Hayden calls spat a stray incident

Matthew Hayden has said the Harbhajan Singh-Sreesanth row left him upset but is confident it was a stray incident. Hayden, the Australian opener currently playing for Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League, also said he wouldn't use this to sledge either of them when Australia tour India later this year.
"I was very upset, I just think we play this great game, in a great competition and both these guys are young men with enormous responsibilities as two fine players and prospects for the country that adores cricket and its cricketers," Hayden told Cricinfo. "So I am sure they will feel remorseful as any player would. Because I think any player who has risen to the top of the game obviously has enormous respect and enormous discipline to get there. Honestly, I think it will be tomorrow's headlines and life will move on. The game has always moved on."
Asked whether he thought this was just a momentary lapse of reason Hayden said, "I think so, yes. I didn't think this was ever going to happen and I don't think it will happen again either. Hopefully not."
Hayden had a famous run-in with Harbhajan during India's tour of Australia, where he called the offspinner a "little obnoxious weed". Would he use the latest incident between Sreesanth and Harbhajan as a sledging tool when Australia visit India in October? "No, I won't be," he says with emphasis. Is he drawing a moral line to sledging? "Yes, I think so. That is an incident between two individuals and I don't want to comment on their relationship and where they are at and how they are going. There is no point. All that does is just create another headline and I don't want to do that. I love the game of cricket and I have been really successful at the game of cricket, so I don't think I need to push that barrier.
"It's the beauty of our game really; there is a gentlemanly aspect to the game and we get challenged on this. Australia has been nominated as the best sledgers and we get asked the question a lot of time but in reality its actually a mis-truth or certainly an exaggerated truth.
"What the world has done following the success of Australian cricket is to try and vilify us. And that's fair enough as the best in the world need to be taken down. So we always had to be on our guard and understand within that we need to address the issue before anyone else does.


"You choose your targets, really. I would never say anything to Sachin [Tendulkar], Rahul [Dravid] or Anil [Kumble] or anyone like that. I believe they have marked the test of time" - Hayden on sledging

Hayden also said the Australian team has discussed the image of being the bad boys of international cricket and the ways of sledging. "You tell me what are these incidents of bad boys. I don't think we are. But yes, we senior players do sit together and work out where we want to go and how we want to play our cricket. Also, making comments can be distracting to some characters. If someone is forced to do that without it being a motivating factor then its trouble."
He believes every team has a few characters that get involved in sledging. "I think in any given side, there are always two or three people that look to sledge. For e.g. In the Indian side, it would be Sreesanth, Harbhajan and [Robin] Uthappa. You wouldn't hear a boo out of Rahul [Dravid], MS [Dhoni] and [Anil] Kumble though they are all fiercely determined."
Hayden also spoke about the art of sledging and how he would pick certain individuals for the treatment. "You choose your targets, really. I would never say anything to Sachin [Tendulkar], Rahul or Anil or anyone like that. I believe they have marked the test of time. We have been in battles together so many times and there is an enormous respect. Not that making comment is disrespect; making comment is trying to unsettle a player because you don't know whether that guy has the skills to deal with it. And that was exactly the same when I was young coming into the game. You expect to get that."

