Probe-panel finds no evidence against Kundra, Meiyappan

Probe-panel finds no evidence against Kundra, Meiyappan

BCCI President-in-exile N Srinivasan seems set to return to the helm of affairs after a two-judge probe panel found no evidence against his team Chennai Super Kings in the IPL spot-fixing and betting scandal which rocked the sixth edition of the event. 

The two-member panel, comprising former judges T Jayaram Chouta, R Balasubramanian, submitted its report at the BCCI Working Committee, clearing the decks for the Tamil Nadu strongman to make a comeback. 

The panel was mandated to enquire into the roles of Srinivasan's son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan, who was the Team Prinicipal of Chennai Super Kings, Rajasthan Royals and its co-owner Raj Kundra. 

"There is no evidence of any wrongdoing found by the judges against Raj Kundra, India Cements and Rajasthan Royals. The report will now be forwarded to the IPL Governing Council which will take a final decision when it meets on August 2 in New Delhi," BCCI vice-President Niranjan Shah told reporters. 

Addressing a brief press conference, BCCI interim chief Jagmohan Dalmiya said that the inquiry report will be forwarded to the IPL Governing Council as per the operational rules of the Board. 

"IPL Governing Council will meet on August 2 in New Delhi to take a decision on these issues," Dalmiya said. 

Asked whether India Cements have been given a clean chit in the report, he said, "The final call will be taken in the IPL GC meeting. It will be discussed in the proper forum which is the IPL GC. The GC will examine the report and accordingly will take a decision. The copy of the report will be made public in due course," he said. 

Srinivasan could be reinstated as the president as early as August 2 when the Working Committee meets in New Delhi. There was no clarity on Srinivasan's son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan's role in the scandal while it is learnt that the inquiry commission has not given him a clean chit. 

Shah, when asked whether Meiyappan has been given a clean chit, did not give any answer. According to a source, Meiyappan has been cleared of spot-fixing in the inquiry report but could be involved in betting though there was no clear evidence. 

Dalmiya said that the order of the probe commission was received only this morning and speculation that it had come to the BCCI earlier was not correct. "The order was received by secretary Sanjay Patel here and it was placed in the afternoon before the Working Committee," he said. 

Asked who will chair the August 2 meeting, Dalmiya said, "Let Mr Srinivasan decide. Let Srinivasan take his decision." 

Dalmiya also said that BCCI Anti-Corruption Unit chief Ravi Sawani's report was discussed but since one player -- Ajit Chandila -- is in police custody, the probe could not be completed. "We will wait for some time and then proceed accordingly. Sawani is currently on leave because of his son's marriage. Let him come back," Dalmiya said. 

On who will chair the IPL GC meeting since chairman Rajiv Shukla has resigned, Dalmiya said, "I have requested him to continue. I have not accepted Shukla's resignation." 

Dalmiya said the BCCI was in the process of finalising the itineraries for the tours of South Africa and New Zealand. "It is under process. There are other tours also. We will come to you in due time," he said.

Regarding the controversy over India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni's alleged conflict of interest issue, Dalmiya said nothing will be swept under the carpet. "I had said nothing will be swept under the carpet, many were asking what happened to that...," he said. "We have changed our mode of working. We don't believe you to be after any player or anybody. Therefore, the players will have to declare their interest in sports management companies." 

The IPL spot-fixing scandal broke out when India pacer S Sreesanth, along with two other Rajasthan Royals players Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan and 11 bookies, was arrested for alleged spot-fixing in the IPL. The contracts of the tainted players were terminated by their franchise, which also lodged a criminal complaint against them. It snowballed into a crisis for the BCCI when Board President N Srinivasan's son-in-law and Chennai Super Kings Team Principal Meiyappan was arrested on charges of betting on May 26. 

