Salman to perform at the IPL final

If all goes well, Salman Khan will perform at the Indian Premier League (IPL) final, to be held at Y.R. Patil Stadium (Nerul, New Mumbai) on June 1.We hear Salman will dance to the theme song of his upcoming reality TV show 10 Ka Dum and also shake a leg to one of his filmi numbers. Will Salman perform during the break or before the match begins? Sallu's ‘item' will be a part of the closing ceremony, and promises to be a rocking one! It is learnt that Salman has yet not rehearsed for his act. Right now, he is in Australia shooting for Main Aur Mrs Khanna. He can spontaneously start dancing at any given moment and does not need rehearsals, added a source.Salman has already finished shooting four episodes of 10 Ka Dum, which is based on the American game show Power of 10. In true Sallu ishtyle, once he cycled all the way from Bandra to shoot for the show at R. K. Studios in Chembur. A few days before that, he jogged down to Mehboob Studios for the show's rehearsals. Seeing Salman's moody behaviour one cannot be sure whether he will perform at the IPL or back out at the last minute. Moreover, it's also well known that he doesn't like cricket, and prefers football. But as of now, we can only keep our fingers crossed and hope to see Sallu at the closing ceremony!

Mumbai Indians beat Deccan Chargers 25 runs

Mumbai Indians beat Deccan Chargers by 25 runs in their Indian Premier League at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. Mumbai Indians were now on course of a semi-final berth, after notching up an impressive six victories in-a-row on Sunday. Chasing a target of 179 runs, Deccan Chargers lost momentum from the beginning, losing wickets in regular interval. Only Venugopal Rao played a gallant innings of 57 runs for the home side. Earlier, a sensible batting by Abhishek Nayar (38) and Dwayne Bravo (30) helped Mumbai Indians reach a competitive 178 for seven against Deccan Chargers in their crucial IPL Twenty20 match on Sunday. Nayar-Bravo combination put up important 53-run partnership for the fifth wicket when their team was struggling at 97 for 4 at one stage, after sent in to bat. RP Singh (3/35), who was most successful bowler for the hosts, dismissed both of them in the 18th over, dashing the visitors hope of setting a big target. However, the duo ensured the Mumbai team get enough runs on the board to make a fight out of it. Nayar, the top-scorer for the Mumbai team, hit three fours and two sixes in his knock while Bravo hit two boundaries and as many sixes in his innings. Earlier, Jayasuriya (36) looked unstoppable from the word go as he began the proceedings with a fine-leg boundary off P Vijaykumar and then hit him for a six on the fifth ball. The Sri Lankan then hit compatriot Nuwan Zoysa for three boundaries and one six in his first over to give a rollicking start to the visitors. This forced Adam Gilchrist to introduce Y Venugopal Rao, who did not disappoint his skipper and sent packing Jayasuriya, bringing relief for the hosts. After hitting Rao (2/25) for a couple of boundaries, the Sri Lankan swept the spinner for a big shot but could manage to find RP Singh in the deep. The left-handed opener took just 15-balls to score 39 and hit six fours and two sixes in his cameo. Dominic Thronely then joined his captain Sachin Tendulkar and the duo put together 33-runs for the second wicket. However the run-rate suffered as hosts bowlers bowled well. Then Shahid Afridi (2/23) dealt twin blow to the Mumbai team dismissing Tendulkar and Thornely in his second over to put his team in the driver's seat. Tendulkar lofted a Afridi delivery, trying to accelerate the run-rate but could not execute the shot and gave away a simple catch to Chamara Silva, who ran from covers to mid-off. This brought huge relief for Gilchrist as he had missed a stumping chance off Pragyan Ojha when Tendulkar came out of the crease attempting inside out by making room for himself. Afridi then trapped Thornely two balls later sending shock waves in the opponent's dressing room. The Mumbai team never recovered from these shocks and struggled to maintain a high run-rate after that.

