NEW DELHI: Delhi Daredevils won by 10 runs against Royal Challengers in the 17th IPL match in Delhi. Put to bat first, the home side put up a decent total of 191 runs for the Bangalore team to chase. Rahul Dravid-led Royal Challengers scored 181 for five in their innings play in reply to the target.

For the Bangalore team, Jacques Kallis top scored with 54 runs and skipper Rahul Dravid scored 38. For the home side, Glenn McGrath was took a four-wicket haul, and was rightly awarded the Man of the Match.

Earlier, batting first Gautam Gambhir hammered 86 while Shikhar Dhawan struck a brisk fifty as Delhi Daredevils posted 191 for five in their tie against Challengers.

Gambhir’s 54-ball knock included 11 fours and a six before he fell to Zaheer Khan.

A subdued start - Dale Steyn conceded just three runs in the first over — proved the lull before the storm and Zaheer bore the brunt of the attack by the Delhi openers.

Gambhir whacked Zaheer for three successive boundaries in the second over to warm the hearts of the partisan Ferozeshah Kotla crowd before training the gun on Steyn who was walloped for two boundaries in the third over.

Virender Sehwag (24) seemed in no mood to allow his left-handed partner steal the thunder and the Daredevils captain hit India teammate Zaheer over mid-wicket for the maximum, followed it up with a crisp flick that raced to square leg boundary and then spanked one over the sight-screen for the second six of the over.

The hosts cruised to 50 in the fifth over but not before Ross Taylor’s direct throw from point cut short Sehwag’s 12-ball cameo.

In the just concluded IPL hearing at the ITC Maurya hotel in Delhi on Monday, Team India’s off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has been banned for 11 Indian Premeir League (IPL) matches by the IPL governing council, according to reports by news channel Times Now .

Accordng to the channel, IPL Chairman Lalit Modi said that Harbhajan has been fined 100 per cent of the match fee. Mumbai Indians coach Lalchand Rajput, who accompanied Bhajji in the hearing, was charged under level 2 of ICC Code of Conduct. The team coach was also fined 50 per cent of his match fee for not stopping Harbhajan.

Modi said, “It was an unprovoked attack by Harbhajan, and he can appeal against the ban imposed on him.”

Meanwhile, S Sreesanth was also warned of his behaviour by the IPL governing council.

During the course of the hearing, Harbhajan pleaded guilty and regretted his actions for hurting Sreesanth’s sentiments. According to the sources, Bhajji carried a letter in reply to BCCI’s show cause notice in the hearing. In letter to the BCCI, Bhajji said he slapped S Sreesanth post the IPL match between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab on April 25.

Reacting to the ban slapped on Harbhajan, BCCI Chief Administrative Officer Ratnakar Shetty said, “Bhajji has accepted guilt and is apologetic.”

“Players won’t get away if they behave like this. Bhajji assaulted a fellow player, which was shocking. BCCI can also take action against him,” added Shetty.

Meanwhile, the BCCI appointed advocate Sudhir Nanavati as Commissioner to make preliminary inquiry into Harbhajan’s slapping incident. Advocate Nanavati will inquire into the case of Bhajji flouting BCCI guidelines. Nanavati will submit report to BCCI president Sharad Pawar within 15 days. If found guilty, Bhajji may face 10-IPL matches ban. BCCI’s disciplinary committee will look into Nanavati’s report before giving the final verdict.

NAVI MUMBAI: Cricket fans at the IPL match in Nerul were in for a double treat. Not only were there cheergirls, but also cheerboys to encourage the spectators at the Dr D Y Patil Sports Stadium on Sunday. But restraint was shown in dress as well as dance.

The cheerleaders for the Mumbai Indians appeared in shiny blue lycra suits that covered their entire bodies under matching silvery skirts. What surprised the fans was the presence of male cheerleaders.

“Wow, they have girls and boys too,” said one of the fans as they cheered on their favourites, the Mumbai Indians, who were playing the Team Hyderabad.

Following the recent statements of the Navi Mumbai police, that they would strictly monitor cheerleaders on closed circuit television to check if they were doing anything “vulgar”, there were restrained dance steps performed at the stadium.

The cheerleaders mostly did aerobics on the ground to be on the safe side of the law.

Navi Mumbai police commissioner Ramrao Wagh was himself present at the stadium to watch the match.

Approximately 30 minutes before the match started, the cheerleaders were brought into the stadium in a minibus under tight security. Wagh said that he found the cheerleaders to be “well behaved”. The cheerleading troupe danced to Hindi film tunes.