A internal probe panel, originally comprising former judges Chouta, Balasubramanian and the then BCCI Secretary Sanjay Jagdale, was constituted on May 28 to investigate the allegations against Meiyappan, who maintained his innocence after getting bail. Srinivasan, who owns the CSK franchise, remained defiant through the turmoil and refused to resign but had to step aside as BCCI President after a stormy emergent Board meeting on June 2 where Dalmiya took charge of an interim arrangement to run the Board's affairs pending the inquiry. 

The upheaval led to the resignations of Board Secretary Sanjay Jagdale and Treasurer Ajay Shirke, who asked for Srinivasan's resignation on moral grounds. 

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5:51 AM

Kevin Pietersen included in squad

Pietersen included in squad

Kevin Pietersen was included in a 14-man squad for next week's third Ashes Test against Australia at Old Trafford despite concerns over his calf injury, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced Sunday. 

Star batsman Pietersen will be given time to prove his fitness for the match, which starts at the Manchester venue on Thursday, with Nottinghamshire's James Taylor added to the squad as cover. 

England have also altered their bowling options by bringing in Monty Panesar as a second spinner and recalling fast bowler Chris Tremlett in place of seamers Steven Finn and Graham Onions. 

Ashes-holders England, who lead the five-match series 2-0 after victories by 14 runs and 347-runs in the first and second Tests at Trent Bridge and Lord's respectively, will retain the urn if they win again at Old Trafford. 

More to follow 

Squad: Alastair Cook (capt), Joe Root, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Jonny Bairstow, James Taylor, Matt Prior, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, James Anderson, Chris Tremlett, Monty Panesar 

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5:50 AM

Taylor presses Ashes claim against Aussies

Taylor presses Ashes claim against Aussies

James Taylor advanced his case for an England recall by making an unbeaten 64 for Sussex against Australia on the second day of three at Hove on Saturday. 

Nottinghamshire batsman Taylor has been given special dispensation by England chiefs to 'guest' for Sussex, with officials concerned about the fitness of star batsman Kevin Pietersen for next week's third Test in Manchester. 

Ashes-holders England, 2-0 up in the five-match series with their arch-rivals, are due to name their squad for Old Trafford on Sunday and Taylor, who last played Test cricket a year ago, seems set to be included as cover in case Pietersen does not overcome a calf injury. 

The 23-year-old Taylor batted for nearly three-and-a-half hours before rain forced an early close at Sussex's Hove headquarters on England's south coast, with the hosts 228 for five in reply to Australia's 366 for five declared. 

However, the diminutive Taylor was almost yorked first ball by paceman Mitchell Starc and then saw Steven Smith drop a low, hard, second slip catch off Jackson Bird on 23. 

But, after Rory Hamilton-Brown had made a dashing 73, Taylor batted through until the close. He'd so far faced 146 balls, including five fours. 

Both Bird and Starc are bidding to replace James Pattinson in the Ashes side after their fellow fasr bowler was ruled out of the remainder of the tour with a stress fracture of the back after Australia's colossal 347-run second Test loss at Lord's. 

Bird had the marginally better figures Saturday, taking two wickets for 33 runs in 14 overs compared to Starc's one for 28 in 13. 

Earlier Smith, 98 not out overnight, reached three figures before Australia declared, the all-rounder cutting England left-arm spinner Monty Panesar for four to complete a 165-ball century including 16 boundaries. 

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5:49 AM

Fortunate they dropped my catches: Dhawan

Fortunate they dropped my catches: Dhawan

Shikhar Dhawan is relishing the challenges that face opening batsmen under the testing conditions imposed by the latest ODI laws, having scored his third century in two months to see India to a 58-run victory over Zimbabwe on Friday. 

Shikhar Dhawan enjoyed more than his fair share of luck, surviving two dropped catches as well as a catch off a no-ball on his way to 116 - his highest ODI score - as India took a 2-0 lead in the five-match series. 

However opening batsmen such as Dhawan would argue that they deserve some fortune under the current laws, with the use of two new balls in one-day internationals tilting the balance back towards the bowlers. 

