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.

Texas billionaire Allen Stanford has offered to put up $100 million (50 million pounds) for England to play five Twenty20 games against his West Indies All-Star team.

England and Wales Cricket Board chairman Giles Clarke had said on Thursday the prospect of England taking part in a winner-takes-all $20m match in West Indies is “very likely”.

But after talks on Tuesday between Stanford and ECB chief executive David Collier, the American told The Times he believed the richest single game of cricket would be just the start of a series that will make millionaires of the England players.

The first $20 million game would be on Independence Day in Antigua on November 1 and Stanford then wants to alternate venues annually between his own purpose-built ground and Lord’s.

“I talked to David about the first game and then how we could collaborate in the future,” Stanford was quoted as saying in Saturday’s Times. “I said that it could be an annual event, maybe we could come to Lord’s in 2009 and then alternate.

“I would be happy to make a five-year commitment. Asked if that meant $100 million, he said: “I’d be willing to do it. The money is real and I think we will get a game.

The BBC reported on Thursday that the American is also keen to help create an English Twenty20 league and the ECB is eager to appease players keen to cash in on lucrative tournaments.

“We are spending a lot of time looking at creating a robust, sustainable and economically viable league that still protects our core revenues of Test cricket,” Clarke said.

Last year Stanford, who has already funded a full Twenty20 Caribbean regional tournament, gave West Indies cricket US $100 million over three years in what he described as a bid to bring the game into the 21st century.

“England are in a position of choosing which way they want to go,” Stanford added in his Times interview. “They can embrace the Twenty20 revolution which started in your country, or they can sit back and let India and the others determine the future.

“I think the ECB will grab this opportunity and guide the game into the future better than anyone else.”

West Indian all-rounder Dwayne Bravo has become the latest star to join the Indian Premeir League, which kicked-off to an exciting start in Bangalore.

Bravo will play for Indian batting great Sachin Tendulkar-led ‘Mumbai Indians’ team, which also features off-spinner Harbhajan Singh and South African fast bowler Shaun Pollock.

Bravo will miss the next week’s Carib Challenge Shield Final against Jamaica but Trinidad and Tobago team manager Colin Borde feels the experience Bravo gains in the IPL will benefit the national team in the long run.

“I think everybody is excited for him going up to the IPL and playing with Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh, Shaun Pollock,” Borde was quoted as saying by the Trinidad Express.

“I think it’s good for him and as a Trinidadian you must feel proud…he’s the first guy to get in the IPL.”

Meanwhile, Mark Ramprakash, on Friday, became the second English cricketer to turn down an IPL offer.

Ramprakash was approached by the Rajasthan Royals to replace South African captain Graeme Smith for two weeks, according to the Daily Telegraph.

Earlier, Alistair Brown had also turned down an IPL contract.

Cinema and cricket will combine to make a heady mix when the Indian Premier League debuts on Friday evening in Bangalore with superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s Kolkata Knight Riders taking on flamboyant magnate Vijay Mallya’s Bangalore Royal Challengers.

“IPL matches are going to be full of entertainment, larger than life. I believe it’s my duty to entertain people whether it’s in films or in the IPL matches,” Shah Rukh Khan, the owner of Kolkata Knight Riders along with friend Juhi Chawla and her husband Jay Mehta, said.

The glamour quotient will be complete.

According to Shah Rukh, Rani Mukerji, Bipasha Basu, Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan are expected to attend the first match on Friday.

Besides, Karan Johar, Arjun Rampal and Mehr Jessia, Karisma Kapoor, Malaika Arora, Priyanka Chopra, Amrita Arora are amongst the others who will be in Bangalore to see the cricket fiesta kick off.

Apart from inviting the proverbial galaxy of stars to cheer his team, King Khan has also launched an album “2 Hot 2 Cool” to promote the Knight Riders.

“Today, you need a heavy dose of glamour for marketing everything. And Bollywood stars largely help you in promoting a product or team for that matter,” said Bappi Lahiri, who has composed the music for “2 Hot 2 Cool”.

If Shah Rukh has himself as the mascot of his team, Mallya has stars like Katrina Kaif.

“When Vijay asked me to be part of this venture, I couldn’t say no. I share a great rapport with them and I’m looking forward to be making appearances to cheer for the Royal Challengers. I hope the team lives up to the Royal Challenge too and wins against all odds,” Katrina said.

