dilshan was put down by Arindam Ghosh off Ishant Sharma's bowling. Dilshan and Gambhir made good use of the chances offered, getting the Delhi team closer to the required target. Requiring 11 runs to win off the last two overs, Dilshan brought down the required runs with a six off Ishant Sharma. Gambhir finished it off with a boundary, announcing his return to form. Gambhir remained unbeaten on 71 off just 57 balls while Dilshan managed to score 42 off 34 balls.

Kolkata blew their chances away thanks to their miserable fielding and catching. The efforts of van Wyk went in vain as Delhi won their fifth match due to the efforts of Gambhir, Dilshan and Warner.

Post Match Quotes:

McCullum: For most parts of the game, we were in the match. I set the tone with the dropped catches. I thought 20 odd runs more would be a bridge too far for them. I thought all 3 guys played exceptionally well. Yeah, there's a lot of positive but its always hard when you're losing, you cant get that get momentum back. We're ticking every box we can but unfortunately we cant quite get the results.

Gambhir (MoM): It was very important for us to win this game. Amit bowled really well, Nehra bowled really well, they really pulled things in our favor. Chasing 154 on this track was always chaseable. To be very honest, I'm not hitting the ball well so the only thing that I had was to bat through the innings. We discussed this in the team meeting that someone who's set has to finish the job off and today it was my job.

Trivia:

van Wyk got the first fifty of his IPL career.

Kolkata went on to register their highest score in IPL 2009 beating their 153/3 against Punjab.

Dirk Nannes ended with figures of 0 for 49 in his 4 overs. This were the most runs conceded by a bowler for Delhi in this season.

The partnership between Gambhir and Warner worth 60 runs was the highest opening partnership for Delhi in IPL 2009.

Gambhir got to his 6th IPL fifty when he creamed Ishant through the off side in the 16th over. This was his 1st fifty this season.

IPL 2009: Kolkata Knight Riders Lose to Kings XI Punjab

Luck refused to favour the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) once again, even in a closely-fought game against the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) at Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

Their batting was quite steady, with Brad Hodge delivering, at 70 not out, spanning 10 boundaries and one six. McCullum, Gayle, and Ganguly, each did their bit, though they could not last at the crease long, and a final burst of effort between Hodge and van Wyk took the KKR score to a respectable 153.

Punjab started off rather poorly, with the loss of an early wicket (Sangakkara). They gained confidence though, with the partnership of Sohal and Katich, bolstered by poor fielding by Kolkata, with many dropped catches. It was round about now that a pall appeared to descend on the KKR dugout, as evidenced by the less-hearty shimmers of the cheerleaders (I jest). The Punjab batting was rather strong, witnessing 4 sixes and 13 fours. Even so, the game went into the final over, and KXIP required 7 runs.

Agarkar bowled the over, with poor fielding by Saha giving away a run and putting Jayawardene on strike. He wasted no time in clearing the boundary and another single, putting the scores even with two balls remaining. All fielders were positioned at the circle, and the final ball was played through the infield for one run and much jubilation on the part of Punjab, putting them in second place in the points table, and further solidifying KKR's hold on the bottom spot. The game could have gone either way, though, and apart from the poor fielding, there wasn't much to fault the players or the captaincy.

Sharma hat-trick spurs Chargers to victory

CENTURION, South Africa, (Reuters) - A hat-trick by off-spinner Rohit Sharma propelled the Deccan Chargers a 19-run victory over the Mumbai Indians in their Indian Premier League match yesterday.

Sharma, who took four wickets in five balls and finished with the remarkable figures of 4-6, was named man of the match as Mumbai, chasing 146, collapsed from 97 for three after 14 overs to 126 for eight in their 20 overs.

The Chargers, who ended a run of three successive losses, share first place in the standings with the Delhi Darede-vils, who have a game in hand, after scoring a modest 145 for six.

Sharma also shone with the bat, top-scoring 38 off 36 balls for the Chargers.

His fellow spinner Tirumalsetti Suman took two key wickets and conceded just 14 runs in his four overs.

Mumbai had been cruising, needing 49 runs in six overs with leading internationals JP Duminy and Dwayne Bravo at the crease. Suman struck a telling blow with the first ball of his second spell when he had Bravo (13) caught on the long-off boundary by Australian Ryan Harris.

Duminy went on to score a top-class half-century off 45 deliveries but, with some rash strokes being played at the other end, Mumbai found themselves needing 38 in three overs.

Sharma was brought into the attack in the 16th over and dismissed Abhishek Nayar and Harbhajan Singh with successive deliveries in his first over.

Duminy (52) then edged a sweep into the gloves of wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist off the first ball of Sharma’s next over and Saurabh Tiwary was stumped in the same over.

