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Shoaib Akhtar has said he had no point to prove to anybody when he went out to bowl against the Delhi Daredevils in his IPL debut for the Kolkata Knight Riders. “I just wanted to win the game,” said Shoaib, who ripped through Delhi’s batting with four wickets from three overs.With Kolkata defending a low total, Shoaib removed Virender Sehwag off the second ball of the innings, dismissed Gautam Gambhir in his next over and then took two more off successive balls in his third.Last month the Pakistan board banned Shoaib for five years on grounds of disciplinary problems but allowed him to play the IPL. He last played for Pakistan in November 2007.Shoaib said he was stressed but put everything behind him before the match. “For me, my team is the most important thing,” Shoaib said. “Kolkata is my home team. Eden Gardens is my home ground. Sharing the dressing room with Shah Rukh Khan and Sourav [Ganguly] was fantastic. They backed me. And I am really happy to perform. They put faith in me. And I am happy to deliver.”Ganguly, the Kolkata captain, acknowledge Shoaib’s performance. “He came to the country with lots [of things] happening behind him,” Ganguly said. “But he showed a lot of character.”Sehwag said it was the best Twenty20 spell he had ever seen but denied that Delhi’s batsmen fell to Shoaib’s pace.” We are used to pace,” Sehwag said. “We are all international players. I, Gautam and [Manoj] Tiwary. We batted too positively against Shoaib.”Their 23-run win keeps Kolkata at fourth place just above Delhi; their next match is against the Mumbai Indians on Friday.

On Gurunath MeiyappanFacing criminal charges and a judicial custody for a period of about 10 days rather shows the seriousness of the misconduct committed by him. His habit of regularly placing bets in IPL matches renders the argument of his being first offender and unblemished antecedents in previous IPL tournaments of no worth.That he lost up to Rs 60 lakhs in bets shows that he engaged himself in heavy bets. It is his bad luck that he did not make money out of these bets. Any agony suffered by him because of media coverage or any hardship that may have been caused to him is too small in comparison to the huge injury he caused to the reputation and image of the game, IPL and BCCI. If the reputation and image of the sport are lost, what remains? Being 40 years of age, he is not young but middle-aged. It is difficult to accept that he has passion for the game…The committee imposes following sanctions:

• He is declared ineligible for participation in the sport of cricket as explained in the anti-corruption code for a maximum of five years under article 2.2.1
• He is suspended for life from the activities as explained in Article 7.5 under Level 4 ( first offence ) of Article 2.4 of the Code of conduct
• He is suspended for life from being involved in any type of cricket matches under Section 6, rule 4.2(b) read with (j) of the Operational Rules.

Raj KundraAs part owner, having 11.4% of share-holding by his family and investment vehicle, and team official, Raj Kundra was required to conduct himself in comformity with the rules, regulations and codes framed by the BCCI. Being UK citizen, he had heavy responsibility on him to ensure that his acts and actions were not in conflict with the laws of a foreign country. Betting is a crime punishable under the Indian Penal Code. Besides that, it is an offence, corrupt practice under the BCCI’s rules regulations and codes. With so much of information available online, it is very difficult to accept that as a UK citizen, he believed betting to be legal in India. It is no secret that some of the players of the Rajasthan Royals of which he was the team official were found enmeshed in a web of match fixing . When a part owner (team official) indulges in corrupt practices, unsavoury individuals and bad elements become bold enough to involve vulnerable elements including players in all sorts of corruption. The findings by the Hon Supreme Court of the acts of betting have affected the image of the BCCI, IPL and the game of cricket and brought each one of them to disrepute and involvement in betting by team officials is against the spirit of the game, reflect the grave nature of misconduct he is found to be involved with.Sanctions:

• He is declared ineligible from participation in the sport of cricket as explained in Anti Corrupton Code for the maximum period of 5 years under Article 2.2.1
• He is suspended for life from activities as explained in Article 7.5 under Level 4 ( first offence ) of Article 2.4 of the Code of Conduct.
• He is suspended for life from being involved with the BCCI in any type of cricket matches under Section 6, rule 4.2(b) read with (j) of the Operational Rules.