Gambhir and McGrath put Delhi back on track

Gautam Gambhir and Shikhar Dhawan laid out the carpet and Glenn McGrath, returning the best figures in the IPL's brief history, walked over it as the Delhi Daredevils got themselves back on track after a blip in their last game. It wasn't a comfortable win, as the Bangalore Royal Challengers kept them to 191 for 5 when 205 seemed an easy total and later when Jacques Kallis and Rahul Dravid threatened to chase it down, but another choke from the visiting side - who for the third game running left Misbah-ul-Haq on the bench - put Delhi at second in the points table.
The Feroz Shah Kotla track wasn't known for any major assistance to seam or swing and Dravid's decision to field on a sluggish surface with variable bounce ultimately turned out to be a mistake. After a quiet first over, Gambhir waded into the Bangalore attack in stunning fashion. First he took Zaheer Khan for three fours, a delectable square cut tucked between two shots off the pads, and then hit Dale Steyn for a couple more. Virender Sehwag hit a few lusty shots before he was run out for a 12-ball 24, but Gambhir applied himself excellently.
Scoring wasn't easy given the low bounce but shuffling and waiting for the ball to come onto him - there were certain shots that had to be checked as the ball stopped on him - he slashed boundaries backward of point and pulled through the infield.
With Dhawan very solid at one end, and consciously playing the ball along the ground, Gambhir backed his judgment of the track to slash boundaries backward of square both sides. Bangalore pulled back the scoring for a couple overs but Sunil Joshi, replacing Anil Kumble, had a torrid first over that went for 19 as both batsmen picked up sixes. Dhawan, upright and packing his drvies with power, scored a very healthy clip. A massive slog off Kallis took him to 49, and he looked set to press on after his fifty but a stunning catch from Dravid at midwicket cut him short.
Steyn and Kallis rattled the stumps to check Delhi's middle order and, having lost strike for a brief while, Gambhir slogged Zaheer to midwicket for 86 from 54 balls. Delhi were on target for over 200 but those strikes left them short.
They may have been a tad disappointed by not going further but with McGrath leading a tidy pace they backed themselves. The maestro, bowling as metronimically as he did in his pomp, needed five deliveries to remove Praveen Kumar, flicking to midwicket, but his double-wicket third over was massive: Ross Taylor's gung-ho approached ended in a top-edge to deep midwicket and Wasim Jaffer did the same to mid-on.
From 48 for 3 after five overs Dravid and Kallis, with over 20,000 Test runs between them, added 87 in10.3 overs. Yo Mahesh and Rajat Bhatia went for 26 in two overs through classy, low-risk shots before pumped sixes lowered the asking rate further. Kallis went past his previous IPL best, mostly with shuffled flicks, and Bangalore needed 58 with seven wickets and 30 balls remaining. That's when Sehwag tossed the ball back to McGrath. Three balls later Dravid was walking back for 38, his slog into the starry night setting into Sehwag's palms at mid-on. McGrath finished with 4 for 29, a special and memorable effort.
Kallis thumped himself past fifty but a fourth miserly over from another one-day international master, Daniel Vettori, effectively killed all hopes. Vettori allowed just five singles and cleaned up Kallis with a quick arm ball off the sixth. That left Bangalore with 30 to win from six balls and it proved too much for Mark Boucher, who still hit two sixes and a four.
Eleven out of 16 matches have been won by sides chasing but Bangalore, who for the third game running left Misbah-ul-Haq on the bench, failed to master two crafty bowlers. Delhi, despite the departure of Vettori, remain one of the better sides in the tournament.

Jayasuriya and Bravo seal Mumbai win

Mumbai Indians 138 for 3 (Bravo 62*, Uthappa 37*) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 137 for 8 (Shukla 40*, Jayasuriya 3-14) by seven wickets

Inspired by Sanath Jayasuriya's 3 for 14, the best figures of the tournament, the Mumbai Indians put their off-field troubles aside and pulled off their first win. On a slow Eden Gardens pitch, though not the minefield of the previous game, Mumbai had a nervy start and were 25 for 3 before Dwayne Bravo and Robin Uthappa put on a century stand to see them home.
After Kolkata Knight Riders chose to bat, Mumbai's stand-in captain Shaun Pollock stunned the huge crowd, removing local hero Sourav Ganguly and the dangerous Brendon McCullum in the first over. Ganguly chased at a wide delivery and only managed a thick edge that was smartly held by Jayasuriya at wide slip. McCullum was trapped lbw for 1 two balls later, leaving Kolkata at 6 for 2.
The early momentum was provided by Twenty20 debutant Debabrata Das. Pollock was hit over midwicket for a big six and three leg-side fours followed in the next couple of overs. Das favoured the cut and got his innings going with two of them off Ashish Nehra in the second over, but another one off Dwayne Bravo flew straight to Robin Uthappa at point.
Bravo kept it just short of a length and outside off, giving away only four runs in two overs. Ponting and David Hussey consolidated for a couple of overs with singles and the odd boundary. Ponting was unable to get his timing right or middle the ball, and Hussey tried to up the tempo slamming Pollock for two fours.
Jayasuriya, tossing it up instead of firing it in as he usually does, broke the partnership by luring Hussey into swiping one to mid-on in the 11th over for 17. His next over, a maiden, saw two wickets fall as well. A run-out put Ponting out of his misery and two balls later Mohammad Hafeez nicked one to the wicketkeeper Pinal Shah as Kolkata slid to 77 for 6.
Laxmi Ratan Shukla, who revived Kolkata batting with a quick 42 against the Chennai Super Kings, was called on to rescue his team yet again. He smashed two fours and a six each off Bravo and Dilhara Fernando as 44 runs were scored in the last four overs.
Despite the below-par score, Kolkata refused to surrender and their new-ball bowlers gave them an excellent start. Ajit Agarkar had Ajinkya Rahane chipping to midwicket in the third over and, at the other end, Jayasuriya was in a fascinating battle with Ishant Sharma. After several swings-and-misses and powerful hits to the boundary, Ishant sent Jayasuriya's off stump cartwheeling. Manish Pandey then fell for a duck to the impressive Ashok Dinda and, at 25 for 3, Mumbai were in danger of squandering their advantage.
Jayasuriya's 4-1-13-3 are the best figures so far in the tournament, and he gave away just one boundary in his spell, which included a wicket and a maiden © Cricinfo Ltd