She will be performing along with Zayed Khan during the match, and has also been signed up for the promotional album of the team.

And Preity Zinta, co-owner of the Mohali team, Kings XI Punjab, has teamed up with Punjabi pop singer Daler Mehndi to record an anthem for her squad.

Also, Akshay Kumar will slip into his dancing shoes for the Delhi Daredevils and Hrithik Roshan will do a jig for the Mumbai Indians, owned by Mukesh Ambani, who have tied up with Yash Raj Films upcoming movie “Tashan”.

A special video has been created featuring the on-screen merger of movie clippings and the fours pillars of the Mumbai Indians - Sachin Tendulkar, Sanath Jayasuriya, Harbhajan Singh and Robin Uthappa in place of Akshay Kumar, Anil Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan starring in the film.

The video aims at conveying the message that while stars set the silver screen ablaze, it would be cricketers enthralling viewers on the field.

There is more.

Chennai Super Kings, owned by India Cements, has roped in two popular stars Vijay and Nayantara as its brand ambassadors. And the famous Redskins Cheerleaders are in Bangalore to train the country’s first professional cheerleading to egg on the Bangalore Royal Challengers.

Commenting on whether the real sport would be overshadowed by star presence, renowned trade analyst Taran Adarsh said, “At the moment the glamour might take away the media spotlight but later when the matches would be in full swing everyone would be concentrating on the game only.”

Added TV anchor-director Sajid Khan, “It is great to see cinema and cricket together. I think it is a great trend and it has a great future because at the end of the day both of them are fields of entertainment and would benefit viewers.”

Cricketers with rock star image have taken over the arena and nearly 100 international cricketers, commanding unheard of playing fees, have descended on India for the launch of the world’s richest cricket league.

Even the official communication from the organisers speaks of April 18 as D-Day, and you can rest assured that it has nothing to do with the Normandy beaches and the heroes of June 6, 1944. After months of hype, auctions, billion-dollar TV-rights deals and the threat of a media boycott, the Indian Premeir League (IPL) is poised to emerge from the chrysalis.

One of the first things you see going into the Chinnaswamy Stadium just after 4pm on Thursday is a svelte figure gliding across the outfield in balletic fashion, waving a white scarf as she moves from long-off to deep extra-cover. One of her compatriots tiptoes across the grass in the opposite direction, a white parasol in her hand. A third is wearing long black gloves more appropriate for The Age of Innocence than a Bangalore summer. All of them will be part of an elaborate opening ceremony on Friday evening, along with the most unusual sight.

More than a decade after Billy Corgan and the Smashing Pumpkins sang to us of a Bullet with Butterfly Wings, the IPL’s first venue will witness stilt-walkers striding round the ground flapping flowing capes that feature the home team colours, red and yellow. Under lights, they’re likely to look like gigantic butterflies straight out of a scene from Pan’s Labyrinth.

There are huge cables connecting the stadium roof to the playing square, with a giant bubble and acrobats also part of an opening ceremony that’s leaving nothing to entertainment chance. For the first time in their lives, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly, former India captains and now rival skippers in the IPL, will walk out for the toss in a stadium plunged into darkness.

Minutes after a “short, sharp and sweet” opening ceremony to launch the inaugural edition of the Twenty20 tournament, the organisers are planning to switch off the floodlights before the first match between Dravid’s Bangalore Royal Challengers, the hosts, and Ganguly’s Kolkata Knight Riders, the visitors, which begins at 2000 local time. “Then, the spotlights will come on, and focus on the two skippers as they walk out for the toss,” Charu Sharma, the Royal Challengers’ chief executive, told Cricinfo.

“We are pushing to have the toss under spotlights and are waiting for permission from local authorities, considering the number of people who will be there at the stadium when the lights will be switched off. This is something that has not really been tried before,” he said.

After the toss, a couple of players from the fielding side will be “miked up” to chat directly with the TV commentators during the match. “Another attraction for the TV audience, but this has been done before, I guess,” Sharma said.

However, the “most poignant moment” of the 45-minute opening ceremony starting at 1830, Sharma said, would be when all the captains gather mid-pitch to jointly read out a pledge reaffirming the IPL’s faith in the spirit of cricket. “There will also be speeches by Ray Mali, the ICC president, Sharad Pawar, the BCCI president, and Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman.”

