Mumbai Indians run over Pune Warriors at Wankhede

PW 118 17.2 overs MI 124/3 20 overs

Despite a last ditch effort, a horror start spelt doom for Pune Warriors, as they went down against the much vaunted Mumbai Indians team at Wankhede stadium Mumbai, in a crucial match of the Indian Premier League season four.

The match went down to the last ball, as the hosts stuttered in their easy chase, one run was needed off the last ball, which was deposited over the extra cover boundary by Rohit Sharma.

Earlier in the day, the Warriors batted first on a strip that looked full of runs at the renovated venue, which was once again in pomp condition.

However, the pleasant conditions did little to inspire the Warriors, as the opening four batsmen were sent packing with only 17 runs on the board. The opening pair of Jesse Ryder and Tim Paine were sent back almost immediately, while the body blow was the loss of captain and ICC 2011 World Cup man of the tournament, Yuvraj Singh.

Yuvraj was dismissed by his Indian teammate Munaf Patel for a duck after he was snapped up behind the wickets.

All eyes were on Robin Uthappa, the former Indian middle order batsman, but he found little support from the other end, as one batsmen fell after another in an attempt of upping the tempo.

Uthappa scored 45 runs, which included a monstrous six off Kieron Pollard. Despite his efforts the Warriors managed a paltry total of 118. Patel was the destroyer-in-chief. The right-armer claimed 3 wickets for only 8 runs.

The Indians started their chase on a poor note. James Franklin, who was promoted in the batting order was dismissed for only 6 runs. The top scorer of the tournament, Sachin Tendulkar, went about his task with his usual calm, as he scored 35 off 39 balls before falling to Rahul Sharma.

Rohit Sharma and Andrew Symonds were unusually circumspect in the closing overs, at one stage the hosts needed a mere 20 runs off the last three overs, yet inexplicably the match was taken down to the last ball by the pair.

Sharma sealed a win for the Indians with a six. Munaf Patel was named man of the match.

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BCCI rejects Indian players’ demand for Rs 50 million as ICC World Cup 2011 win reward

The Board of Control for Cricket in India has turned down the ICC World Cup 2011 champions’ demand for Rs 50 million as prize money.

Top Indian cricketers recently made an informal demand for the reward money to be increased to Rs 50 million instead of just Rs 10 million for winning the biggest cricketing event.

India won the ICC World Cup 2011 beating Sri Lanka in the final game earlier in April, bringing home the trophy after 28 years.

The Indian players were praised globally for their performance in the mega event and the BCCI decided to remunerate the Men in Blue accordingly.

Immediately after India’s success on 2 April, the BCCI president Shashank Manohar announced a reward of Rs 10 million for each player in the 15-member World Cup squad. He also proclaimed that the support staff would also be awarded Rs 5 million each.

However, a few days after the announcement, leading Indian cricketers asked for an increase in the prize money.

An Indian newspaper quoted a leading cricketer as saying, “If you see, only the top players benefit, and there is no doubt that we earn more than anybody, but what about players like Munaf Patel and others? These players make the Indian team and the BCCI earns so much because of them.”

The newspaper further revealed that the players felt that they deserve more since the Board will be earning huge amounts from India’s World Cup victory.

The players also asked for an increase in the support staff’s reward as they did an outstanding job to steer India to the glory.

The BCCI has refused to shower any further incentives on the cricketers. According to a member of the BCCI, the reward given to players is already more than enough.

“Do you think these players really need to be given so much money? One crore is not a small amount,” a Board official said.

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