Uthappa and Bravo, though, carried them to victory with a century stand for the fourth wicket as the spinners were unable to carry on the good work of the fast bowlers. Uthappa had a chancy start - Das grassed a sharp chance at point, and there were several close shouts for lbw - before he unfurled some horizontal-bat shots and his favourite paddle.
Bravo played a stylish knock in which two shots early on stood out - an audacious back-foot square-drive off Ishant and a cracking lofted on-drive off Hafeez. They were some lovely straight hits as well in his unbeaten 64 - the highest score by a Mumbai batsman in the tournament.
The win, and news that their icon Sachin Tendulkar is likely to be fit for the next game, is a relief for Mumbai, who lost their first four games and will miss the services of US$850,000 signing Harbhajan Singh for the rest of the tournament after his row with Sreesanth during the match against the Kings XI Punjab.
After a thumping start, Kolkata's magic looks to be wearing out. None of their batsmen, besides McCullum, have made a half-century and, to make matters worse, they will be missing much of their batting firepower after this game - McCullum and Ricky Ponting leave to fulfil international commitments while a groin injury has forced Chris Gayle out of the tournament.

Shoaib's five-year ban upheld

Shoaib Akhtar's appeal against a five-ban imposed on him by the Pakistan board has been rejected by a three-man appellate tribunal, which upheld his punishment while arriving at its verdict in Lahore.

While the PCB clarified that Shoaib is free to play in the Indian Premier League, an IPL spokesperson told Cricinfo that their position of not allowing him to take part in the tournament "remains the same". The IPL had decided to bar Shoaib from the tournament in "the interests of international discipline" after the PCB's decision. Meanwhile, a Kolkata Knight Riders spokesperson said they will abide by the IPL stand.

With both international cricket and the IPL ruled out, one option for Shoaib would have been the Indian Cricket League. The unofficial league does not fall under the Indian board - and has an all- Pakistan team in its Twenty20 tournament. However, its business head, Himanshu Mody, confirmed to Cricinfo that the ICL was not in talks with Akhtar.

The tribunal's decision comes just a day after Shoaib apologised to the PCB chairman, Nasim Ashraf, in the second of three hearings.

