The Great Game Called Cricket...

Australia began to right previous wrongs in this format with an emphatic dismantling of the defending champions at St Lucia, a 34-run win serving serious notice to one and all of their intentions in this tournament. They wear a fresh look about them in this tournament, under a new captain in Michael Clarke at a global event for the first time since 1999 and with some very handy specialists in the squad.

They went about their opening game in merciless fashion, echoing their dominance over Pakistan months earlier. Brutal half-centuries from Shane Watson and David Hussey set them up, before equally brutal pace shoved aside Pakistan's batsmen. That the loss was Pakistan's tenth international in a row to Australia is neither here nor there; more relevant, Australia were very hot and Pakistan very cold.

It was that way from the start. Watson feasted hungrily in the summer at Pakistan's expense and his love affair continued in more romantic surroundings. A little luck initially helped him, two tough chances put down. More help came from the bulldozing ways of David Warner, the pair giving Australia a brisk start.

Pakistan very rarely open the bowling with a spinner and very quickly, Shahid Afridi's experiment with Mohammad Hafeez looked an unquestioned failure. Warner lofted him for an effortless six over long-off to end the second over and in his next, the game was blown open as the pair took 17.

Warner fell soon after, as did Michael Clarke, but like a right-handed Matthew Hayden, Watson simply bullied his way forth. The brutality of his batting has grown but so has, slyly, his handling of spin. Hafeez was heaved for three sixes, the last of which brought up his fifty in the 10th over.

He was intelligent against Shahid Afridi and Saeed Ajmal, not always picking them, but picking away each bad ball. A couple of full tosses were driven and pulled and one cut was a cross-format shot. Then, Hussey interrupted.

Pakistan's fielding was slowly unraveling and Salman Butt's drop when Hussey was 18 was particularly unnecessary; the reprieve unleashed a violent celebration. To rub it in, he took it out on Mohammad Sami, the unlucky bowler. He had bowled well until the 16th over, when his length and head went, allowing Hussey to loft and pull his way to four sixes and a 28-run over. Amid the mess, Watson's innings briefly forgotten, Hussey's own fifty came up.

Pakistan were schizophrenic with the ball; Afridi was again poor and the decision to bowl Hafeez even poorer. Hafeez and Sami went for 101 runs between them. But Mohammad Aamer and Ajmal were exemplary, pulling back some respect at the very end as seven wickets fell in the last four overs, including a remarkable five-wicket maiden last over.

That was to matter little as Australia's intent carried on through in their bowling. Spin, spin, spin has been the chatter, but Australia believe in pace and with some justification. Shaun Tait, Dirk Nannes and Mitchell Johnson will trouble all but the very best on any surface. Tait and Nannes were too much for Pakistan's top order and the trio picked up a wicket each in their first spells; Tait in particular was sharp.

Any time the pacemen weren't on, in fact, Pakistan's batsmen looked good. Fourteen came off a Michael Clarke over, 17 off a Steve Smith one. Shahid Afridi and Misbah-ul-Haq - a little more 2007 than 2009 - kept hope with a 47-run stand but the return of pace extinguished it. Afridi was bowled by Tait, Misbah and Abdul Razzaq slogged out to Nannes and the pace trio ended with eight wickets between them.

Match Meter

AusWarner, Watson put Pakistan in a spin: Shahid Afridi decides to open with spin but in only his second over, Hafeez is taken for 17 and the momentum is with Australia
AusPakistan let Watson off: Just before he is settled, Watson is dropped twice by Misbah-ul-Haq in the 4th and 5th overs
AusHussey cuts loose: Having been dropped in the 14th over off Mohammad Sami, David Hussey smashes four sixes and 28 runs from his next over to take the innings away from Pakistan
AusPace strikes early: Kamran Akmal falls to Dirk Nannes off the first legitimate ball of the chase
AusPace again: Afridi and Misbah are keeping Pakistan afloat with a handy 47-run stand, but the return of Shaun Tait in the 14th over ends the partnership, as he rattles Afridi's stumps and effectively ends the chase Advantage Honours even

MUMBAI: Chennai Super Kings were crowned Indian Premier League 3 champions after thumping Mumbai Indians by 22 runs in a thrilling summit clash on Sunday night.

