The Great Game Called Cricket...

In the Twenty20 format, teams can't afford to be predictable. Yesterday's innovation can be today's recipe for disaster. But ahead of Sunday's final, both teams are likely to spend a fair bit of time pondering the Chennai Super Kings' new-ball combination. Doug Bollinger and R Ashwin were tremendous in the semi-final, and have forged the most unlikely of alliances over the past five games. Chennai have won three of those, and the losses were more a result of shoddy batting than any slip-ups from the bowlers.

"We've done well, haven't we?" said Bollinger after the four-wicket haul that got him Man-on-the-Match honours and guaranteed that the most consistent team over the three years of competition would get a shot at Champions League Twenty20 glory. If they do go on to take the trophy, Chennai - who were 2-5 and sinking at one stage - should be grateful for the injuries to Andrew Flintoff and Jacob Oram that sent the scouts looking for a pace bowler of genuine quality.

In seven games, Bollinger has 11 wickets, and Thursday's game was the perfect opportunity to settle scores with the Deccan Chargers, who had taken 31 off three wicketless overs when the two teams met in Nagpur earlier this month. It was also a chance to get the Dharamsala game out of his system. There, for whatever reason, MS Dhoni broke up the pace-spin new-ball combo and made Bollinger bowl in tandem with Sudeep Tyagi, who had been hideously expensive all season. Tyagi was predictably slaughtered, Bollinger went for 39 in his four and it took some Dhoni heroics with the bat to salvage Chennai's campaign.

On Thursday, Tyagi was not to be seen, and nor were the other new-ball exponents who have hardly distinguished themselves. Ashwin, who had taken 2 for 13 against Deccan in an earlier game, was restored to new-ball duty and between them, he and Bollinger finished with 5 for 27.

On Sunday, the two might have to contend with Sachin Tendulkar, injured hand and all. In Chennai in early April, dehydration took him off the field and transformed Mumbai's run chase. Such oppressive weather won't be an ally in Mumbai, and the duo will have to think up ways to combat a batsman who has mastered the format despite not playing it internationally.

Chennai loaded the side with spinners for the semi-final, and on a sluggish pitch it paid off. Given their depressingly mediocre pace resources, a similar strategy could be employed for the final. Despite the concern over the decline in Matthew Hayden's output, the lack of impact from Michael Hussey and Justin Kemp should mean that he keeps his place.

As for Deccan, after their five-game winning run, this was a depressing way to surrender the title. They will look back on two ordinary overs from RP Singh and Ryan Harris that took the score from 116 to 142, and also to the extremely timid start to their own innings.

T Suman and Rohit Sharma, who had been such impressive foils for Andrew Symonds in the middle order, both failed and Adam Gilchrist's failure to reprise his remarkable semi-final innings of a year ago was crucial as well. Given how little he contributed with the bat over the final month, it was quite an achievement to even make the final four.

Dhoni and Chennai can dream of bigger things than third place, and it says much about the competitive nature of the league that a team that finished with a 50% record is now contesting the final against the runaway leaders. On paper, Mumbai should walk it, but if the pitch is slow, Chennai's spin phalanx and Bollinger could well silence a raucous home crowd.

Chennai Super Kings, boosted by a determined display from their bowlers led by Doug Bollinger, put an end to Deccan Chargers' run of five consecutive wins to qualify for the IPL final for the second time. They overcame a poor start, aided by a measured partnership from MS Dhoni and S Badrinath, and a late surge from S Anirudha helped post 142 in tricky conditions. Bollinger and R Ashwin then crippled Deccan in their chase, and the rest contributed to chip away at the middle order, to seal a hard-fought win.

Deccan, given their successful run, would have backed themselves to overhaul Chennai's score comfortably. The conditions were aiding swing and movement, and the pitch was taking turn, but that had little to do with their slow start to the chase. Adam Gilchrist and Herschelle Gibbs, both searching for form, batted in a manner contrary to their reputation, preferring caution over attack in the Powerplay. Bollinger varied his lengths and Ashwin, like he has for much of the tournament, altered his pace and flight to again prove economical. While Deccan's approach, for the most part, remained restrained, a significant number of dot balls in the first six overs were failed attempts at the big shots.

