Sports news and information

LAHORE: A Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) appellate tribunal on Sunday suspended a five-year ban on controversial fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar for a month so that he could participate in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL). The tribunal, headed by former High Court judge Aftab Farrukh, accepted a plea from Akhtar’s lawyers that the ban should be suspended temporarily so that the pacer can play in the lucrative IPL. A PCB disciplinary committee, headed by Lt Gen (r) Munir Hafeez, banned Akhtar last month for several incidents of indiscipline. It is pertinent to mention that last week the tribunal allowed Akhtar to play outside Pakistan but the Indian authorities refused to permit him to take part in the IPL unless the ban was lifted.

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NEW DELHI:  Combative Harbhajan Singh has been suspended for slapping his Indian team-mate and IPL rival S Sree Santh just after their league match at Mohali on Friday night.

The Indian Premier League’s chairman and commissioner, Lalit Modi, announced this late on Saturday night even as the slapstick episode was threatening to overrun the league itself. ‘‘There is enough prima facie video evidence to temporarily suspend Harbhajan with immediate effect,’’ he said in a statement.
‘‘The match adjudicator and referee, Farokh Engineer, has seen and reviewed the evidence and has arrived at this decision,’’ he said in the press release. Harbhajan cannot play in the crucial IPL match against Team Hyderabad on Sunday now, pending the inquiry into the incident.
Before the evidence emerged, Harbhajan had been slapped with a show-cause notice and was given till Monday to present his case. The feisty off-spinner had barely escaped a similar ban during the recent tour to Australia when the host broadcaster couldn’t provide evidence to prove he had made racist remarks against Andrew Symonds.
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Chennai Super Kings won by 6 runs
Played at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai, India, on 23 April 2008 - day/night (20-over match)

Chennai Super Kings:
Fall of wickets 1-34 (PA Patel, 3.1 ov), 2-39 (MEK Hussey, 4.4 ov), 3-143 (SK Raina, 14.6 ov), 4-194 (ML Hayden, 18.6 ov), 5-206 (MS Dhoni, 19.5 ov)

Total    (5 wickets, innings closed, 20 overs)    208

Mumbai Indians:
Fall of wickets 1-9 (L Ronchi, 0.6 ov), 2-30 (ST Jayasuriya, 3.4 ov), 3-81 (RV Uthappa, 9.4 ov), 4-97 (SM Pollock, 11.4 ov), 5-130 (DJ Bravo, 14.2 ov), 6-141 (MA Khote, 15.3 ov), 7-189 (Harbhajan Singh, 18.5 ov)

Total    (7 wickets, innings closed, 20 overs)    202

ML Hayden was awarded the man of the match.

Umpires: J Harper (Australia), GA Pratapkumar (India)
Third umpire: BF Bowden (New Zealand)
Referee: FM Engineer (India)
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Delhi Daredevils won by 9 wickets (with 42 balls remaining)
Played at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad, on 22 April 2008 - day/night (20-over match)

Deccan Chargers:
Fall of wickets1-9 (Gilchrist, 1.6 ov), 2-23 (Laxman, 5.1 ov), 3-36 (Venugopal Rao, 7.6 ov), 4-45 (Symonds, 9.2 ov), 5-60 (Shahid Afridi, 12.1 ov), 6-82 (Bangar, 16.1 ov), 7-123 (Sharma, 18.4 ov), 8-129 (Yadav, 19.2 ov)

Total (8 wickets; 20 overs) 142 (7.10 runs per over)

Delhi Daredevils:
Fall of wickets1-31 (Gambhir, 3.3 ov)

Total (1 wicket; 13 overs) 143 (11.00 runs per over)

Virender Sehwag was awarded the man of the match.

Umpires: Amiesh Saheba (Ind) Ian Howell (SA)
Third umpire: Mark Benson (Eng)
Referee: Talat Ali (Pak)

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Rajasthan Royals won by 6 wickets (with 11 balls remaining)
Played at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur, on 21 April 2008 - day/night (20-over match)

Kings XI Punjab:
Fall of wickets: 1-34 (Goel, 4.5 ov), 2-56 (Sangakkara, 6.3 ov), 3-64 (Jayawardene, 7.3 ov), 4-73 (Hopes, 8.6 ov), 5-136 (Yuvraj Singh, 16.5 ov), 6-136 (Pathan, 17.2 ov), 7-136 (Lee, 17.4 ov), 8-149 (Sohal, 18.6 ov)

Total      (8 wickets; 20 overs)       166(8.30 runs per over)

Rajasthan Royals:
Fall of wickets1-6 (Kaif, 1.1 ov), 2-19 (Pathan, 2.3 ov), 3-48 (Kamran Akmal, 4.5 ov), 4-99 (Lehmann, 11.2 ov)

Total      (4 wickets; 18.1 overs)  168(9.24 runs per over)

Royal Shane Watson wins ‘Man of the Match‘ award for his unbeaten 76 runs (49 balls, 5 4s and 5 6s).
Umpires : Aleem Dar (Pak) and Russell Tiffin (Zim)

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Bangalore Royal Challengers won by 5 wickets (with 2 balls remaining)
Played at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, on 20 April 2008 - day/night (20-over match)

Mumbai Indians:
Fall of wickets1-9 (Ronchi, 1.5 ov), 1-20* (Thornely, retired not out), 2-46 (Jayasuriya, 5.4 ov), 3-97 (Shah, 13.3 ov), 4-125 (Uthappa, 16.5 ov), 5-152 (Nayar, 18.5 ov), 6-165 (Pollock, 19.6 ov)

Total (6 wickets; 20 overs) 165 (8.25 runs per over)

Bangalore Royal Challengers:
Fall of wickets1-37 (Chanderpaul, 4.6 ov), 2-68 (Dravid, 8.5 ov), 3-76 (Taylor, 9.6 ov), 4-106 (Kohli, 13.3 ov), 5-161 (Kallis, 18.4 ov)

Total (5 wickets; 19.4 overs) 166 (8.44 runs per over)

MV Boucher was awarded the Man of the match.

Umpires: SJ Davis (Australia), DJ Harper (Australia)
Third umpire: AV Jayaprakash (India)
Referee: IN Blanchett (England)
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