Scorecard | In Pics: Closing Ceremony | Match in Pics

Electing to bat, Chennai posted 168 for five, thanks to Suresh Raina's unbeaten 57 and then restricted Mumbai to 146 for nine to win their maiden IPL title in the grand finale at the packed DY Patil Stadium.

Chennai though had to spend some anxious moments towards the close of Mumbai run-chase with big-hitting Kieron Pollard threatening to almost singlehandedly win the match before he was out in the penultimate over for a 10-ball 27 which was studded with three fours and two sixes.

For Chennai, who have been playing in their second final after finishing runners-up to Rajasthan Royals in 2008, it has been a roller coaster ride having made it to the semifinal in their last league match.

Mumbai, who were playing in an IPL final for the first time, were the most consistent side in the tournament having won 10 of their 14 league matches, but they faltered at the final hurdle.

For Mumbai, captain Sachin Tendulkar, who declared himself fit for the grand finale after sustaining a right hand webbing split in first semifinal, top-scored with a 45-ball 48 which was studded with seven fours but he did not get enough support from his batting colleagues.

Tendulkar's 66-run stand from 58 balls for the second wicket with Abhishek Nayar was the only substantial partnership for Mumbai.

Left-arm spinner Shadab Jakati emerged the most successful Chennai bowler with two for 26 while Doug Bollinger, Albie Morkel, Muttiah Muralitharan and Suresh Raina took a wicket apiece.

Mumbai began their run-chase of 169 on a shaky note with opener Shikhar Dhawan failing to score the opening over from Ravichandran Ashwin and was out in the second over bowled by Bollinger for an eight-ball duck.

Mumbai struggled for runs before Tendulkar and Nayar took 10 runs from the fifth over by hitting a four each off Ashwin.

Tendulkar, who celebrated his 37th birthday on Saturday, then smote Albie Morkel for two fours to take Mumbai to 33 for one after the first power-play.

With off-spinner Muralitharan introduced in the seventh over, runs came in trickles and he was unlucky not to have got Nayar with Matthew Hayden dropping the batsman when on eight.

Nayar struck two sixes in as many balls off Jakati in the 10th over to take Mumbai score to 58 for one at the halfway mark.

With the asking rate over 11 by the 10th over, Mumbai looked like pressing the accelerator but they lost two wickets in the 12th over with Nayar and Harbhajan Singh returning to the hut in the space of five balls.

Nayar was run out for a 26-ball 27 after being sent back by Tendulkar and Harbhajan, who was surprisingly sent up the order, was LBW to Raina for just one.

Mumbai's hopes almost ended with the departure of Tendulkar in the 15th over and the veteran batsman, who wore the orange cap for being the tournament top scorer, was out while trying to pushed the run rate, holing out to Murali Vijay off Jakati.

Saurabh Tiwary, who have been in fine form in the tournament, followed Tendulkar three balls later as he holed out to Raina off Jakati for a duck.

Mumbai needed 68 from the last five overs and JP Duminy's (6) departure in the 17th over did not help the Mumbai cause.

But big-hitting Kieron Pollard, who was surprisingly sent in number eight, raised hopes of a stunning victory for Mumbai by singlehandedly taking 22 runs from the 18th over bowled by Bollinger.

Mumbai needed 33 runs from the last two overs but a mix up led to Ambati Rayudu's run out in the fifth ball of the penultimate over and next ball Pollard was out to end Mumbai's dreams of winning the title.

Earlier, Raina took advantage of some sloppy catching by Mumbai Indians as he struck an unbeaten 57 to pilot Chennai Super Kings to 168 for five in the summit clash which was preceded by a 40-minute closing ceremony.

The left-handed Raina, who came one down on team score of 44, was dropped twice -- on 14 and 28 -- before making a crucial 57 not out in 35 balls embellished with three sixes and as many fours.

But for Raina's knock and his 72-run partnership with his captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (22 in 15 balls) for the fourth wicket, Chennai would have ended with a much lesser score.

Electing to bat, Chennai made a decent start with openers Matthew Hayden (17) and Murali Vijay (26) putting on 44 runs.

The Mumbai Indians bowling attack then put an effective shackle on the batsmen on a wicket that offered good bounce but on which the ball stopped a bit on the batsmen.