The only convincing shot to the boundary was a straight six from Gilchrist off Ashwin, but Bollinger ended the misery with a double-strike in the sixth over. Gilchrist flicked straight to midwicket and T Suman, whose promotion to No.3 had triggered a turnaround in Deccan's fortunes this IPL, cut straight to point. The Powerplay yielded just 23, the second-lowest in the tournament, and it was only a matter of time before the frustration set in.

Rohit Sharma has often had to rescue Deccan from trouble, but he added to their woes by lofting Albie Morkel to long on with the field spread out. Equally dispiriting for Deccan was Gibbs' lack of conviction. Dropped from the team for his problems at the top, Gibbs had been recalled at the expense of an allrounder for his experience and game-changing ability. But the shortage in confidence was evident, for, in the wake of an escalating required-rate and the attacking field with a slip and leg slip in place, he struggled to pierce the in-field, particularly against spin. Several deliveries were defended either side of the pitch, interspersed with a streaky boundary, and his downfall came in the 11th over when he played on to Shadab Jakati.

The match was not over, with Andrew Symonds striking Jakati for consecutive fours in an over which fetched 17. But when he, in an act of desperation in the 16th over, slogged Ashwin to deep midwicket, Chennai were virtually through. Bollinger returned to nip out two more in his next spell and sealed Deccan's fate.

Dhoni's decision to bat on a testing pitch was prompted by his faith in the top order to handle the conditions, but it let him down despite being given chances. Matthew Hayden was dropped twice, Suresh Raina once, but those reprieves amounted for little as both fell in tame fashion to give Deccan the early edge. In between, M Vijay had played back to a full delivery to be caught plumb, and Chennai limped to 29 for 3.

Dhoni and Badrinath were cautious in their approach, but ensured the run-rate didn't slip. Badrinath dropped anchor and Dhoni, amid the spate of cuts, dabs and nudges, stepped up to find the boundary. Their partnership of 52 comprised just four boundaries, three of which were from Dhoni's bat. He smashed Harmeet Singh and RP Singh through the off side and charged to drive Pragyan Ojha down the ground. But another aggressive maneuver from Deccan, who fielded a slip for Harmeet's legcutters, earned them their fourth wicket as Dhoni slashed one straight to Rohit.

Badrinath did his best to prevent the innings from stagnating. He launched Ojha for a straight six and slugged Symonds over mid-on for a boundary before being stumped in the penultimate over.

Thanks to a combination of some power hitting and streaky batting, Chennai managed to score 46 off the last five overs. Anirudha, replacing Sudeep Tyagi, targeted RP and Harris to strike a couple of sixes to lift his team to 142 - a major recovery considering Deccan's meek reply, which left them hunting for consolation in Saturday's third-place playoff against Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Match Meter

*
DC
*
Chances squandered: Catches off Hayden and Raina are dropped, but the batsmen fail to take advantage. Vijay, too, is dismissed; Chennai are 29 for 3.

* DC CSK
*
A steady recovery: Dhoni and Badrinath add 52 in 51 balls, with just four fours. Tackling the difficult conditions well, they ensure a steady run-rate.

*
DC
*
Badrinath falls: Badrinath is stumped in the penultimate over, and is visibly upset. A score in excess of 140 appears unlikely.

* DC CSK
*
The surge: Anirudha smashes two big sixes, one off RP and the other off Harris in the final over to take Chennai to a respectable score.

*
CSK
*
Slowness hurts: Gilchrist and Gibbs begin too slowly. Bollinger removes Gilchrist and Suman in the sixth over, Deccan limp to 23 in the Powerplay.

*
CSK
*
The final nail: At 82 for 5 in the 16th over, Deccan still have an outside chance but when Symonds is caught in the deep, there is no hope.

