After an undercover sting operation five players have been suspended. This operation was carried out by an Indian news channel. The five players who have been suspended are TP Sudhindra, Mohnish Mishra, Amit Yadav, Shalabh Srivastava and Abhinav Bali.

They were caught on videotape negotiating deals with who they thought were match fixers but actually turned out to be undercover journalists. They were discussions were regarding contracts higher than the ones fixed by the BCCI and spot fixing in domestic cricket.

The decision of banning the players was taken following an emergency meeting by the Indian Premier League governing council. A new team of investigators has been made to probe deeper into this matter with Mr. Ravi Sawani the head of that team.

Indian Premier League chairman Mr. Rajiv Shukla said, “The Indian Premier League Governing Council met on teleconference at 2:30pm and they recommended to the BCCI president for strict action against those players who were found guilty and found suspicious on the television footage shown on India TV. Pending inquiry the five players have been suspended from all cricket activities with immediate effect. We will await the report of the preliminary inquiry and proper action will be taken only after that”.

He also added that such nonsense shall not be tolerated. These players shall be punished if found guilty by a court of law.

BCCI president N Srinivasan has said that if a player is found guilty then they will be punished.

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The Kolkata Knight Riders started the game with the bat and started to play really well. Gautam Gambhir and Brendon McCullum starred together in a 99 run partnership which ended with the loss of both of them in the span of 2 runs. MCCullum was run out while Gautam Gambhir was bowled.

Gambhir scored 62 at a strike rate of 145, while Brendon scored 37 at a strike rate of 128. They lost their way after being 102 for 2 in 12 overs. A late blast from Debarata Das who scored 19 from 10 balls took his team to a respectable 158 from their allotted 20 overs.

Sunil Narine impressed with the ball with figure of 14 for 2 in his 4 overs. None of the other bowlers really got it right because of which they ended up on the losing side.

The Chennai Super Kings started batting in the similar manner where they also ended up scoring close to 100 in the 11th over for the loss of 2 wickets.

Michael Hussey scored 56 runs from 39 balls alongside Murali Vijay who scored 36 from 25 balls. This was the perfect start that Chennai could ask for, but after the loss of two quick wickets they were in a spot of bother. Dhoni came and helped his team with a cameo of 28 from 21 balls, but it was Dwayne Bravo who smashed a 6 of the last ball when they needed 5 to win.

The spinners of the Chennai Super Kings Jakati and Ashwin both bowled magical spells giving away 26 runs each in their allotted 4 overs each. They picked up 3 wickets between themselves.

This game has given the Chennai Super Kings a fair chance of entering the playoffs. A victory in the next game will certainly see them enter the top four for the playoff games.

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Despite two wonderful half centuries by Shane Watson and Ajinkya Rahane the highlight of the game was Ajit Chandila. He bowled a magnificent and highly magical spell in this game with daunting figures of 4 overs for 13 runs and 4 wickets.

3 of those wickets were taken in consecutive deliveries hence resulting in the first hat trick of this season in the Indian Premier League.

He completely ripped apart the Pune Warriors batting line up by picking up the top four wickets. His hat-trick consisted of the wickets of Jesse Ryder, Sourav Ganguly and Robin Uthappa.

He was rewarded with the man of the match prize at the end of the game as well.

The Pune Warriors India ended up losing yet another game. They were chasing 171 runs that were set by the Rajasthan Royals who with this victory are still in the hunt for a top four berth.

The batting was very good from the Rajasthan Royals with Ajiknya Rahane scoring yet another half century. He scored 61 of 47 balls. He was assisted by Shane Watson who scored 58 from 31 balls. Both these players gave their team a perfect platform to carry on and win the game.

Sourav Ganguly did not have a great return to the starting elven after missing out on the previous game.

Ashish Nehra was the only Pune Warriors player who played well picking up three wickets with the ball and giving away just 23 runs in his 4 overs.

This victory has given the Rajasthan Royals a glimmer of hope keeping them in sight of a top four finish, but their chance of progression are not very high.

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The Royal Challengers Bangalore have inched a step closer to booking a place in the playoffs. Another comprehensive victory for the men in Red has seen them rise to 3rd spot in the Indian Premier League table.

Chris Gayle once again scored a 50 plus score. He scored 57 of 31 balls at a strike rate of 184 and retains the orange cap. He was assisted by his opening partner Tillakaratne Dilshan who scored 53 of 44 balls. This explosive opening pair is finally finding some form and doing so at the right time.

Saurabh Tiwary played a cameo and took the team over 170, setting a target of 174 for the Pune Warriors.

Zaheer Khan impressed with the ball, he picked up 2 wickets in his opening over which was also the first over of the innings. He also took a very good catch that of Anustup Majumdar. He finished with figures of 4 overs 2 for 21.

Muttiah Muralitharan also had a very good outing picking up 2 wickets ad giving away only 16 runs in his 4 overs. His form may force Daniel Vettori to drop himself for yet another game.