"It's more difficult nowadays because you've got new balls from both ends," Dhawan said. "When the ball is swinging you really need to play close to your body. You'll see that in the first 10 overs, openers are not scoring that many nowadays because the ball is new and it swings a lot and you have to be more careful." 

The wicket wasn't easy to bat on. "The ball was swinging and cutting, and they bowled really well in the first 25 overs. I was just fortunate enough that they dropped my catches today," Dhawan added. 

Despite gifting Dhawan three lives, Zimbabwe still made inroads into the Indian batting line-up as they reduced the tourists to 65 for four, only for Dhawan to put on a 159-run stand with Dinesh Karthik that changed the course of the match. 

"It was a very important partnership which brought us back into the game, because we knew that we had to score big runs on this wicket because it gets much better in the second innings," said Dhawan. "Then things went our way." 

Dhawan said he was impressed with the performance of the young Indian side, mentioning that the fielding has improved a lot. "Our team is gelling really nicely. All the young boys are very fit and really good in the field. Fielding-wise, we have really improved a lot. I feel like everything is working our way." 

After India had finished on 294 for eight in their 50 overs, Zimbabwe made a bright start to their reply when Vusi Sibanda's bold 55 took them to 109 for one after 20 overs. 

However Jaydev Unadkat effected two dismissals in the next over, and Zimbabwe faded to a final total of 236 for nine. 

"After 20 overs I thought we were going to win the game, even though we let them get away with a lot more runs," Zimbabwe coach Andy Waller said. "I thought we had a chance but then we made some silly errors. 

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4:37 AM

We handled the pressure well: AB de Villiers

We handled the pressure well: AB de Villiers

South Africa did well under pressure to emerge victors in the third ODI against Sri Lanka to stay alive in the five-match ODI series. Thanks to the efforts of David Miller (85 off 72) and Lonwabo Tsotsobe (4/22) the Proteas managed a 56-run win, coming back well after consecutive losses in the opening two ODIs. 
South African captain AB de Villiers was happy with the way his team handled the pressure situations to come out on top in the end. Having posted a competitive 223/7, The visitors had Sri Lanka reeling thanks to the bowling efforts of Tsotsobe. However, the de Villiers-led side were under pressure when Robin Peterson gave away 35 runs in the in the 33rd over which included 5 sixes and a four off Thisara Perera's bat. The South Africans though managed to stay calm to make it through in the end. 
Speaking at the post-match conference, de Villiers said: "It's a great win. We handled the pressure situations extremely well, which pleased me very much. Robbie [Peterson] went for a big over when I threw him into the deep end. But it's the way the boys reacted which is what made me really proud after that. We stayed really calm, stuck to our game plans, kept it really simple and came out on top. The guys looked really hungry today and I'm glad we made it through." 
While Perera was going all guns blazing, Tsotsobe put down a sitter in the 39th over which could have cost the visitors the game had Faf du Plessis not held on to a skier from Perera three overs later. de Villiers mentioned that the Proteas were lucky that the dropped chance did not prove costly. 
"After Lopsy [Tsotsobe] dropped the catch I told him it could happen to anyone, because I felt he might get another catch, which he did. He improved the second time around. Those kinds of things happen. Sometimes it costs you the game, sometimes it doesn't. This time we were lucky it didn't cost us the game. We moved on, which was the positive thing again. We stayed calm in all the situations and that was great." 
The win was South Africa's first against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka after close to 20 years and de Villiers credited his seamers for the victory, commending Tsotsobe in particular for his excellent bowling performance. 
"After missing the first two games and having to prove his form and condition, Lopsy coming back like that, and showing his skill that's in him was really pleasing for me. The partnership he and Morne formed up front was outstanding and they set the standard for us. Lopsy picked up the wickets so congrats to him for that, but you've got to give credit to Morne as well. He hit the deck really hard and stuck to his lengths. He didn't give them much to hit and to score off." 
de Villiers had a special word of praise for the fielding efforts of his side, mentioning that they saved close to 20 runs thanks to their fielders. "We saved about 20 runs in the field I believe. Fielding is an attitude and it's a hunger to win the game. If you have that, you'll always have a good fielding set-up. I thought we had that tonight. We can still improve, but I'd like us to do that more consistently." 
Man of the Match David Miller said they were hoping to play out as many overs as possible after the top order collapse. He reckoned that the wicket was slow and had a lot of turn which is why they had to work really hard to build partnerships. 
"When AB went and Robbie got out, I just said to Ryan we really need to hang in here until the last three overs. We were looking at 45 overs the whole time and if either Ryan or myself had got out, it's Morne Morkel and Tsotsobe coming in, so we thought let's really take it as deep as we can. We just decided the last two overs would be key. The wicket was very slow and had a lot of turn. We really had to work hard up front and try and build partnerships and take a little bit longer than normal. This innings means a lot to me," Miller said.