On India Cements
Moreover, Mr Gurunath Meiyappan was in the position of owner. He is the son-in-law of Mr N Srinivasan, managing director of India Cements, which is a franchise of the team CSK, and Mr Gurunath Meiyappan was considered to be the face of the owner due to his actions. Therefore, offences of the persons who are the face representative of the owner would have to be considered as acts of the owner for the purpose of the operational rules with reference to IPL league matches and consequently the actions of such persons which bring the game, BCCI into disrepute.
Not only that no urgent action was taken by India Cements against Gurunath Meiyappan but as a matter of fact no action has been shown to have been taken against him. The order of suspension passed by the BCCI against Gurunath Meiyappan after his arrest is not an action by India Cements against its official. The plea by India Cements regarding long history to contribution of cricket and cricketers cannot be accepted in view of the fact due to the act of Gurunath Meiyappan, team official of CSK who happened to be son-in-law of Mr N Srinivasan, MD of India Cements, the then BCCI president the purity of the game has been affected and the contribution if any made by the franchise has also been wasted because millions of people, true lovers of the game feel cheated. Moreover, disrepute has been brought to cricket, BCCI and IPL to such an extent that doubts abound in the public consciousness about whether games are clean or not.
Having regard to the findings recorded by the Hon’ble Supreme Court and on taking into consideration all relevant facts and circumstances as noted and discussed above, the Committee proposes to impose sanction on India Cements Ltd (Franchisee) under Section 6,rule 4.2(c) of the Operational Rules by suspending it from the League for a period of two years. The period of suspension shall commence from the date of this order.On Jaipur IPL Cricket Private Limited
Mr Raj Kundra was indeed part owner and also team official and therefore for the purpose of operational rules with reference to IPL matches Mr Raj Kundra’s actions that brought the game, the BCCI and the IPL into disrepute have to be considered actions of the franchise. We do not think that Jaipur IPL can shirk its responsibility by terming the acts done by Mr Raj Kundra as having been done in his personal capacity. If those who indulge in corrupt practices forbidden by the rules of the game are an integral part of the franchise in view of their accreditation, part ownership, close relationship and also being team official, the argument that these acts were personal and as a consequence of them if the image of the game, the BCCI and the league got affected, the franchise cannot be held responsible does not merit acceptance. Such a technical approach is legally unsustainable because of the very nature of relationship between the franchise and the wrongdoer.The general omissions by all franchises found in the ACSU report deserve various attention by the BCCI but in so far as Jaipur IPL is concerned its omissions are grave in as much as its part owner and team official have been found to have indulged in betting and that has affected the image of the game, the BCCI and the league and brought each one of them into disrepute. Jaipur IPL claims that it is highly celebrates as nursery for players but the fact remains that three RR players were arrested and charged with spot-fixing in the 2013 IPL season. The committee can also take notice of the fact that there has been allegation of approach to one of its players for corrupt practices in 2015 IPL season as well. This shows that all is not well with Jaipur IPL in handling anti-corruption issues. It is true that Mr Raj Kundra has relinquished his shares somewhere in the month of March but it is too late. No urgent action was taken by Jaipur IPL against Raj Kundra when his acts of betting became known. Once it is accepted that cricket is greater than individuals or a body of individuals and financial loss may be caused to a few players and franchises may not be a significant consideration while taking disciplinary action or for imposition of punishment for wrongdoing.On consideration of all relevant aspects of the matter, the Committee imposes sanction on JIPL (Franchisee) under Section 6, rule 4.2(c) of the Operational Rules by suspending it from the League for a period of two years. The period of suspension shall commence from the date of this order.

