Sachin Tendulkar led from the front with a sparkling unbeaten 59 and young Abhishek Nayar clobbered a quickfire 35 as Mumbai Indians scored a stunning 19-run victory over last year's runners-up Chennai Super Kings in the opening match of the Indian Premier League in Cape Town on Saturday.
Two days before the actual action gets underway, the second Indian Premier League got off to a rousing start in Cape Town on Thursday, with some of the best cricketers and Bollywood stars lending sheen to the gala event. A colourful tableaux of eight IPL franchisees passed the city centre, with fans lining up either side of the roads to get a glimpse of the cricket and entertainment glitterati converged in South Africa for the 59-match carnival, starting on Saturday.
Mohammad Kaif will not feature in the second edition of the Indian Premier League after his team Rajasthan Royals dumped the Team India discard in Cape Town on Wednesday. Manoj Badale, chairman and co-owner of the Jaipur-based franchisee, said Kaif got the boot as the team management shortlisted 17-18 players for the Twenty20 league starting on Saturday. The only way Kaif can be back is if any other player sustains injury, he added.
South Africa's second one-day international against England has been abandoned after only 11.2 overs of play due to rain at Kingsmead on Friday. Heavy showers overnight in Durban and more persistent rain throughout the day frustrated the players and fans, with the game called off at 7pm local time.
"Chappell doesn't understand the nuances of democracy," CPI MP Gurudas Dasgupta said.
Rookie batsman Imraan Khan joined Hashim Amla as the second Indian-Origin player in the South African team which will be without regular skipper Graeme Smith in the third and final Test against Australia starting March 19 in Cape Town.
Ashwell Prince has been recalled to replace the injured Graeme Smith as South Africa captain for the third Test against Australia where he will open the batting alongside debutant Imraan Khan.
Tickets for the World Cup semi-finals and final, as well as two of England's first round matches in South Africa, have sold out, FIFA said on Friday. FIFA said there were no more tickets for England's matches against the United States in Rustenburg on June 12 and Slovenia in Port Elizabeth on June 23.
West Indian umpire Steve Bucknor, who has officiated in a record 126 Tests, will retire from international matches in March.
Smith is banned from leadership roles until March because of his involvement in a Cape Town ball-tampering scandal last year but he is tipped by some former players and leading cricket writers to regain the captaincy from wicketkeeper Paine after his batting heroics in England.
England off-spinner Graeme Swann's sparkling form in South Africa contrasts with his tour there 10 years ago when he spent a lot of time drinking and was a million miles from the Test side, he was quoted as saying on Sunday.
Virender Sehwag raced to a double hundred off just 168 balls on Day 2 of the third Test against Sri Lanka. It is the second fastest double century in Test cricket.
FIFA will hold an extraordinary meeting before next month's World Cup draw to discuss Thierry Henry's handball in the qualifiers and the discovery of a match-fixing ring by German police.
South Africa spinner Paul Harris is to see a specialist after fracturing his thumb and will take no further part in the first test against Bangladesh in Bloemfontein, a team spokesman announced on Friday.
They were welcomed by Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana-Dlamini Zuma, Home Affairs Minister Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka and Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Aziz Pahad.
Debutant Junaid Siddique's sparkling 71 went in vain as Pakistan beat Bangladesh by four wickets in an inconsequential match of the Twenty20 World Cup.
Here's a first look of Tasveer.
Taking a look at the 13 contestants of Khatron Ke Khiladi Level 2.
The former UCBSA chief was struggling for life in an intensive care unit in a Cape Town hospital following a colon operation.
International Cricket Council president Percy Sonn is gravely ill in hospital after surgery, his personal assistant said on Tuesday.
Only close relatives attended the funeral in Observatory, near the family's Pinelands home outside Cape Town.
He was accompanied to the Gandhi Settlement by the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal, Sbu Ndebele, and a host of local political and business leaders.
Differences, however, remain and more meetings will be required.
Reader Harendra Chahar sends us photographs.
President Cyril Ramaphosa announced last Sunday that there would be no change to the current lowest Level One of the country's five-level lockdown strategy.
India's INS Mumbai and INS Karmukh will take part in the event, which includes the very basic to the most advanced, and involving submarines and aircraft. South Africa, India and Brazil, who form part of the new forum IBSA, will sport their biggest frigates and test the latest electronic systems against each other in a simulated war situation.
The suspension has been enacted on the basis of USACA's failure to meet the agreed and extended deadlines for the adoption of the new USACA constitution and the holding of elections.
ICC president Percy Sonn accepted an invitation from the ICC Board to extend his term in office until June 2009.
Statistical highlights of the IPL match between Deccan Chargers and Rajasthan Royals. Yusuf is the fourth batsman to amass 600 runs in the IPL, joining Gilchrist (646), Suresh Raina (621) and Shanu Marsh (616).
Rudra Pratap Singh took four for 22 as Deccan Chargers crushed Kolkata Knight Riders by eight wickets in the fourth match of the Indian Premier League in Cape Town, on Sunday. Singh took full advantage of the bowler-friendly conditions at Newlands to help bowl out Kolkata for a lowly 101 in 19.4 overs. In reply, Gibbs top-scored with 43 from 26 deliveries and Rohit Sharma smashed 36 not out as Deccan cruised to the victory target in just 13.2 overs.
Heavy fines ranging from US $20,000 to US $360,000 await captains and teams which fail to bowl their 20 overs inside the stipulated time during the Indian Premier League, starting in Cape Town on Saturday. Each team will get 80 minutes to bowl its 20 overs, with breaks of seven-and-a-half minutes each after every 10 overs in the matches that will last three hours and 15 minutes.
South African wicketkeeper Mark Boucher on Wednesday said that his side have handled the pressure very well to come out on top and they have enough overs to bowl India out to win the series-deciding third Test in Cape Town.
India would look to bat well on day three and put South Africa under pressure in the third and final Test in Cape Town, medium pacer S Sreesanth said.
Tickets for the double-header on the opening day of Indian Premier League's second edition at Cape Town in South Africa, on April 18, were sold out within hours of going on sale online, on Friday. Commenting on the sale of the IPL tickets online, at www.cumputicket.com, Lalit Modi, chairman and commissioner of the cash-rich tournament, expressed hope that the first day of the Twenty20 league will see 'a dream start for season 2009'.
South Africa beat Australia for the third game in a row when they won the second Twenty20 international by 17 runs on Sunday. Chasing 157 for victory on Sunday, Australia were derailed by off-spinner Johan Botha, who claimed two for 16 in four overs as the visitors crashed to 103 for five after 15 overs having been 63 for two at the halfway mark.
The opening match and final of the second edition of IPL, shifted overseas to South Africa, are to be held at the Newlands Stadium in Cape Town and the Wanderers in Johannesburg respectively on April 18 and May 24.
Test cricket on Sunday said farewell and thanks to Steve Bucknor, the most experienced umpire to date in the longest form of the game. The 62-year-old Jamaican umpired his final Test match at Newlands in Cape Town between South Africa and Australia, his 128th match in the middle. Bucknor has been umpiring at international level since 1989 when he took charge of the One-Day International (ODI) between the West Indies and India at the Antigua Recreation Ground on March 18.
South Africa captain Graeme Smith has lost his valuable Test cap which he wore in every match since his debut against Australia way back in 2002 in Cape Town.
There was some cheer for the Indian team as captain Rahul Dravid said he would be fit for the first Test in South Africa.