Sharma stars in 19-run win for Deccan

Rohit Sharma's outstanding all-round performance steered Adam Gilchrist's Deccan Chargers to a 19-run win over the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League on Wednesday.

Sharma topscored with 38 in Deccan's 8-145, then took 4-6 in two overs, including a hat trick, with his part-time offspin to restrict Mumbai to 126-8.

Left-arm fast bowler Rudra Singh removed Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriyga in consecutive balls in the second over, and Tirumalsetti Suman, another part-time offspinner, added 2-14 from his four overs as Mumbai were restricted to 8-126.

"It's fantastic for us," Gilchrist said.

"Rohit, Suman... unbelievable! There was plenty of character from everyone. We didn't play well today, but it's nice to know that we can win games like this when we're not at our very best."

Deccan's victory lifted it to 10 points, tied with league leader Delhi Daredevils, but second on run rate. Mumbai remained second to last, with only three wins from eight matches.

Rohit deals knockout blow to Mumbai

Mumbai Indians threw away a superb chance to revive their IPL hopes as Deccan Chargers claimed an unlikely 19-run victory at Centurion.

The Indians were well placed to chase down Deccan’s total of 145 with JP Duminy controlling the chase, but Dwayne Bravo threw his wicket away and a hat-trick from Rohit Sharma hammered a nail into Mumbai’s coffin.

Deccan are now back on the winning trail and well placed to reach the semi-finals, but Mumbai face a mountain to climb to reach the last four.

Herschelle Gibbs’ horror run in The IPL continued, as he offered up a catch to Sachin Tendulkar at slip off Dhawal Kulkarni for his fourth duck of the competition as Deccan's innings got off to a poor start.

Tirumalsetti Suman came out with the intention of putting bat to ball, but one expansive drive too many enabled Bravo to prise him out.

Adam Gilchrist seemed fearful of a lack of depth to Deccan’s batting and was surprisingly circumspect. One huge six off Harbhajan Singh reminded the Centurion crowd of his talents, but he was removed in the final over before the strategy break after missing a straight ball from Rohan Raje.

Dwayne Smith has forged a reputation as a fearsome striker and hit one towering six, but he looked all at sea against the slower bowlers and was clean bowled by Sanath Jayasuriya.

Rohit Sharma, so highly rated in India, was the glue that held the Deccan innings together and he stroked his way to 38 before falling to the impressive Lasith Malinga.

Venugopal Rao crashed a quick-fire 28, but some impressive bowling from Kulkarni, Bravo and Malinga restricted Deccan to 145.

Deccan’s target did not look insurmountable, but it appeared that way after two overs as RP Singh removed Sanath Jayasuriya and Sachin Tendulkar in successive balls.

Jayasuriya fell to a superb catch from Ryan Harris, while Tendulkar was removed by a superb swinging ball that went through bat and pad and knocked over middle stump.

Pinal Shah was sent in at three by Mumbai and looked ill at ease early on, but he chanced his arm and 29 off 19 balls provided them with a platform.

Hid dismissal to Suman brought in Bravo to partner JP Duminy and he looked like providing the support he needed, but holed out after making 16.

Duminy made his way to 50 with some cultured batting, but he was given no support and this proved crucial.

Abhishek Nayar was bowled round his legs by Sharma and the next ball Harbhajan played on going for a big slog.

The shocking batting appeared to affect Duminy as he gloved a sweep to Gilchrist to become Sharma’s hat-trick victim.

Sharma claimed a fourth victim as Tiwary was out stumped playing a big heave, as Mumbai pressed the self-destruct button in some style.

Deccan Chargers Vs Mumbai Indians: Statistical highlights

Pretoria (PTI): Statistical highlights of the Twenty20 Indian Premier League match between Deccan Chargers Vs Mumbai Indians here on Wednesday.

# R P Singh has established two bowling feats. Apart from becoming the first bowler to bag 30 wickets in the IPL, he is also the leading wicket-taker (15) in the 2009 edition.

# Mumbai Indians have lost two successive games in the second edition for the first time.

# Deccan Chargers, with a win over Mumbai Indians, have consolidated their position in the Points table, becoming the second team after Delhi Daredevils to have posted five wins in the second edition of the IPL.

# Rohit Sharma, during the course of his 38, became the seventh batsman to amass 600 runs in the IPL. The leading run-getters are: Suresh Raina (685), Gautam Gambhir (674), Adam Gilchrist (671), Sanath Jayasuriya (656), Rohit Sharma (627), Shaun Marsh (616) and Yusuf Pathan (616).

# In his last four outings, Herschelle Gibbs has registered three ducks, thus becoming the first player to register three ducks in the second edition of the IPL.

# Jean-Paul Duminy has posted his third half-century in the 2009 edition of the IPL.

# Rohit Sharma's outstanding bowling figures of 4 for 6 are his career-best in Twenty20. He deservingly got the MoM award - his first in the IPL.

