Trending Cricket News

500 test matches… and a heap of mediocrity

India goes into its 500th Test match today against a combative but not frightening New Zealand XI. The national expectation is that Virat Kohli and his lads will win, making it India’s 130th Test victory. A cooperative pitch is expected to play its part: it’s not called “home advantage” for nothing. In Indian cricket at least, ‘atithi devo bhavah‘ – the Upanishadic principle that says the guest is God – is blithely ignored. It’s more like ‘Ashwin devo bhavah’, in homage to India’s sharpest spin bowler.(more)

India's sports sponsorship market touches Rs 5,190 crore

The Indian sports sponsorship market grew 12 per cent in 2015 to touch a size of Rs 5,190 crore, according to aKPMG report titled The Business of Sports. The potential value of the sports infrastructure market in the country is Rs 80,000 crore, says the report.(more)

BCCI calls for bids for IPL media rights

One of the most anticipated media rights battles has started with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announcing an open bid for the rights to the cash rich annual twenty-twenty tournament, the Vivo Indian Premier league (IPL). Broadcasters, OTT players, mobile video platforms and marketing agencies have one month to buy the tender and submit their respective bids.(more)

ICC presents Test Championship mace to Pakistan

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday presented the Test Championship mace to Pakistan for being the top-ranked team in the traditional format of the game.(more)

IPL viewership on Hotstar doubles in 2016

STAR India’s online video streaming platform Hotstar has more than double its reach (unique viewers) for IPL in the past one year. For all the games played until the play-offs (between April 9 and May 22), 80 million people used the service, compared with 35 million a year ago.

The cash-rich Twenty20 tournament came under STAR India’s digital ambit in 2014 when it was made available on starsports.com. Last year, Hotstar was introduced, helping viewers see the tournament on the new app.

The network seems to be on track to achieve the target of reaching100 million IPL viewers this year. “We have seen the adoption of Hotstar as primary screen increase significantly among the urban affluent youth. At 80 million (unique) viewers before the play-offs, I expect the platform to add another 15 to 20 million in reach over the last leg of the tournament,” says Ajit Mohan, CEO, Hotstar, STAR India.

Total IPL watch time on the app has gone up by 60 per cent over 2015. The key to increasing the reach, according to Mohan, lies in the data-rich experience. Additionally, the application streams live scorecard and analysis before and after the match, as well as between the innings.Read more.

ViratKohli set a new record by scoring his fourth century

ViratKohli set a new record by scoring his fourth century

Man-of-the-match Virat Kohli set a new record by scoring his fourth century (113 in 50 balls with 8 sixes and 12 fours) in this IPL season and Chris Gayle returned to form by hitting 73 in 32 balls with 8 sixes and four boundaries.

Desperate efforts by Vijay to break the partnership or get either of them out early failed as Kolhi and Gayle were in full cry and batted with disdain.

While the first 50 came in 4.4 overs of the six-over power play, the first 100 of RCB's innings came in 8.5 overs.

Though Vijay used as many as five bowlers to contain the openers, there was no respite for Kings till Gayle got caught by David Miller of Arshad Patel ball in 11 over when RCB score was 147 on the board.

After in-form AB de Villiers was bowled for a duck in 12th over, keeper K.L. Rahul joined Kohli to take the score to 199 when the skipper was caught by Miller off Sandeep Sharma ball at 113 comprising 8 sixes and 12 fours in just 50 balls.Ream more full article about Virat Kohli.

Chhattisgarh HC bats for IPL matches

The Chhattisgarh High Court (HC) has rejected pleas challenging the hosting of Indian Premier League (IPL)cricket matches in the state on the ground that it was reeling under serious drought.

The court has, however, put the condition that the event organisers, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Chhattisgarh State Cricket Association (CSCA), should arrange water for the matches including free drinking water to spectators. Neither the state government nor its agency would provide water for the event.

A five-member committee has been constituted to ensure that the court's order is implemented.Read more.

IPL T20: Harbhajan Singh, Ambati Rayudu involved in on-field spat

IPL T20: Harbhajan Singh, Ambati Rayudu involved in on-field spat

Veteran spinner Harbhajan Singh sparked a controversy by engaging into a heated argument with his MumbaiIndians' teammate Ambati Rayudu during their Indian Premier League (IPL) match where they had an eight-wicket win against Rising Pune Supergiants at Mumbai Cricket Association Stadium last evening .

The incident took place in the 11th over when Rayudu failed to stop a boundary hit by Pune Supergiants' Saurabh Tiwary on Harbhajan's delivery despite a brilliant effort at the boundary rope.

Furious with Rayudu's fielding, Harbhajan started abusing his teammate which sparked the argument between the two players.

Rayudu, who seemed to be disappointed with Harbhajan's behaviour, walked towards his senior player to oppose him. But, the off spinner was seen pacifying him before the situation would have turned out of control.