For Mumbai, tall Sri Lanka pace bowler Dilhara Fernando emerged the most successful with 2 for 23 while Zaheer Khan and Kieron Pollard picked one wicket apiece.

Openers Hayden and Vijay started cautiously and saw off one over each from Harbhajan Singh and Lasith Malinga before stepping on the accelerator.

It was the left-handed Hayden, who has been struggling in the tournament, who started the attack by hoisting Harbhajan over long on for the first six of the match in the third over.

Vijay then pulled Zaheer Khan into the stands beyond the mid-wicket area and then punched Malinga exquisitely to the extra cover fence for a four.

Malinga was then square cut by Hayden and the duo looked all-set for a big stand.

But Vijay fell caught just inside the boundary line off a skier by Saurabh Tiwary off Fernando. His 26 came off 19 balls and included two sixes and a four.

From 44 for one, it became 47 for two when Hayden, who survived a close leg before wicket appeal off Zaheer earlier, tried to charge out to Kieron Pollard and mistimed a pull to be caught behind by wicketkeeper Ambati Rayudu.

Chennai progressed to 58 for two after 10 overs, sign that Mumbai have bounced back into the game.

Raina and S Badrinath (14) got together briefly before the latter got out, caught at fine leg for 14 off Fernando.

Then came the most fruitful stand of the innings between Raina and Dhoni. They put on 72 runs in 35 balls.

But after Dhoni fell in the 18th over, it was Raina -- who struck Pollard for two sixes in the 16th over in which the bowler conceded 29 runs -- who made sure that his team ended with a decent total.

The interim chief of the highly lucrative Indian Premier League has said a clean-up of the scandal-hit cricket tournament has begun.

Chirayu Amin promised a "bigger, better and transparent" IPL next year.

Last Sunday, Indian cricket officials suspended IPL chairman Lalit Modi and demanded he answer a number of corruption accusations.

The investigation of Mr Modi includes alleged franchise-bid rigging and broadcasting rights irregularities.

Mr Modi has denied all allegations of wrongdoing.

The IPL started in 2008 and has become a multi-billion dollar industry, attracting some of India's wealthiest businesspeople to its franchises. The Twenty20 format competition features many of the world's top cricketers.

'Show will go on'

The interim IPL chairman told reporters on Tuesday in Baroda, in Gujarat state, western India, that the "show will go on".

"IPL-IV would be on schedule and it would bigger and better. The cleaning up is already happening. My job is to run IPL in the most transparent manner," Mr Amin said.

He said there would be some changes in the way the event would be held next year.

One of them will be scrapping the controversial after-match parties where people pay up to $1,000 (£650) to mingle with cricketers, fashion models and Bollywood stars.

"I don't know about the cheerleaders (a regular attraction at IPL matches) but the IPL [party] nights will be stopped," he said.

Mr Amin said he would talk to the team owners to assure them their investments were safe.

"My job is to interact with franchises and assure them that their investment is safe and will flourish," he said.

"IPL's brand image is strong and nobody can touch that. It's a storm but it will pass."

Mr Amin said cricket officials were investigating the matter of missing documents relating to franchise bids and broadcast and internet rights for the tournament.

"Nothing is out of control. There has to be a total audit of things. Some documents are missing and we are looking into it," he said.

In a separate interview with a news network, Mr Amin said all members of the IPL governing council "are responsible for what it is happening".

"Certain details were not disclosed to us and we trusted Lalit Modi to act in good faith for the betterment of the game. So I must admit that the governing council could have been more vigilant," he said.

Separately Indian captain MS Dhoni said that the IPL would endure.

"IPL as a brand can survive on its own. But you have to come up with some innovative ideas every time to make it better," he said before his team left for the West Indies for the Twenty20 World Cup.

The crisis erupted after Mr Modi revealed on his Twitter account that a female friend of Shashi Tharoor, a junior government minister, had invested in a consortium that was awarded a new IPL franchise in Kochi.

That revelation sparked Mr Tharoor's resignation and also led to government investigations into the IPL.

Chirayu Amin will be the interim IPL Chairman, after the BCCI top brass who sat in on the Governing Council meeting picked him as the replacement for the suspended Lalit Modi. Amin is a BCCI vice president and the head of the Baroda Cricket Association, and is a member of the IPL's Governing Council. He is also the Chairman and Managing Director of Alembic Pharmaceuticals. BCCI President, Shashank Manohar had been offered the post, but he refused it, whereupon Amin was appointed.