# Rohit is the fifth bowler after Lakshmipathy Balaji, Amit Mishra, Makhaya Ntini and Yuvraj Singh to perform a hat-trick in the IPL.

# Rohit is the first all-rounder to produce an innings of 35-plus and claim four wickets in the same IPL match.

eBay partners apparel companies for IPL merchandise

NEW DELHI: Online marketplace eBay India on Tuesday said it has signed an agreement with leading apparel companies to sell IPL merchandise of all the eight teams on its website.

eBay India has inked partnerships with -- Puma, Adidas and Reebok -- to bring fans from across the world an opportunity of accessing all IPL merchandise on the eBay India website, the firm said in a statement.

"We are delighted to be the one-stop shop for all IPL merchandise for cricket fans across the globe and are seeing a very good response in the first 10 days," eBay India Senior Manager (Pop Culture) Deepa Thomas said.

The IPL merchandise includes jerseys, t-shirts, caps, footwear and a wide range of fan gear from backpacks and key chains among others. This season's official IPL merchandise is available till June 1, 2009, it said.

Time-outs to be reduced?

The IPL play-offs will see time-outs reduced to two-and-a-half minutes but there will now be two per innings.

‘It’s not frozen yet but we are looking at two aspects,’ Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner said. ‘There will be two two-and-a-half-minutes break per innings, so the break in all during an innings will be of five minutes.

‘The first two-and-a-half-minute break will be just after the Powerplay [6 overs] and the second to be taken by the fielding side at any time.

‘It happens in every sport, there is a strategy break and everything. But 7.5 minutes may look like a bit longer, so we are seeing how we can reduce it down to five minutes.’

The idea is yet to be ratified by the tournament’s technical committee.

Rajasthan Royals Defeat Kings XI Punjab

May 6, 2009: Rajasthan Royals defeated Kings XI Punjab by 78 runs in the IPL second season match played at Kingsmead in Durban on Tuesday.

Kings XI failed to chase the 211 runs target of Rajasthan Royals as the teams batting began on a bleak note.

Kings XI lost five wickets by the end of seven overs on the score of 39 runs.

Skipper Yuvraj Singh played good strokes and tried to stabilize team's crumbling batting lineup, but got out after scoring 48 runs off 37 balls.

The team's innings thus ended on 133/8.

Earlier, Royals scored mighty 211 runs at loss of four wickets after they were sent to bat first.

Opening pair of Naman Ojha and Graeme Smith made a partnership of 135 runs that helped team to get a good start.

Ojha scored 68 runs, whereas Smith made 77 of 44 balls.

Later, Ravindra Jadeja played skillful strokes and piled 33 runs of just 12 balls.

Smith was adjudged man of the match for his blazing innings.

Rajasthan Royals Back on Track Palpitating Yuvi’s Kings

The champions of IPL first edition, though looked little struggling in the beginning, regained their momentum in DLF IPL 2009 with recent consecutive wins and on Tuesday when they padded up to battle against Kings XI Punjab, even the pace masters of Yuvraj could not stop them. Both their openers, Smith and Ojha, conquered new peaks to give a stubborn opening stand of 135 runs. Smith (77 off 44) and Ojha (68 off 51) enabled Royals to pile up the highest ever score of IPL Season 2 with the score reading 211 when overs ran out. Kings had lost half the game then itself and once they came out to bat, they looked too exhausted to chase down the target.

Being put to a tragic 53/5 at break, their sudden death was imminent but Yuvraj battled his heart out to extend the breath of the Kings XI. He too could not alter the fate as he fell in the penultimate over off Amit Singh with the score still 85 short of the target. Sreesanth, playing his first match in IPL second edition, was least expected to create any miracle and Kings were ultimately conquered by 78 runs at the end of the day by the defending champions.

Ojha, exploring his first IPL venture started off with an explosion scalping 16 off the first over and two sixes and one four in the very first over indicated the route Royals would like to follow in the match. Followed then was a perfect show of beautiful drives and penetrating cuts complemented by huge heaves very often. Smith and Ojha power played to 57 in 6 overs and further developed it to 92/0 after 10 overs. The match had much to offer even after the heroes Smith and Ojha left the scene with RA Jadeja blistering to a 12-ball 33 runs at the end thrashing Sreesanth for 23 in the penultimate over. The excited Royals concluded their part by scalping 211 for 4.

Chasing a total seeking more than 10 runs per over would certainly upset any great bat and the same happened to the likes of Sangakkara, Katich and Jayawardene. The killing whale was Amit Singh who scalped a wicket on his first T20 delivery and further added another one to his credit in the same over creating panic among Kings. He was there again to ruin the Kings XI once Yuvraj tried to shape up the things as he curtailed Yuvi’s innings with the help of Harwood. Yuvraj tried all the way but his struggle lasted till 48 runs which came off 37 balls with 3 fours and sixes each. With Amit Singh taking over the role of the demolisher in the second half of the match, all Punjab could do fell short of 78 runs with the end total remaining 133 for 8. Amit Singh claimed the great ever figures of 9 for 3 in 4 overs.

