Search This Blog

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

IPL Update : Thumping win for CSK - MI has another chance - Sahara pulls out..

IPL 6 is drawing to a close – but lot happening towards the close…. Police keep claiming that the net is widening as more are reportedly involved and the noose is tightening……… when will all that happen ? 

On field, CSK majestically marched to the Finals and would wait for the winner of RR/SH Vs MI………  off the field, Sahara India, owners of the Pune Warriors franchise, have pulled out of the IPL over financial differences with the BCCI stemming from the valuation of the annual franchise fee it has to pay. The decision, the latest crisis to hit the IPL, comes three years after it bought the Pune franchise for $370 million - the highest price paid for any of the IPL franchises. It seems the immediate cause was the BCCI's decision to cash the bank guarantee from Sahara that that it was obliged, under its contract, to furnish at the start of each season. The guarantee is equivalent to the amount to be paid annually to the BCCI and can be cashed in case a franchise fails to honour its commitments. In this case, Sahara had furnished a bank guarantee worth Rs 170.2 crore (approximately $30 million). Since the deadline for paying the franchise fees was May 2, the BCCI waited till Sahara's IPL 6 commitments were over and cashed the guarantee on May 20.

Pune Warriors coach Allan Donald was caught off-guard by the decision. "This is a massive surprise to me," Donald told ESPNcricinfo. "I'm shocked because we had spoken, not in great detail but loosely, about prospects for next year. The owners were really upbeat for next season and the next three years because next year we'd have new contracts, new players.  This is not the 1st time though ~ Deccan Chargers terminated in Sept 2012 due to financial problems as the owners were unable to service their debt obligations to lenders, eventually leading to its being bought by Sun TV and becoming Chennai team 2.  Sahara earlier threatened BCCI in Feb 2012 withdrawing sponsorship from the Indian team and ownership of the franchise. However, the two patched up later, ending the dispute by issuing a joint statement. Another team which never had any charmed existence but lot political backing, Kochi Tuskers Kerala -   faded away in Sept 2011 for breaching the terms of agreement - their inability to furnish a new bank guarantee for 2011.

The scoreline may not perhaps reveal the domination. Chennai Super Kings 192 for 1 (Huseey 86*, Raina 82*) beat Mumbai Indians 144 (Smith 68, Bravo 3-9, Jadeja 3-31) by 48 runs.  Murali Vijay failed to convert his good start but there was no looking back as no wickets fell thereafter with Michael Hussey and Suresh Raina powering  with 80s.  The target was a good 193 and they had initial success too… but Dwayne Smith tore into them striking sixers at will ~ eventually when got out making  68 off 28, the MI folded rather ordinarily.  Sir Jaddu took the wickets of Smith, Dinesh Karthik and Kieron Pollard.

Lasith Malinga too went for runs though he did bowl some excellent Yorkers. At one stage  Mumbai were 86 for 1 in seven overs. On came Jadeja and just like that Smith sliced one inexplicably. Albie Morkel played the match and Du Plessis is yet to play one.  MI had many changes which their captain Rohit Sharma was unable to remember even.   Cricinfo reports that in the 13th over of the first innings, Umpire  Nigel Llong called up Rohit Sharma for a chat by the end of which Rohit was seen signalling to his boundary fieldsman. Turned out the umpires had spotted the fielders bouncing the ball hard into the practice pitches, sending the ball to the keeper on the second bounce. It helps you get any little reverse swing you can get in 20-over games, and can also help you make it soft. Later in that over, Dwayne Smith was seen throwing almost on the full. When Dinesh Karthik was given out lbw off Ravindra Jadeja, he not only showed his bat to the umpire, he shouted at least three times: "bat, bat, bat". It seemed then that he got a rough decision, but the replay failed to show a clear edge.

In his first public statement since his arrest last week, Sreesanth has denied any wrongdoing. Sreesanth and his two Rajasthan Royals team-mates,  Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila, who were arrested on Thursday for their alleged involvement in spot-fixing, were remanded on Tuesday by a Delhi court to a further five days in police custody and charged by Delhi Police under Section 409 of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with criminal breach of trust and is a non-bailable offence. "I am innocent and have done no wrong," Sreesanth said in a statement emailed by his lawyer, Rebecca John. "I have never indulged in any spot-fixing." Meanwhile, PTI reports that the government-run Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd suspended Sreesanth, who was employed as an assistant manager in its marketing division, posted at Irumpanam, near Kochi.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar.


No comments:

Post a Comment