New Delhi, April 19: It might be the end of ‘good times’ for Lalit Modi as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) may strip him off his post of the Indian Premier League (IPL) Commissioner and add that extra responsibility on the shoulders of Shashank Manohar, sources have indicated.
New Delhi, April 19: Embattled IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi today rubbished allegations of betting and money laundering in the event and threatened to take legal action against the newspaper which has made the accusations.
Modi, who is in Dubai to attend the ICC’s Executive Board meeting on behalf of BCCI President Shashank Manohar, said the charges were “nonsense” and aimed at discrediting the Twenty20 tournament.
Mumbai, April 19: Hard-hitting batsman Robin Uthappa and stylish opener Murali Vijay have been nominated in two categories for the Sahara IPL Awards to be held here on April 23.
Uthappa, of Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Chennai Super Kings’ Vijay – none part of the Indian team in the World T20 Championship in the West Indies – have been shortlisted for the awards in the best batsman and most dramatic performance categories.
Dharamsala, April 19: After guiding Chennai Super Kings to the Indian Premier League semifinal, captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said his side would look for mistakes of Sachin Tendulkar if they face Mumbai Indians in the knock-out stage.
“If we face Mumbai Indians in the knock-out stage, we have to wait for the mistake of Sachin because little master is in top form right now and they are the hot favorites to win the IPL III,” Dhoni said at the post match press conference.
London, April 19: World number three Rafael Nadal won the Monte Carlo Masters for a record sixth consecutive time with a 6-0 6-1 drubbing of fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco in the final on Sunday.
Nadal, who had not claimed an ATP title in the past 11 months, won his 32nd straight match in the glitzy principality with yet another stunning display of claycourt tennis.
Four-times French Open champion Nadal raced through the opening set as Verdasco, playing in his first Masters final, proved unable to live with him.
New Delhi, April 19: Deccan Chargers skipper Adam Gilchrist said Sunday that the ongoing controversy between Indian Premier League (IPL) supremo Lalit Modi and former minister Shashi Tharoor is changing so frequently that it becomes difficult for him to follow it.
“The controversy is changing so frequently that it becomes very difficult for me to follow. So I am focussing myself on cricket,” said Gilchrist after the defending champions moved into the semi-final by serving a 11-run knock-out blow to Daredevils at the Ferozeshah Kotla.
Mumbai, April 19: The semi-finals of the Indian Premier League (IPL) have been shifted to Navi Mumbai following explosions outside the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore on Saturday.
Worse, three more bombs were found in the area on Sunday. The matches, originally scheduled to be played in Bangalore, will now be held at the DY Patil stadium on April 21 and 22. The ground will also host the 3rd place play-off and the IPL final on April 24 and 25, respectively.
New Delhi, April 19: Deccan Chargers held its nerves to pull off its fifth win in a row and the reward was a semifinal slot in the DLF Indian Premier League-III.
The 11–run win over Delhi Daredevils came on the strength of a splendid team effort at the Ferozeshah Kotla here on Sunday.
New Delhi, April 18: Deccan Chargers beat Delhi Daredevils by 11 runs in an IPL match here today.
Brief Scores:
Deccan Chargers: 145 for 7 in 20 overs (Andrew Symonds 54; Umesh Yadav 2/24, Ashish Nehra 2/32).
Delhi Daredevils: 134 for 7 in 20 overs (Paul Collingwood 51 not out; Pragyan Ojha 2/16).
–Agencies
New Delhi, April 18: Deccan Chargers made 145 for seven in 20 overs against Delhi Daredevils in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the Ferozeshah Kotla here Sunday.
Andrew Symonds was the top scorer with 54 while for Daredevils medium pacers Ashish Nehra and Umesh Yadav picked up two wickets each.
–Agencies
New Delhi, April 18: A day after two low-intensity blasts outside the packed Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore, Delhi Police took no chances Sunday and turned the Ferozeshah Kotla into a fortress for the Indian Premier League (IPL) match between Delhi Daredevils and Deccan Chargers.
Dharmasala, April 18: Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s two towering sixes in the last over earned a thrilling six-wicket victory for Chennai Super Kings over Kings XI Punjab and a semi-final spot in the Indian Premier League.
Super Kings needed 16 off the last over from Irfan Pathan to chase down 193 runs and Dhoni (54 not out off 29 balls) took his team home with two balls to spare.
Mumbai, April 18: Look into evidence indicating that some senior IPL officials placed bets with international websites on match results
Income-Tax officers investigating the Indian Premier League (IPL) for alleged financial irregularities and flaws in its bidding process, are looking into evidence indicating that some senior members of the league had placed bets on the results of the matches with registered betting websites overseas.
New Delhi, April 18: Olympic and three-time World champion Lin Dan of China claimed his maiden Asian title with a 21-17, 21-15 win over Wang Zhengming while Xuerui Li overcame a stubborn Xin Liu 21-13, 18-21, 21-19 to win the women’s singles title at the Badminton Asia Championships here Sunday.