Aussies are being paid in installments: Maxwell

IPL salary delay: Kings XI CEO admits it's a lengthy process

After Australian cricketers complained of delay in the payment of their Indian Premier League wages, Kings XI Punjab CEO Neil Maxwell on Sunday said clearing the money was a time-taking process as it involved "taxation issues". Maxwell, who also manages top Australian cricketers like Brett Lee, Michael Hussey and Shane Watson, admitted the payments were slowly being made in phases. "The players are being paid in installments because there are a number of taxation issues. It is the first installment that is taking the most time because it's not simple as a lot of taxes are involved," Maxwell told a news channel reacting to Australian media reports which said players were getting frustrated with long delay in their IPL payments. Maxwell said too much was being read into the delay and asserted that every player would be paid his contract money. "I think too much is being made out of it. It's a little lengthy process and everyone has to be patient. The players are contracted with their franchisees and they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding," he explained. Australia's Test cricketers had a short stint at the IPL and played only for the first couple of weeks before leaving to fulfill their national commitments in the West Indies. The top Aussie cricketers who returned included skipper Ricky Ponting, pace spearhead Brett Lee, Michael Hussey, Simon Katich and all-rounder Andrew Symonds among others.

Indian cricket team best ambassadors of the sport: Archer

Notwithstanding a few dark moments encountered by them in the recent months, Indian cricketers have drawn praise from noted British author and playwright Lord Jeffrey Archer who described the players as the best ambassadors of the sport in the world. An ardent cricket fan, Archer spoke at length about his love for the game, his admiration for Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar and Rahul Dravid and the popularity of the Indian team across the globe. "I love rugby and football but cricket is ahead by a mile. The Indian cricket team, when touring abroad, are the best ambassadors," said Archer, despite Indian players like Harbhajan Singh's involvement in a string of controversies since early this year. Archer, whose recent jail caper 'A Prisoner of Birth' topped the charts in just three days, also said he had high regards for Indian batsmen. "Tendulkar, Gavaskar and Dravid are in the same league," he said, adding he also had high regards for V V S Laxman and legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev. "Tendulkar and Dravid are great admirers of my work also and I had the privilege of dining with them early this year," he said at a function here last night. Archer, who started his career as a politician and began writing at the age of 35 'by mistake', claimed he was perhaps the "only Englishmen watching Laxman butchering the Australian bowlers in the Sydney Test in 2003-04". Archer, author of bestsellers like 'Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less', 'Kane and Abel', 'As the Crow Flies' and 'First Among Equals', will also visit Lucknow, Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune and Chennai as part of his six-city tour.

Low crowd turnout amid tight security in Jaipur

Just about an hour before the Indian Premier League match between Jaipur and Bangalore was to begin, the first spectators -- two 15 year olds -- walked into the Rs 1500 enclosure of the Sawai Man Singh stadium. After sitting idle for a while, one of them asked a Rajasthan Cricket Association staff, who was on the ground next to an empty raised platform: "Bhaiyya, cheer girls kahan hain?"
It was the fourth day after the serial blasts had rocked Jaipur, claiming 63 lives and the city was already back on its feet.
But extreme security measures meant most of the spectators stayed away from the Sawai Man Singh stadium, which has been packed for all its home games. Instead of the usual 500 policemen, some 3000 policemen and more than 200 private security personnel manned the ground.
"A friend gave me passes yesterday. But I gave it back since there would be tight security and getting in would be a problem," said Rahul Singh, an auto rickshaw driver.
He was right. Spectators were not allowed to carry mobile phones and even everyday items like pens. When a spectator tried to convince a gatekeeper that there shouldn't be a problem with him carrying a pen, the youngster at the gate brimmed: "We have even confiscated toffee from a kid, sir. How do you expect us to allow you to carry the pen?"
Spectators were frisked at three security points before being shown their seats. When it was time for the toss, only one stand had filled and all the other had spectators scattered here and there.
Before the match began, IPL chief Lalit Modi handed over a cheque for Rs 6 crore to Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundara Raje Scindia. The eight franchises had each contributed Rs 50 lakh, and five major sponsors contributed Rs 40 lakh each.
The two teams -- sporting black arm bands -- then observed two minutes silence as a mark of respect for those killed in the blast. As in the field, here too Shane Warne stood out. Just before the crowd rose to observe silence, Warne threw a quick glance at his team and gestured them to shed their shades and remove their caps.