Addressing the media after the council meeting, Shashank Manohar said that Ratnakar Shetty has also been appointed to look into all the records of the IPL, since many of the documents are missing and the BCCI has been unable to furnish some documents that the Income Tax Department has asked of them.

Manohar opened the media briefing by saying, "The commercial aspect of a great property like the IPL is an important thing. However, ethics and transparency are more important. In the last 15 days, a lot of allegations and counter-allegations have been there in the media. The Board has looked into the allegations levelled and took the decision to issue a show-cause notice to Mr. Modi, and, pending inquiry, decided to suspend him.

"But since the tournament was on, we didn't want any problems caused and didn't want to disrupt the tournament in any way. The show-cause notice was sent only after the presentation ceremony was over."

Manohar left a window of opportunity open for Modi to come out of the proceedings unscathed, saying, "After receiving a reply from Mr. Modi, the Board will hold an inquiry. But if Mr. Modi's reply convinces the members, then the proceedings will be dropped."

On Mr. Ratnakar Shetty's appointment, Manohar said, "We have appointed Mr. Shetty to look into all the records because many of the documents are missing from the IPL offices. Everyday, the Income Tax Department is asking for the documents and we don't have them in our custody. Therefore we have asked Mr. Shetty to look into all these aspects and collect the documents."

Manohar defended himself and the BCCI on charges of lack of professionalism, saying that every organization functioned on trust, and that the Governing Council members often had their hands tied with regard to approving contracts.

"I don't understand your definition of professionalism," Manohar said. "All of us at the BCCI work as honorary members, which means we don't get paid for our time here. But the IPL is a great property and a valuable one, therefore we appointed professionals like IMG - who have conducted high profile events such Wimbledon and FIFA World Cups - and are paying them Rs. 27 crore per year. We appointed a CEO in Sundar Raman, and we appointed separate staff for the IPL.

"Any institution functions on trust. Even in a corporate set-up, the managing director does not check what everybody is doing. If I have to do all the jobs myself, why would I need a secretary or a work force?"

Elaborating on the modus operandi that was followed in signing contracts, Manohar said that most of the contracts that had to be approved were brought before the Governing Council after they were signed, thus presenting the Council with a fait accompli, which left them no option. He cited one such incident with regard to the IPL Awards that were held on the 23rd April.

"I came here (to Bombay) three days ago to look though the documents in light of the ongoing controversy. I called Sundar Raman and asked for the contracts of the function for the IPL Awards, and he said there were no contracts since everything was finalized just last night. He told me this at 3 p.m. and the awards were to be held at 7 p.m. So in this case, what can the Governing Council do? Can we say that we reject this contract and the function is over? This is an example of how some things were beyond the Council's control."

On Modi's suspension, Manohar said that it was not a punishment, but merely a necessary step since allegations had to be investigated in a free and fair manner.

"It is the duty of the board to look into all the allegations made and to have a free and fair inquiry. It is necessary to suspend a person so that there is no scope for interfering. Suspension is not a punishment. It is, as i said, only there so that a free and fair inquiry can be held."

The charges being investigated against Lalit Modi were the following:

* The initial bids for the Kings XI Punjab and the Rajasthan Royals

* The broadcasting bid for the IPL

* Rigging the bid for the two new franchises

* The internet rights of the IPL

* The behavioural pattern of Lalit Modi

Manohar also elaborated on the holding pattern of the Rajasthan Royals, where he revealed that the initial bid was made by a company called Emerging Media based out of the United Kingdom, owned solely by one person - Mr. Manoj Badale. However, the documents were signed by an entity called Jaipur IPL. He questioned how the bid was filed by one party and the documents signed by another. He also said that, "Modi made a statement that the entire world knows who are the owners of the franchises, but the fact is that even the Governing Council members are not aware of that."

Meanwhile, Modi seemed unflustered by the entire controversy. Writing on his twitter page, he said "Thank you all for your message of support. It is really appreciated. I am still chairman of IPL. Just suspended. Wait - we have just begun. Had a restful day. Been in the spa all day. Much needed rest."