It was not the first time when Harbhajan was seen engaging in an on-field spat. He had earlier slapped tainted pacer S. Sreesanth after Mumbai Indians' defeat to Kings XI Punjab in the first edition of the IPL. Read more.

IPL Gov Council to discuss moving 10th edition abroad: BCCI secretary

IPL Gov Council to discuss moving 10th edition abroad: BCCI secretary

The members of the Indian Premier League's governing council are likely to deliberate on whether the 2017 edition of the cash-rich tourney can be held abroad, BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur revealed Thursday.

"The IPL governing council will be looking at the venues in India and abroad. We have to check the availability of the venues and prevailing conditions," Thakur told a select gathering of journalists during an interaction at the BCCI's Delhi headquarters today.

Read more from our special coverage on "IPL"

• Citing drought, PIL seeks shifting of IPL matches from Raipur
• Problems related to IPL affect the franchises: Preity Zinta
• Bombay HC allows BCCI to hold May 1 IPL match in Pune
• Happy, united, young goes the IPL chant
• Branding googlies for late entrants

IPL has been twice played outside India both being assembly election years. In 2009, the league was moved for the entire duration to South Africa, while in 2014, it was shifted to the United Arab Emirates for the first 15 days.

That the BCCI top brass is deliberating on the issue was clear when BCCI treasurer Aniruddh Chaudhary had tweeted four days back: "Very soon IPL may be played outside the country, if this goes on. Loss to the GDP would not be insignificant."

The IPL has been rocked by one controversy after another from its inception year but during this edition, the spate of Public Interest Litigations (PIL) filed by various organisations has thrown the itinerary into disarray.

Already 12 IPL matches have been moved out of drought-hit Maharashtra on the Bombay High Court's directive after a PIL was filed claiming that a substantial quantity of water was being used in maintaining the various cricket stadiums in the state.

"I have asked the state units to check water-harvesting structure," Thakur said.

The BCCI secretary also said in no uncertain terms that if the Lodha Committee recommendations pertaining to curtailment of advertisement is implemented, then it will have a sharp negative impact on BCCI's revenue structure.

Read More.

Citing drought, PIL seeks shifting of IPL matches from Raipur

A public interest litigation (PIL) filed in the Chhattisgarh High Court here on Wednesday demanded shifting of the two matches of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) from the state capital Raipur because of the drought.

RTI activists Kunal Shukla and Abhishek Pratap Singh have filed the PIL which says Chhattisgarh is facing a massive water crisis and 117 tehsils are hit by drought.

There was water scarcity in 70 wards of Raipur Municipal Corporation (RMC) alone so it would not be right to use the water for IPL matches, said their lawyer Vimlesh Bajpayee.

Read more from our special coverage on "IPL"

• Problems related to IPL affect the franchises: Preity Zinta
• Bombay HC allows BCCI to hold May 1 IPL match in Pune
• Happy, united, young goes the IPL chant
• Branding googlies for late entrants
• Pune picks Vizag as home pitch, Mumbai to decide on Sunday

Besides the state government, the Board Of Control For Cricket In India(BCCI), RMC and Chhattisgarh State Cricket Association are the respondents. The date of first hearing is yet to be fixed.

IPL matches are scheduled for May 20 and 22 at Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh Stadium in Raipur.

A petition on the same issue was filed in the Bombay High Court earlier this month. The court on Wednesday permitted BCCI to hold the May 1 IPL match between Mumbai Indians and Rising Pune Supergiants in Pune, a week after it ordered shifting to other venues all post-April 30 matches planned in drought-hit Maharashtra.More News About IPL.

Bombay HC allows BCCI to hold May 1 IPL match in Pune

The Bombay High Court today permitted BCCI to hold the May 1 IPL match between Mumbai Indians and RisingPune Supergiants in Pune, days after it ordered all matches post April 30 to be shifted to other venues instead of  holding them in drought-hit Maharashtra.

A division bench of justices V M Kanade and M S Karnik granted the permission while hearing an application filed by BCCI's general manager (games development) Ratnakar Shetty urging the court to let the cricket body hold the May 1 IPL match as scheduled in Pune.

Read more from our special coverage on "IPL "

• Happy, united, young goes the IPL chant
• Branding googlies for late entrants
• Pune picks Vizag as home pitch, Mumbai to decide on Sunday
• Sixers and fixers
• Bengaluru to host IPL final; Pune picks Vizag as home base

The application had been filed following an order passed by the high court on April 12 directing for all IPL matches from April 30 onwards to be shifted out of Maharashtra due to the severe drought situation in the state.

By the High Court order, a total of 13 matches were to be shifted to other states.

Shetty, in his application, sought the court to grant permission to allow the cricket board to hold the May 1 match in Pune between Mumbai Indians and Rising Pune Supergiants as they would not be able to make arrangements to shift the match in a single day.Read More.