Now Royals look much acclimatized with the South African edition of IPL and robbing 2 points off Kings XI, they stand tall at number two of point tally making their way to semis smooth.

IPL merchandise attracts buyers worldwide

The Indian Premier League (IPL) fever seems to have spread across borders, as more and more people from non-cricket playing nations like the US and Germany are buying merchandise of the franchise teams online.

Leading online market place eBay India, offering merchandise of several IPL teams is witnessing significant surge in demand for products like jerseys, T-shirts, shoes and caps.

“The online orders to purchase different products for IPL 2009 is attracting a number of people from many non-cricket crazy nations, including Finland, Germany, US and Spain,” eBay India Senior Manager (Pop Culture) Deepa Thomas said.

Nonetheless, the maximum number of buyers are from India, accounting for nearly 67 per cent of the total purchases.

Based on the sales, eBay India data shows that jerseys and team T-shirts are the most sought after items by the cricket fans.

eBay India has tied up with leading brands like Puma, Adidas and Reebok for offering the IPL merchandise.

According to the firm's IPL sales barometer or the battle of fan — a measure of products sales — the merchandise related to Kings XI Punjab is the most popular among the buyers.

Delhi Daredevils and Deccan Chargers (Hyderabad) come next on the list of popularity. The products are priced between Rs 399 and Rs 2,999.

Deepa Thomas said merchandise falling in the price range of Rs 399 to Rs 1,299 are in high demand and added that business volume is high.

Meanwhile, after cashing in on the popularity of IPL merchandise online, eBay India is planning to introduce telephonic order facility for booking for the merchandise.

“We will soon start the booking of IPL merchandise over phone also, so that those cricket fans who are till now not using internet medium can place their orders,” Deepa Thomas said.

IPL Match Preview: Bangalore Royal Challengers vs. Rajasthan Royals

It will be a night of Royalty in the Indian Premier League as the Rajasthan Royals and Bangalore Royal Challengers, both coming off clinical wins in their last outings, face up to each other in a double header at Centurion on Thursday in Season 2009 of the Indian Premier League (IPL). With the teams intent on staying in the top half of the table, expect the competition to really heat up. Both sides will be looking to give their all in the game tomorrow, making for an interesting spectacle. Only the Kolkata Knight Riders in last place, with a solitary win, are out of the running for a semi-final spot and the fortunes of all remaining seven teams are firmly in their own hands. The Royal Challengers Bangalore dusted off the defending champs the Rajasthan Royals on the first day of Season 2009 in the DLF Indian Premier League in Cape Town, with leg-spinner Anil Kumble returning what are still the best figures in this year's competition - five wickets for five runs. Veteran Indian leg spinner Anil Kumble has taken over the captaincy of the Royal Challengers Bangalore since Kevin Pietersen returned home for the test series against the West Indies, and the team has won three in a row, the first of those triumphs having come against the Kolkata Knight Riders in Durban in Pietersen's "farewell" game a week ago. By Thursday the Royal Challengers Bangalore will have had a relatively long break of four days, given the congested nature of the programme. Their last fixture was against the Mumbai Indians in Johannesburg, when they cruised home by nine wickets with 11 balls to spare, chasing 150. On that occasion Jacques Kallis and Robin Uthappa hit half-centuries, after debutant seamer Dillon du Preez pocketed the wickets of Sachin Tendulkar, J P Duminy and Ajinkya Rahane for 32 runs. It was the first time the Royal Challengers Bangalore had gone with a full quota of four South Africans for their foreign-player contingent, and by the dictum of "never change a winning team", Kallis, Du Preez, Mark Boucher and Roelof van der Merwe should all be in the starting line-up for Thursday. After Sunday's victory Kumble said things were starting to come together nicely for his team. "We've picked up some great momentum and it is important that we keep that momentum going now to try and qualify for the semi-finals."Praising the steady batting of Kallis and Uthappa, he added: "Their partnership was a joy to behold". The Rajasthan Royals on the other hand had a disastrous start to Season 2009 of the DLF IPL, but have recovered well and on Tuesday with a tournament-high score of 211-4, were far too good for the Kings XI Punjab, sailing to a 78-run victory in Durban. The best news from that contest was that opener Graeme Smith hit 77 and seemed to have found his touch. "It's about time," Smith quipped afterwards. "I've been a bit tentative at times, so it was nice to get in and build my confidence. It's a crucial time of the competition now, so we need to get our big players in form. It was a real clinical performance from the team," he said of the win against the Kings XI Punjab. The Rajasthan Royals start Thursday's match in fourth spot on nine points from eight games, with the Royal Challengers Bangalore one spot behind them on eight points, also from eight games. The table is so closely packed that a victory for either side could see them climb to top spot. This is also likely to be the last game that the Rajasthan Royals will be without the services of last year's Man of the Tournament Australian Shane Watson, who will be back from international duty. They'll be hoping to welcome him at the same position at which he left...the top of the league.

