Kolkata Knight Riders spearhead Ishant Sharma was today fined 10 per cent of his match fees for kicking down the stumps in yesterday’s Indian Premier League match against Punjab King’s XI at Mohali.
IPL match referee Clive Lloyd found the speedster guilty of a Level 1 offence (clause 2) as per the International Cricket Council’s Code of Conduct which has been adopted by the Twenty20 League authorities, a media release said today.

The offence relates to abusing ground equipment.IPL had earlier booted out Mumbai Indians off-spinner Harbhajan Singh for slapping King’s XI bowler S Sreesanth at the same venue.It had also fined Shane Warne, captain of Rajasthan Royals, and Sourav Ganguly, skipper of Knight Riders, for different breaches of the Code at Jaipur on May 1 during the two teams’ contest.Former India skipper Ganguly was found guilty of showing dissent on the field and fined 10 per cent of his match fees.

The Match Referee in his recommendation to the IPL said that Ganguly’s act of prevailing upon Pratap Kumar, the on-field umpire, to refer a decision to the TV umpire, constituted a Level I offence as per the ICC’s Code of Conduct.

Spin legend Warne was found guilty of violating Section 1.7 of the ICC’s Code of Conduct, which deals with ‘public criticism of, or inappropriate comment on a match-related incident or official,’ which constitutes a Level I offence.

Warne had publicly criticised his opposite number Ganguly for an on-field incident at the end of the game between the Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals.
Source :PTI

Karachi, May 4 (PTI) Pakistani leg-spinner Danish Kaneria cannot hide his disappointment at not being part of the Indian Premier League (IPL) razzmatazz and he insists it’s not only the lure of moolah but also the stature that makes it a blue ribbon event.
The 27-year old told PTI in an interview that it was frustrating to watch other leg-spinners like Shane Warne, Anil Kumble and Piyush Chawla playing in the IPL, while he was cooling his heels in the sidelines.

“It is not about the money really. But one does one to be involved in such a high profile event. I was surprised when I was not approached for the event. Because spinners do have a big role to play in Twenty20 cricket,” he said.

On the money factor, he said the IPL earnings for players were good but many of them already earned well the year round by playing for their countries and in other foreign leagues.

“English county cricket still remains a very fulfilling and rewarding experience financially for many of us.” Kaneria said even if he had got an offer from any team in the IPL he would have had to get clearance from his English county, Essex to play but that would not have been a problem.

“I have a long relationship with Essex and they have been very good to me. They have done a lot for me. I would have taken clearance from them,” he said.

“I have been following the IPL closely and I can say this with confidence if ever I get a chance to play in this league I know I can be effective,” he said.

Source : PTI

Indian Premier League Chairman Lalit Modi on Sunday welcomed Shoaib Akhtar in the ongoing Twenty20 tournament after a Pakistani appeal tribunal suspended the five-year ban on the maverick speedster for a month, paving way for his participation in the IPL.

“Our condition (to allow him play in IPL) was that the ban must be lifted or suspended. In that effect, Shoaib is now allowed to play in the IPL. We’ve spoken to him and he should be coming to India in the next two days,” Modi said.The IPL chief said that he was in touch with Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Nasim Ashraf, who confirmed that the five-year ban on Shoaib had been suspended by the three-member tribunal.

Shoaib’s repeated violation of the player’s Code of Conduct had invited a five-year ban from the PCB, which not only jeopardized his IPL participation but also his entire career.Shoaib subsequently made an appeal against the ban and realising that a final verdict may take long, the pacer made a fresh appeal on Saturday, requesting the tribunal to temporarily suspend the ban and allow him to take part in the IPL.

Modi said with the tribunal clearing the deck for Shoaib’s participation for the remainder of the IPL, the speedster was naturally happy.“Shoaib was very happy and he is looking forward to it. He has been calling me on a daily basis. Shoaib joining the Kolkata Knight Riders squad would also add sheen to the tournament,” Modi said.

“It’s a great moment for us because he is a great asset for IPL. He has got a huge fan base in India and the Knight Riders are extremely happy. I spoke to (Knight Riders owner) Shah Rukh (Khan), he is very happy. He wanted Shoaib to come for one day at least. We are happy that Shoaib can now play for him,” Modi added.Modi said the pacer could play the next match for the Kolkata outfit, even though it was upto the team management to take a final call on the issue.

“He’s free to play from the next match itself but it would depend on when he gets down here. The trainer and physio will check him, the coach would go through the process. So whether he would play the next match or not, it’s for the Knight Riders to decide,” Modi said.

Source: PTI / Times Of India

Today was a match between Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings in the DLF – IPL. This was the 24 match of the league. Chennai Super Kings won the toss and decided to bat first. They were given a target of 110 which was really a small target for Rajasthan Royals to achieve. Graeme Smith and Swapnil Asnodkar opened the batting for Rajasthan Royals and took the score to 78 before Swapnil Asnodkar was out. The score of the team was 92 for the loss of 2 wickets in 12 overs. Graeme Smith was the top scorer for Rajasthan Royals and thus helped the team to win the match very easily.

Match Notes Are :

• Chennai Super Kings innings
• Chennai Super Kings: 50 runs in 8.5 overs (54 balls), Extras 6
• Chennai Super Kings: 100 runs in 18.3 overs (113 balls), Extras 7
• Innings Break: Chennai Super Kings – 109/10 in 19.0 overs (M Gony 1)

• Rajasthan Royals innings
• Rajasthan Royals: 50 runs in 6.4 overs (43 balls), Extras 9
• 1st Wicket: 50 runs in 43 balls (GC Smith 23, SA Asnodkar 21, Ex 9)
• Rajasthan Royals: 100 runs in 12.5 overs (84 balls), Extras 21

Today – Match 24 – Scorecard – Rajasthan Royals vs Chennai Super Kings

Today was a match between Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings in the DLF – IPL, played at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur. This was the 24th match of the league. Chennai Super Kings won the toss and decided to bat first. It seems from the very first ball of the match that Rajasthan Royals were in no mood to let Chennai Super Kings to play well. Parthiv Patel and Stephen Fleming opened the batting for Chennai Super Kings and was the worst start for their team. On the very first ball Parthiv Patel was lbw by Sohail Tanvir, moreover Stephen Fleming as also lbw by Sohail Tanvir on the fifty ball of the match. The score was 11 when Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan was caught by Shane Warne. The partnership of Suresh Raina and Albie Morkel took the team score to 87/6. The score of the team was 91 for the loss of 7 wickets in 15 overs. Albie Morkel was the top scorer for Chennai Super. Five batsmen were out on 0 score. In the end the team scored 109 runs in 20 overs.

Sohail Tanvir was at his excellence, he took 6 wickets in 4 overs, 14 runs

Today – Match 24 – Scorecard – Rajasthan Royals vs Chennai Super Kings