However, the controversy surrounding the cheerleaders was soon forgotten by the fans as the players made their way out to play.

A cricket official told TOI: “Everything is going smoothly and we are happy the security and other arrangements are perfect. The crowd’s reaction showed that the people are not here to just oogle at the cheerleaders but to watch the match and enjoy it.”

Breaking News! India’s ace spinner Harbhajan Singh, who has been in the news for all wrong reasons, yet again did it. Harbhajan allegedly slapped Sreesanth after the IPL match between Kings XI Punjab and Mumbai Indians at Mohali. Sreesanth was seen crying after the match. He was consoled by the teammates. Kings XI skipper Yuvraj Singh and coach Tom Moody confirmed the news. Moody went to the extent of saying that Harbhajan’s behavior is intolerable.

Latest reports suggest that Harbhajan later went to the dressing room and apologised to Sreesanth. But Harbhajan is unlikely to escape the BCCI hammer. It would be interesting to see the consequences of this deplorable incident. Kings XI have launched a formal complaint against Harbhajan to IPL match referee.

Andrew Symmonds was given the responsibility to bowl the final over as Jaipur needed 17 runs of it. Pankaj Singh took 2 runs of the first ball and then followed it with a single. Warne then scored an important boundary and then smashed two massive sixes to seal an incredible victory for the Jaipur team, as they won by three wickets.

RP Singh was then brought back into the attack. Jadeja tried to hit the ball a long way, but missed it completely, only to get a single. Warne then took a single of the next ball to make it 21 runs of 10 balls. Jadeja was then clean bowled Jadeja as his stumopa went cartwheeling. Dinesh Salunke was the new man to come in and he was off the mark immediately. Salunke was then run out, courtsey of a big mis understanding. Warne then took a single of the next ball. Jaipur were 197/7 after 19 overs.

Afridi then came into the attack and he immediately removed Kaif of the first ball caught in the deep, he then removed Smith of the next ball to bring the Hyderabad team right back into the match. The two quick wickets bring two new batsman in the middle. Afridi could have got three but a sitter was spilled in the deep by the fielder and that also got Jadeja of the mark. Afridi was all charged up as he bowled two dot balls. Warne then sliced a boundary of the last ball. Jaipur were 192/5 after 18 overs.

Vaas was then brought back into the attack to bowl the 17th over. Smith welcomed him back with a glorious boundary over mid-wicket. He then took another single of the next ball. Kaif then scored another single of the next ball. Smith then scored another single  of the next ball and Kaif gave the strike back to him. Smith then finished the over with another couple as Jaipur were 186/3 after 17 overs.

Kalyankrishnan then came back into the attack and Smith took a single of the first ball. Kaif then took a single of the next ball. Smith then hit another aix of the next ball. He then sliced a ball to the third man area for another boundary. Smith then took a single of the next ball and Kaif finished the over with another boundary. Jaipur were 176/3 after 16 overs.

Symmonds then continued his spell and Kaif hit a huge six of the first ball and then took a single to give the strike to Smith, who again gave the strike to Kaif. He then hit two consecutive sixes to take Jaipur to 159/3 after 15 overs.

Afridi then bowled a great over, giving away just 5 runs of it, which also brought up the 50 of Graeme Smith. Jaipur were 139/3 after 14 overs.

Andrew Symmonds then came into the attack, as Smith took a single of the first ball and gave the strike to new batsman Mohammed Kaif, who got of the mark, by easily playing it to mid-on. Smith again took a single of the next ball. Kaif then sliced another ball to the boundary. He then finished the over with another single. Mumbai were 134/3 after 13 overs.

Afridi then continued his spell, as Smith took a single of the first ball. Watson then cleverly sliced a ball to take another single. Smith then scored another single of the next ball as Watson returned the favor to Smith, who again gave the strike back to him. Watson was then cleaned up by Afridi, Jaipur were 126/3 after 12 overs. 

RP Singh then came back into the attack as he gave away a single of the first ball. Smith then scored another single of the next ball to keep the strike rotating and the score moving. Pathan then smashed another six over mid wicket to bring up his fifty, whixh is also the fastest in the IPL. He then scored consecutive boundaries. Jaipur were 98/1 after 9 overs.

Kalyan Krishna the new bowler in the attack came in and got single of the first two balls and Pathan then smashed another six of the next ball and then taking a single to gibe the strike to Smith, who played out the over with a dot ball. Jaipur were 82/1 after 7 overs.

