Cricket

In the battle of the bottom-placed teams, Pune Warriors chose to bat on a track that had a bit of grass on it

RR will file FIR against its three cricketers even as BCCI said it would follow the rulebook before handing down punishment to the tainted trio.

Pune Warriors won the toss and elected to bat against Delhi Daredevils in their IPL clash at the Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium on Sunday.

Sourav Ganguly – “If Sreesanth is found guilty; he must be banned for lifetime.” N Srinivasan (Board president) – “I am shocked to hear this news. Legal action will be taken against the cricketers if found guilty.” Navjot Singh Siddhu – “In spite of all the scandals, betrayals and controversies, if the parliament can still be sacrosanct, why call the IPL Paap League.” Sunil Gavaskar – “We need to wait till the whole thing is over and we also need to look at the whole situation because you are innocent till you are proved guilty.” Rajiv Shukla – “BCCI is not hiding anything. We are just waiting for the enquiry to get over before taking any decision.” Sreesanth’s father – “Harbhajan Singh and MS Dhoni framed my son.” Sreesanth’s mother – “I just want to say that my son is not a person who runs after money. This is very clear since he has turned down many offers from the film world as he is totally devoted to cricket, which is his life. He will never betray cricket.” Chandila’s wife – “Allegations against my husband are false.”

The ball was just slightly fuller than the majority. Sneaking ever so slightly from good to full. There is no doubt that in another over it would have been left alone or defended with confidence and ease. Joe Root’s front foot hesitates for a moment. It’s barely visible at full speed, but in our super slow-mo world, you can see it. Perhaps Root thought the ball from Tim Southee would be shorter. Perhaps the gloom meant he just didn’t pick it up quick enough. By the time Root got his left foot to touch the ground the ball had taken his inside edge. Once his foot was firmly on the ground, his stumps had been hit. It was one mistake. One error of judgment. One bit of bad luck. Had he been later the ball would have gone through to the keeper. Had he got slightly more bat on it the ball would have hit him or gone to square leg. Had he played it like any of the many balls before he would have been fine. And so, probably, would England. One good partnership had all but sunk New Zealand. The dour batting of the England first innings had been replaced with a more result-orientated look. They gave New Zealand’s bowlers respect, but they forced their way past them. It was a modern performance of grim determination and professionalism that Andy Flower has tattooed on all the England batsmen. It was a partnership built on belief that they were the better side and by sticking around they could outlast and grind out a win. For three hours they did that. Then Root’s foot was slow. Jonny Bairstow looked jumpy from the start. Where Root and Jonathan Trott had looked like a run-out was their main chance of being separated, Bairstow looked like he could be dismissed in most almost any mode. Yet, his wicket was also unlucky. A ball that would often be called a leg-side half volley won’t get him out often. In an empty county ground he would have breezily clipped it off his pads. Here he missed it, it hit his pads, then rebounded back on to his stumps. Matt Prior looked lost. An obvious single behind point wasn’t just turned down, it was completely ignored. What sort of batsman doesn’t take an easy single when they’re on a pair? Trott almost ran two runs, and almost ran himself out through the shock of Prior not wanting the run. Prior had his back turned. The next ball Prior played a nothing shot somewhere between attack and anxious that ended in Kane Williamson letting out a squeal. Next over Prior completed his pair with a limp pull shot. Trott then had a ball from Williamson that hit a foot mark. That could have happened at any time. Balls from the foot marks had spun a few times during the Test. New Zealand’s double left-arm team were also going to make Williamson, and more importantly, Graeme Swann, happy. And with Bruce Martin limping off, Williamson spinning the ball in was always a better chance of getting a wicket from the rough. Like all offies dream of, the ball spun back through the gate on to the stumps. The impossible question to answer is if Trott might have covered the spin better had he still been batting with Root. When Root and Trott were there, England looked tranquil, in charge and secure enough to muse about declarations. With Root out the whole team seemed confused and worried. Ian Bell’s charge down the wicket was bizarre. Steven Finn’s single to get off strike was unnecessary. Flower’s face was tight. If the idea of modern sport is to show how confident you are through body language and a serene look of calmness, a photo of Flower’s face should be printed out and stuck up in the away team’s changing room for Sunday morning. It was the look of a man who may have been thinking of a declaration 40 minutes earlier and was now hoping Finn could help Bell get past a 200 lead. Flower’s face was as telling as the scorecard was: New Zealand were back with a chance to win this Test. They could thank Root’s hesitating foot for opening