Franchises won't work in England - Clarke

Giles Clarke, the ECB chairman, has forthrightly dismissed the notion that the future of an English Premier League - a potential challenger to the Indian counterpart - lies in a city-based franchise system.
"Franchise sport has simply never worked in the UK," Clarke told ECB members at the AGM held at Lord's. "Tradition and history rather than Bollywood stars and glitz are the binding which persuade supporters to return week in week out to our grounds - whether it is rugby, football or cricket. And some of the ideas spouted in the media have been frankly ludicrous. Can you, I was asked by a leading television executive, imagine cricket lovers rushing down St John's Wood Road to see a franchise called Vodafone Team London owned by an ageing rock star?
"There has never yet been a successful Team London in any sport and nor is there likely to be any support for a Team Manchester or Team Leeds from traditional areas of rivalry such as Liverpool or Sheffield. When ECB launched their own Twenty20 Cup it was on the back of extensive spectator research and financial analysis. This is an exercise we will repeat before launching any new competition because we have said this tournament must be robust, spectator friendly and economically sustainable."
Nevertheless, Clarke was gushing in his praise for the Indian Premier League, though he insisted "much of the look and feel of the tournament was taken from the ECB template".
"It was, as the Indians say, a great tamasha. There was light, glitz, glamour and music," Clarke said. "We must congratulate them on creating an opening ceremony and establishing a tournament which has a scope and scale which can be compared to the Rugby World Cup. Those who were in Bangalore, Delhi, Chennai, Mohali and Mumbai will talk of a great spectacle and a great show. It was described so admirably by Alan Lee in The Times as the ECB Twenty20 with more money thrown at it."
Clarke also spoke gratifyingly about Allen Stanford, the Texan billionaire who has proposed a $20million winner-takes-all contest between England and a West Indies XI. In addition, Stanford - the 239th richest man in the world - could yet bankroll the EPL, so long as he can ensure a worthwhile return on his investment.
"I know that he has been extremely impressed by the facilities in England and Wales and also by the scope of the work of the ECB and the excellence of the course plotted by its chief executive and board," Clarke said. "I hope to give more details in the days and weeks ahead but I can guarantee that everyone in the game - from playground to Test arena - will benefit from this deal."

GANPATI

To watch the live match it will be here....

IPL T20 Chennai SK vs Kings XI punjab match highlights

BCCI to probe deeper into incident

The BCCI's investigation into Harbhajan Singh's spat on Friday with Sreesanth, his India team-mate, will examine the background of the incident to find out whether the offspinner was instigated in any manner, the Indian board's probe commissioner has told Cricinfo.
Sudhir Nanavati, the BCCI's appointee to conduct a "preliminary inquiry", said he would take note of the match referee's report which "says that one of the umpires, Amiesh Saheba, had warned Sreesanth for his behaviour after the dismissal of a rival player in that match". A senior lawyer from Ahmedabad, Nanavati is also vice-president of the Gujarat Cricket Association and chairman of the BCCI's finance committee.
However, Nanavati said the Indian Premier League's decision on Monday to ban Harbhajan for the inaugural season and previous records of indiscipline of both players will not be taken into account "to avoid any bias". "I may refer to the procedure adopted by IPL leading up to the verdict, especially the documents and TV footage placed as evidence," he said. "But Monday's decision will not be taken into account and the players' career history, too. I will focus only on this particular case.
"The match referee's report says that one of the umpires, Amiesh Saheba, had warned Sreesanth for his behaviour after the dismissal of a rival player in that match," Nanavati said. "So I will view the events during the match leading up to the incident too, to verify whether there has been any instigation of any sort. In such situations, the background is very important."
Nanavati said he had the authority to summon any player or official associated with the match over the next two weeks till he submits his report to the BCCI. "I will go through the necessary papers associated with the complaint and call both parties - in this case, Harbhajan Singh [Mumbai Indians] and Sreesanth [Kings XI Punjab]. I can also call other players like the captain of the team [Yuvraj Singh for Kings XI Punjab], those who were in the queue as players of both sides were shaking hands when the incident happened, the match referee [Farokh Engineer] and even the umpires [Amiesh Saheba and Aleem Dar]."
Harbhajan was banned by the IPL on Monday after Engineer found the offspinner guilty of slapping Sreesanth after Friday's match in Mohali between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab. Harbhajan was leading the Mumbai franchise in the absence of Sachin Tendulkar
Explaining why he would not be influenced by the IPL's ban on Harbhajan, Nanavati said, "As far as IPL is concerned, it is a trust created by the BCCI. The IPL's contracts with players and associated clauses are different from those signed by BCCI with its contracted players. Secondly, the IPL has made no rules of regulations of its own. In this case, they have only followed what the ICC or BCCI could have done in a similar situation. Today's verdict by the IPL was a result of that."
"Mine is a fact-finding mission. I will only submit my report to the BCCI's disciplinary committee. I can come to the conclusion that Harbhajan is completely innocent or guilty to the extent found by IPL, or more guilty. But action, if any, will be taken by the BCCI panel."
Nanavati will submit his report to the BCCI within the next 15 days, who will refer it to the board's three-man disciplinary panel comprising Sharad Pawar, the BCCI president, Shashank Manohar, the BCCI's president-elect and Chirayu Amin, the president of the Gujarat Cricket Association.