The rest of the ceremony will be a “slick” blend of fireworks, the stilt walkers, aerial gymnasts, performers in the bubble suspended over the ground and some Bollywood glitter with the presence of Shah Rukh Khan, also the co-owner of the Kolkata team, and Preity Zinta, co-owner of the Mohali franchise. “Shankar-Ehsan-Loy (the Bollywood music directors) will be the central performers who will keep the crowd enthralled throughout the ceremony even as the other performers go through their acts,” Sharma said.

Bangalore is also banking on 12 cheerleaders from the Washington Redksins, the ‘First Ladies of American Football’, to draw more fans to the stadium. “The entire exercise is to have the right balance of glamour and cricket,” said Sharma. “Usually, cricket is not associated with such ceremonies, and this will be a novelty. At the same time, we would not want the genuine cricket fan to get frustrated waiting for the game to start. Our aim is to present a spectacle that’s short, sharp and sweet, which reflects the spirit of the IPL.”

The Bangalore franchise, owned by business tycoon Vijay Mallya, is playing a key role in organising the opening ceremony on their home ground in association with the Karnataka State Cricket Association and the IPL. On the eve of the game though, the players - “There are no players, only warriors” says one of the official posters - were almost peripheral, with the home team practising at the B Ground next to the National Cricket Academy.

The team logo and posters featuring the stars - Dravid, Anil Kumble, Jacques Kallis, Zaheer Khan and Mark Boucher - are ubiquitous though. Even the steps leading up to the pavilion have been painted in the team colours, with the crest staring down at you from all corners of the ground. There is even a red-painted tunnel leading from the dressing rooms to the ground, a la Anfield or Old Trafford.

Even Kolkata have made their presence felt, a couple of thousand kilometres away from their Eden Gardens stomping ground. “Be scared, be sh*t scared,” says a poster on nearby MG Road. Ganguly and Ishant Sharma stare at you, sporting Reservoir Dogs faces.

The last time one saw a similar spectacle unfold before a sporting event was in the build-up to one of sport’s greatest events, the UEFA Champions League final. For most of the fans that congregated at the Ataturk Stadium that night though, the music, lights and dance were a mere distraction from the waves of nausea and anticipation that assail you before the main event. Having won Test matches against Australia and played in a World Cup final, it seems unlikely that Dravid and Ganguly will walk out thinking of it as the game of their lives…blackout or not.

Sachin Tendulkar on Thursday brushed aside reports saying he was doubtful for the opening Mumbai Indians IPL tie against Bangalore Royal Challengers on Sunday.

He said there were two more days left for him to get into shape to lead his team at the Wankhede Stadium.

“I am following the fitness regime given to me by the physio. There are two more days for the match. No decision has been taken as yet (whether he will play or not). It will be decided before the 20th,” said the champion batsman at the team launch.

Tendulkar has not played any competitive cricket since being ruled out of the last two Test matches against South Africa after aggravating an old groin injury. He could not take part in the Olympic Torch relay event in New Delhi for the same reason.

Team coach Lalchand Rajput announced that off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has been appointed vice-captain of the team.

Also present at the official launch of the squad was guest of honour Sunil Gavaskar and Nita Ambani, wife of industrialist Mukesh Ambani, the franchise owner of the team.

Tendulkar said surprise was the key element in Twenty20 matches. “The key factor in Twenty20 (matches) is introduction of surprise element and we will have quite a few of these planned (for our rivals),” he said.

The 27 players, barring the absent Lasith Malinga and Loots Bosman, and support staff, were applied tilak mixed with mud from Tendulkar’s nursery Shivaji Park ground in Dadar.

Tendulkar turned nostalgic and said he could never forget Shivaji Park and the way he had been taken around the ground and other places on a scooter by boyhood mentor Ramakant Achrekar.

Achrekar was especially present on the occasion to apply tilak on the forehead of all Mumbai Indians players. “I have grown up in that area and can never forget those days. I used to be taken around by Sir (Achrekar) on his scooter for playing matches. I would not have reached where I am without those happenings,” he said.

Tendulkar, who skipped last year’s World Twenty20 Championship won by India, said he had limited experience of playing the shortest form of the game when representing Mumbai last year in domestic cricket.

“I have played a few Twenty20 games for Mumbai last year and I enjoyed it. It’s a great challenge and I am looking forward to it,” he said.