Advantage Honours even

Even as the key figures in the IPL mess continue their battles, federal income-tax and revenue officials have extended their operations into the most coordinated and high-profile exercise of recent times in India. The full might of the government machinery has been deployed from Chandigarh in the north to Chennai in the south, investigating franchises, rights holders and other entities and individuals - including top Bollywood stars - associated with the IPL.

The scale of the operation is staggering. The exercise is being coordinated by a director-general of vigilance in Mumbai heading a 24-hour investigating cell; those involved are officials of the Enforcement Directorate and Income Tax department - coming under the finance ministry - and officials of the Corporate Affairs ministry.

The investigations - covering a range of alleged infringements including money laundering, tax evasion, shell companies, black (illegal) money and misusing tax havens - appear to be an implementation of the finance minister's assurance to Parliament that the allegations would be thoroughly probed.

The day began with the taxmen raiding the offices of Multi Screen Media (MSM, formerly Sony Entertainment Television) and World Sports Group (WSG), the two firms that hold the TV broadcast rights to the IPL. The "surveys", as tax officials call them, were conducted in four different locations, including the home of the WSG's South Asia president, Venu Nair. In 2008, WSG bagged the TV rights for a ten-year period, with a $918 million bid and a promise to spend $108m on promoting the event. It had simultaneously signed a deal with MSM that Sony would be the official broadcaster. The contract was recast before IPL 2009, with MSM agreeing to pay $1.63 billion for nine years.

That contract - and specifically an alleged $80 million facilitation fee - is now believed to be the subject of investigation but WSG has denied allegations of impropriety. "Any allegation that World Sports Group has used any funds received in connection with its sub-licence of these rights for inappropriate or unlawful activities is completely unfounded and without substance," it said in a statement.

The rest of the day followed a familiar pattern. In Chandigarh, home to the Kings XI Punjab, a court summoned Bollywood actress Preity Zinta, Ness Wadia and Mohit Burman, co-owners of the franchise, on July 23 in a case of missing balance sheets and accounts details.

In Kolkata, income tax officials visited the offices of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), co-owned by Shah Rukh Khan, located within the headquarters of the Cricket Association of Bengal at Eden Gardens and the offices of Gameplan, a sports management company associated with the franchise.

In Secunderabad, an IT team visited the office premises of Deccan Chargers Sporting Ventures limited.

There was even a check in Chennai, where 40-odd officials turned up at the office of India Cements, which owns the Chennai Super Kings. India Cements is run by N Srinivasan, who is also the BCCI secretary.

And in Mumbai, IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi was questioned again at the Four Seasons Hotel where he's staying about a multi-million dollar contract for the broadcasting rights of IPL.

In New Delhi, the Enforcement Directorate registered a preliminary case against the IPL and its franchises to probe possible violations of foreign exchange rules and regulations. The case was registered under the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act to investigate claims that huge funds have found their way into IPL from international tax havens.

The IPL controversy is threatening an ugly denouement with Lalit Modi, the embattled league chairman and commissioner, seemingly striking a defiant stand head of Monday's meeting of the governing council. This was evident in two emails made public today and accessed by Cricinfo; in one, Modi has questioned the validity of the meeting and warned he may not attend and in the other, also addressed to BCCI president Shashank Manohar, he has suggested the release of ownership details of all franchises.

The more provocative mail was today's letter, in which Modi sought a deferment of the April 26 meeting to May 1 on the grounds that he needed more time to prepare the agenda and the paperwork. But, he added, the April 26 meeting was invalid since it has been called by N Srinivasan, a member of the council only by virtue of being BCCI secretary, and hence he would skip it.

However, when contacted by Cricinfo, Srinivasan was unambiguous on the validity of the meeting. "I am the convenor of the governing council. It should take place", he said. Modi's line appeared equally clear. "If the meeting does go ahead on 26th April instead of 1st of May as I have asked it will deem to be unofficial," he wrote. ""...I do not propose to attend any unauthorised meeting."

He questioned Srinivasan's competence to call the meeting. "The IPL has been given the powers by the (BCCI) general body to hold their own meetings and I am sorry to say that the Hon. Secretary (BCCI) has never called a GC since inception or is the convener.