IPL 2009 Betting - Outsiders give plenty of chances

The Indian Premier League is keeping the players on their toes and IPL betting at BetUS is keeping the punters honest with their predictions.

With just three points separating the top team from seventh place, the spoils have been shared evenly between everyone bar the Kolkata Knight Riders who are struggling in this tournament.

Today’s matches may look a difficult proposition however backing the favourites isn’t necessarily the best way to go because the outsiders in a parlay will more than triple your money at BetUS Sportsbook.

In match 33, the Bangalore Royal Challengers (+100) take on the resurgent Rajasthan Royals (-140).

When they met in the second match of this year’s tournament, fifth placed Bangalore (P8/W4/L4) came out on top in a match dominated by several individuals.

Set a paltry 133 to win, Rajasthan (P8/W4/L3/NR1), sitting in third place on run rate, were humbled by Anil Kumble who took 5/5 off 3.1 overs to help dismiss them for just 58.

Yusuf Pathan, Tyron Henderson and Ravindra Jadeja were the only batsmen to reach double figures (11) for Rajasthan while in their innings, captain Kevin Pietersen (32 off 30 balls) and Rahul Dravid (66 off 48 balls) were the only batsmen to fire for Bangalore.

Bangalore have lost Pietersen to national duties they still have the likes of South African duo Jacques Kallis and Mark Boucher, Dravid and Robin Uthappa in their line up and could provide that first upset win.

The closeness of the competition is no more typified than in match 34 of the tournament between Kings XI Punjab (+120) v Chennai Super Kings (-160).

Neither has come up against each other this tournament however statistically the two teams appear to be at polar opposites of the competition but in reality they are as close as you can get.

Punjab (P8/W4/L4) is in sixth place on eight points while Chennai (P8/W4/L3/NR1) is in second spot on nine points with a superior run rate over Rajasthan.

The only thing separating the two teams on the competition table at least is Chennai’s no-result wash out against Kolkata on April 25, a game they would have certainly won considering Kolkata’s horrible run this tournament.

Punjab lost their last match to Rajasthan however they were chasing 212 to win at more than 10 runs an over, an imposing figure in Twenty20 cricket.

It could have been a case of the Punjab bowlers being loose but it appears the experiment of opening the bowling with off-spinner Ramesh Powar failed to work as it had done earlier in the tournament while the left-arm pace of South African Yusuf Abdulla (0/44) was expensive going at 14.67 an over.

It may be time for Punjab to scrap that plan and go back to medium pace or flat out quicks to take early wickets at the start of the innings.

Chennai on the other hand humbled Deccan Chargers in their last match of the tournament thanks to some brutish batting from captain MS Dhoni (58no off 37 balls), Matthew Hayden (43 off 26 balls) and Suresh Raina (32 off 19) before Sudeep Tyagi and Albie Morkel destroyed Deccan with the ball.

If Chennai get away to another flyer they will be no match for Punjab but the Kings XI have the ability to give punters that second upset victory for their parlay bet.

It’s DLF IPL 2009 and the Award goes to….

With a chaotic looking point table that indicates that only one team remained consistent with their performance - that is on losing side - is the Kolkata Knight Riders, it will be unfair to give away your vote to any particular team as a show stealer. But show stealers are there all right, not the team, but the individuals. Some stole the show with sheer excellence and some hogged the lime light for all reasons wrong. Had there been an award ceremony in true Mumbai filmy style, someone would pick up the award for rendering spectacular performance and someone for acting the perfect villain. Cricket360 conjure up the main categories and gives away its vote to the clear favorite in each category.

Every movie award ceremony begins with the best film, but IPL is no movie, and so we will start with the category of villain. The majority would give away his votes to Buchanan for spoiling the KKR broth by importing too many cooks and sparking off a cold war in KKR camp by sidelining Sourav, who has the experience of building up of a team from the scratch.

But in cricket360’s opinion, the man who backed Buchanan to crash the dream of millions of Kolkata fans make the more perfect villain. So our best villain award is for King Khan.

Yet another grossly down-rated category relates to the surprise factor of the year. And this year, Mandira Bedi added to the shocker. With cropped hair and a toned body, Mandira is a revelation for IPL Season 2. And you must have noticed that she has even learnt to make smarter cricket talks. Our vote is with the sportier Mandira.