After a number of one-day tournaments, and a closely-contested Duleep Trophy, the Indian domestic season approaches its home-stretch. The Ranji Trophy semi-final kicks off tomorrow as Mumbai take on Hyderabad and Tamil Nadu clash with Railways. Though these matches will be completely overshadowed by the India-Pakistan series, they will provide a few players a chance to stake their claim for a spot in the Test side.Mumbai have breezed through their league encounters. Like last season, it has been a collective effort and they have garners 22 points – the highest in the leagues – from seven matches (won three and gained first-innings points in the rest). Wasim Jaffer and Vinod Kambi have piloted the batting efforts but there have been plucky contributions from almost everyone. Aavishkar Salvi has recovered from injury and is expected to take the new ball with Munaf Patel. Ramesh Powar, a vital cog in their machinery, will surely be missed, but Sairaj Bahutule, the legspinner, and Nilesh Kulkarni, with his left-arm spin, will provide a lot of variety even in his absence. And to top it all, they will have the home advantage,Though Hyderabad will have the odds severely stacked against them, they haven’t had a bad season by any means. They dominated Tamil Nadu and routed Karnataka, two of the strong teams in their group, and the loss to Bengal was their only blemish. Ambati Rayudu and Vinay Kumar have produced some crucial innings and Narender Pal Singh has provided the breakthroughs with the new ball. But history is against them: Hyderabad have never beaten Mumbai in this competition, and it will take a special effort for them to storm the bastion of Indian cricket.Tamil Nadu, last year’s runner-up, will be the favourites in the other semi-final at Chennai. Sporting one of the strongest batting line-ups in the country – which includes Sadagoppan Ramesh, Sridharan Sriram, Sreedharan Sharath and S Badrinath – Tamil Nadu may not find big totals hard to come by. Yet, after a great start this season they were given a stiff challenge towards the end, and will also be weakened tomorrow by the absence of L Balaji and Hemang Badani.Harvinder Singh, the former Indian medium-pacer, will lead the Railways attack but the bowler whom the selectors will be watching closely is Kulamani Parida, the offspinner. He lost out to Powar in the race to the one-day side, but a good performance here will enhance his chances of gaining a Test spot. Sanjay Bangar and Ramesh are candidates for the reserve-opener’s slot in Tests and vital contribution here would do their chances no harm. Tamil Nadu have old scores to settle with Banger too. After all it was his 212 that shut them out of the tournament in 2002.Two lesser battles will be fought in the Plate Championship. Maharashtra host Haryana while Madhya Pradesh take on Orissa. There is lot at stake here too, with the winners entering the Elite zone next season.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

A spirited chase led by Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa fell 18 short as Australia celebrated the end of Ricky Ponting’s rocky batting patch with a tight victory. While the home side toasted a return to form ahead of Sunday’s first final, India’s plight to reach the CB Series deciders now comes down to the match against Sri Lanka on Tuesday after they reached 299, a haul relying on Gambhir’s second century of the tournament.A horrible series was forgotten by Ponting during his fine 124 while half-centuries to Matthew Hayden and Andrew Symonds also lifted their clouds of poor form in a brutal team display of 7 for 317. In the face of such a challenge – it was easily the highest total of the series – India were always behind and it was only the performances of Gambhir and Robin Uthappa that kept them in the game after the first four wickets went by the 11th over.Gambhir and Mahendra Singh Dhoni met at the difficulty of 4 for 51 and made sure the team could provide some outstanding fight during the 98-run liaison, but the assignment eventually proved too difficult. Gambhir varied his pace throughout his display and his 113 from 119 balls was important, although his side was left wanting more. Uthappa tried his best with Irfan Pathan and Harbhajan Singh providing excellent help as the overs ran out.Gambhir lifted his rate after Dhoni departed, having taken his time in the first half of his innings, but he was unable to drag his side ahead. His best shot was a pull in front of square leg off Brett Lee – a slog-sweep for his only six from Brad Hogg was also impressive – and he was strong on the offside. The main shame was the lack of support provided from his top-order team-mates.Dhoni failed to ignite regularly, usually working the ball around like he was chasing a total in the 200s, but while he was there the Australians sensed danger. He was removed for 36 when Lee picked up his second major wicket on a mixed night that included five wickets and some no-ball problems, including three in a row in a nine-ball over. At 5 for 149 India’s were in big danger, but they didn’t stop battling and Gambhir found a willing partner in Uthappa.They needed about nine an over and the slow bowlers Michael Clarke and Hogg were targeted in the 67-run partnership in 8.4 overs. A sharp piece of work from Gilchrist, who stumped Gambhir when his back foot slid out of the crease when trying to slog Hogg, earned his fifth dismissal. Uthappa and Pathan scurried another 41 and Harbhajan arrived to slash 20 off 11 before he miscued and Gilchrist benefited again. Next ball Uthappa holed out to midwicket, leaving with 51 from 46, and Lee had four wickets. He came back to finish the match by bowling Ishant Sharma to collect an unlikely 5 for 58.The batting problems began when Stuart Clark captured two early victims with the edges of Virender Sehwag (18) and Yuvraj Singh (5), who both pushed unconvincingly and provided work for Gilchrist. Rohit Sharma went in a similar manner to Bracken after the chase started badly when Sachin Tendulkar stepped across his stumps and was lbw to Lee fifth ball. What they needed was the start their opponents managed.After a subdued campaign the Australia top order decided blasting out of a slump was the best option and in a game of no consequence to them they raced like a bushfire. Pegged back by the slower bowlers after reaching 92 from the first ten overs, they rebuilt through the reborn Ponting before Symonds added some late-innings impetus with 59 off 49 balls.

