Ganguly, Warne fined 10 per cent of match fees

Kolkata Knight Riders captain Sourav Ganguly has been issued an official reprimand and fined him 10 per cent of his match-fee for showing dissent on the field during the Indian Premier League match against Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur on Thursday. A statement from the Board of Control for Cricket in India said Match Referee Farookh Engineer reprimanded Ganguly and also fined him. "Ganguly's act of prevailing upon Mr Pratap Kumar, the on-field umpire, to refer a decision to the TV umpire, constitutes a Level I offence as per the ICC's Code of Conduct," the statement added. Ganguly had asked for a third umpire referral on his catch that South Africa captain Graeme Smith took during the match, which Rajasthan Royals won by 45 runs. After the match Royals' captain Shane Warne lashed out at Ganguly, saying he would lodge a complaint against his counterpart for resorting to time-wasting tactics during the match and refusing to accept the fielder's word on a "clean catch". For his outburst, Warne too was reprimanded and fined as much as Ganguly. Engineer felt Warne was 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. Engineer also suspended Kumar for one match on the grounds that there was no reason for him to accede to Ganguly's request to consult the television umpire.

Tendulkar progresses well in fitness

Sachin Tendulkar is one step closer to getting fit. He had a long batting session on Thursday at the Bandra Kurla cricket stadium where Mumbai Indians assembled for nets ahead of their clash against Delhi Daredevils at home on Sunday. Lalchand Rajput, the Mumbai coach, later said Tendulkar, who is recovering from a groin injury, looked good while batting and was hopeful his captain would be back soon. "He looked very good, had a long batting session and looked alright," Rajput said but would not commit if his seniormost player would make his IPL debut. "There are still two days to go before the next match. We will take the final call on May 4 (Sunday) morning. Hopefully he gets better in that time." Mumbai had a dismal start to their campaign after three straight losses but clinched their maiden victory, on Tuesday evening, against Kolkata Knight Riders in a rousing fashion at the Eden Gardens. Dwayne Bravo, who starred in the seven-wicket victory with a handsome contribution of 64 not out, was a proud man today but said he was inspired by Tendulkar, the non-playing captain. Bravo pointed out a fine example when Mumbai were struggling at 25 for 3 chasing the target of 138 set by Kolkata. "In the meeting before the Kolkata match he told everybody that whenever you go in to bat with the back against the wall use it as an opportunity to be a hero," Bravo said. "That stuck in my head. When I walked in Mumbai were 25 for 3, and that small thing Sachin said helped me a lot." According to Bravo, Tendulkar, just by his presence, helps the team-mates gather a lot of confidence. "He always talks about being positive and staying calm and not let the situation get the better of you", Bravo said. Even if Tendulkar has missed all the matches so far, Bravo felt the important thing was he was always sharing his thoughts and opinions in the dressing room. And that proved to be a catalyst in not letting the team atmosphere deteriorate during the difficult times. "Although he has not played a game, yet, he voices his opinion on the team, the individual and issues like batting and bowling," Bravo said. "Mumbai is a young side and his presence gives you a lot of confidence. When he speaks we listen and execute his plan." Bravo - who also grew up in Brian Lara's hometown, Santa Cruz, Trinidad - says even Lara, Bravo's hero, looked up to Tendulkar during his playing days. "I grew up in the same village as Brian Lara. Lara is my hero and even he too looks up to Tendulkar. He always talks about him." According to Bravo, just observing the way the two legends, with whom he has been "fortunate" to share the dressing room with, is itself a big learning lesson. "Both Lara and Tendulkar have a lot of knowledge. You learn so much by just watching how they move around, how they speak and how they treat their cricketing gear, especially the bat."