"All he is actually is an ex-officio member of the GC as an office bearer of BCCI and as he is a conflicted party who owns an IPL team. He has never and can never call a GC meeting."

Ownership structures

* Mumbai Indians
* Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings Ltd (RIIHL) - 98.3%
* Teesta Retail Pvt Ltd - 1.7%
*
* Delhi Daredevils
* GMR Holdings Private Limited - 51%
* Mr. Srinivas Bommidala - 12%
* Mr GM Rao - 13%
* Mr GBS Raju - 12%
* Mr G Kiran Kumar - 12%
*
* Deccan Chargers
* Deccan Chargers Sporting Ventures Ltd - 100%

He explained the reason for seeking a postponement of the meeting. "...I just returned from Dubai last night and was attending the ICC meeting which you (Manohar) asked me to attend on your behalf...We had to move the matches from Bangalore and also we have the playoffs and awards. We are working 24x7 and as such have had no time to prepare or will have time to do so till post 26th."

The other mail chain dates from April 14, three days after Modi's original tweet revealing the Kochi franchise shareholding structure and a day after he received a reprimand from Manohar for it. It begins with a mail from Modi to "friends" - said to be 71 council members, officials and stakeholders - suggesting that "propriety and fair play demand" that the IPL release the names of all stake-holders.

"We should as public body disclose ownership details along with name of directors of all franchisees once again. Earlier we at the time of bidding only disclosed the names and share holding. If everyone is okay with this we will issue the same right away, that way all doubts and aspirations (sic) being cast on IPL franchises and members of GC [governing council] appropriately rebutted. I hope you all agree with the same."

The next day, the mail chain shows, there was a reply from Manohar. "The issue is complex and needs detailed deliberations and legal implications need to be gone into and hence can be considered at the GC meeting, where all documents and papers relating to the bids are available."

The implication is that Manohar and others who echoed his views in the mail chain were delaying the release of information that had been deemed questionable.

Manohar sought to scotch that viewpoint by repeating in an interview to PTI his original argument. "We received a mail from Mr Venugopal, one of the owners of the Kochi franchise, saying this was a breach of the confidentiality clause in the agreement which had been signed between BCCI and them and he further says they were contemplating legal action. Notice was sent to us on the night of the 11th of April," Manohar said.

"To wriggle out of the situation, Modi wrote a mail dated April 14, 2010 to me and members suggesting that all details regarding the franchisees be made public. I replied that the issue is complicated and needed detailed deliberations," he said.

"Modi in his Twitter posted details of the Kochi franchisee. On the basis of that the media pounced on him seeking to know to why he did not disclose details of the existing eight teams … The question is why Modi did not disclose this for three years when these eight team documents were available with him since 2007."

The heart of the matter is easy enough to locate. The Mumbai Indians, the only consistent team in this year's IPL, deserved to be in the final. Bangalore, who lost six of their last nine league games after starting so strongly, didn't. Bangalore never quite figured out what their strongest XI was, especially once Kevin Pietersen and Ross Taylor returned from international duty, and their sloppiness with both bat and ball eased Mumbai's path to the final.

As Anil Kumble was to say later, Bangalore did alright for two-thirds of the game. For 15 overs with the ball, they kept things under control, restricting a powerful line-up to just 107 runs, albeit on a pitch that was taking a fair bit of turn. Then, with the bat, they were well on course for nine overs. Two wickets in two balls though, and the game was pretty much up.

In truth, they should never have had to chase 185. When Pietersen finished a tidy spell by conceding just four in the 15th over, the pressure was on Saurabh Tiwary and Ambati Rayudu, neither with any international experience, to inject some impetus into the innings. Tiwary rode his luck as 17 came from a Jacques Kallis over and the match was transformed when the miserly Kumble (1 for 13 from his first three overs) was taken for 17 in his final over punctuated by two no-balls.

Dale Steyn returned to dismiss Rayudu in a 10-run over, but both he and Vinay Kumar were then hapless onlookers as Kieron Pollard freed those rangy arms and justified Mumbai's spending on him at the auction earlier this year. Neither helped their cause by bowling full tosses or good-length deliveries to a man who clears the fence with ease even when he mishits the ball.