Harbhajan banned for 11 IPL games

Harbhajan Singh has been handed a 11-match ban following his altercation with Sreesanth at the end of Mumbai Indians' match against Kings XI Punjab on Friday. It means he is all but out of the first edition of the IPL - unless Mumbai reach the semi-final of the tournament, which looks highly unlikely at this point.
Sreesanth was let off with a warning after video evidence showed Harbhajan to have slapped him without any provocation. Harbhajan also faces separate action from the Indian board, which has asked him to explain, "as a contracted player", his role in the incident which came to light after Sreesanth broke down in front of the cameras.
Niranjan Shah, the BCCI secretary, said on Monday that Sudhir Nanavati, a lawyer, has been appointed to conduct a "preliminary inquiry" and submit a report "within 15 days" to Sharad Pawar, the BCCI president, who will refer the findings to the board's disciplinary committee for possible action.
Farookh Engineer, the former Indian wicketkeeper who was the match referee, fined Harbhajan 100% of his match fee for Friday's game. Lalchand Rajput, the coach of the Mumbai side, has also been found guilty of a level 2 offense and fined 15% of his match fee.
"Rajput was right behind Harbhajan when the incident took place. He didn't take any step to restrain him. He has been fined 15% of his match fee," said Lalit Modi, the commissioner of the IPL who is also a vice-president of the BCCI.
IS Bindra, a member of the IPL governing council who is also president of the Punjab Cricket Association which hosted Friday's match at Mohali, had told Cricinfo Harbhajan faced a minimum ban of 10 IPL games.

Gilchrist leaves Mumbai gasping

Adam Gilchrist ignited the DY Patil Stadium with the fastest century of the tournament as the Deccan Chargers raced to their first win. The battle between the two bottom-ranked teams was a no-contest once Gilchrist teed off, and Deccan charged to an emphatic ten-wicket victory in the first major game at the stadium.
Andrew Symonds had got a century off 47 deliveries the previous game but Gilchrist needed only 42 as he decimated the weak Mumbai Indians' attack on a small ground. The intent was aggressive right from the word go, and Gilchrist made use of short deliveries in the first over from Ashish Nehra, dispatching one over square leg and the other through cover point.
Pulls and cuts were played with ease as Mumbai's quicker bowlers erred in their length, and after six fours, Gilchrist hit his first six, lofting Sanath Jayasuriya over deep midwicket. Siddharth Chitnis, the off-break bowler making his Twenty20 debut, was spared by going only for 12 in the last Powerplay over, but Shaun Pollock, leading Mumbai in Harbhajan Singh's absence, was taken apart once the field restrictions were off.
Gilchrist savagely pulled Pollock over the deep backward square-leg boundary for consecutive sixes, the first bringing up his first Twenty20 fifty. The shot that followed pierced the off-side boundary, and Gilchrist then nonchalantly moved across the stumps to launch one over long leg, making it 23 for the over.
Abhishek Nayar's arrival was greeted with three sixes, the third over midwicket brought up the hundred, and more astonishing was the fact that he had reached the mark as early as on the stroke of the tenth over. From then on, victory was just a formality, and Deccan reached their target with 44 balls to spare, both indication of the fury that had been unleashed. At the other end, VVS Laxman scored just 36 in a stand of 155, easily the highest of the tournament. Mumbai might have been at the receiving end, but the home crowd too cheered what had been an enthralling innings. Ninety-six of Gilchrist's 109 came through boundaries, making it a busy day for the Deccan cheerleaders, who were sporting a new outfit.
A new home ground and a new captain surely didn't bring about a turn of fortunes for Mumbai, and Deccan justified Laxman's decision to field first by restricting them to 154. Laxman's captaincy had come under the hammer after three consecutive losses, but on Sunday he was right on the ball. He was quick to shuffle around his bowlers, who to their credit, backed up their captain's decision with some good bowling.
It was only the string of 30s from the middle order that helped Mumbai reach 154. Pollock made a run-a-ball 31 to revive the innings, but it was the quickfire 34s from Nayar and Dwayne Bravo that ensured the Mumbai bowlers had a decent total to defend.
Jayasuriya and Luke Ronchi had failed to make an impression in earlier games, and they were kept quiet once again, despite the short boundaries, by RP Singh and Nuwan Zoysa. Ronchi hit three fours, but fell attempting to slash a wide delivery angled across from RP, edging straight to Laxman at slip.
Sanjay Bangar was brought on in the fourth over, perhaps to help Zoysa change ends, and Ajinkya Rahane, another Twenty20 debutant, pulled straight into the hands of Pragyan Ojha at deep square leg. The next move from Laxman though was a masterstroke. Shahid Afridi was brought on in the final over of the Powerplay, and he had Robin Uthappa caught behind. At the end of six overs, Mumbai were tottering at 27 for 3.
Jayasuriya had made only 4 off his first ten deliveries, and one pitched short from Zoysa fetched him his first boundary, which came off his 14th. But, once again Afridi did the damage, Jayasuriya got a top edge as he tried to power a googly through the leg side. The onus was then on Pollock to hold the innings together, but he too couldn't stay till the end.
Nayar smashed three sixes in his 19-ball innings, as 45 runs came in the overs 14 to 16. But he top-edged to Gilchrist while trying to hook Zoysa. Bravo too managed to find the gaps, and was out for 34 off the last ball of the innings as Mumbai finished on 154. However, with the form Gilchrist was in, even 254 would have been tough to defend for Mumbai, who now have four losses after four games, and sorely need Sachin Tendulkar to return.