The Pune Warriors played without Sourav Ganguly as he decided rest himself. Robin Uthappa was the only player from the Pune Warriors who looked threatening scoring 38 in 23 balls.

The Pune Warriors are definitely out of the top four; if this despicable form continues they could get over taken by the Deccan Chargers who are currently last in the Indian Premier League table.

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The 55th game of the Indian Premier League witnessed one of the best innings in the history of the tournament. David Warner has arrived with a bang scoring a 109 runs in 54 balls at a strike rate of over 200. This innings saw the Delhi Daredevils inch further to book a spot in the playoffs.

This innings was a real thrill to watch as he smashed the ball to all parts of the ground. He hit 10 fours and 7 sixes in that innings. The mammoth total of 188 to chase was chased down in style and ease with 9 wickets to spare.

David Warner missed the first half of the Indian Premier League as he was on international duty playing for Australia against the West Indies in the Caribbean. On his return he was immediately given a starting XI spot.

He is known for his hard hitting, and in this match hasn’t let his team and fans down. The Delhi Daredevils lost the wicket of Virender Sehwag in the first over itself but that did not hold back Warner. He decided to take matters into his own hands and assisted his team to an easy victory.

This innings has taken the Delhi Daredevils back to the helm of the Indian Premier League table. The have a total of18 points from 12 games. The Delhi Daredevils will face the Chennai Super Kings next on the 12th of May at the Chinnswami Stadium in Chennai.

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The Royal Challengers Bangalore won the toss and stand in Captain Virat Kholi chose to bowl first. The decision paid off as the Mumbai Indians lost two early wickets and were languishing at 20-2 at the end of the powerplay. They somehow pulled the innings together with Sachin Tendulkar stabilizing the innings with 24 runs of 27 balls. Dinesh Karthik top scored for the Mumbai Indians with 44 of 39 balls.

They were still not looking great having just 95 runs on the board at the end of the 15th over. It was Kieron Pollard and Harbhajan Singh who gave the Mumbai Indians some respite scoring a total of 41 runs at a strike rate of over 150. Ambati Rayudu and Dinesh Karthik shared the highest partnership of the innings scoring 44 runs from 33 balls.

Harbhajan Singh was the only bowler from the Mumbai Indians who gave away only 18 runs from his allotted four overs. Malinga was easily negotiated by both Chris Gayle and Virat Kholi and ended up wickets-less in this game.
They set the Royal Challengers a score of 142 to chase down. The score was not at all challenging for the Royal Challengers.

Chris Gayle started off batting slowly like he always has in this tournament, but then smashed 3 sixes in 3 balls of the bowling of Pragyan Ojha. He ended up scoring yet another half century and ended up with 82 runs of 59 balls.
Gayle also became the owner of the Orange cap.

Gayle was also adjudged the man of the match Harshal Patel with picking up the Karbonn Kamal catch of the match.

Virat Kohli got the chance to spend some time the crease and scored 36 of 25 and finished the game with blistering 6. The game ended up being a comfortable victory with 9 wickets in hand and 2 overs to spare. for the Royal Challeneger
Challengers.

Zaheer Khan was the pick of the bowlers for his side giving away just 16 runs in his 4 overs. All the bowlers bowled really well with none of them giving more than 9.5 runs an over. Vinay Kumar, Muttiah Muralitharan and Harshal Patel all picked up 2 wickets each.

In short the Royal Challengers outplayed the Mumbai Indians and are now comfortably placed in 4th spot.

This victory has picked up the Royal Challengers Bangalore from the bottom of the table and now they have a firm chance to make it into the top four and qualify for the play-offs.

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The Deccan Chargers woeful form continues thanks to another loss suffered by them to the hand of current champions the Chennai Super Kings. This victory was an entire team effort put in by the boys in yellow. They won the toss and chose to bat first.

Five of the Chennai Super Kings batsmen Murali Vijay (14), Suresh Raina (32), Mahendra Singh Dhoni (34), Albie Morkel (13) and Dwayne Bravo (12) had strike rates of over 120. This victory at home for the Chennai Super Kings came after a while and takes the champions to 4th spot in the game.

Dhoni used a total of 7 bowlers in this game. Morkel was as the star with the ball with the lowest economy rate of 5.33 per over. Raina picked up the all-important wicket of Kumar Sangakkara for a measly 1 run; the wicket was a caught and bowled which was also the ‘Karbonn Kamal’ catch of the match.

The man of the match for this game was also Suresh Raina for his 32 runs and one caught and bowled wicket.
The loss for the Deccan Chargers keeps them at the bottom of the table an absolutely dreadful tournament. Cameron White was the only one player who was the shining star who scored 77 of 53 balls at a strike rate of 145. The fielding was the main reason that they ended up losing the game.

They need to find a spark from somewhere. They have a decent team and a very good captain but unfortunately they have not played well together at all. With the loss in this game, their chances of going in to the top four become bleaker.

