McCullum gets top scorer award

Brendon McCullum was on Thursday awarded the T20 Champions Award in the highest individual scorer category.

McCullum, sent a message from Bangladesh, saying he cannot wait to see his fans in Kolkata Knight Riders.

The Kiwi batsman, who turned out for a couple of games for the IPL side, Kolkata Knight Riders, was selected on the basis of his pyrotechnical 158 in the opening game of the Indian domestic T20 championship earlier this year.

The inaugural T20 Champions Award has been instituted by BCCI, Cricket Australia and Cricket South Africa to recognise the best of Twenty20 performances in domestic leagues across all Champions League Twenty20 constituent countries.

McCullum, whose services were secured forr USD 700,000, smashed 10 boundaries and 13 sixes in his 73-ball knock in the first match of the IPL played against Bangalore Royal Challengers at the Chinnaswamy stadium that literally set the tone for the entire tournament.

In that knock, McCullum bettered Cameron White's record of 141 not out off 70 balls, for Somerset against Worcestershire in July 2006.

The wicketkeeper-batsman will, however, not feature in the Champions League Twenty20 because his team Kolkata Knight Riders failed to reach the title round of the IPL.

Tanvir awarded for best bowling

Sohail Tanvir was Thursday awarded at the T20 Champions Award for his superlative show for the Rajasthan Royals.

Tanvir's six for 14 -- the best figures in Twenty20 Cricket -- for eventual IPL champions Royals against runners-up Chennai Super Kings in a league encounter, earned him the award for the best bowling figures in a match.

The inaugural T20 Champions Award has been instituted by BCCI, Cricket Australia and Cricket South Africa to recognise the best of Twenty20 performances in domestic leagues across all Champions League Twenty20 constituent countries.

The red-hot spell from Tanvir decimated the Super Kings for 109 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. That reduced what was billed as a clash for the top spot in the Indian Premier League into a one-sided rout as the Royals chased down the target with eight wickets to spare.

Tanvir's and Royals' dominance in the match was emphasised by a rare sight in Twenty20 cricket - a slip cordon populated by three fielders.

The lanky pacer, who had a fantastic run in the Pakistan domestic T20 championship earlier this month, will turn out for Rajasthan in the inaugural Champions League Twenty20 in December.

Champions League T20 draw announced

Middlesex Crusaders will challenge Victoria Bushrangers in the opening match of the Champions League T-20.

The draws and fixtures were revealed on Thursday night in a glittering function in New Delhi, which also saw the presentation of the inaugural T20 Champions Awards.

The eight teams have been divided into two groups. Chennai Super Kings, Victoria Bushrangers, Pretoria Titans and Middlesex Crusaders have been slotted in Group A, while Group B comprises of Sialkot Stallions, Rajasthan Royals, Western Warriors and Natal Dolphins.

Match one in Mumbai between the English and Australian domestic T20 champions will be followed by a high-voltage contest between IPL champions Rajasthan Royals and Natal Dolphins in Bangalore.

Pakistan T20 champions Sialkot Stallions will take on Aussie T20 runners-up Western Warriors in Bangalore the next day, December 4 followed by a match between IPL runners-up Chennai Super Kings and Victoria Bushrangers in Mumbai.

On December 5, the action will, for the first time in the tournament, shift to Chennai where Middlesex Crusaders take on Pretoria Titans, while Sialkot Stallions come over to Mumbai to take on Rajasthan Royals.

Saturday, December 6 will be a triple treat for fans of the T20 format with three matches slated to be held on that day.

Western Australia will take on Natal Dolphins for the first match of the day in Bangalore while Victoria Bushrangers play Pretoria Titan and Chennai Super Kings play Middlesex Crusaders in Chennai.

Action galore continues on Sunday with the Dolphins taking on the Stallions and the Royals crossing swords with the Warriors in Bangalore. The Super Kings will get another home game in Chennai when they take on Titans for the third game of the day.

The first semi-final of the Champions League T-20 would be played on Monday, December 8 when the first placed team from Group B takes on the second placed team from Group A in Bangalore.

The first placed team from Group A will play the second placed team from Group B in Chennai on Tuesday, December 9 to decide the second finalist.

The final of the Champions League T-20, sure to be a mega-event, will be played in Chennai on Wednesday, December 10 at 20.00 hrs India time.

IPL Cricket stars we miss in May

Indian Premier League teams will miss some match winning foreign cricketers in May. Absence of these stars will have maximum impact on teams like Chennai, Kolkata and Hyderabad while Teams like Rajasthan, Bangalore and Delhi will be less impacted by their absence. Dale Steyn is the bowler to watch out in May.1. Chennai Super Kings: New Zealand all rounder Jacob Oram and Australian batsman Mathew Hayden and Michael Hussey will not play for Chennai IPL in the next month. Chennai will reach semi-finals but title hopes are almost out of question due to their absence. These three cricketers clean swept all the three man of the match awards in the Chennai matches. Chennai is the most affected team in the Indian Premier League. South African pacer Morkel may fill the void left by Jacob Oram and Stephen Fleming may partially fill the gap left by Michael Hussey. But who will replace Match winner Mathew Hayden?

2. Punjab Kings Eleven: Mohali IPL will miss its strike bowler Brett Lee, Kylie Mills and Simon Katich. It is almost impossible to fill the boots of Australian Speedster.

3. Hyderabad Deccan Chargers: They will miss their star batsman Andrew Symonds. So their hope of reaching semi-finals is almost out of question.

4. Bangalore Royal Challengers: They will miss New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor, Australian speedster Ashley Noffke and West Indies batsman Chanderpaul. But Bangalore fortunes will be boosted by arrivals of South African sensation Dale Steyn. Zaheer Khan, Praveen kumar, Anil Kumble, Dale Steyn and Jacques Kallis may destroy any batting lineup in Indian Premier League.

