South Africa 141 for 5 (Boucher 33*) beat Sri Lanka 137 for 8 (Kapugedera 61*, Kleinveldt 2-13) by five wickets
A combined team effort set up victory with three balls to spare as South Africa brushed past Sri Lanka in their first warm-up match ahead of the World Twenty20. A late fightback from Sanath Jayasuriya and Chamara Kapugedera allowed Sri Lanka to post a modest 137 for 8 and the match was finely balanced when AB de Villiers was dismissed in the 14th over with 63 still needed, but a 61-run partnership between Mark Boucher and Johan Botha took South Africa home in the final over.
Kumar Sangakkara opted to bat first after winning the toss but was quickly left ruing the decision as Tillakaratne Dilshan fell first ball to the impressive Rory Kleinveldt. Charl Langeveldt then struck twice in his second over to remove Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene as Sri Lanka slipped to 22 for 3.
Dinesh Chandimal lasted just two balls before he hit Morne Morkel to Herschelle Gibbs, and when Angelo Mathews was dismissed by Roelof van der Merwe Sri Lanka were in deep trouble at 42 for 5 in the ninth over. But Jayasuriya drew on his vast experience in a relatively sedate 33 from 41 balls as he dominated a half-century stand with Kapugedera to claw his side back into the game.
Once he was dismissed, caught behind off Kleinveldt, Kapugedera came to the fore, slamming three fours and five sixes to finish unbeaten on 61. The wickets were shared around by the South African bowlers, with Kleinveldt, Langeveldt and Morkel taking two each, while Rusty Theron and van der Merwe weighed in with one apiece.
Nuwan Kulasekara removed Graeme Smith in his first over for single figures as Sri Lanka started their defence strongly, but Loots Bosman kept the score ticking over with a rapid 20. After his dismissal, Gibbs and de Villiers struggled to reach the boundary, and when they were removed in consecutive overs Sri Lanka were right back in the match.
But Botha and Boucher set about their task with gusto, scoring at more than 11 runs an over to take South Africa to the brink. Botha was bowled by Thissara Perera off the first ball of the final over, but Boucher sealed the confidence-boosting result with a boundary two balls later.
The BCCI has suspended controversial Indian Premier League chairman and commissioner Lalit Modi just hours before a crucial governing council meeting.
Modi has been accused of a wide range of financial impropriety from rigging bidding deals related to the IPL, offering bribes, betting and money laundering.
The decision to suspend Modi was announced by BCCI president Shashank Manohar.
"While we rejoice and celebrate the great success of IPL season three, the alleged acts of individual misdemeanours of Mr.Lalit K Modi, chairman IPL and vice president, BCCI have brought a bad name to the administration of cricket and the game itself," Manohar said in a statement.
"I have waited for the IPL 3 - 2010 to conclude in order to respond to the situation as I did not want the event to be disrupted in any manner.
"Immediately after the conclusion of the IPL final, the secretary, BCCI Mr. N Srinivasan has in consultation with me issued a show cause notice to Mr. Lalit K Modi under Rule 32 (iv) calling upon him to show cause within 15 days why disciplinary action should not be taken against him.
"Simultaneously in exercise of the powers vested in me under Rule 32 (vii), I have suspended Mr. Lalit K Modi from participating in the affairs of the Board, the IPL, the working committee and any other committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India."
Modi now cannot attend the governing council meeting called by Srinivasan at the behest of Manohar to discuss the allegations as well as his future at the head of the Twenty20 tournament.
Modi had at first refused to attend the meeting, indicating that it was illegal as only he, as chairman and commissioner of the IPL, had the power to convene such a gathering.
Late on Sunday, however, Modi abruptly changed tack by announcing that he would not only attend the meeting, but also revealed he would chair it.
Modi also issued a one-point agenda for the meeting which was to have a "discussion on any complaints received in writing from members of the governing council against the chairman, other members of the council and/or the Board of Control for Cricket in India."
He also requested documentary evidence and vowed to provide all the answers.
"Members of the governing council have been requested to give all such complaints in writing with the requisite supporting documents at the meeting on the morning of 26th April, 2010 to the chairman and commissioner, so they can be replied in full," the statement from Modi read.
Modi's decision to attend the meeting is believed to have triggered the BCCI into issuing a show-cause and a suspension notice.
The Indian Board is reported to have emailed the suspension notice to Modi during the final of the tournament in Mumbai, but the IPL commissioner put on a defiant face.
In his address at the end of the IPL final in Mumbai Modi said: "Though the events on the ground have been an outstanding success, there have been some off-field unpleasant dramas based on the unknown, half-truths and motivated leaks from all sorts of sources.