Afterwards, Zaheer Khan, who captained Mumbai after Sachin Tendulkar went off with a hand injury, was asked how a bowler could respond to the kind of assault that Pollard unleashed. "You need to bowl your yorkers," he said. "And you need to be very clear in your mind about what you want to do."

Chasing such a big total against such a well-balanced bowling attack was never going to be easy, but with Dravid holding up one end, Bangalore made a game of it till almost halfway. Pietersen was again outfoxed by Harbhajan Singh, but it was the dismissal of Robin Uthappa, caught in the deep off a slower ball from Pollard, that was really decisive.

Bangalore also lost because their Indian players faded as the season went on. Praveen Kumar and Vinay, who started the season strongly, didn't distinguish themselves in the later games, while Manish Pandey wilted after a promising first stint at the top of the order. Uthappa's consistency and big hitting was a huge bonus, as Kumble was to acknowledge later, but the others didn't chip in enough when it mattered.

They now have a third place play-off and the possible consolation of a Champions League berth to contemplate. For a sweat-soaked Kumble, it was no consolation at all. "Every defeat hurts," he said. "We are professionals. Maybe some of the other players have other things to look forward to. But I no longer play international cricket. This is all I have. I still haven't got over losing in the final last year. This one will also take some time."

His team-mate of 18 years now faces an anxious wait to know if he'll be fit for the final. For much of the tournament, Sachin Tendulkar's runs piloted Mumbai's challenge. Today, with next to no contribution from him, the others proved that they're far from being a one-man show. Tiwary and Rayudu have both made huge strides during the course of this competition, and the fact that they didn't crumble under the pressure of a knockout situation augurs well for the future.

Both Sri Lankan pace bowlers did exceptionally well, but it was Pollard with his languid movements and awesome power that was the star of the show. They'll take some stopping in the final, no matter which team they face.

Everything changed in the last five overs of the Mumbai Indians' innings. The game was in a deadlock at the end of 15 overs with Mumbai on 107 for 4 - some might have even felt that Royal Challengers Bangalore held the edge - but things took a dramatic turn from there on. Saurabh Tiwary hit an enterprising half-century and Kieron Pollard played a delightful cameo to charge Mumbai to 184 for 5 at the DY Patil Stadium. It was a bridge too far even for the batting-heavy Bangalore and they never really threatened to get anywhere close to the target. The 35-run win took Mumbai to the final, and sealed their qualification for the Champions League Twenty20 to be held in September.

It was always going to be a difficult chase and things got really tough for Bangalore in the tenth over with the fall of Robin Uthappa and Rahul Dravid off successive deliveries. Bangalore had reached 80 for 2 from nine overs and had already lost Kevin Pietersen to a smart leg-side stumping by Ambati Rayudu off Harbhajan Singh; they then suffered the twin blows that effectively killed the contest. Uthappa was in hot form, collecting 18 runs from Harbhajan's over with the help of two thumping sixes, but he dragged a slower one from Pollard straight to deep midwicket.

Before Bangalore could recover from that asphyxiating blow, they lost Dravid, who had played a fluent knock, to a run-out resulting from a misunderstanding with Ross Taylor. Pollard removed both Virat Kohli and Manish Pandey and though Taylor hung around for a while, he couldn't produce any miracle tonight. Bangalore were left to rue their ordinary effort in the field in the last five overs where they lost the game.

The game actually changed in character twice during Mumbai's innings: first after the first time-out was taken at the end of seven overs, and second from the 15th over onwards. Mumbai had recovered after the early fall of Sachin Tendulkar, courtesy an impish knock from Rayudu who counter-attacked initially before settling down, to reach 62 for 2 in seven overs, but were gradually choked by the slower bowlers. In the next six overs, before the second time-out was taken, only 31 runs came with the addition of two wickets.

