Indian Premier League and Cricket News by IPL Cricket Forum

Mumbai Indians have finally arrived with a comprehensive win over the Knight Riders who were outplayed in all the departments in the Indian premier League Match today. The Mumbai Indians were on a mission today and right from the moment they took the field, they meant business. They started off with a bang pegging back the Knight Riders with a heap of early wickets.

The target was never daunting but the Knight Riders got themselves a small opening with three quick wickets at the top. That dropped chance of Uthappa proved costly as he went on to hold a century run stand with Bravo.

The biggest mistake so far has been by Captains of IPL teams who choose to bat the moment they win a toss with a plan to make the opponents chase a big score. And today was no different. Also we do not understand why Md. Haffiz the Pak opener is not being given a chance to open the innings - he is comfortable and confident and have done it in the past also with sufficient expertise.

SRK and his boys really need to think hard and act fast as the initial momentum is gobe and with players like Brandon and Ponting returning home. Also the fact they lost miserably in the hands of the weakest team today requires rational analysis.

However, finally today it was a sigh of relief for all those who had been rooting for Mumbai. Mumbai Indians won by 7 wickets with Sanath Jayasuriya bagging the Man of the Match award for his brilliant performance with both the ball and the bat.

Score :

Kolkata Knight Riders: 137/8 (20.0 Ovs)
Mumbai Indians: 138/3 (18.4 Ovs)

Man of the Match - Sanath Jayasuriya

Shah Rukh Khan, proud owner of the Indian Premier League (IPL) team ‘Kolkata Knight Riders’, is in a dilemma.

Will he perform on the field at the IPL event, or will he be best placed with his antics in a studio for his new television show - Paanchavi Pass ? The dates of both shows clash.
Advertisers who have been kept out of the IPL arena are gearing up and cornering time slots on Paanchavi Pass . IPL’s 44-day cricket bonanza flags off on April 18 with 59 T20 matches.

Paanchavi Pass  is SRK’s new quiz show on Star Plus , which begins on the same date. It is to be telecast 8 pm onwards over the weekend. While Star Plus has signed on Airtel as the presenting sponsor for PP, Airtel’s competitor Vodafone is on board as presenting sponsor for IPL, to be telecast on Sony. This has initiated a battle of sponsorship between the broadcasters as SRK endorses Airtel too.

Despite the lukewarm response to SRK’s Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC), Khan and Star are gearing up for PP. The show is an adaptation of an international television game show, Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader ?

Incidentally, Bulldog Media and entertainment has licensed the format from the owner, Mark Burnett Productions. Synergy Adlabs is to produce the show in India.

The prize money on PP is Rs 5 crore, while that of IPL is several times more. Media agencies buying air time slots told TOI that PP will be set in a classroom-like ambience with five and 10-year-old kids as part of the audience.

If a contestant is stuck, he can refer to the audience who will act as his classmates. Cut to IPL. In this case, cricket on field will follow only after entertainment antics of fellow Bollywood personalities, and sizzling ‘item numbers’, both on and off the field.

Shoaib Akhtar Filed his appeal today against the five year band handed over to him by IPL. PCB had already initiated the legal proceedings earlier on thursday.

BBC adds - On Thursday, the PCB and its chairman Dr Nasim Ashraf began legal proceedings over allegations Shoaib, 32, made after being handed his lengthy suspension.

The PCB denies it has been told by the prime minister to review its punishment of the controversial fast bowler.

Chief operating officer Shafqat Naghmi said: “No-one from the government has given us any instructions on this issue.”

He added: “The tribunal will reach a decision based on facts not because of any politics.”

Shoaib’s lawyer, Azeem Danyal, claimed the ban for disciplinary breaches was illegal and unconstitutional and was confident of having it removed.

“We have asked the board to give us a copy of the detailed judgement of the disciplinary committee by Monday after which we can prepare our case,” he said.

Naghmi said once the copy was given to Shoaib’s lawyers, the seven-day period to begin the appeal proceedings would start.

He insisted: “All the procedures of the board constitution were followed properly. Shoaib was given a fair chance to defend himself.”

Meanwhile Shahrukh Khan told Indian TV news channel Times Now: “We believe
that Shoaib should play. It is a ban related to his behaviour and I
hope things get sorted out in our favour.”

He added: “Shoaib is a
great player and I would like to have him back. I don’t know why he
cannot play. I want him in the team as he is very important for Kolkata
Knight Riders.

“I know I am allowed to take another player, but I want Shoaib back.”

We need to wait and watch for the leagl proceedings and hope for the best outcome.

Here is an exclusive glimpse of some IPL teams Mascots!

Hooglee - Knight Riders

DD (D2) of Delhi Daredevils

Moochu Singh - Rajasthan Royals

More to come in the following days!

Shah Rukh
Khan’s Red Chilli Entertainment Pvt Ltd, owner of the Kolkata Indian
Premier League team - Knight Riders, and the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), the local
organizer of the Twenty20 tournament, have been dragged to court over ticket
distribution for the IPL Twenty20 test.

The Cricket Members Forum of Bengal has filed a suit in the city civil court challenging CAB’s role in
ticket distribution. The forum asked the court to declare that CAB had no right
to hold a match at the Eden Gardens without issuing free tickets to its members.

TOI