The Chennai Super Kings will look to build on this victory. They will play the Mumbai Indians next at Mumbai on the 6th of May.

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The Mumbai Indians defended 120 against their immediate neighbors the Pune Warriors India, in this great Maharashtrian derby .

The Mumbai Indians and the Pune Warriors played a low scoring thriller, that went all the way to the last ball. The Mumbai Indians started off the innings well with the bat. Sachin Tendulkar and James Franklin have opened thrice for the Mumbai Indians and all of them have been 50 run plus partnerships.

The innings was going well, but all of a sudden the Mumbai Indians batsmen fell like nine pins and all of a sudden after being 81-3 in 11 overs they ended up 120 all out of the very last ball of their innings. The running between the wickets was horrendous with 4 players getting run out.

Sachin Tendulkar was the highest run getter in this game for Mumbai Indians with 34 runs of 35 balls. Lasith Malinga was handy with the bat scoring 14 of 14. The game was totally in favour of the Pune Warriors India at half time.

Lasith Malinga bowled really well once again giving 25 runs and picking up 2 wickets in his allotted 4 overs. He was also adjudged the man of the match.

Sourav Ganguly was not at his best with the bat this time around scoring 16 of 24 balls at a very slow strike rate 66.66 runs. Michael Clarke was unfortunate to get out leg before wicket as replays showed that the ball marginally missed the off stump.

Kumar bowled very well for the Pune Warriors giving away 9 runs and picking up 2 wickets in the 3 overs that he bowled.

The Pune Warriors should have won this game for sure. They chose to go slow and sure but ended up putting themselves in a spot of bother and the Mumbai Indians immediately capitalised.
The game was another nail biter with the game going all the way down to the last ball. Munaf Patel was the bowler who had to defend 12 of the last over and did so successfully.

Mumbai Indians stay in 3rd spot while the Pune Warriors stay in 8th spot and have lost four games on the trot.

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The Delhi Daredevils team have beaten the Rajasthan Royals who lost their fourth game on the trot.

The Delhi Daredevils have cemented their position further with another victory over the Rajasthan Royals. Virender Sehwag is having the time of his life batting really well and captaining superbly as well. His tactics are working out perfectly; credit should also be given to the very strong team line up as well.

This team from Delhi is definitely the team to beat this season in the Indian Premier League.

This game saw the Delhi Daredevils comeback from a position of discomfort and end up winning the game.
Pawan Negi of Delhi Daredevils bowled really well picking up 4 wickets and giving away just 18 runs in his four overs. Morne Morkel also kept a tab on the bowling rate and picked up the one wicket, that of Rahul Dravid.

Virender Sehwag scored a scorching 73 of 38 balls at a strike rate of 192. He should absolute ruthless and took a lot of calculated risks and once again took his team over the line. He has scored five fifties in a row and his team has won four games in a row. He got the “Karbonn Kamal” catch of the match.

Pawan Negi was adjudged as the man of the match. He was a surprise introduction and delivered with perfection.
The entire team is playing really well and is gelling together at the right time. Kevin Pietersen played his last game for this season as he is returning back to England to play for his national side.

Delhi Daredevils play their next game on the 7th of May against the Kolkata Knight Riders.

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The Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab contest ends in the last over, with Kings XI Punjab beating the Mumbai Indians. Will the Mumbai Indians miss Lasith Malinga a little too much?

Nine games between these two teams have resulted with the Kings XI Punjab winning six of those encounters.

Mumbai Indians played without their strike bowler Lasith Malinga. He is probably out of the remainder for the tournament. Lasith Malinga is ruled out with what seems to be a back injury. The fans were not totally disheartened as Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar made his return after a spell out with injury.

Harbhajan Singh of Mumbai Indians won the toss and decided to bat first. They started off very slowly as the first over was a maiden over that was bowled by Praveen Kumar. James Franklin played a very calculated innings scoring 79 of 51 balls; his innings included 6 fours and 4 sixes. Mumbai Indians set 163 in 20 overs what from the onset looked like a modest total.

Shaun Marsh was adjudicated as the man of the match.

The partnership between Franklin and Dinesh Karthik was highly crucial. They put on 75 runs together but unfortunately Dinesh Karthik was run out after so real sloppy running by the two of them. Sachin scored 23 runs in as many deliveries.

The Kings XI Punjab bowled really well to contain the Mumbai Indians. Piyush Chawla once again bowled really well
giving away just 19 runs in his allotted 4 overs.

Shaun Marsh played really well hitting five 4’s and 3 sixes scoring 67 of 40 balls. He was the player that brought the ship home with 3 balls to spare, not forgetting the start that was given to them by Nitin Saini and Mandeep Singh who scored 48 runs in the first 6 overs at 8 runs an over.

This game doesn’t help much as Punjab still stays way at the bottom of the table, but push Mumbai down to 6th.

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