Today was the day when Harbhajan Singh was again proved guilty and was imposed a ban of 11 IPL matches. The decision was taken by match referee Farookh Engineer and the decision was told to media by Lalit Modi. This was a big setback for Harbhajan Singh and also for the Mumbai Indians. It should be stated that Harbhajan Singh slapped Sreesanth after the match between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab. Harbhajan Singh presented a letter before the commission and regretted for his actions which hurt Sreesanth’s feelings. The turbanator had already admitted to the media persons of getting physical with Sreesanth. Slapping a fellow player constitutes a Level 4 offence as per the ICC Code of Conduct and carries a maximum punishment of a life ban or a minimum of five Tests or 10 ODIs for India’s premier off-spinner.Lalit Modi And Farookh Engineer had a serious stand and they were firm in dealing the case with severity as the whole prestige of DLF – IPL was on stake after the incident.Sreesanth’s role as provocative was also noticed and it is said that he may also have to pay some fine.

Earlier in the day, the BCCI had appointed advocate Sudhir Nanavati as commissioner to conduct a preliminary inquiry into
“As per the constitution, BCCI has appointed Sudhir Nanavati, advocate, Ahmedabad as commissioner to make preliminary inquiry and call for explanation from the concerned person(s) and submit his report within 15 days to BCCI president Sharad Pawar to look into the matter of disciplinary action against Harbhajan Singh,” the cricket board issued a statement in the morning.

So Mumbai Indians have suffered a huge blow and this can further intensify the problems for them. Already they have lost all the matches so far in DLF – IPL and now they have also lost a champion bowler for 11 matches.

The Match 15 is between Bangalore Royal Challengers and Chennai Super Kings today and will be played at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore. Chennai Super Kings are on a winning streak and have played excellent cricket so far and have won all the three matches played so far. They are termed as one of the best teams of the tournament where as Bangalore Royal Challengers are in some serious problems after loosing 2 matches so far. Both the teams have to play for something. Chennai Super Kings would like to continue the winning streak where as Bangalore Royal Challengers would like to break the loss jinx.
Bangalore Royal Challengers (probable) 1 Ross Taylor, 2 Rahul Dravid (capt), 3 Jacques Kallis, 4 Misbah-ul-Haq, 5 Virat Kohli, 6 Mark Boucher (wk), 7 Praveen Kumar, 8 B Akhil, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 Anil Kumble, 11 R Vinay Kumar.
Chennai Super Kings: (probable) 1 Parthiv Patel, 2 Matthew Hayden, 3 Michael Hussey, 4 Suresh Raina, 5 Jacob Oram, 6 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt & wk), 7 S Badrinath, 8 Joginder Sharma, 9 Palani Amarnath, 10 Manpreet Gony, 11 Muttiah Muralitharan.
Match details are –

Date – 15th Match April 28, 2008
Venue – M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
20:00 India time.

Update : Chennai Super Kings won the toss and elected to bat first

Keep checking iplcricketlive .com for more information about the match, match videos, match score cards and an analysis of each team performance.

Ahead of crucial disciplinary hearing over the issue, pacer S Sreesanth said today that the incident in which Harbhajan Singh slapped him was actually a “slugfest”, a statement that’s likely to strengthen the case against the temperamental off-spinner, who maybe headed for a minimum punishment of being banned for five Test or 10 ODIs.
Reversing his earlier stance that Harbhajan was like an “elder brother” and the slap was a “hand shake on the wrong side”, Sreesanth told a television channel in his native Kerala that “It was more than a slap, it was like a slugfest. I never expected this reaction from him, I was very surprised.” Harbhajan is to appear before former Indian wicket-keeper Farokh Engineer, who was the Match Referee at the Indian Premier League match at Mohali on Friday after which the slapping incidence took place.
For Mumbai Indians, coach Lalchand Rajput and the team manager would accompany Harbhajan, while Sreesanth will appear along with King’s XI Punjab CEO Neil Maxwell and captain Yuvraj Singh. IPL Chairman and Commissioner Lalit Modi will also be present on the occasion.
Engineer has already made it clear that the matter would not be swept under carpet.

Source : ptinews.com

Mumbai, Apr 27 (PTI) After their skimpy outfits created a furore among the country’s politicians, the Indian Premier League (IPL) cheerleaders have now “covered up” to ensure that there are no more controversies.
The cheerleaders were clad in their new attire for the IPl matches today starting with the game between Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab in Mohali, and it certainly left less room for complaints.
The cheerleaders, dubbed by the politicians as too “wild” for the families who come to watch the IPL matches, were made to change their clothes for the jigs that mark sixers and boundaries during the matches.
Their skimpy outfits came up for discussion in the Maharashtra Assembly with some members wanting the dances to be banned while West Bengal’s Sports Minister Subhas Chakraborty also raised the issue.
“We don’t want to offend anybody. I think it’s a small minority view (about them being too wild). But we will take it on board and address what we are wearing. So we have got a new costume to show off,” said the head of Deccan Chargers’ cheerleading squad.
Another cheerleader said the fans have been appreciative of their work so far and she was a bit surprised at their clothes becoming headlines in the country.

Source: ptinews.com

Melbourne (PTI): That Harbhajan Singh continues to evoke strong emotion in this part of the globe was evident again as the Australian media reacted with glee after the volatile off-spinner was suspended for slapping S Sreesanth in an Indian Premier League match.
The Courier Mail published a photograph of the temperamental Indian, titled “What a slapper!”
It was a file photograph of Harbhajan in Team India colours — his arms spread wide and tongue out in a wild celebration.
The daily chose the occasion to remind its readers that the offie was initially banned for three Tests for his alleged racist remarks against Andrew Symonds before he was “let off” with a lesser fine.
“Sydney Morning Herald” too took note of the event and remarked, “The IPL was supposed to divide the cricketing world. Instead, it’s bringing an end to racial hostilities. All they need to do now is get Harbhajan Singh to stop slapping his fellow Indians around.”
“Singh slap shocker” screamed a headline in the “Herald Sun”, which said how the spat “rocked” the Indian Premier League.
“The Daily Telegraph” also gave its version of how the “Harby turmoil” had rocked cricket world.
The daily did not miss the occasion to point out that “The 27-year-old spinner has had a poor disciplinary record since making his India debut in 1998.”
Source: hindu.com