IPL CRICKET TEAMS

Bangalore Royal Challengers
Captain: Rahul Dravid
Coach: Venkatesh Prasad
Franchisee: UB Group
Franchise cost: $111.6 Million


Kings XI Punjab
Captain: Yuvraj Singh
Coach: Tom Moody
Franchisee: Preity Zinta, Ness Wadia,
Mohit Burman and Karan Paul
Franchise cost: $76 Million

Delhi Daredevils
Captain: Virender Sehwag
Coach: Greg Shipperd
Franchisee: GMR Holdings
Franchise cost: $84 Million

Mumbai Indians
Captain: Sachin Tendulkar
Coach: Lalchand Rajput
Franchisee: Reliance Industries Ltd
Franchise cost: $111.9 Million

Chennai Super Kings
Captain: Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Coach: Kepler Wessels
Franchisee: India Cements
Franchise cost: $91 Million

Deccan Chargers
Captain: VVS Laxman
Coach: Robin Singh
Franchisee: Deccan Chronicle
Franchise cost: $107.01 Million

Kolkata Knight Riders
Captain: Sourav Ganguly
Coach: John Buchanan
Franchisee: Red Chiilies Entertainment
Franchise cost: $79.09 Millions

Rajasthan Royals
Captain: Shane Warne
Coach: Shane Warne
Franchisee: Emerging Media
Franchise cost: $67 Million