"I assure you all decisions have been jointly taken by the governing council and approved by the general body (of the BCCI) in both year one and two of the IPL.
"Still as leader of the team, I reassure you that if there have been any flouting of the rules and regulations or if there have been any irregularities, I shall take full responsibility.
"I assure you the IPL is clean and transparent."
Significantly, Modi's reassurance of all decisions being taken by the governing council is only limited to the first two editions of the tournament.
The current crisis, however, relates to the current edition and was triggered when Modi revealed details on Twitter relating to the ownership and shareholders of the new Kochi franchise in an alleged breach of a confidentiality clause.
Modi had especially questioned a free stake given to Sunanda Pushkar, a close friend of junior minister in the ruling coalition Shashi Tharoor, who had mentored the consortium which eventually secured the winning bid for the Kochi franchise.
Tharoor was forced to resign after being accused by the opposition of using his office to profit, but the decision brought on a multi-agency government probe into all aspects of the IPL.
That probe, which covers a range of so far unsubstantiated infringements including tax evasion, money laundering, front companies and foreign exchange violations, is continuing.
The BCCI had admonished Modi for revealing the names of the shareholders of the Kochi franchise - to which Modi responded by suggesting the stakeholders of the franchise had plenty to hide - but focus and attention was shifted to Modi's own alleged impropriety and misconduct following scrutiny by income tax officials at the offices of the BCCI, the IPL and all the franchises, Modi's residence and at the offices of the broadcasters of the tournament Multi Screen Media (formerly Sony Entertainment Television) and World Sports Group.
The decision to suspend Modi was announced by BCCI president Shashank Manohar.
"While we rejoice and celebrate the great success of IPL season three, the alleged acts of individual misdemeanours of Mr.Lalit K Modi, chairman IPL and vice president, BCCI have brought a bad name to the administration of cricket and the game itself," Manohar said in a statement.
"I have waited for the IPL 3 - 2010 to conclude in order to respond to the situation as I did not want the event to be disrupted in any manner.
"Immediately after the conclusion of the IPL final, the secretary, BCCI Mr. N Srinivasan has in consultation with me issued a show cause notice to Mr. Lalit K Modi under Rule 32 (iv) calling upon him to show cause within 15 days why disciplinary action should not be taken against him.
"Simultaneously in exercise of the powers vested in me under Rule 32 (vii), I have suspended Mr. Lalit K Modi from participating in the affairs of the Board, the IPL, the working committee and any other committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India."
Modi now cannot attend the governing council meeting called by Srinivasan at the behest of Manohar to discuss the allegations as well as his future at the head of the Twenty20 tournament.
Modi had at first refused to attend the meeting, indicating that it was illegal as only he, as chairman and commissioner of the IPL, had the power to convene such a gathering.
Late on Sunday, however, Modi abruptly changed tack by announcing that he would not only attend the meeting, but also revealed he would chair it.
Modi also issued a one-point agenda for the meeting which was to have a "discussion on any complaints received in writing from members of the governing council against the chairman, other members of the council and/or the Board of Control for Cricket in India."
He also requested documentary evidence and vowed to provide all the answers.
"Members of the governing council have been requested to give all such complaints in writing with the requisite supporting documents at the meeting on the morning of 26th April, 2010 to the chairman and commissioner, so they can be replied in full," the statement from Modi read.
Modi's decision to attend the meeting is believed to have triggered the BCCI into issuing a show-cause and a suspension notice.
The Indian Board is reported to have emailed the suspension notice to Modi during the final of the tournament in Mumbai, but the IPL commissioner put on a defiant face.
In his address at the end of the IPL final in Mumbai Modi said: "Though the events on the ground have been an outstanding success, there have been some off-field unpleasant dramas based on the unknown, half-truths and motivated leaks from all sorts of sources.
"I assure you all decisions have been jointly taken by the governing council and approved by the general body (of the BCCI) in both year one and two of the IPL.
"Still as leader of the team, I reassure you that if there have been any flouting of the rules and regulations or if there have been any irregularities, I shall take full responsibility.
"I assure you the IPL is clean and transparent."
Significantly, Modi's reassurance of all decisions being taken by the governing council is only limited to the first two editions of the tournament.
The current crisis, however, relates to the current edition and was triggered when Modi revealed details on Twitter relating to the ownership and shareholders of the new Kochi franchise in an alleged breach of a confidentiality clause.
Modi had especially questioned a free stake given to Sunanda Pushkar, a close friend of junior minister in the ruling coalition Shashi Tharoor, who had mentored the consortium which eventually secured the winning bid for the Kochi franchise.
Tharoor was forced to resign after being accused by the opposition of using his office to profit, but the decision brought on a multi-agency government probe into all aspects of the IPL.