As it comes to picking up the most promising greenhorn, quite a few names vie for your attention including the young Ravindra Jadeja, Piyush Chawla and even Yousuf Abdulla. But nothing compares to the excellence showcased by Shadab Jakati. With the kind of bowling magic, it is not far when Jakati becomes the tramp card for Chennai team. So if any award is to be given to the best new comer, our vote is with Jakati.

No film industry in the world would give award to a film that bombed at box office, but our vote for the biggest flop of IPL Season 2 definitely goes to Brandon McCullum, the blue eyed boy of Buchanan, who failed to inspire his team into winning a single match in the league.

And lastly coming to the most important category and that is marked for the best actor. However, it came out to be the easiest selection for us; who else other than Yusuf Pathan can dare contend for this award. With the maximum number of man of the match awards and his all round cricketing abilities, he is easily the strongest contender for the man of the tournament award too.

However, we would like to add yet another category and is the award for the best professional of the tournament. Yes you guessed it right - it must be Janine Kallis, the little sister of all rounder Jack Kallis, the cheerleader who decided to dance on as his brother was bundled up to the pavilion, in a rare show of neat professionalism.

Last but not least: it will be grossly unjustified not to include them who bring the much needed comic relief to an emotional saga such as Indian Premier League tournament. And so our vote for the best comical performance goes straight to the genus Aussie for inventing one after another funny cricket doctrines.

No marks for guessing whom we mean!!!

New Way to Augment Revenue in the DLF IPL 2009

As the IPL in the second season warms up and gets exciting, the communication companies have jumped on to the bandwagon. They have launched a SMS based programme in inviting the fans to predict the scores of a live match. The modus operandi involves inviting the viewer to predict the runs that would be scored in the next over of the match. If the viewer is able to project the score correctly, then he can go laughing all the way to the bank.

The element of excitement has been added by inviting the viewer to predict the runs that would be scored of each ball of the next over. For each correct score to the nearest ball, i.e. the people guessing six, five or four numbers in the sequence correctly will get a percentage of the kitty generated by the total number of people playing at that time.

The minimum prize money for every over is Rs 10,000 and based on the response there are distinct possibilities that the prize money would be increased. Each SMS for this new game would cost Rs 5. It would indeed open a new source of revenue for the IPL along with the communications companies which would be given the service contract for facilitating deliverance of SMS. The revenue so earned would be much bigger than that earned by any company in any other programme which is based on the SMS feedback.

Jury is out on the fact whether it is illegal or not, as it is being construed as a form of online betting that does not have legal sanctity in India, IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi does not consider this innovation as a form of betting in the garb of testing. He holds the view that this new innovation is an extension of the testing, which has become sine quo non of quite a large number of programmes being shown on the Indian TVs, and cricket also being a reality show; it does not have any resemblance to online betting.

International Cricket Council is also not aware about this move, but it would also not be able to take any action as it does not have any direct involvement in the IPL. The game, christened as 6UP, will be available only to Indian mobile subscribers.

Port Elizabeth - Here we come again

We are back in Port Elizabeth, the same place where we were revaged in full public view just a few days ago. The sight of Aila blasting the crap out of our bowlers is still quite fresh in our minds. Ironically, this time we face the only team we have beaten so far.

We had a training session at the ground. The Bubblies were there too. And it was fun observing them go about their drills for today's game.

Prince Charles looked ominous. He was stroking the ball really well. I have a funny feeling that he will finish a career or two today. Appam Chutiya has started bowling in the nets and seems to be getting to match fitness. I think he may be back soon. So, all the best guys. Surprisingly though, he was quite well behaved, hardly ever acted himself at the nets. It's amazing how each IPL season Appam seems to leapfrog a few stages of the evolution cycle. Last year, with just one tight slap he suddenly evolved from being an Ape to a Neanderthal. And the run-in with Re-Peter seems to have magically brought him to the Cave Man stage. If someone were to meet him for the first time today, he could almost mistake Appam to be a normal human being. RVR Sing, aka Pamela Inder Singh, was bowling his breasts out. Lady Jaya was a picture of concentration at the nets. Deeghra Patan was swinging the ball both ways in the nets. Even Arnold Power stretched a muscle of two. All in all, they looked like a happy bunch of guys at the moment. And, given our level of preparedness, we are unlikely to spoil their mood today.

The Rajpoots were out celebrating their victory last night. They were at P.E.'s favourite watering hole, 9 Yards. Some of the Dhakkans were there too. And since, nobody invites us anymore, thanks to yours truly, we had to find out where they are and landed up at the venue. Haven't seen the Two Sisters and Big Brother in P.E. as yet. Are they are still in SA? The Sheikh was in full form though. With the Two Sisters missing, the Sheikh was compensating quality with quantity, sitting with a few arm candies, the Dhakkan coach and a young Aussie cricketer. The Dhakkans' cheer leaders seemed to be working over time last night. Now we know why they are at the top of the table (hope Dildo's listening). Dhakkans' middle order batsman, Ghati Baba, was busy practicing his pick-up & throw skills with 2 of their cheerleaders. He sure doesn't want to misfield another one in the 49th over, does he? It was Castro's last night here and he sure was making it count. Being the class act that he is, even off the field he seemed to be aiming at the block-hole. Unfortunately, we have an early start today so had to return before things got really hot and out of control over there.

