White Mischief Gals to cheer Pietersen in इप्ल!

"Necklines plunging, hemlines rising, they are all set to let the mercury soar, higher than any of the sixes that come from the blades of Kevin Pietersen." The cheerleaders, the release added, have been "specially trained in flirty acrobatic skills for a scintillating on-field performance." The Mumbai Indians forced their cheerleaders to don pants instead of skirts after protests from political parties. The Royal Challengers, owned by flamboyant liquor and airline tycoon Vijay Mallya, had hired the Washington Redskins cheerleaders for the inaugural IPL season last year in India. So Mallya dropped the Redskins and hired 24 members of the US-based Varsity cheerleader group for the second season, renaming them the "White Mischief Gals”. The use of cheerleading squads last year provoked complaints from some conservative quarters in India.

The White Mischief Gals will travel across South Africa for all Royal Challenger matches during the five-week tournament, offering fans "flirtatious messages and tips," the statement said.Pietersen will only enjoy their support for the first two weeks, as he is due to return to England in early May to prepare for the Test series against the West Indies.Pietersen, bought by the Bangalore Royal Challengers for a record 1.55 million dollars, will clash with good friend Shane Warne's Rajasthan Royals on the opening night in Cape Town, South Africa.

IPL Viewership Vs Elections Viewership- Wait a Minute... IPL Wins!

The general election may have won the battle, but it looks like the Indian Premier League (IPL) will win the war—for eyeballs. “IPL will be watched by both mass as well as niche audiences. It will be watched by people across the country,” says Emmanuel

Viewership studies by two media buying firms say the Twenty20 cricket league that begins on 18 April, will attract more viewers than the election coverage! The general election begins on 16 April and will be conducted in five phases till 13 May. The counting of votes will happen on 16 May, the day when election coverage peaks on news channels.

The final of IPL is to be played on 24 May in Johannesburg. If an IPL match and election coverage happens at the same time, approximately 60% of the viewers will prefer to watch cricket, says a dipstick study of 120 people done across Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore by Maxus, a media buying agency that is part of GroupM India Pvt. Ltd.

An advertiser, who incidentally has bought time on both IPL and election coverage, also votes in favour of IPL. “IPL cuts across age groups and genders. Advertising on IPL will help reach out to a wider base (than elections),” says a spokesperson for Samsung Electronics Pvt. Ltd. The company bought ads on elections because of “its overall importance”, the spokesperson added. According to media buyers, a 10-second ad spot during an IPL match is currently being sold for Rs4 lakh against the going rate of Rs2, 000 to Rs4, 000 for election coverage on news channels. And while a sponsor has to spend around Rs30-35 crore to get associated with IPL, the sponsorship of election coverage on news channels costs anything between Rs15 lakh and Rs30 lakh.The study also points out that while viewers can get updates on elections intermittently, cricket fans are not likely to sacrifice live action once they sit in front of their television.

Media buyers also say that the profile of viewers on IPL will be much better than news channels.

Time For Celebration : India wins Test series on Kiwi soil after 41 years!

India proofed their primary series triumph on New Zealand soil in 41 years though rain denied them a deserving victory in the third cricket Test here on Tuesday. Rain played spoilsport in India's push for a 2-0 series win on the fifth and final day and the hosts escaped with a draw after they were down 281 for eight in the post-lunch session in chase of a near impossible 617 for a win.

The Indians, who outplayed the Kiwis right through the match, were well on course for a victory by trickery up four wickets in just over a session before light rain stopped play 30 minutes into post lunch session. Daniel Vettori on 15 was at the crease at that time along with Iain O'Brien (19). There was a glimmer of hope for India recording their 100th Test victory as covers were taken off for a short while to restart the post-lunch session half an hour after wildcat strike.

Zaheer Khan, who took five wickets in Kiwi first innings, ended the Test with figures of seven for 122 while Harbhajan Singh, with his 4/59 in New Zealand second essay, had match figures of seven for 102. India claimed three wickets in the morning session after being frustrated for more than one hour by Ross Taylor (107) and James Franklin (49) who stitched a 142-run partnership for the fifth wicket.

Bollywood IPL Stars

Bollywood Stars of IPL Cricket 2009

SRK lashes at Gawaskar,"I am the owner of the team, and I bought it."