Pragyan Ojha then came into the attack and was greeted with two magnificent boundaries by Smith, to bring up the 50 runs partnership. Smith then took a single and Yusuf Pathan then hit another six of the next ball. He again went for a big one but missed it completely and also escaped a close stumping shout. He added another single to the total as Jaipur were 73/1 after 6 overs.

Yusuf Pathan then smashed two consecutive sixes of Graeme Smith of the first two balls of the new over, followed it with another boundary. He then took a single of the next ball as Smith smashes another ball to the ropes and then ends the over with another single. Jaipur were 57/1 after 5 overs.

RP Singh then continued his spell and was lofted over his own head for a boundary and then for a massive six over extra cover. Singh then bowled a wide delievery. Pathan then went for another big hit, but missed it completely. He then took a single of the next ball to give the strike to Smith, who charged down the track and smashed another boundary of the last ball. Jaipur were 35/1 after 4 overs.

Vaas continued in the next over, and got Akmal caught at the point region, to get the first break through to the Hyderabad team. The new batsman in was Yusuf Pathan, who got off the mark immediately. Smith then scored a boundary of the last ball to end the third over, as Jaipur were 19/1.

RP Singh came in to bowl the second over and he was greeted with a huge six over fine leg by Kamran Akmal, who then escaped a strong lbw appeal and also took two runs via leg bye. Akmal then played the ball fine to the third man region for another single. Smith then played out two dot balls, as he was looking to get his eye in. Jaipur 14/0 after 2 overs.
Chaminada Vass came out to bowl the first over for the Hyderabad team. The Jaipur team had a shaky start, as they had a run out appeal of the first ball itself. Kamran Akmal then scored a boundary of the next ball to get the Jaipur team underway. He then took a single of the next ball to the give the strike to Graeme Smith, who played out the over. Jaipur were 5/0 after the first over.

In the last over, bowled by Shane Watson, Arjun Yadav scored two consecutive boundaries and then was caught behind by Kamaral Akmal as Hyderabad finished at 214/5 after 20 overs.

Symmonds then brought up the fastest hundred in IPL as he scored a huge six of Shane Warme. He then scored a single of the next ball. Sharma then scored another single to give the strike back to Symmo, who smashed another six of the next ball and again took another single. Sharma tried to hit Warne out of the ground, but was caught at mid-off. Hyderabad ended the 18th over at 186/4.

Munaf Patel was then brought back into the attack. He was smashed for two boundaries by Sharma. He then took a couple of the next ball and then played out two dot balls, to end the 17th over Hyderabad were 171/3.

Warne then continued the attack and was taken for a single by Sharma. Symmonds then smashed a boundary and then followed it with another single. Sharma then hit another boundary over extra cover, followed by another single, to give the strike back to Sharma. The 16th over finished with another single, as Hyderabad were 161/3 after 16.

Trivedi’s next over began on a brutal note when Symonds clobbered the medium-pacer over extra-cover and not a fielder moved. Four runs, the result. Trivedi, then bowled a no-ball which gave Symonds another opportunity to free his arms. Symonds did not capitalize on the lapse and just picked up a single. And a grunt of disappointment from the big fella ! Rohit Sharma, who got going last over, again tried to give it the China sink in the next delivery, but could only manage to find the fielder at mid-on, Dinesh Salukhe who mopped it well. Symonds, again going for the slog sliced it to backward point, where Yusuf Pathan tipped it over the cross-bar, giving Symonds another run. And that was followed by a superb boundary, straight past the bowler - it was powerfully struck by Symonds. Symmo into his 80s now. And what a shot to end the over - a gentle flick, just effortlessly stroked by Symonds past mid-wicket for the biggie. Hyderabad,

Pankaj Singh was then introduced into the attack by Warne, in a big to stop the run-leak. He couldn’t do much as Rohit Sharma cut loose as the batsman went downtown on a couple of occasions in the over. The first one was a close call, as Yusuf Pathan made a brilliant attempt to catch Sharma running back towards mid-on, while the other one was a one-handed chip over long-off which just about cleared the boundary for a six. Hyderabad ended the 14th over at 129/3.

Following up his masterstroke in the early part of the Hyderabad innings, Warne brought on Yusuf Pathan again and the pattern of the previous overs was retained as it began with some steady running between the wickets and that one six, that Symonds has been scoring every over came again this time, when he just flicked one from Pathan for a big one. Hyderabad finished the 13th over at 118/3.

Dinesh Salunkhe, then came on to bowl the 12th over of the innings and even though he began on sedate note, Symonds went on the charge, with a six - he’s making a habit of scoring one six an over at least. Hyderabad chugged along to 108/3 after 12 overs.