Harbhajan suspended temporarily

Harbhajan Singh has been temporarily suspended from the Indian Premier League following his spat with Sreesanth at the end of the Mumbai-Punjab game in Mohali on Friday.
His suspension is pending the inquiry into the incident on Monday, which means he would not be able to play Mumbai's home match against Deccan Chargers on Sunday.
"Based on prima facie video evidence as seen and reviewed by the match adjudicator and referee Farokh Engineer from the tapes provided by Sony & TWI a decision has been reached to suspend Harbhajan Singh pending the inquiry into the incident on Monday, April 28th 2008," a release from the Indian board said.
Engineer will conduct a hearing on April 28 inquiring into the Harbhajan-Sreesanth row in Delhi. Both Harbhajan and Sreesanth will be present and video evidence, if any, will be used during the hearing which will be conducted as per the ICC Code of Conduct.
Ratnakar Shetty, the chief administrative officer of the board, said Harbhajan was answerable to both the IPL and the BCCI. "There will be separate inquiries from the IPL and BCCI," he said.
Engineer was the match referee of the game between the Kings XI Punjab and the Mumbai Indians, after the completion of which Harbhajan allegedly slapped Sreesanth, reducing him to tears on the field. Although both players sought to play down the incident, the Punjab team lodged a formal complaint against Harbhajan Singh to the BCCI. The Indian board took a serious view of the incident and asked him submit his explanation before April 28.
"The inquiry date has been fixed for Monday in New Delhi. We are not going to sweep things under the carpet. The complaint has to be carefully examined before any decision is made," Engineer said. "Everything possible will be done to adjudicate it immediately.
"The complaint made by the management of the Punjab team has been referred to me by Lalit Modi, chief commissioner of the IPL, for immediate adjudication under the ICC Code of Conduct. I have already started the process and will be summoning all concerned and will also seek any video evidence recorded by the host broadcaster.
"Since the process has started I will request the media not to seek any further clarification or information. I will furnish my report to chief commissioner of IPL, keeping in view the ICC code of Conduct and interest of cricket."
The Mumbai Indians are hopeful the issue will be resolved amicably. Reacting to the news that Harbhajan has been temporarily suspended till the hearing on Monday, a top team official of the Mumbai Indians said, "The incident involving Harbhajan Singh and Sreesanth of the Kings XI Punjab was most unfortunate.
"The [IPL] governing council has set up an adjudication panel to inquire into the incident. The Mumbai Indians are confident that the decision taken by the panel will be in the best interests of cricket and the Indian Premier League."
IS Bindra, the Punjab Cricket Association president, said they would provide logistical support to Engineer to conduct the inquiry. The hearing will take place at the Maurya Sheraton, New Delhi on April 28th, after which Engineer will announce his verdict.

Cricket news......

Deccan Chargers v Rajasthan Royals at Hyderabad (Decc) - Apr 24, 2008

Rajasthan Royals won by 3 wickets (with 1 ball remaining).

Cricket

Cricket is a bat-and-ball sport contested by two teams, usually of eleven players each. A cricket match is played on a grass field, roughly oval in shape, in the centre of which is a flat strip of ground 22 yards (20.12 m) long, called a cricket pitch. A wicket, usually made of wood, is placed at each end of the pitch.
The bowler, a player from the fielding team, bowls a hard, fist-sized cricket ball from the vicinity of one wicket towards the other. The ball usually bounces once before reaching the batsman, a player from the opposing team. In defence of the wicket, the batsman plays the ball with a wooden cricket bat. Meanwhile, the other members of the bowler's team stand in various positions around the field as fielders, players who retrieve the ball in an effort to stop the batsman scoring runs, and if possible to get him or her out. The batsman — if he or she does not get out — may run between the wickets, exchanging ends with a second batsman (the "non-striker"), who has been waiting near the bowler's wicket. Each completed exchange of ends scores one run. Runs are also scored if the batsman hits the ball to the boundary of the playing area. The match is won by the team that scores more runs.
Cricket has been an established team sport for hundreds of years and is thought to be the second most popular sport in the world, after football (soccer).[2] More than 100 countries are affiliated to the International Cricket Council, cricket's international governing body. The sport's modern form originated in England, and is most popular in the present and former members of the Commonwealth. In many countries including Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the English-speaking countries of the Caribbean, which are collectively known in cricketing parlance as the West Indies, cricket is the most popular sport. In Australia, while other sports are more popular in particular areas, cricket has been described as the "national sport" and has had a role in forming the national identity.[3] It is also a major sport in England, New Zealand, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Many countries also have well-established amateur club competitions, including the Netherlands, Kenya, Nepal and Argentina.
The sport is followed with passion in many different parts of the world. It has even occasionally given rise to diplomatic outrage, notoriously the Basil D'Oliveira affair (which led to the banning of South Africa from sporting events) and the Bodyline Test series in the early 1930s (which led to a temporary deterioration in relations between Australia and the United Kingdom).