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4:36 AM

WI vs Pak, 1st T20I, Kingstown, St Vincent

WI vs Pak, 1st T20I, Kingstown, St Vincent West Indies will be hoping to avenge their ODI series loss when they take on Pakistan in the 2-match T20I series starting at Kingstown, St Vincent on Saturday. The hosts, who lost the five-match ODI series 1-3 under Dwayne Bravo, will be hoping for a turnaround of fortunes under T20 skipperDarren Sammy. Pakistan, meanwhile, will be hoping that Twenty20 captain Mohammad Hafeezcontinues the good work done by Misbah-ul-Haq as they look to get the better of the T20I champions. Curiously, these two sides have met only once in Twenty20 Internationals so far - on Pakistan's last visit to the Caribbean in 2011, West Indies held on for a seven-run win at the Beausejour Stadium. The weekend fixtures therefore provide a chance to redress that deficiency on a stage where both teams are blessed with players cut-out for the shortest format. West Indies: Inconsistency has been the problem for West Indies, as was evident in their recent performances. Barring the series against Zimbabwe, the Caribbean side's showing in the recent times has been disappointing. Having failed to qualify for the semi-final stage of the Champions Trophy, the Windies faltered in the tri-series involving India and Sri Lanka before being humbled by Pakistan. They now have a chance to salvage some pride in a format West Indies are quite good at, having not lost a single T20I since winning last year's T20 World Cup. Watch out for: Chris Gayle has not quite been at his best and was forced to move down the order in the last two ODIs owing to poor form. The big hitting Kieron Pollard too was struggling for runs and had to be left out for the last couple of games. These are capable of winning matches on their own and have shown their prowess with the bat in the past. They will be hoping that they can make in impact in this T20I series. Who's in and who's out: From the team that contested in the ODI series, Kemar Roach, Devon Smith and Jason Holder move out while the inclusion of Shannon Gabriel and Samuel Badree will boost the home team. Also included in the squad is Christopher Barnwell, whose impressive domestic T20 form augers well for the West Indian side. Pakistan: Since winning the T20 World Cup against Sri Lanka in England in 2009, Pakistan's form in the shortest format has been up and down, as the sub-continental team has flattered to deceive on many occasions. Like West Indies, they too had a poor run in ODIs recently before they managed to turn things around impressively. They will be hoping that they can extend their recent ODI success to the T20 games and look to topple India from the third position in the T20I rankings, which they can do so if they win the series 2-0. Watch out for: Umar Akmal, having been recalled to the Pakistan set-up as a wicketkeeper-batsman, has had an impressive run in the ODI series. Umar made his selection count with fine knocks in the One-Dayers, complementing Misbah's anchored presence with his aggressive style of batting, as he played a key role in Pakistan's series win. The talented youngster, who is one of the important members in the batting department, will be hoping he continues in the same vein in the T20I series. Who's in and who's out: Left-arm seamer Sohail Tanvir brings with him a lot of T20I experience while all-rounder Hammad Azam and all-rounder Zulfiqar Babar are also part of the Pakistan T20I set-up, replacing Mishab-ul-Haq, Mohammad Rizwan and Abdur Rehman. Numbers: 6: The number of Twenty20 Internationals that West Indies have won in a row. They need two more victories in succession to join England as the the team with most consecutive victories in the T20I format. 7: The number of runs Chris Gayle requires to reach the mark of 1000 runs in T20I cricket. In case he gets the required runs, the left-hander will become the 9th player overall and the first West Indian to reach the mark. Quotes: The teams are evenly matched, the difference is somebody like Misbah (ul-Haq) batted throughout the innings in most of the games that they won. I'm looking forward to the two T20s, this is the format I think we're best at and we have to go out there in St Vincent and show why we are T20 champions: Darren Sammy