Preview - Chennai Super Kings v Delhi Daredevils

Chennai Super Kings v Delhi Daredevils Match facts Friday, May 2, 2008 Start time 20.00 (local), 14.30 (GMT) The Big Picture The Chennai Super Kings are the only unbeaten team in the Indian Premier League but, with the departure of Mathew Hayden, Michael Hussey - their top two runscorers - and Jacob Oram, the real work has just begun if they are to stay at the top. Their first match after the exodus is against third-placed Delhi Daredevils, who haven't been hit as hard: they've lost only Daniel Vettori, who played two of the four matches. Chennai now have a huge hole in their top-order and they will be tested by the IPL's best new-ball attack - Glenn McGrath and Mohammad Asif. A win at home against a strong opponent could provide Chennai with the confidence needed to maintain a strong campaign throughout the tournament. Delhi, whose batting has been almost as smooth as their bowling, will have other plans, though, and the fight for the semi-final spots could become more open than it currently is. Watch out for ... ... Stephen Fleming, who is almost certain to make his IPL debut following the departure of Hayden and Hussey. He's played 36 Twenty20 matches and will need to use all his experience to counter Delhi's attack. The battle between Muttiah Muralitharan and Delhi's openers, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, could prove crucial if they get going against Chennai's new-ball attack. Sehwag hasn't had much success against Murali, falling to him four times in 38 balls since 2002 but Gambhir, on the other hand, has played Murali effectively, scoring 42 runs off 39 balls against him during the recent CB Series in Australia. Watch out too, for AB de Villiers, who may finally get a game: Dinesh Karthik has scored only 26 in two innings and de Villiers could slot in as a wicketkeeper-batsman. Team news Most teams in the competition have a problem of plenty when choosing their overseas stars for the playing XI. Chennai have no such problems because they are left with only four foreign players: Murali, Albie Morkel, Fleming and Makhaya Ntini, the latter two yet to play in the competition. There is also a doubt over their leading fast bowler Manpreet Gony, who has a fever. Chennai: 1 Parthiv Patel, 2 Stephen Fleming, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt/wk), 5 S Badrinath, 6 Albie Morkel, 7, S Vidyut, 8 Joginder Sharma, 9 Muttiah Muralitharan, 10 Manpreet Gony, 11 Makhaya Ntini. Delhi are unlikely to make too many changes, though Vettori's absence makes Maharoof a strong contender for a comeback, having taken four wickets in three games with an economy of seven an over. However, Delhi have been relying on their top order to do most of the scoring so the inclusion of de Villiers could strengthen the middle. Delhi: 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Virender Sehwag (capt), 3 Shikhar Dhawan, 4 Shoaib Malik, 5 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 6 Manoj Tiwary, 7 Rajat Bhatia, 8 Farveez Maharoof, 9 Mohammad Asif, 10 Yo Mahesh, 11 Glenn McGrath. IPL form Chennai Super Kings: WWWW Delhi Daredevils: WWLW Stats and trivia Gambhir has scored 174 runs in four innings at a strike-rate of 144. He is 16 runs away from over-taking Hayden as the tournament's top-scorer and claiming the orange cap. Chennai Super Kings' Joginder Sharma and Suresh Raina have taken four catches each, the most the tournament so far. Quotes "Makhaya [Ntini] brings in a lot of experience and will of course open with the new ball. Albie is fine allrounder and then we have Stephen Fleming batting at the top of the order. So, I feel that our team has the kind of balance that it did not have in the previous four games." Kepler Wessels, coach of the Chennai Super Kings.

