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

New Delhi, April 27 The business model and various types of contracts signed under the Indian Premier League, the new cricket venture, have come under the lens of the Service Tax Department.

Under IPL, eight privately owned teams from different cities, with a mix of foreign and local stars (chosen through the auction route), are playing Twenty20, a short format of the game lasting 3-4 hours.

Official sources said that the Director-General of Service Tax in Mumbai has shot off a letter to field formations asking them to collect information about the contracts entered into by sponsors, team owners, franchisees, advertisers etc.

“The exercise is at a very preliminary stage. Only information has been sought. The department is getting hold of the various contracts to examine whether any of the activities would attract service tax or not. It is yet to be ascertained if service tax will apply or not,” sources added.

It was pointed out that the issue of sending notices does not arise at this stage. Although services in relation to sports events do not come under the ambit of sponsorship services, the issue of sponsoring a cricket team may attract attention of the department.

Currently, over 100 services are under the service tax net. The Centre’s service tax revenues have seen a steady climb over the last decade on the back of increased share of services in the overall gross domestic product of the country.

Source:  thehindubusinessline.com