Team India is West-Indies-bound for the T20 World Cup, but the most successful batsmen of IPL Season 3 is not boarding that flight. Sachin Tendulkar will be missed by every Indian, but India skipper MS Dhoni says, "we must respect Sachin's decision to retire from T20."

In an exclusive interview to NDTV, Dhoni, who also spoke about winning the IPL and lots more, said of course the team would miss Sachin, but "I respect his decision, whatever he says because he has done well, given his services to Indian cricket for the last 20 years, if he decides something than we should just respect it."

The Captain is sure the presence of his Chennai Super Kings teammate, opener Murli Vijay, will stand the team in good stead. The in-form Murli has come in at the last minute for Virendra Sehwag, who has dropped out of the tournament.
(Read: IPL needs more minds)

Dhoni is also bullish about his bowlers and is happy with the inclusion in the squad of young Piyush Chawla. "Pragyan Ojha has done relatively well in all three seasons of IPL, same is the case with Amit Mishra who has done really well, but you have to see in this format of t20 cricket, if you have somebody like Harbhajan Singh or Yusuf Pathan, Ravinder Jadeja, who have been doing this job of bowling with batting, in this equation Piyush Chawla gets an edge and he is the best fielder among the lot. We need somebody who can do a bit of batting at the same time. Captains get greedy by saying that you don't need a batsman at number 8 but there is no harm."

And can Team India reprise the thrilling win of three years ago so soon after a hectic IPL season? "This isn't the first time we are playing World Cup and not first time that we are playing so much. We should stop asking. We play throughout the year, five years before or after we will keep playing...the only factor is hopefullly we dont have any major injuries to any players," says the man in command.

n December 2005, the BCCI circulated a vision paper titled "The cricket board in the 21st century". It covered topics such as "quality of grounds and pitches", "infrastructure development", "marketing and merchandising" and "National Cricket Academy". Though presumably shelved immediately after and forgotten since, it was a bold statement of intent, one befitting the occasion - the first working committee meeting under Sharad Pawar's presidency in an entity that was already assuming its current leviathan proportions.

The most important point, though, was the preamble. Written in the aftermath of the board election that ended the much-vilified Jagmohan Dalmiya regime and began the Pawar era, it spoke of the fans' expectations of the new dispensation whose buzzword, it said, would be transparency. Just over four years later those expectations have been rudely shattered, and Pawar and his associates stand discredited. The future looks bleak but if Shashank Manohar - who finally has a chance to run Indian cricket as his own man - needs a plan to revive the board's credibility, he need look no further than that eerily prescient vision document.

Read now, though, that preamble is a mockery of whatever Sharad Pawar and his colleagues have done in their time at the helm. In fact their prescription for the board in 2005 is needed, now more than ever, in the wake of the worst scandal by far to engulf Indian cricket. The saddest part of the vision document is that, though four years old, it has not dated, instead it has become even more relevant.

"Some of the happenings during the last few years have grievously dented the board's image," the vision document says. "Our first priority should be to restore its pristine glory by creating confidence among the followers of the game that the board is indeed a sincere custodian of Indian cricket. Frankly the question being asked is, as the richest body in world cricket, has it fulfilled its obligations towards the players and paying public? For that we all need to introspect and touch our hearts before saying 'yes, we have'."

That time for introspection has come, with the Board's credibility at an all-time low - and with the pendulum of public sympathy swinging dangerously, if improbably, towards Modi. Perhaps the only fact in this whole stew of allegations is that not a single charge against Modi has yet been proved - he is as innocent or as guilty as anyone else. Public perception shouldn't matter too much to the BCCI - things would not have come to such a pass if it did - but it does matter to a senior politician like Pawar, who faces elections in his home state of Maharashtra next year. Pawar also takes up the ICC presidency two months from now and his immense clout would be undermined by any mud sticking to him.

Over the past few days there has been much talk of who could set this right - the government, the judiciary, a collegium of corporate leaders. The Army, that go-to for all India's problems, has presumably been ruled out because of a conflict of interest - there's a Services team in the Ranji Trophy. None of that will work, though, without corrective measures from within.