“Shaun (Pollock) has already started giving tips to the young fast bowlers of our team. I am not sure how the wickets and conditions will be as the matches would start at 8 pm. I don’t know how much dew will be there. We will have a few practice sessions to see how the conditions are,” he added.

Sachin Tendulkar on Thursday brushed aside reports saying he was doubtful for the opening Mumbai Indians IPL tie against Bangalore Royal Challengers.

He said there were two more days left for him to get into shape to lead his team at the Wankhede Stadium here.

“I am following the fitness regime given to me by the physio. There are two more days for the match. No decision has been taken as yet (whether he will play or not). It will be decided before the 20th,” said the champion batsman at the team launch.

Tendulkar has not played any competitive cricket since being ruled out of the last two Test matches against South Africa after aggravating an old groin injury. He could not take part in the Olympic Torch relay event in New Delhi for the same reason.

Tendulkar said surprise was the key element in Twenty20 matches.

“The key factor in Twenty20 (matches) is introduction of surprise element and we will have quite a few of these planned (for our rivals),” he said.

The 27 players, barring the absent Lasith Malinga and Loots Bosman, and support staff, were applied “tilak” mixed with mud from Tendulkar’s nursery Shivaji Park ground in Dadar.

Tendulkar turned nostalgic and said he could never forget Shivaji Park and the way he had been taken around the ground and other places on a scooter by boyhood mentor Ramakant Achrekar.

Achrekar was specially present on the occasion to apply ’tilak’ on the forehead of all Mumbai Indians players.

“I have grown up in that area and can never forget those days. I used to be taken around by Sir (Achrekar) on his scooter for playing matches. I would not have reached where I am without those happenings,” he said.

Tendulkar, who skipped last year’s World Twenty20 Championship won by India, said he had limited experience of playing the shortest form of the game when representing Mumbai last year in domestic cricket.

“I have played a few Twenty20 games for Mumbai last year and I enjoyed it. It’s a great challenge and I am looking forward to it,” he said.

“Shaun (Pollock) has already started giving tips to the young fast bowlers of our team. I am not sure how the wickets and conditions will be as the matches would start at 8 pm.

“I don’t know how much dew will be there. We will have a few practice sessions to see how the conditions are,” he added.

Team coach Lalchand Rajput announced that off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has been appointed vice-captain of the team.

Also present at the official launch of the squad was guest of honour Sunil Gavaskar and Nita Ambani, wife of industrialist Mukesh Ambani, the franchise owner of the team.

Former Sri Lankan opener Sanath Jayasuriya is looking forward to play with Sachin Tendulkar in the upcoming Indian Premier League Twenty20, starting here on Sunday.

“I am very happy I will play with Sachin Tendulkar. Besides I will get an opportunity to start the innings with him,” said Sri Lanka’s former skipper with a chuckle to the media persons here on Wednesday.

After a long pratice session at Bandra Kurla Complex facility, he said, “I got the first opportunity to play with Sachin during a charity match in England. Now IPL has given another opportunity to play with him.”

When asked about how he felt playing with youngsters at the age of 38, Jayasuriya shot back,” I do not think so. I am still a young player both on and off the field.”

The Lankan hero said his team Mumbai Indians was all prepared for the IPL.

“We know our strengths and weaknesses. We are also preparing to counter the opponents in every match. We will try to keep Mumbai flag high,” he said

The Sachin Tendulkar-led Mumbai Indians have roped in Bollywood star Hrithik Roshan as their brand ambassador to drum up support for the team in the Indian Premeir League starting on April 18.”Hrithik symbolises the spirit of the team,” said R Balachandran, director of the newly formed Indiawin Sports — a subsidiary of Reliance Industries which owns the franchise outfit, at a media conference to outline the team’s marketing campaign.

The actor is figuring in a promotional video campaign to muster support for the team through a Hindi song “Duniya Hila Denge Hum (Let’s rock the world)”.

The franchisee also announced the ticket prices for the first two matches that the team plays at the Wankhede Stadium here and D Y Patil Stadium in Nerul, Navi Mumbai, on April 20 and 27 respectively.

“The ticket price ranges from Rs 250-500 to the upper end Rs 3000-5000 for the first match while for the second match it ranges from Rs 200-400 to Rs 1000,” he added.