Along with Hayden, Ponting and Symonds have been the main under-achievers in the series, but the results of Ponting – his highest score in six previous matches was 25 – were the biggest worry for Australia. The century, his 26th in ODIs, came when he found a single to mid-off from his 111th delivery and he accelerated until he skewed to Pathan at deep mid-off.Before today Ponting and Hayden had been responsible for sleepy starts that were from the 1980s, but the modern approach returned and the early exchanges were like a Twenty20. Ishant and Sreesanth, who came in after Munaf Patel suffered food poisoning, were unable to stop the initial pummeling. Sreesanth went for 37 off four overs and Ishant was only slightly better in giving up 37 from five.Some reshuffling from Dhoni was effective – Harbhajan was employed for the 11th over – and only 32 came in the next ten overs, but Ponting was able to break away. Once Hayden departed for 54 and Clarke (31) left to a poor pull shot off Sehwag, Symonds joined the flexing. His six fours and two sixes were typically forceful and his fifty came up with a heave over the fence from Pathan.India chased the same quick opening as Australia got from Gilchrist, whose 16 came from seven balls, before he left to a miracle take from Dhoni. Sreesanth clipped Gilchrist’s inside edge, forcing Dhoni to change direction and he leaped to his right for a one-handed take. It was the highlight of India’s time in the field and from there things went downhill.The bowlers were almost helpless and gained figures to forget. Sreesanth went for 58 from eight overs – he did take two wickets – Ishant gave up 65 in ten and Pathan allowed 73 in nine. Harbhajan and the part-timers Sehwag and Yuvraj fared better, but it was Australia’s turn to fire. India will hope the same applies to their big-name batsmen when they face Sri Lanka in Hobart on Tuesday in a must-win encounter.

Wellington 65 for 1 trail Northern Districts 184 (Marshall 51, Franklin 5-23) by 119 runs
ScorecardNorthern Districts floundered after being asked to bat first byWellington at the Basin Reserve. They were dismissed for a disappointing 184, with James Franklin taking 5 for 23.Overlooked from the side for the three-match series against the FICA World XI starting next week, Franklin bowled superbly. Northern Districts were 26 for 2 before Mark Orchard and Scott Styris attempted to steady the ship. They battled through to lunch but did not last long after the break – Orchard fell to Jayesh Patel’s offspinners for 27, while Styris was dismissed by Franklin for 31.Hamish Marshall then applied himself to make the most substantialeffort in the innings, scoring 51 in just under two hours. Apart from Peter McGlashan’s support, however, the effort was notenough to give the side the sort of total that could be expected to putsome pressure on a strong Wellington line-up.That was borne out as Wellington made it through to stumps having lostonly their captain Matthew Bell, who fell to Daryl Tuffey. Wellington ended the day on 65 for 1, a deficit of 119 runs. With Stephen Fleming unbeaten on 38, and the enterprising Luke Woodcock on 25, Wellington have an excellent opportunity to bat ND out of the match.Earlier, Chris Nevin, the regular wicketkeeper for Wellington, was included in the side as a specialist batsman after dislocating a finger in the last State Shield match. Stuart Mills kept wicket in the ND innings.While Franklin made the biggest impact for the Wellington bowlers, Patel also enjoyed reasonable success, returning figures of 3 for 49 to continue his impressive season.The two remaining matches in the round start on Saturday.