5. Delhi daredevils: Delhi will not be affected much due to the absence of New Zealand spinner Daniel Vettori. South African batsman De Villiers will join the squad.

6. Kolkata Knight Riders: They will miss New Zealand keeper Brendon McCullum, Australian captain Ricky Ponting and West Indies opener Chris Gayle. Ricky Ponting is the biggest disaster in the IPL. But Kolkata bowling will be strengthened by arrival of Umar Gul and Brad Hodge. Critics found answers for questions like why Ponting was less paid in the IPL auction than Hussey brothers. Who will fill replace McCullum?

7. Mumbai Indians: They will not be affected much as they miss the services of Dwayne Bravo only.

8. Rajasthan Royals: Underdogs in April will become hot favourites in May. They will not miss single cricketer in May. Mascarenhas, Sohail Tanvir and Younis Khan will join squad in May.

Australian and New Zealand cricketers dominated the first two weeks in the Indian Premier League with their stunning displays. South African and Pakistan cricketers may dominate the IPL matches in the coming weeks. But audience will surely miss the exemplary displays of cricketers like Mathew Hayden, Hussey Brothers, Brendon McCullum, Oram and Brett Lee. But we will see wonderful cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble, Dale Steyn, Umar Gul and Morkel in live action in the coming weeks. Some loss and some gain.

Gilchrist decimated Mumbai bowlers

Hyderabad Deccan Chargers won their game in IPL by beating Mumbai Indians at D.Y. Patil stadium in Mumbai. Adam Gilchrist scored fastest century in IPL to setup this emphatic win for Hyderabad IPL team. Hyderabad crushed Mumbai by 10 wickets as Mumbai played without Sachin Tendulkar and suspended Harbhajan Singh. This is the fourth successive defeat for Mumbai IPL team.VVS Laxman first time showed his batting skills and captaincy prowess in this match. But selection politics are still going on. On what criterion, Hyderabad selectors are picking Arjun Yadav over Ravi Teja. Ravi Teja need to switch to IPL as Ambati Rayudu did. Shivlal Yadav family is ruling Hyderabad cricket like their own kingdom. IPL franchisees need passionate owners like Shahrukh Khan, Preity Zinta and Vijay Mallya.

IPL Cricket scorecard:

Mumbai Indians: 154/7 in 20 overs.
Hyderabad IPL: 155 for no loss in 12.4 overs.
Result: Hyderabad defeated Mumbai by 10 wickets.

Man of the match: Adam Gilchrist.

IPL Records:

1. Adam Gilchrist scored fastest century in Indian Premier League. He scored this wonderful century in just 42 balls. He hit 9 fours and 10 sixers.
2. This is the first 10 wicket win for any team in IPL tournament.
3. This is the biggest victory in terms of overs left.
4. Australian legend Adam Gilchrist scored his first half century in twenty20 cricket.
5. This is the fourth successive loss by Mumbai Indians.
6. This is the first IPL match at D.Y. Patil stadium.

IPL T20 match highlights:

1. RP Singh bowled a wonderful spell of 4 overs; 15 runs; 2 wickets. Great figures in a twenty20 match.
2. All rounders Shaun Pollock, Abhishek Nayar and Bravo played cameo knocks in the late order to save Mumbai from initial blushes.
3. Mumbai is weakened by the absence of Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh.
4. Adam Gilchrist brutally hit Mumbai captain Shaun Pollock. When Gilchrist is on song, any team can do nothing.

Hyderabad sent warning signals to opposition teams by this emphatic performance. Arrival of Adam Gilchrist into this kind of form is good news at an ideal time. Gilchrist will play entire season but Andrew Symonds played his last match in this season. Herschelle Gibbs will replace Andrew Symonds in the coming matches. But Hyderabad still needs to sort out selection errors to win against strong teams.

IPLCheck sequence of events - Dhoni

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India's captain in the shorter versions of the game, hopes the authorities will check the sequence of events rather than go by what television footage in the Harbhajan Singh-Sreesanth controversy.

Comparing the row to the one between footballers Zinedine Zidane and Marco Matterazi at the last World Cup final, Dhoni felt that the act of provocation needed to be checked too.

Harbhajan was temporarily suspended from the Mumbai Indians side for allegedly hitting Sreesanth after the match between Mumbai and Kings XI Punjab in Mohali on Friday. His hearing, today, is based on additional footage of the incident from one of the host broadcaster's 21 cameras at the match. In the World Cup final, Zidane was sent off the field for head-butting Matterazi after the latter allegedly provoked him with personal remarks.

"What Zidane did was wrong, but Materazzi also was not completely in the right," Dhoni wrote in his column for the Hindustan Times. "Harbhajan is a very aggressive cricketer who plays hard and is there for his team-mates whenever they need him. Even Sreesanth has seen this supportive side of Harbhajan in the Indian dressing room. Sreesanth is also a very aggressive cricketer who likes to express his highs and lows very passionately on the cricket field. Off the field, you will not meet a more soft-spoken guy than Sree."

Dhoni was happy to know the two players had sorted things out between themselves and said the incident was unlikely to have any effect on the Indian dressing room.

"The incident ... was unfortunate because I know both of them, and they are not bad guys at all. Everybody is passing judgment based on what is reported in the newspapers, and I am too far from the scene to actually comment on it."

IPL BCCI needs to counsel its players - Manjrekar

"The BCCI should look at Harbhajan and Sreesanth as the two cases that they have now got to tackle and ensure that they come back more balanced and are a little more aware of their own behaviour and not go out of control." Sanjay Manjrekar analyses decision to ban Harbhajan Singh for 11 IPL games after the offspinner pleaded guilty to slapping Sreesanth after last Friday's game between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab