Mumbai Indians' New Zealand allrounder Nathan McCullum will fly home this week after a groin injury ruled him out of the Indian Premier League (IPL). McCullum, who was bought by Mumbai for $150,000 post the January mini-auction as a replacement for Mohammad Ashraful, sustained the injury during a warm-up.
The Kiwi allrounder joins his teammate Kyle Mills, who was ruled out of the tournament before it began with a knew injury, and his Mumbai captain Sachin Tendulkar who stretched his hamstring during a training session in Chennai, a day before the Mumbai Indians played Chennai Super Kings.
The other injured players in IPL III include Mumbai Indians' Australian wicketkeeper Luke Ronchi (elbow) and South Africa's Makhaya Ntini (back). Luke Ronchi injured his elbow during a Mumbai Indians' practice match at the Braboure Stadium, while Chennai Super Kings' Makhaya Ntini injured his back during a training session before their match against the Rajasthan Royals on April 3.
Ravi Bopara's half-century guided his team to victory
Brett Lee, Sreesanth and Yuvraj Singh picked two wickets each to trounce the Rajasthan Royals and set up Kings XI Punjab a 10-wicket victory at the Swami Mansingh Stadium. Rajasthan Royals were able to score only 117 for the loss of 9 wickets in 20 overs, with Shane Watson scoring an unbeaten 64 before Manvinder Bisla and Ravi Bopara made short work of the bowling attack to seal the win with more than four overs to spare.
Gambhir play a shot during his match winning knock of 109
Powered by captain Gautam Gambhir's sensational 109, the Delhi Daredevils trounced Kolkata Knight Riders by 77 runs in an entertaining match at the Eden Gardens. Set a huge total of 208, the Kolkata Knight Riders' middle order came apart as the Delhi slower bowlers combined to dismiss them for 130 in the 18th over with Chris Gayle(50 off 34 balls) top scoring for the Shahrukh Khan's team.
After the long wait, the announcement has finally been made – the Indian Premier League is to expand to 10 franchises with the addition of the Pune and Kochi franchises from the 2011 season onwards. The Sahara Adventure Sports Group has won the Pune bid at USD 370 million while the Rendezvous Sports World Limited has landed the Kochi bid at USD 333.33 million.
The announcement was made at noon in Kolkata by IPL Chairman and Commissioner Lalit Modi. Tenders had been floated on March 12 inviting bids for two new franchises. Teams were earlier to be announced on March 12, following a tender process that had been put in place in February. The process was, however, cancelled and some of the requisites for bidders tweaked.
Former India allrounder Ravi Shastri was all praise for the new development. He said, “It’s fantastic that two new teams have come in, it will give more youngsters an opportunity to show their talent and that's only going to be good for Indian cricket. The youngsters will not only come into national focus but international focus as well”
When asked about the pitfalls of franchises being city-specific he said, “It doesn't matter from which city they [franchises] are, we have seen in the past that a player doesn't have to be from a particular city. The franchise can pick him from any where.”
And what are his thoughts on the new franchises? “Pune has always been a sporting city, Kochi has always been an athletic and football[-oriented] city. Now with cricket coming in with the IPL, it will only continue to be more good news,” he said.
Cameron White smashes Pragyan Ojha for a huge six
A solid performance from Bangalore Royal Challengers' bastmen helped fashion a seven-run win against the Deccan Chargers at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium. Cameron White's 57 was Bangalore's top score but the innings also had useful contributions from Sreevats Goswami and Virat Kohli. Fidel Edwards bowled a handly spell for the Deccan Chargers as Bangalore Royal Challengers were restricted for 137 in 20 overs. Deccan Chargers' chase lost direction after the openers added 41 and they lost all their 10 wickets in the next 89 runs as they were bowled out for 130. Herschelle Gibbs was the lone warrior as he scored an half-century, as Bangalore prevailed in the low scoring encounter by seven runs.
Good win for Bangalore their. Cameron white played a good knock for RCB and on other hand Gibbs played well for DC. Overall a good performance from RCB.
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.