Can it be done? Back to that preamble: "As a premier national sports body, the board had been a model for all others sports organizations, but of late it has invited scorn from the public. In a fast paced world driven by market forces, we have to gear up to meet the ever increasing challenges and aspirations of a cricket-crazy nation. When the country is getting excited about the Right to Information Act, the Board is being ridiculed for its lack of transparency. Unless we believe in the free flow of information, particularly when millions and millions of rupees are involved, we are bound to be misunderstood. There can't be a better start to the new-look board than resolve that everything we do from hereon will be transparent and in the game's and public interest, be it election or allotting television rights or the team selection.

"The buzz word should be "Transparency.'"

Later, the document deals specifically with the issue of television rights. "The Board wants to end speculation over the selling of television rights. It would like to come up with a transparent method which will not only benefit the Board financially but will also help in restoring its image as an organisation which has become the epicenter of international cricket."

No one will hold the BCCI to every word in this document. But if they can, over the next few days, weeks and months, stay true to this buzzword, there may be some chance of the mess being resolved. Otherwise let's hope they find the world's biggest carpet under which to shovel the dirt.

The BCCI has suspended Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman, for "alleged acts of individual misdemeanours", bringing down the curtains on one particularly unsavoury episode in the BCCI's history but very possibly leaving the door open for more twists in this saga. Modi's three-year reign was effectively ended moments after the conclusion of the tournament final in Mumbai on Sunday and he responded in melodramatic fashion with an emotional speech at the awards ceremony.

The suspension notice was served on him by Rajeev Shukla, a BCCI vice-president, at the conclusion of Sunday's game, with N Srinivasan, the board secretary, sending an email to the same effect. It followed a day of negotiations with interlocutors attempting to persuade Modi to resign but pre-empted a potentially flashpoint at Monday's scheduled IPL governing council meeting, which Modi had said he would attend. He is now officially barred from participating in the affairs of the Board, the IPL and any other committee of the BCCI and has 15 days to respond to the charges levelled at him.

The public confirmation of his suspension came in a statement from BCCI president Shashank Manohar issued shortly after the end of Sunday's final. "Alleged acts of individual misdemeanours of Mr Lalit K Modi, chairman IPL and vice president BCCI, have brought a bad name to the administration of cricket and the game itself," it said.

"I have waited for IPL 2010 to conclude in order to respond to the situation as I did not want the event to be disrupted in any manner. Immediately after the conclusion of the IPL final, the secretary, BCCI Mr N Srinivasan has in consultation with me issued a show cause notice to Mr. Lalit K Modi under Rule 32 (iv) calling upon him to show cause within 15 days why disciplinary action should not be taken against him. Simultaneously, in exercise of the powers vested in me under Rule 32 (vii), I have suspended Mr. Lalit K Modi from participating in the affairs of the Board, the IPL, the working committee and any other committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India."

Modi had apparently received that notice by the time he went up to the podium for the post-match presentations, and it prompted an emotional, lengthy speech. "We have had some off field unpleasant dramas only based on innuendo, half truths and motivated leaks from all kinds of sources," he said. "I assure you all decisions have been taken jointly by the governing council and approved by the general body... Still, as the leader of the team, if there is any flouting of rules or any other financial irregularity, I will take full responsibility."

Earlier, before he received the notice, he had taken a similar combative stand while talking to NDTV. Informed of the imminent suspension, he said: ""Good for them. Are they so scared of me attending? Are they so scared of the truth?"

His allusion was to the growing perception that Modi alone was not responsible for the alleged misdemeanours, that there were other, possibly more powerful forces at play as well. Those forces would have preferred Modi to resign, resulting in a swift and clean break, rather than be sacked, which would necessitate a formal inquiry and the production of potentially damaging documents.

In any case, Modi's suspension rules him out of Monday's IPL governing council meeting. The meeting had been convened by Srinivasan but Modi had, on Sunday evening, sent out an agenda that included "a discussion on any complaints received in writing from members of the governing council against the chairman, other members of the council and/or the BCCI."It also said members of the governing council "had been requested to give all such complaints in writing with the requisite supporting documents".

The agenda is now likely to focus more on life after Lalit: picking an interim IPL chairman and working out a plan for the future. BCCI sources say for the moment Manohar will himself take charge of the IPL sub-committee. The first few weeks are likely to be spent in a clean-up operation and a scrutiny of the Modi-era transactions.

The actual management of the league is likely to be handed over to a CEO - probably appointed from outside - with reduced powers but greater assistance. He could be assisted by department heads for marketing, finance, logistics and the like.