Second-seeded Dan, who was a favourite to win the title after top seed and staunch rival Taufiq Hidayat made a shock exit in the pre-quarterfinals, showed his all-round ability to finish the game in 39 minutes against the 2008 World junior champion.
New Delhi, April 18: Malaysia’s star shuttler Muhammad Hafiz Hashim feels it is premature to talk about India’s badminton sensation Saina Nehwal reaching the top of the world rankings heap.
Hashim, a 2002 Commonwealth Games champion and 2003 All-England champion, says Saina’s immediate concern should be to improve her fitness and speed.
The Malaysian, who reached the quarterfinals at the Badminton Asia Championships, says Saina should be left alone, putting off for some time the discussion about her future in the sport.
Dharmasala, April 18: Riding on an unbeaten 88 made by Shaun Marsh, Kings XI Punjab made 192 for three in 20 overs against Chennai Super Kings in their Indian Premier League (IPL) encounter at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) Stadium here Sunday.
Irfan Pathan remained unbeaten on 44 while skipper Kumar Sangakkara made 33.
–IANS–
Kolkata, April 18: After the convincing win against the Rajasthan Royals at the Eden Gardens here Saturday, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have lit up a ray of hope not only among their supporters but also in its super glam owner and Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan.
‘(I) have no idea on run rates etc. but hope we can give KKR followers something to cheer about tom (tomorrow). Last match at home. Will miss it all,’ tweeted the superstar whose next celluloid venture is ‘Ra.One’ where he played the role of a superhero co-starring with Kareena Kapoor.
New Delhi, April 18: Kings XI Punjab outfit has been served with a notice over Service Tax evasion over their in the 2008 season by the Excise Department. They have been asked to cough-up Rs Five Crore by the authorities.
This comes after the team is in talks of selling its current stake in the Indian Premier League to the highest bidder owing to the disinterest shown by Ness Wadia and the group of directors to run it for a longer tenure after the three year deal with the BCCI gets over after the conclusion of this season.
Mumbai, April 18: A day after two low-intensity bomb blasts took place near the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore minutes before the match, the Indian Premier League (IPL) governing council Sunday decided to shift two semi-final matches from the city to Navi Mumbai.
After Saturday’s blasts, two more explosives were found Sunday, causing serious concern among the organisers and the police.
IPL chairman and commissioner Lalit Modi said the governing council was not ready to take any chances and they wanted to ensure the safety of players and spectators.
Dubai, April 18: IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi today exuded confidence of resolving the controversy over ownership of Kochi franchise saying he had no personal issue either with the team owners or Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor.
“It is not Modi Vs Tharoor. It is not BJP Vs Congress or any other political party or political leader.
“My priority is cricket and we would resolve the entire issue at the earliest,” he said.
New Delhi, April 18: Just four days after she accused the media of hounding her, Dubai-based Sunanda Pushkar Sunday gave up her stake in the IPL Kochi franchise amid a row involving her friend and Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor.
Her lawyer Ashish Mehta read out a statement saying Pushkar had on her own given surrendered the sweat equity offered to her by Rendezvous Sports World, a member of the consortium that won the Kochi Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise.
Mumbai, April 18: The Indian Premier League (IPL) governing council Sunday decided to shift two semi-final matches from Bangalore to Navi Mumbai after two low-intensity bomb blasts took place outside the Chinnasawmy Stadium in Bangalore minutes before the match Saturday.
IPL chairman and commissioner Lalit Modi said: “We don’t want to take any chances. We want to ensure the safety of our players and spectators alike.”
After the blasts Saturday, two more explosives with detonators were found Sunday, causing serious concern among the organisers and the police.
–IANS
London, April 18: Real Madrid Portuguese international winger Cristiano Ronaldo has said he does not believe his former club Manchester United is missing him.
“Manchester United are a fantastic club and I won many things there,” Ronaldo told Sky Sports News on Saturday. “But now I play for Real Madrid, the best club in the world, and I want to win just like I did in Manchester.”
“I am really happy to be here. And without me, Manchester United are doing very good things,” he went on to say. “They won the Carling Cup and they are fighting for the league.”
New Delhi, April 18: Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor, under pressure to quit over the Kochi IPL row, met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for about 50 minutes at his residence here Sunday.
The minister drove away after the meeting without talking to journalists massed outside the prime minister’s residence. Manmohan Singh returned home a day earlier after a week-long visit to the US and Brazil.
New Delhi, April 18: Security was tightened at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium in the national capital ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) match between Delhi Daredevils and Deccan chargers Sunday, a day after two low intensity blasts took place near Bangalore’s Chinnaswamy Stadium.
“We have already made elaborate security arrangements for today’s (Sunday) match. Police personnel are on strict vigil in and around the stadium,” said Delhi Police spokesman Rajan Bhagat.
The match is scheduled to start by 8 p.m. and a crowd of around 40,000 people is expected, officials said.