The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has prohibited alcohol from being brought to international matches, as it seeks to comply with the International Cricket Council’s (ICC’s) Safety and Security Pro Forma. Starting with the first one-day international against Zimbabwe at Antigua today, alcohol will not be allowed into the stadiums, but will be sold from concessionaire stands within the grounds at respective matches.”We want to meet our obligations as a member of the ICC and therefore it is important to adhere to this regulation,” Zorol Barthley, the WICB’s chief cricket operations officer, said. “Cricket in the Caribbean is steeped in tradition, but we are operating in a global marketplace and we must keep pace with international standards. This policy is part of the ICC Safety and Security Pro Forma which will still permit the sale of alcohol by concessionaires. Making alcohol available in this manner will help match authorities to manage the level of alcoholic consumption by fans.”The ICC’s Safety and Security Pro Forma was designed to ensure a safe environment for the game. As per the rules, glass bottles and cans containing alcohol and soft drinks will not be sold to spectators. Plastic is the norm, and spectators will have to submit mandatory security checks of their bags and hampers.The decision to prohibit alcohol to ICC-sanctioned venues was taken at the ICC chief executives’ committee meeting back in June 2003, but came into effect on April 1 after a two-year implementation period. Clive Hitchcock, the ICC’s cricket operations manager, added: “The reason for the cut-off date of April 2006 was to give those members that do not have a policy plenty of time to implement it at international venues.”It remains to be seen how this goes down in the West Indies, where spectators who have traditionally enjoyed a glass of rum or bottle of beer purchased from outside the ground will have to change their ways.

At the end of his second stint with Hampshire, Shane Warne insists that county cricket is in good condition, although he believes that a few changes could improve it even further.”When I look back over another enjoyable season in England, I can see that county cricket is in good shape overall,” said Warne in his article in . “England are starting to play well because it [the County Championship] is competitive and producing some high-quality games, so the best players are learning how to win.”Having said that, I would change a few things here and there, he admitted. “One is the sheer volume of cricket; there is definitely too much at the moment. Players just don’t get the chance to practise or recover. I think the workload is a big reason why out-and-out fast bowlers are not coming through.”Warne, who played a vital role in Hampshire’s promotion to Division One with 51 Championship wickets at an average of just over 24 this season, suggested that the number of matches played be reduced from 16 to 12, with some counties playing each other only once, adding that this “could be organised on a system depending on finishing positions the season before.”Warne recommended that the National League schedule also be reduced to 12 games. “Put together, this would open up 20 days through the season for players to rest or work on their techniques. The Twenty20 Cup can stay as it is.”Warne also advocated the scrapping of bonus points in the County Championship, saying: “I think some teams have been playing for them this season instead of going all out to win. The difference between what you can earn for a win and a draw with full bonus points should be greater.”I accept there must be something for a draw, if only because of the way the weather can influence a game. It should be minimal – two points, say – to make sure that teams playing for big-scoring draws all season do not become champions.” Warwickshire, this season’s county champions, went through the season unbeaten, but only won five matches, and drew 11.Warne added that he believed counties should come to an agreement regarding the issue of overseas players, where every team would have to include eight players who are qualified to play for England, concluding: “The other three can be overseas, EU, or little green men from Mars.”