Marsh powers Punjab to easy win

Deccan Chargers v/s Kings XI Punjab Toss Kings XI Punjab, who chose to field first Result Kings XI Punjab won by 7 wickets (with 7 balls remaining) Player of the match SE Marsh (Kings XI Punjab) There were plenty of star batsmen on show but the two best innings of an absorbing encounter came from two youngsters. Shaun Marsh's unbeaten 84 on his IPL debut, carrying Kings XI Punjab to a comfortable seven-wicket win - their third on the trot - and fourth place in the points table, followed Rohit Sharma's 76, which lifted the Deccan Chargers to a respectable 164. Each side also saw cameos from more experienced hands; VVS Laxman provided the early aggression for Deccan with a typically fluid 48 off 34 balls, while Mahela Jayawardene shrugged off his indifferent form to date with an assured unbeaten 45 to shepherd Marsh - the son of the former Australian opener Geoff Marsh - as they ran down the target with ease. Sent in to bat, Deccan raced to 50 for 1 after six overs on the back of Laxman's efforts, and seemed on course for a huge total. However, the game's complexion changed when legspinner Piyush Chawla intelligently varied his trajectory and pace in a two-over spell to remove Herschelle Gibbs and Laxman. Gibbs, on his IPL debut, fell as he clubbed a short one straight to midwicket while Laxman was too early into a drive to lob one to Yuvraj at covers to leave Deccan at 67 for 3 after nine overs. Enter Rohit, who had burst into the limelight with a fighting fifty against South Africa in the ICC World Twenty20 last year. As wickets fell around him and only Shahid Afridi touching double figures, Rohit took the fight to the bowlers. He started slowly, as the Punjab's bowlers keeping things tight. It wasn't till the 15th over that he opened out, taking Chawla for 12 runs, including a four and a big six, to spoil the legspinner's figures. The next over was from Gagandeep Singh, playing his first IPL match; he fired in a couple of great yorkers but Rohit hit him for two powerful boundaries off the last two balls. His fifty came with a heave over midwicket off VRV Singh and the runs continued to flow as he took Gagandeep for three consecutive fours in the 19th. A six off Irfan in the final over rounded off his exploits, having scored his last 57 runs off 22 balls. For all that, though, it was still a below-par total that Punjab had to chase down and Marsh got them off to a confident start with a couple of sweetly-timed boundaries in the first over. Laxman shuffled the bowlers around and managed to stifle the runs but it needed a stroke of luck for the breakthrough.With the score on 41 in the sixth over, Marsh lashed a Sanjay Bangar delivery straight back and the bowler managed to get a hand on it as it crashed into the stumps with non-striker Ramnaresh Sarwan out of his crease. Sangakkara fell soon after but Marsh and Yuvraj were involved in a 41-run stand off four overs to keep the target well in sight. Marsh remained unruffled even after Yuvraj's dismissal and was joined by the cool-headed Jayawardene, who smashed three boundaries off his first five balls. The only time they looked in trouble was when Bangar sent down a tight 14th over and the required run-rate crept over nine. The response from Punjab was swift - Jayawardene played a couple of scoops and an extra-cover drive as 19 runs came off the next over. Besides scoring heavily square of the wicket on the off side Marsh - who was a replacement for Simon Katich, Punjab's matchwinner in their previous game - also unleashed some lovely on-drives. There were a few streaky shots towards the end before he clubbed Zoysa for a straight six, his first of the match. Jayawardene brought up the victory with another classy extra-cover drive, as Punjab continued their resurgence after losing their first two games.