In our team, well, nobody has a frickin' clue of what to do now. Not even one player - batsman or bowler - has performed so far. On what grounds do u drop anyone at all, or on what grounds do you select anyone? Last season, at least a couple of our players were close to getting into the Indian side. After this season, we don't know if anyone from this team will make it to even next year's IPL team. Our physio has confirmed that 3 support staff members will be sent back soon. And Bhookha Naan and his core group have already started their souvenier shopping. They have been politely spoken to by Boy George. Ironical again, coz even Boy should probably be on his way out. Lately, Dildo's been asking him to justify a lot of the expenses and resources he has at his disposal. He seems to be the most stressed man in the squad at the moment.

Observing our team from a distance, it's not hard to tell why we are the only side now with absolutely no chance of making it to the semis. The Phoren Babas hang out together, the support staff are in their own little world, the India rejects tend to stick together and the rest of us domestic players find comfort in each others' company. Lordie usually finds someone in the opposing team to hang out with, like Prince Charles or Meera Bhai. There's a very clear class system in our team. We truly are the Rainbow team in the Rainbow country. To tell you a secret, nobody in the team wants to hang around here any longer. We'd rather fly back and dance at a few weddings. If only we had the choice like some others do.

Skipper wants Bangla Tiger in the squad today. Candy Nickle spent a lot of time with him and while Deputy Coach spent time with the Springbok. One of them is definitely in today. Bangla adds zing to our bowling, while the Springbok has the experience of facing a bullet at point blank range and surviving - a skill that'll come very handy while playing for our team.

Finally, it's Calypso's last game with us today. He's been considerate enough to stay with us longer to help us win a match or two. The extra two matches also fatten up his bank a/c substantially, but I am sure that would have hardly crossed his mind given the selfless person he is. Calypso has promised to throw a lavish party for us tonight if we win the game. Sure maan! That's the incentive we've been looking for all this while.

Amen!

Bye Calypso. Thanks for entertaining us!

Calypso King is leaving us and his departure isn't in very pleasant circumstances. The team management threw an early farewell party for him after the last defeat. Dildo wasn't around to sponsor this one though, so it went from the team kitty. No one was particularly pleased with the idea of hanging out together, although no one objected to it openly. Since, the posts have been coming out, guys are making their own small groups and going out to places without informing others. No one wants Fake IPL Player to land up there and broadcast their nefarious activities to the whole world. In fact, the blog has affected the nocturnal lives of IPLers in more ways than one would have expected. Teams are now trying to find out before hand where our team is headed after the match, to ensure that they don't land up at the same place. Kishen Kanhaiyya, whose tour took an unexpected turn after the Opium Night expose, is having the driest tour ever in his life. Little Sister has still not given in to the Sheikh's famed magic. Little John's been getting frantic phone calls from his Mom and he's had to promise her that he will return to India "Ganga jaisa pavitra" (I couldn't believe my ears myself but these ARE the exact words he used). So, in the backdrop of all this, we had to go for Calypso's farewell party.

While the drinks flowed, the music blared, Calypso suggested to Skipper that he should tattoo his IPL scores. (For the uninitiated, the skipper has tattooed his cricketing numbers in Roman numerals on his arms.) WHile the skipper was thinking about what to say, Calypso started a discussion on whether there's a Zero in Roman, obviously referring to the skipper's ducks during the tournament. Finally, in drunken stupor, the skipper reacted with a few choicest words of his own. He was eventually whisked away by Candy Nickle to avoid a blow down.

For the rest of the evening, the two weren't seen together. They didn't shake hands before Calypso left the party.

Mangal Pandey's phone was lying unattented on our table while he was warming his palms in one of the dark corners of the club. Bhookha's deputy, in an inspired move to catch the Fake IPL Player red handed, started scanning through his SMSes. The news was eventually relayed to Mangal who then gave the the Deputy a crash course in Bhojpuri, a discourse he is unlikely to forget in the short term.

The butt of most jokes during the party was Our Man Dildo himself. Most jokes were around the rat abandoning the sinking ship. I couldn't help but smile at the irony of it all. A man, who till a few weeks ago was our hero has now become to most laughed at man in the team. Bangla Tiger, who was busy clicking pics with the star till the other day, was cracking the funniest jokes on him in Bengali. As they say, the higher you rise, the harder you fall.