Ball One – Tim Murtagh keeps it simple to send Middlesex top of the table Contrasting fortunes this week for the London clubs with Middlesex sitting on top of Division One after sweeping aside Somerset, a county whose season just can’t get going. As I identified in the first of these weekly overs, Middlesex have […]

Rajasthan Royals will file a criminal complaint against its three cricketers arrested for spot-fixing even as a rattled BCCI said it would follow the rulebook before handing down punishment to the

In police investigation, all the three cricketers alleged in spot fixing scandal have confessed their crimes. They have admitted that they did what the bookies asked them to do. Ankeet Chavan was the first man to break down. During investigation, he started crying and told everything to the police. The next morning, the other two cricketers, Chandila and Sreesanth also confessed to have done the spot fixing. According to Sreesanth, his friend Jiju janardan dragged him in all this. However, Sreesanth’s lawyer is still saying that his client is innocent. He is cooperating in the police investigation and he will be out of it soon. Meanwhile, Sreesanth’s laptop, mobile and I-pad have been seized by the police and the contact numbers of the bookies have been found from his mobile. Also, there were contact numbers and photos of girls in his laptop which suggests that he might be supplied escorts by the bookies. Yesterday evening, the police also went to Ajit Chandila’s house at Faridabad and they are believed to have found some important proofs there as well.

The three alleged players were arrested from different locations at around 2.30 am in the morning on 16th of May. Sreesanth was arrested from his friend’s house and at the time of arrest, he was with a female according to the police. However, the police didn’t disclose the identity of that female. Ajit Chandila was arrested near the Intercontinental hotel where a lot of bookies were staying. While, the third guy Ankeet Chavan was arrested near the Trident hotel. According to Delhi police, they had tapped the phones of several cricketers as they had the suspicion that spot fixing might happen in this IPL, but, barring these three cricketers, no other cricketer is found to have any contact with the bookies. Some officials of Delhi police were also sent in the stadium to see what these cricketers do during the commercial breaks as the signals to the bookies could also be given during those ad breaks.

According to Delhi Police, the three matches in whom spot fixing happened are as follows- 1)    The first one was the match between Pune Warriors India and Rajasthan Royals which was played on 5th of May. The venue was Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur. According to the deal, Ajit Chandila had to give 14 or more runs in his second over and the bookies had to give him 40 lakh rupees for that. 50% of the amount was already paid in advance and 50% was promised to be paid after the match. Chandila had to give a signal to the bookies by pulling his shirts out, but, he forgot to give that signal. However, Chandila didn’t forget to give 14 runs in his second over. The fine leg was up in the circle, but, still, he was bowling juicy deliveries on the batsmen’s pads and he was smashed through that fine leg region for three fours. 14 came off that over and Chandila had done his job. But, since, he had not given the signal, the bookies couldn’t bet and that’s why, they were pressurizing Chandila to return those 20 lakhs which were paid to him in advance. 2)    The second one was the match between Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals which was played on 9th of May. The venue was PCA Stadium, Mohali. Sreesanth had to give 13 runs in his second over in that match and he had to give the signal to the bookies by putting a towel in his trousers. Sreesanth didn’t do what Chandila had done. He gave the signal alright and then, gave the fixed amount of runs in that over as well. With no fielders in the deep on the on side, he continued bowling short and got dispatched for three fours. He had done his job successfully and he was paid 40 lakhs for that by the bookies. 3)    The third one was the match between Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals which was played on 15th of May. The venue was Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. This time, the bookies’ man was Ankeet Chavan who was asked to give 14 or more runs in his second over. Chavan landed the first ball of his second over halfway down the track so that the batsman Maxwell could hit it anywhere for a six. Then, Chavan gave him a juicy half volley on the off stump and allowed him to free his hands and hit that over long on for a six again. A couple also came in between and Chavan went for more than 14 in that over. The job was done and Chavan got his 60 lakhs as promised by the bookies.