Teams:

West Indies (From): Darren Sammy(c), Johnson Charles(w), Dwayne Bravo, Tino Best, Darren Bravo, Chris Gayle, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Marlon Samuels, Lendl Simmons, Samuel Badree,Christopher Barnwell, Shannon Gabriel

Pakistan (From): Mohammad Hafeez(c), Umar Akmal(w), Nasir Jamshed, Ahmed Shehzad, Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal, Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Irfan, Asad Ali, Umar Amin, Haris Sohail, Hammad Azam, Sohail Tanvir, Zulfiqar Babar

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4:35 AM

Smith strengthens hold on Test spot

Smith strengthens hold on Test spot

Steve Smith looks to have secured his place in Australia's team for next week's third Ashes Test after top-scoring with an unbeaten 98 on the first day of the tour match against Sussex at Hove.
The 24-year-old from Sydney was one of several batsmen under pressure after making just three runs in Australia's heavy defeat at Lord's, but his was the standout performance on an encouraging day for the Australians looking to force their way into contention for Old Trafford on Thursday.
Ed Cowan (66) and Phil Hughes (84) figured in an opening stand of 150 in 35 overs but reserve wicketkeeper Matthew Wade was out for a duck as Australia ended the first day on 354 for five after winning the toss.
Smith and all-rounder James Faulkner revived the tourists with a stand of 131 in 28 overs for the fifth wicket after Australia had failed to build on the platform provided by Cowan and Hughes when they lost four wickets for 68 runs in 27 overs.
They were particularly effective when Sussex took the new ball, with 47 runs plundered in five overs including three successive boundaries by Smith off Chris Liddle.
Faulkner became Monty Panesar's third victim in the penultimate over when he was bowled hitting across the line and although Smith hit the first ball of the last over for his 15th boundary, he still needs two runs to complete what would be only the third hundred on the tour so far by an Australian.
Earlier, Cowan and Hughes batted throughout the morning session, although Hughes was badly dropped on 22 by Sussex skipper Chris Nash at second slip off Chris Jordan.
The left-hander chanced his arm on several occasions against the new ball in a somewhat skittish innings, although he did play some pleasing back-foot shots when offered any width by the Sussex seamers.
Cowan looked more assured until he tried to work a ball from Lewis Hatchett off his hips and was well caught by James Taylor, the Nottinghamshire batsman playing for Sussex as a guest at the request of the ECB. Cowan's 66 came off 112 balls with 10 fours.
Hatchett, in only his second first-class game of the season, looked Sussex's most threatening seamer and he struck again in the 42nd over when Hughes was caught behind, drawn into playing at a ball that held its line outside off stump.
Hughes, whose innings included 14 fours, looks to have cemented his place at Old Trafford despite scoring only two runs in his last three Test innings and the same applies to Usman Khawaja, who looked reasonably secure until he pushed hard at Panesar and edged to Jordan at slip.
Wade, playing his first game for a month, had talked optimistically before the game about forcing his way into the Test team as a specialist batsman but he lasted just six balls before being held at backward point in the first over after tea aiming a forcing shot off the back foot at Panesar. 

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4:33 AM