Rajasthan take fourth consecutive win

Rajasthan Royals v/s Kolkata Knight Riders Toss Rajasthan Royals, who chose to bat first Result Rajasthan Royals won by 45 runs Player of the match SA Asnodkar (Rajasthan Royals) An irrepressible Rajasthan Royals side got their fourth successive win of the tournament and nudged past Delhi to second place in the points table with a 45-run win over a listless Kolkata Knight Riders. 'All the King's men' might be Kolkata's advertising tagline, referring to team owner Shah Rukh Khan, but here it was a more apt description of Shane Warne and his team. His decision to bat first - allowing his bowlers respite from the Jaipur heat - was justified by attacking half-centuries from debutant Swapnil Asnodkar and Yusuf Pathan, and disciplined bowling by the Rajasthan quicks. Kolkata felt the absence of Brendon McCullum and Ricky Ponting, who left for the upcoming Test series in the West Indies, as they slumped to their third defeat in a row. In the only other match in which they chased, Kolkata needed 111 to win, a far less daunting target than the 197 they were set to chase today. Rajasthan's preferred method has been to chase a target, but this time Warne changed the tactic, and Asnodkar, who opened the innings with Graeme Smith, got into his stride immediately. He cut, drove and slogged for his 60, playing cautiously against Ishant Sharma and Umar Gul - who eventually had him caught trying to pull - and targeting the wayward Ashok Dinda and Ajit Agarkar. He hit Agarkar for three successive fours and reached his fifty off 29 balls. Yusuf, who also got to his fifty off 29 balls, added 53 with Asnodkar. He went after David Hussey's insipid spin and Agarkar's short-of-length deliveries and helped Rajasthan score 53 between overs 10 and 15. Yusuf got most of his runs by waiting on the back foot and hitting it powerfully to either side of the stumps. He reached his fifty with a massive six driven straight on to the roof. Ravindra Jadeja's cameo - 33 off 19 balls - helped Rajasthan to a competitive score. With the pitch being flat, Rajasthan's bowlers strove to maintain their line and length. Salman Butt was bowled when he inside-edged one from Sohail Tanvir that stayed low and came in. Agarkar, promoted to No. 3, was caught behind as he tried to cut a straight delivery from Shane Watson. Brad Hodge was run out at the non-striker's end after Siddharth Trivedi got a finger on to the ball off Sourav Ganguly's drive straight, and helped the ball onto the stumps. That brought together Ganguly and David Hussey, and though the two were out there long enough to build a partnership that could have set the platform for the chase, they found it hard to pierce the field. In the first four overs they batted together, Hussey and Ganguly hit one six each, but no fours. Ganguly was lucky to get off twice - a pull nearly caught at midwicket and a catch by Graeme Smith that was given not out after the third umpire, Asad Rauf, ruled that it might not have been taken cleanly - but fell when he tried to break loose. His 68-run partnership with Hussey was the only one of consequence in the Kolkata innings. Among the bowlers, Gul, playing his first game, was disciplined early on, bowling successive yorkers - his first two overs yielded two wickets for 15 runs. Ishant Sharma bowled straight and full, and didn't allow the Rajasthan batsmen to take too many liberties. Ganguly used seven bowlers, including himself, but was not always backed up in the field. Twice in the innings, the ball went past fielders who were in the process of collecting it. Rajasthan, on the other hand, were much sharper in the field. The manner in which the last wicket fell summed up their day: Warne and substitute fielder Taruwar Kohli both ran for the skier, Kohli managed to stretch to his left and grab it just as Warne collided with him. The two tumbled to the ground, but the ball was safely ensconced in Kohli's hand. In a side less inspired, this would have been the comic collision of the day; here, it was the last act of another polished performance.

Hayden calls spat a stray incident

Harbhajan-Sreesanth row Matthew Hayden has said the Harbhajan Singh-Sreesanth row left him upset but is confident it was a stray incident. Hayden, the Australian opener currently playing for Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League, also said he wouldn't use this to sledge either of them when Australia tour India later this year. "I was very upset, I just think we play this great game, in a great competition and both these guys are young men with enormous responsibilities as two fine players and prospects for the country that adores cricket and its cricketers," Hayden told Cricinfo. "So I am sure they will feel remorseful as any player would. Because I think any player who has risen to the top of the game obviously has enormous respect and enormous discipline to get there. Honestly, I think it will be tomorrow's headlines and life will move on. The game has always moved on." Asked whether he thought this was just a momentary lapse of reason Hayden said, "I think so, yes. I didn't think this was ever going to happen and I don't think it will happen again either. Hopefully not." Hayden had a famous run-in with Harbhajan during India's tour of Australia, where he called the offspinner a "little obnoxious weed". Would he use the latest incident between Sreesanth and Harbhajan as a sledging tool when Australia visit India in October? "No, I won't be," he says with emphasis. Is he drawing a moral line to sledging? "Yes, I think so. That is an incident between two individuals and I don't want to comment on their relationship and where they are at and how they are going. There is no point. All that does is just create another headline and I don't want to do that. I love the game of cricket and I have been really successful at the game of cricket, so I don't think I need to push that barrier. "It's the beauty of our game really; there is a gentlemanly aspect to the game and we get challenged on this. Australia has been nominated as the best sledgers and we get asked the question a lot of time but in reality its actually a mis-truth or certainly an exaggerated truth. What the world has done following the success of Australian cricket is to try and vilify us. And that's fair enough as the best in the world need to be taken down.So we always had to be on our guard and understand within that we need to address the issue before anyone else does. Hayden also said the Australian team has discussed the image of being the bad boys of international cricket and the ways of sledging. "You tell me what are these incidents of bad boys. I don't think we are. But yes, we senior players do sit together and work out where we want to go and how we want to play our cricket. Also, making comments can be distracting to some characters. If someone is forced to do that without it being a motivating factor then its trouble." He believes every team has a few characters that get involved in sledging. "I think in any given side, there are always two or three people that look to sledge. For e.g. In the Indian side, it would be Sreesanth, Harbhajan and [Robin] Uthappa. You wouldn't hear a boo out of Rahul [Dravid], MS [Dhoni] and [Anil] Kumble though they are all fiercely determined." Hayden also spoke about the art of sledging and how he would pick certain individuals for the treatment. "You choose your targets, really. I would never say anything to Sachin [Tendulkar], Rahul or Anil or anyone like that. I believe they have marked the test of time. We have been in battles together so many times and there is an enormous respect. Not that making comment is disrespect; making comment is trying to unsettle a player because you don't know whether that guy has the skills to deal with it. And that was exactly the same when I was young coming into the game. You expect to get that."