Apparently, Dildo didn't meet anyone before leaving for India. And he has sent an email to Boy George asking him to justify such a large support staff. The paranoia has shifted to the support staff now and there's news that 5 of them will be asked to return. Boy George and Bhookha Naan were locked in a meeting for 2 hours yesterday.

The Kiwi coach has joined us to observe and learn from us. As if one mole wasn't enough, our team now has invited a new one. Whatever prompted Mr Genius to choose our team over others, what's now clear is why New Zealand is placed 8th in the ICC rankings.

On the whole, the team's now waiting for IPL to get over to go back home. As a team and as individuals we have achieved all that we had planned for. We have successfully sent Dildo packing, we have improved our performance over last year, we have reached depths that
others can only dream of, Little John can now score only on the pitch, Kaan Moolo has finally convinced the world that no matter how hard he tries he can't get any worse, Bhookha has earned enough to finally retire, and I think I am kind of reaching the end of my blogging career. I think there isn't much to play for any more.

Finally, it's official now. Bhookha, Skipper and the entire support staff are resigning at the end of the season. (If they don't, they'll probably be sacked anyway.)

Your's truly.

P.S. I think some website's been advertising that I am appearing for a live chat. That's not true. Under the circumstances I can't live chat at all and nobody knows who I am.

P.P.S. Some people are replying to comments posing as IPL Anonymous. It's not me. I haven't participated in the comments section. Pls don't believe the guy posing as me.

P.P.P.S. I have heard that Dildo's PR team has decided to degrade this blog by posting malicious and critical comments, and also by spamming in the comments section. If only this energy was seen in building the team.

P.P.P.P.S. The focus has shifted to the Support Staff. The management is now convinced that the Fake IPL Player is not a player, but a support staff member. Let's see where this trail takes them.

P.P.P.P.P.S. I have decided to retire from all forms of cricket after IPL. I will disclose my identity on our last match day.

“Fake IPL player” lets out Knight Riders’ dressing room secrets

Ever heard of Lordie and the Phoren Babas? Or maybe you are familiar with the Coachie and Kan Moolo. What about Little John and Badshah D*&#o? Stumped! Well all of these characters are the part of a blog which exclusively focusses on SRK’s Kolkata Knight Riders. Apparently, it seems that most of the players in the team have pseudo-names assigned to them. The blog looks to provide the inside scoop on the KKR’s. And in the words of the anonymous blogger, it says,” I will be bringing to you the "aankhon dekha haal", right from inside the dressing room, meeting room and players' bedrooms ;-).”

Obviously now, the blog has come to be yet another headache for King Khan and the managers of his team. With the multiple-captaincy issue and the clash of egos between Brendon McCullum and Sourav Ganguly doing no good for the Kolkata Knight Riders, this controversial blog has only added to the team’s cup of woes. The blog writer calls himself ‘Fake IPL Player’ and his blog is chiefly aimed at taking pot-shots against the senior members, the coach and the support contingent.

The blogs has no qualms in calling SRK a megalomaniac and has named him Badshah D*&#o. Ganguly has been aptly coined as Lordie, the guy who is in constant altercation with the Badshah and the Coachie ( John Buchanan). The Phoren Babas point to the foreign support staff that the KKR team has in their camp.

Kan Moolo is apparently a reference to the former Indian fast bowler Ajit Agarkar. The blog has an exclusive post on the reasons why Agarkar got the boot. Sample this, “Coachie was explaining to him reasons for why he is being left out. Let me summarize Coachie’s 5-minute monologue to Kaan Moolo. He essentially said that Kaan Moolo has a bright future, he just needs to work on his game a little bit. Basically, all he needs to do is improve his bowling, batting and fielding. That’s it.”

The Fake IPL hits out at not only the KKR players but it also calls names to other top shot international cricketers. For instance, a former Aussie opener is quite audaciously called the Pedophile priest. The West Indian left-hand opening bat Chris Gayle is referred to as the Calypso King. Little John seems to be the lesser known Ashok Dinda. The writer of the blog has an interesting snippet about this fast bowler, “Little John skipped as it was optional training. I can understand it, he is after all a fast bowler and he def needed some time off after the "intense workout" he must have had last night.

The blog spares no one when it cites the infamous slap-gate from last year’s IPL between Sreesanth and Harbhajan Singh, “Learnt a very interesting piece of news. Not sure if it's true or not. Apparently, Appam C@#$^*a wasn't slapped by Meera Bhai during last yr's tournament. He was crying because his team owner Babli hugged everyone after the match other than him.”

The posts on the blog are filled with jibes against all and sundry. The posts aspire to be sensational at every comma, semi-colon and full-stop. In fact the popularity of the site is swelling by the day. Given the growing number of users hitting the site, the KKR team management is in for another uncomfortable bouncer aimed straight at the rib-cage.