That probe, which covers a range of so far unsubstantiated infringements including tax evasion, money laundering, front companies and foreign exchange violations, is continuing.
The BCCI had admonished Modi for revealing the names of the shareholders of the Kochi franchise - to which Modi responded by suggesting the stakeholders of the franchise had plenty to hide - but focus and attention was shifted to Modi's own alleged impropriety and misconduct following scrutiny by income tax officials at the offices of the BCCI, the IPL and all the franchises, Modi's residence and at the offices of the broadcasters of the tournament Multi Screen Media (formerly Sony Entertainment Television) and World Sports Group.
Champions League Twenty20 2010
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South Africa will host the next Champions League Twenty20, to run from September 10 to 26, the tournament's organisers have announced. The tournament chairman Lalit Modi confirmed the decision, following a board meeting in Mumbai where it was formally agreed to accept Cricket South Africa's invitation to stage the event. However Modi, under immense scrutiny over the ongoing IPL mess, was not present at that meeting, which took place at the BCCI headquarters on Saturday.
"South Africa is considered an ideal CLT20 host after successfully staging the Indian Premier League and ICC World Twenty20 tournaments in recent years, as well as the strong support shown for its domestic Pro20 Series competition," said Modi via a press release.
The venues and competing teams for the second edition of the Champions League will be announced in the near future, said the tournament management.
The first edition of the tournament was held in India last year. South Africa had hosted the IPL in 2009, after the tournament was moved out of India as it clashed with the country's general elections.
The decision puts to rest the speculation that surrounded the Champions League earlier this year. In February, CSA had announced that South Africa had been finalised as the venue for the tournament, only for Modi to quickly clarify - via Twitter - that the statement was inaccurate. Despite the dates for this season's edition having been announced much earlier, there had been press releases from CSA and the Champions League itself stating that, like in 2009, 12 teams will take part from seven full member countries, including England.
Gerald Majola, the CSA chief, had confirmed the news to Cricinfo earlier in the day while Dean Kino, head of the league's Governing Council, had on Friday stated that a decision regarding the appropriate participating countries was taken each year as policy.
The Champions League features the best domestic Twenty20 teams from across the world and is run by by the boards of India, Australia and South Africa with its governing council comprising representatives from each board. Other countries participate in the tournament by invitation, but Pakistan and Bangladesh are the only two Test-playing countries with no presence in the tournament. Pakistan had sent a representative in the first edition of the tournament, which was cancelled in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks in November 2008. As ties worsened between India and Pakistan and their cricket boards in the aftermath, the PCB was not eventually extended an invitation to the first tournament and since then it has stated that it will not send a team this year after Pakistan players were not included at the IPL auction in January.
The dates of this year's Champions League clash with the end of England's county season, which finishes on September 16. At the same time, England and Pakistan will be contesting an ODI series that runs until September 22.
Chennai Super Kings v Mumbai Indians, IPL 2010 final, Mumbai
Raina, Dhoni star in Chennai triumph
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Chennai Super Kings 168 for 5 (Raina 57*, Dhoni 22, Fernando 2-23) beat Mumbai Indians 146 for 9 (Tendulkar 48, Pollard 27, Jakati 2-27) by 22 runs
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MS Dhoni has added another feather to his captaincy hat. It was he who started the turnaround against a formidable Mumbai Indians attack, his deputy Suresh Raina capitalised on two dropped catches to score a crucial fifty, and Chennai Super Kings defended with aggression, smartness and flair to win the third IPL. Chennai were struggling at 68 for 3 after 12 overs when Dhoni got into the act: 100 runs were added in the last eight, and Raina scored 44 at a strike-rate of 200 after the first drop. The win concluded a fourth consecutive one-sided knockout in the tournament.
Ever since R Ashwin started the defence with a maiden over, Mumbai never really threatened Chennai. Sachin Tendulkar, playing with a split webbing, played his least fluent innings of the tournament, scoring a laboured 48 off 45. Mumbai tried some strange moves: promotions for Abhishek Nayar and Harbhajan Singh bombed, and even at the fall of the fifth wicket, with 69 required off 31, Kieron Pollard was not the man making his way out of the dugout.
There were no problems with tactics for Chennai: they went with the old-fashioned approach of keeping wickets in hand, never mind the slow start, and with M Vijay breaking free, had reached a perfectly acceptable 40 for no loss at the end of Powerplay. Dilhara Fernando brought Mumbai back, removing Vijay with his split-finger slower ball in the eighth over. Pollard ended Matthew Hayden's 31-ball 17-run misery, and S Badrinath holed out in the 12th over.