Preview - Deccan Chargers v Kings XI Punjab

Punjab look to continue winning run Match facts Thursday May 1, 2008 Start time 20.00 (local), 14.30 (GMT) The Big Picture Two teams which started their IPL campaign poorly have suddenly found winning ways over the last week, and Thursday's clash is another opportunity for both Deccan Chargers and Kings XI Punjab to sustain the momentum. Adam's Gilchrist's incredible century against Mumbai Indians on Sunday ensured that Deccan notched up the most convincing win of the tournament, while Punjab have won once each batting first and chasing, suggesting they are pretty comfortable doing either. Two of the architects of their wins - Simon Katich and Brett Lee - won't be around, though, as both have country duties coming up, and how Punjab cope with the absence of those two stars could well determine how this match pans out. Watch out for ... ... Herschelle Gibbs. He should be an excellent replacement for Andrew Symonds, who returns home to prepare for the West Indies tour after a mixed tournament. With Lee missing from the opposition attack, Gibbs should get plenty of opportunity to tee off. Team news Gibbs for Symonds is the most likely replacement, unless Deccan opt for the extra bowling option that Scott Styris will provide. Considering the fact that Symonds didn't bowl in the previous game, Deccan will probably go in with Gibbs for his clean ball-striking ability and his fielding prowess at point. VVS Laxman's handy contribution against Mumbai should ensure he stays at the top of the order, with Gibbs coming in at No.3. Deccan Chargers (probable) 1 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 2 VVS Laxman (capt), 3 Herschelle Gibbs, 4 Rohit Sharma, 5 Shahid Afridi, 6 Sanjay Bangar, 7 Arjun Yadav, 8 Nuwan Zoysa, 9 Pragyan Ojha, 10 RP Singh, 11 D Kalyankrishna. Punjab might be hit more badly by the players who are leaving them. They have no ready replacement for Lee, while Katich's steady hand at the top of the order will be missed as well. The possible replacements could be Ramnaresh Sarwan and James Hopes, which will make the batting line-up largely an overseas one. If Punjab do opt for that tactic, it'll open up one bowling slot for a local player, and Ajitesh Argal, one of the heroes of India's Under-19 World Cup triumph, could get his first chance on the big stage. Punjab (probable) 1 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 2 James Hopes, 3 Ramnaresh Sarwan, 4 Yuvraj Singh (capt), 5 Mahela Jayawardene, 6 Tanmay Srivastava, 7 Irfan Pathan, 8 Ajitesh Argal, 9 Piyush Chawla, 10 Sreesanth, 11 VRV Singh PL form Deccan Chargers: LLLW Kings XI Punjab: LLWW Stats and trivia Deccan have lost both their home games, while Punjab haven't yet won an away game. One of those stats will change for sure on Thursday. The Sri Lankan stars for Punjab have had contrasting fortunes so far: Kumar Sangakkara has scored 172 from four games, but Mahela Jayawardene has only managed 29 from three. Shahid Afridi has lasted just 11 balls in two innings, but he has had more success with the ball, taking five wickets at an average of 15.40 and an economy rate of 7.70 per over. Quotes "We are keen to win the match in front of home crowd and are not worried about our rivals." VVS Laxman hopes to carry Hyderabad's momentum forward.