Shane Warne bowled the 11th over of the innings and although it started off with singles on a regular basis, Andrew Symonds turned it on in the last two balls of the over, with two ferocious hits to the fence. First, a massive six over long-on and backed it up with a fiery stroke over the bowler’s head for a boundary.

Siddharta Trivedi then continued the attack and Sharma then placed a single of the first ball. Symmonds then smashed a boundary of the next ball. He then placed another single. Hyderabad after 10 overs 85/2.

The new bowler Siddhart trivedi was welcomed by Symmonds with a huge six and then followed it with a single. Hyderabad were 72/2 after 8 overs.

Yougster Pankaj Singh was then brought into the attack as he bowled right on the pads, to get away with a dot ball. He was then cut to the third man area for a single. Laxman then tried to take a single, but was denied by some quick fielding by the Jaipur team. Laxman then flicked another ball to fine leg for a single. Singh then bowled a perfect yorker to Symmonds, which was well played by him. He then finished the over with another single. Hyderabad were 61/2 after 7 overs.

Shane Watson shared the attack with Munaf. He bowled the fist ball to a surprise opener in VVS Laxma, who flicked the ball of his pads for a single and got of the mark. Gilly then played another drive, which was superbly fielded to restrict it to only a single. Laxman then played a classic flick, this time finding the boundary. Laxman then played two dot balls, as he was looking in good touch. He then finished the over with a brilliant straight drive to finish the second over. Hyderabad were 22/0.

Munaf patel opened the bowling for the Jaipur team as he was right on the money. Gilchrist let the first ball go through, just to get his eye in. Gilly then played a beautiful cover drive on the off side to get the first boundary of the match and also to get of the mark. He then played two more boundaries on the last two balls of the over, as Hyderabad were 12/0 after the first over.

Hyderabad, playing its second home game was coming in to get into the winning momentum. A star-studded side, with lot of big hitters has struggled till now in the tournament, as its high profile batting order has failed to create any impression.
Jaipur on the other hand won their first game, when they defeated Mohali and were looking to continue the winning ways.

Teams:

Hyderabad - Adam Gilchrist(wk), VVS Laxman (c), Andrew Symonds, Rohit Sharma, Shahid Afridi, Sanjay Bangar, Arjun Yadav, Chaminda Vaas, Rudra Pratap Singh, Pragyan Ojha, D Kalyankrishna
Jaipur - Graeme Smith, Kamran Akmal(wk), Mohammed Kaif, Yusuf Pathan, Shane Watson, Ravinder Jadeja, Pankaj Singh, Dinesh Salunkhe, Shane Warne(c), Siddharth Trivedi, Munaf Patel.

In a repeat show of the Twenty20 World Cup final, Joginder Sharma lived upto captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s expectation and sent down a crucial final over as Chennai Super Kings pipped Mumbai Indians by six runs in a thrilling Indian Premier League on Wednesday.

Harbhajan Singh (28) and Abhishek Nayar’s (45 not out) spectacular rearguard action had the Mumbai side needing 19 off the last over when Dhoni tossed the ball to Joginder.

The bowler conceded two fours in a row and bowled a no ball as well. But he kept his cool in the end and kept it tight as Mumbai Indians eventually finished on 202 for seven.

Shane Watson smashed a blistering unbeaten 76 to steer an inexperienced Rajasthan Royals to a six-wicket victory over a star-studded Kings XI Punjab in their Indian Premier League match at Sawai Man Singh stadium on Monday night.

Coming in at the fall of Yusuf Pathan when his team was tottering at 19 for 2 in the third over in chase of 167 for a win, Watson plundered five sixes in his 49-ball whirlwind innings to help his side bounce back after their comprehensive nine-wicket defeat at the hands of Delhi Daredevils in their first match.

The Australian all-rounder fittingly hit the winning runs, a four off S Sreesanth, to raise 168 for four for his team with 11 balls to spare.

He changed the complexion of the game after his side began on a disastrous note with opener Mohammad Kaif dismissed by Sreesanth’s first ball and second over of the innings and next man in Yusuf Pathan felling cheaply for just seven to Brett Lee.

Bangalore Royal Challengers beat Mumbai Indians by 5 wickets at their home turf in their second Indian Premier League tie at Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.

Chasing a respectable target of 166 to win, Challengers won the match with two balls to spare with handy contributions from all its batsmen led by Mark Boucher’s quickfire 39 off 19 balls not out.

Earlier, a late assault by Shaun Pollock helped Mumbai Indians reach a competitive 165 for six in their IPL match against Bangalore Royal Challengers at the Wankhede Stadium. The South African all-rounder cracked three sixes and two fours in his 12-ball cameo while making 28 after coming in at number seven.