Dhoni left alone the first ball he faced, was beaten by a legcutter after that, was almost bowled the next ball, and worked a single to end that testing Fernando over. Mumbai can file for lack of sufficient warning for what was to come next. The first ball Dhoni faced from Pollard he charged down and hit him into the second tier - with one hand. The next ball Pollard ran in and didn't let go, stares were exchanged, and Tendulkar rushed in to apologise to the batsman: it was the second time Pollard had done this in his 2.1 overs. Dhoni's bat spoke emphatically, though, with a punch for four to end the over.
Match Meter
 Advantage  Honours even |
Tendulkar was warned sufficiently by now: he had to bring Lasith Malinga, whose yorkers have been near perfect, back before he would have ideally liked to. Dhoni charged at him, converted one into a low full toss, and hit a boundary to extra cover.
Zaheer Khan was brought back in the next over. He produced a top edge that neither Fernando (running in from third man) nor Abhishek Nayar (running back from point) claimed. Salt was in ready supply for Zaheer's wound: out of nowhere Raina produced timing and a four and a six to take Chennai to 108 after 15 overs. In the over that followed, Pollard eked out a skier from Raina, which Zaheer dropped. The next ball Raina made room and lofted over extra cover for six. The ball after was hit to Tendulkar, and cannily they exposed his injured hand by stealing a second. And the next was slogged over midwicket for six. Mumbai needed a time-out to figure out what had hit them.
Fernando, three overs for 12 until then, bowled a poor last over to nearly double the tally. Malinga started the last over superbly: bat couldn't meet ball for the first four deliveries, and Albie Morkel was run out in panic. Then it came apart: five wides, followed by a length ball driven over extra cover, and some manic running, and they were chasing the biggest total in an IPL final.
A maiden over was not the best way to start for Mumbai, but losing Shikhar Dhawan in the second was even worse. The next 10 overs featured smart spin bowling, hustling fielders, run-out opportunities created, signs of desperation of Tendulkar, and eventually the wickets of Nayar and Harbhajan in the 12th over. With the required rate going past 12 an over, Tendulkar holed out to long-off, and Raina pulled off a blinder, running in from deep midwicket, to send back Saurabh Tiwary. To everybody's surprise, JP Duminy walked out, and by the time he walked back, he had left Mumbai 55 to get in three overs.
Pollard made a match out of this too: taking 22 runs off Bollinger's 18th over. Morkel bowled a tight 19th over, with a long-off, and a mid-off up in the circle and so straight it was almost behind him. Pollard hit a catch to him: it just highlighted which captain had got it right on the night.
Bangalore secured the third spot available in the Airtel Champions League Twenty20 tournament from the IPL by trouncing Hyderabad by nine-wickets in their third-place play-off in Mumbai.
In a battle between last year's finalists, the Bangalore team emerged dominant with Anil Kumble paving the way for victory with a four-wicket haul, whilePraveen Kumar and Jacques Kalliscollected two apiece as Hyderabad were bowled out for a meagre 82 inside 19 overs.
Rahul Dravid (35 not out) and Kevin Pietersen (29 not out) rattled off the runs required, needing only 13.5 overs to end a woefully one-sided contest.
Kumble led from the front as Bangalore turned in a superb performance with the ball on a pitch which offered turn and bounce.
Kumble began with the new ball and secured the wicket of Adam Gilchrist off the fourth delivery, the Hyderabad skipper pulling a low full toss straight to Kallis at fine leg.
Praveen, who shared the new ball, then struck with his first delivery, trapping other opener Monish Mishra in front and had wickets in consecutive overs when he snared Rohit Sharma for a four-ball duck.
Hyderabad lost their top three batsmen inside the first six overs and Steyn, who had grassed Andrew Symonds while on one, made amends when he had the batsman caught behind for two at the start of the seventh over.
Kumble, bowling one-over spells, then brought himself back on in the ninth and dismissed Dawyne Smith for five.
Anirudh Singh (40), who had come in at number three, looked in good touch and eventually found support in Venugopal Rao (24), the duo putting together the only partnership of substance, 43 for the sixth wicket.
Kallis, who finished with two wickets for three in two overs, broke that stand by snaring Anirudh in his first over and Surrey left-arm spinner Nayan Doshi collected his first IPL scalp when he removed Venugopal in the next over.
Kumble returned to add to two more wickets to his tally as Hyderabad succumbed to the lowest total in the tournament this year.
Kallis and Dravid put on 36 together before Hyderabad claimed their first success, but the Bangalore team were never under any sort of pressure.
Pietersen, in a belligerent mood, smashed two sixes and a four and added 50 in an undefeated stand as Bangalore ran out winners
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