Ryan Harris, South Australia’s leading Pura Cup wicket-taker in 2007-08, will play for Queensland from next season after signing a three-year deal with the Bulls. Harris’ departure from Adelaide is a blow for the Redbacks as they embark on their own recruiting drive following a disappointing summer.Harris, 28, will be a useful addition at Queensland, who already boast the Cricket Australia-contracted allrounders Ashley Noffke, James Hopes and Shane Watson. He said he was looking forward to a new phase in his career.”It was a good offer and while I’ve enjoyed my time with the Redbacks, I thought the opportunity to bowl at the Gabba over the next few years should see my career develop further,” Harris said. “I thank the SACA [South Australian Cricket Association] for their support over the past few years and wish them all the best but I’m genuinely excited about the prospects ahead with the Bulls.”Harris is currently playing county cricket in Sussex after their interest was stirred by his best Australian domestic season. He collected 37 Pura Cup wickets at 29.86 last summer and made a handy 363 runs at 24.20, and the contributions earned him a place in the Australian Cricketers’ Association Pura Cup Team of the Year.An Academy graduate in 2002, Harris was in the same group as the man who could be Queensland’s next captain, Chris Simpson. In 2006-07 the Bulls were on the wrong end of his talent when Harris struck a six from the last ball of a one-day match when the Redbacks needed five to win.Graham Dixon, the chief executive of Queensland Cricket, said Harris was the only man the Bulls would sign from interstate for 2008-09. “We had a number of good reports from our players about Ryan’s competitiveness on the field,” Dixon said. “He’s the sort of player that has more than one string to his bow and plays all three forms of the game which is important in the current environment.”The Redbacks coach Mark Sorell said the Queensland agreement would be worth more money and security for Harris, who had been on short-term contracts in the past. South Australia had tried to keep him by offering a two-year deal that could be extended to three based on performance in the first year.”I support what’s happened in the past with his performance and injury history,” Sorell said. “He performed well this last season which was outstanding and we were keen to let him know he was a part of our future. His decision was a bit of a shock. Obviously we’re extremely disappointed but we respect that decision.”

The International Cricket Council has said that it would mediate in the ongoing player-contract crisis only if the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) decided that the ICC had a role to play in resolving the conflict. Earlier media reports had said that the WICB had refused the ICC’s offer to help find a solution to the problem. Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, said in a media release: “Contrary to some reports, the WICB has not taken a view on if there is a role for the ICC.”Speed said that he and Roger Brathwaite, the WICB chief executive, had preliminary discussions on the status of the current issue and that he had offered to assist the WICB in whatever way possible. “I spoke with Roger last Saturday and indicated that if the WICB saw any role for the ICC that it would be willing to assist,” Speed said. “Roger indicated that he would advise his board of the ICC’s position and it would consider if the ICC has a role to play. I would stress that the ICC does not and will not become involved in any domestic issue such as this without the consent of the relevant board. It is a judgment that the WICB will make if it believes that the ICC can assist.”Cricinfo had earlier learnt from a source close to the situation that the WICB had turned down an offer to help. The source had said that the West Indies Players’ Association had suggested the possibility of an ICC intervention with Richard Bevan and Tim May of FICA, the international players union. Dinanath Ramnarine, the WIPA president, also confirmed that he had asked for FICA’s assistance in the matter, and reiterated his disappointment at the West Indies board turning down the offer for intervention.

The Asia Cup will be played every alternate year and Pakistan will host the next round in 2008, as has been decided by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) in its annual general council meeting in Kuala Lampur. It will be the first time that Pakistan willl host the tournament.Apart from that, as per the rotation policy, the presidency of the ACC will be handed over to Jayantha Dharmadasa, the Sri Lankan board president, Saleem Altaf, the PCB director-operations told . Dharmadasa will take over on July 1.The 2006 Indian edition of the tournament was to be played in February, but was postponed to 2008 after the Indian board complained of an already hectic schedule for the season. Sri Lanka are defending champions of the cup, which they hosted in 2004.