The hosts lost wickets regularly after stand-in captain Harbhajan Singh opted to bat first on winning the toss and their total was built mainly around opener Sanath Jayasuriya (29), top-scorer Robin Uthappa (48) and Pollock.

The home team, in the absence of injured captain Sachin Tendulkar, got off to a good beginning after the early fall of Luke Ronchi in the second over with Sanath Jayasuriya showing cracking form as he hit five fours and a six in his 16-ball knock before he was run out.

A brilliant pick-up and direct hit ended Jayasuriya innings, an over after he had creamed 16 runs off Jacques Kallis’s first over, with a flurry of three fours and an on-driven six.

Dominic Thornely, who came in at one-down at the fall of Australian compatriot Luke Ronchi (8), receiving a nasty blow on his left eyebrow by a soaring ball from Indian pace spearhead Zaheer Khan as tried to pull and missed connecting completely. He retired hurt and did not come out to bat again and was taken to hospital, where he is kept under observation.

Uthappa and Pinal Shah, the Baroda wicket keeper, joined forces and helped the score past the 70 mark at the halfway stage. Uthappa, at times beaten by his Karnataka Ranji team-mate Vinay Kumar, also swung the bowler for a six over square leg. He tried to play the unorthodox scoop shot a number of times and missed quite often before connecting once off Kallis that fetched a boundary.

After being dropped at deep square leg by Vinay off Praveen when on 32, he continued to look for runs. Uthappa fell, stumped by Mark Boucher, when trying the scoop once too often as the ace South African stumper stood up to Balachandra Akhil and took off the bails when the batsman failed to connect. He struck five fours and a six in his 36-ball knock and also added 28 runs in quick time with Abhishek Nayar.

Nayar hoisted Vinay Kumar for a six and then Pollock struck the medium pacer for a four and a six towards the extra cover region as the bowler went for 20 runs in the 18th over of the innings to boost the run-rate.

Pollock fell off the last ball of the innings to give Zaheer Khan, who was the pick of the attack along with veteran left arm spinner Sunil Joshi, his second wicket.

Mike Hussey cracked the fastest century in Twenty20 cricket history as Chennai Super Kings pulled off a comfortable 33-run victory over Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League match in Mohali on Saturday.

Hussey’s blistering unbeaten 116 off just 54 balls steered Chennai Super Kings to an imposing 240 for five on a perfect batting strip at the PCA stadium.

The Chennai outfit then restricted the home team to 207 for four to record a win in their opening match which turned out to be a high scoring contest under lights.

It was a virtual carnage at the PCA ground as Hussey plundered runs at will to notch up the second century in the tournament in as many days after Brendon McCullum’s 158 in the opening match in Bangalore last night.

Electing to bat, the Chennai team took full advantage of a batting track and short boundaries with sixes and fours raining on a hapless Yuvraj Singh-led home team.

Suresh Raina (32), S Badrinath (31) and Matthew Hayden (25) were the other notable scorers for Chennai Super Kings.

The home team started off well and kept themselves in the hunt till the midway stage of the innings but the dismissal of James Hopes (71) brought Chennai back in the game.

Kumara Sangakkara (54), Karan Goel (24) and captain Yuvraj Singh (23) were the other batsmen who chipped in with some runs for Kings XI.

The highlight of the innings was the explosive strokeplay by Hussey, who hit as many as 10 sixes and seven boundaries to record an amazing strike rate of 211.11.

The likes of Brett Lee, S Sreesanth, Irfan Pathan and James Hopes could do nothing to stop the run deluge while the two spinners Piyush Chawla and Karan Goel were little more than cannon fodder.

In fact, Chawla’s only over cost 19 runs forcing Yuvraj to take him out of the attack.

However, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the highest paid player in the landmark auction, could manage just two runs before being trapped leg before by Hopes.

But his team-mates made amends for his cheap dismissal with some lusty hitting which helped the team put on a mammoth total.

Faced with a stiff asking rate, Kings XI got off to a decent start with Goel and Hopes putting on 56 runs in the first five overs.

After Goel’s dismissal, Hopes and the experienced Kumar Sangakkara kept up the tempo with some big hits but the run rate slowed down a bit after spin wizard Muthiah Muralitharan was introduced into the attack.

Muralitharan’s experience came handy as he used a lot of variations and gave away just 33 runs in his quota of four overs.

With the required run rate climbing alarmingly after every over, Simon Katich made a valiant effort in the fag end but it was not enough to carry the team to the victory target.