Dream Team: A few surprises

he ultimate dream of every sports lover is to play God and to pick his own dream team. Such a team would of course play only in his fantasies but would, without doubt, sweep everything before him.The IPL has given its eight franchises the opportunity to play God and literally buy any player of his choice. A few months ago when the entire exercise was undertaken, however, the money-bags could only follow their instincts and some half-baked suggestions at the auction table.Not too surprisingly, some of the dream teams have turned out to be nightmare squads; and one of the weakest links stunned everybody by its work ethic, planning to perch itself on top of the table. Now that the lessons have been learnt the pretenders and challengers will not make the same mistake

IPL players to undergo dope tests

Hot on the heels of Pakistan media reports that Shoaib Akhtar carried a large number of syringes to India, the World Anti-Doping Agency will conduct surprise dope tests on cricketers participating in the Indian Premier League from Saturday.
"There are surprise dope tests to begin today. The (WADA) team from Sweden has already come down. We don't know which team will be subjected to the tests first or which player's samples would be taken first," said IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi.
"As per the ICC rules, the WADA team is here and the dope tests will start immediately," he added.
The WADA team's arrival comes in the close aftermath of reports in the Pakistan media that Kolkata Knight Riders' Akhtar carried an unusually high number of syringes in his baggage while coming here.
Modi, however, rubbished the reports. "I have verified the reports, no such things were found," he said.
Interestingly, Akhtar was banned after testing positive for performance-enhancing drug nandrolone during the Champions Trophy in 2006.
Another IPL participant, retired Aussie spin wizard Shane Warne who is the captain-cum-coach Rajasthan Royals, had also served a one-year ban after testing positive for banned diuretics during the 2003 World Cup in South Africa.
The ICC rules on doping adhere to the WADA code which lists a two-year ban for a first-time offender and a life-ban for any dope violation the next time.
The Pakistan Cricket Board also played down the report in the daily 'Nation' that Akhtar was questioned about possession of three dozen of syringes in his baggage prior to leaving for Mumbai earlier this month at the Karachi airport.

Chennai Kings down Kolkata Knights

A floodlight disruption and a norwester curtailed a promising match, as Chennai Super Kings inched closer to a semi-final berth with a three-run victory against Kolkata Knight Riders via Duckworth-Lewis method in an Indian Premier League match on Sunday.Replying to the Knight Riders' modest total of 149 for 5, that saw Super Kings pacer Makhaya Ntini get a hat-trick, the Chennai team were 55 without loss after eight overs, when a sudden burst of wind resulted in some of the bulbs in each of the four light towers conking off at the Eden Gardens.The play was immediately halted and the situation turned worse as a norwester with high wind velocity raged accompanied by rains, tossing into the air the tarpaulin sheets, which had been brought in to cover the wicket and the outfield

Kings XI beat Daredevils by 6 runs via D-L method

Invaluable unbeaten cameos from Mahela Jayawardene (36) and Luke Pomersbach (25) helped Kings XI Punjab beat Delhi Daredevils by six runs via Duckworth-Lewis system in a weather-truncated Indian Premier League tie here on Saturday.Chasing a revised target of 123 in 11 overs, the Punjab side batted braving light drizzle early in their innings and eventually finished at 94 for three in eight overs when play was suspended with the visitors six runs ahead of the hosts.Jayawardene's 17-ball 36 included three sixes and two fours, while Pomersbach's 25 came off 12 balls.Earlier, Sehwag slammed an unbeaten half century as Delhi Daredevils finished on 118 for four in 11 overs. Sehwag's brief violent knock included two fours and five sixes, while Gautam Gambhir chipped in with a 28-ball 40.