Things looked desperate for Mumbai but Tiwary looted 17 runs from the 16th over bowled by Jacques Kallis to turn things around. The first delivery, a slower one, was swung over the midwicket boundary; the fourth was bludgeoned to midwicket for a four; and the fifth ran away to fine-leg boundary via an inside-edge. Mumbai had broken free and continued to indulge themselves in the end overs.

Anil Kumble, who, before then, had combined well with Pietersen, handed back the initiative as he conceded 17 runs in the 17th over. It was Tiwary, again, who did the damage. He made use of a freehit to collect a boundary to backward square-leg before flat-batting a six to the straight boundary, as Kumble's visage grew angrier. It was the image of the night.

Pollard joined in the fun right in the end, with his big lofted drives, to further boost Mumbai. Pollard pinged the long-off boundary with two sixes against Vinay Kumar and slugged Dale Steyn over long-on for another six as Mumbai finished off in style. And so, after 41 days of non-stop action, Mumbai entered their first final in the three years of IPL.

Match Meter

*
RCB
*
Tendulkar falls: Tendulkar stretches too far across but fails to cover an outswinger from Steyn and offers an easy catch to cover in the second over.

*
MI
*
Kallis leaks runs: Mumbai are 107 for 4 in 15 overs, but Tiwary loots 17 runs from the next over bowled by Kallis to turn things around.

*
MI
*
Kumble loses control : Kumble bowls a no-ball and gives a free hit which is put away by Tiwary, who capitalises further with a flat-batted six in the 17th over.

*
MI
*
Pietersen stumped: Pietersen charges out to loft Harbhajan in the seventh over, misses and Rayudu completes an excellent leg-side stumping.

*
MI
*
Uthappa exits: So much depended on Uthappa but he can't produce his magic tonight. He holes out to deep midwicket and with him Bangalore's hopes end.

Advantage Honours even

The controversy over the sale of the IPL Kochi franchise has claimed its first victim, with India's junior foreign minister Shashi Tharoor resigning over allegations of a conflict of interest in his mentoring the consortium through the successful bid. Earlier in the day Sunanda Pushkar, Tharoor's close friend whose 4.7% "free equity" stake in the franchise had become the source of the controversy, said she had offered to give up her holding.

"It's a voluntary resignation. I don't want to embarrass the party. I want parliament proceedings to go on, hence I have decided to resign," Tharoor said in his letter. A statement from the Prime Minister's office said the resignation had been forwarded to the President "with a recommendation that it be accepted".

Pushkar's offer to give up her share in the franchise - seen as an attempt to save Tharoor - was revealed in the evening, a few hours before Tharoor's resignation. "Given the deeply unpleasant publicity surrounding my involvement, I can no longer find the enthusiasm required to associate myself with any IPL activity in the future," Pushkar said in a statement. "I therefore voluntarily offer to return to Rendezous the sweat equity they offered me. I do not wish to ask for compensation for my services rendered to them."

The decision, Pushkar's lawyer said, was made on Saturday. On Sunday, Tharoor, a member of the ruling Congress party, met with the Indian prime minister amid speculation over whether he would resign from his post as junior minister for foreign affairs because of the controversy about whether Pushkar was acting as a proxy for him, a charge Tharoor had denied. Tharoor tendered his resignation late on Sunday and it was accepted by the prime minister.

Pushkar had also denied she was acting as a proxy for Tharoor and said the Rendezvous Group had given her equity as payment for her marketing expertise and her help in putting the bid together. Tharoor, however, was criticised, by the opposition party among others, for not revealing his link to Pushkar earlier.

The controversy over the ownership of the Kochi franchise became public after IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi revealed the composition of its stake holders on his Twitter account. According to his posts, the Kochi consortium break-up was: Rendezvous Sports 1%, Anchor 27%, Parinee [Developers] 26%, Film Waves Combine 12%, Anand Shyam 8%, Vivek Venugopal 1% with Rendezvous having an additional 25% free equity. That equity is held by Kisan, Shailender and Pushpa Gaikwad, Sunanda Pushkar, Puja Gulathi, Jayant Kotalwar, Vishnu Prasad, Sundip Agarwal.