Shah Rukh Khan, owner of the Kolkata Knight Riders, has hit back at Sunil Gavaskar over his comments about franchise coach John Buchanan, and asked Gavaskar to stay away from issues concerning his IPL team.

In his editorial for the Hindustan Times newspaper, Gavaskar termed Buchanan a "failed former cricketer making a living telling international players to do what he couldn't do". It has not gone down well with the IPL franchise, which last week tried to put a lid on the controversy generated by Buchanan's theory of multiple captains by releasing a statement that during a game the team would resort to a cluster of "strategists" who would report to one on-field captain while making decisions.

Khan has come to Buchanan's protection, saying there was a manifest difference in the time Gavaskar played and now. "I have admiration Mr. Gavaskar - his acquaintance about cricket is a billion times better than me," Khan told reporters in Mumbai. "But this is an era where Mr. Gavaskar has not indulged in; nevertheless his knowledge about the game does allow him to make comments.

Gavaskar also said the Indian media arranged unnecessary importance to Buchanan. "In India, where the media lives by the sound bite, Buchanan is a customary," he wrote. "If the Indian media had not made him out to be a 'super coach', he would have been just another disastrous former cricketer making a living telling international players to do what he couldn't at the first-class level."

IPL Top 10 Bowlers

1. Sohail Tanvir - Rajasthan Royals - 22 Wickets
2. Shane Warne - Rajasthan Royals - 19 Wickets
3. Sreesanth - Kings XI Punjab - 19 Wickets
4. Shane Watson - Rajasthan Royals - 17 Wickets
5. Piyush Chawla - Kings XI Punjab - 17 Wickets
6. JA Morkel - Chennai Super Kings - 17 Wickets
7. M Gony - Chennai Super Kings - 17 Wickets
8. Yo Mahesh - Delhi Dare Devils - 16 Wickets
9. Farvez Maharoof - Delhi Dare Devils - 16 Wickets
10. Irfan Pathan - Kings XI Punjab - 15 Wickets

IPL Top 10 Batsmen

1. Shaun Marsh - Kings XI Punjab - 616 Runs
2. Gautam Ghambir - Delhi Dare Devils - 534 Runs
3. Sanath Jayasuriya - Mumbai Indians - 514 Runs
4. Shane Watson - Rajasthan Royals - 472 Runs
5. Graeme Smith - Rajasthan Royals - 441
6. Adam Gilchrist - Hyderabad Deccan Chargers - 436 Runs
7. Yousuf Pathan - Rajasthan Royals - 435 Runs
8. Suresh Raina - Chennai Super Kings - 421 Runs
9. MS Dhoni - Chennai Super Kings - 414 Runs
10. Virender Shewag - Delhi Dare Devils - 406 Runs

Top IPL cricket stars to entertain at Buffalo Park

IPL Cricket Stars Will Now Entertain Buffalo Park

Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar is just one of several top world cricketers who will grace Buffalo Park when Indian Premier League (IPL) matches get played in East London next month. The tournament, hosted by Cricket South Africa, runs from April 18 to May 24 – the date of the final. The tournament, the richest in the world, was moved to South Africa amidst security concerns by the Indian government..

The eight finalized venues are Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban, Centurion, East London, Port Elizabeth, Bloemfontein and Kimberley. The eight franchises play a league phase comprising 56 matches over 34 days at eight venues. Spectators can also look forward to Indian entertainment before and after each match.

“IPL is nothing but business”: Congress

As the elections are closer, closer are the controversies surrounding IPL & Politics. Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress, in a bid to downplay the IPL controversy, today hit back saying the IPL was just “commercial cricket” and not a national tournament. The BJP, meanwhile, had tried to score political points claiming that the UPA government was unable to provide security to popular cricket tournaments in India. The Congress strongly opposed the BJP and asked it not to “politicize” the issue.

Hrithik Says Nah! To Indian Premier League

Well, all Hrithik Roshan’s fans are in for regret! Duggu’s spokesperson from Carving Dreams has shorn of all rumours about Hrithik being a part of the Indian Premiere League this year.

“We were all surprised when we heard recent media reports of Hrithik being a part of the Rajasthan Royal's video or its promotion, the news is absolutely untrue. He has been busy gunfire for his home production ‘Kites’ which still has one short schedule pending and has hence excused himself from all IPL promotions this year.” clarifies his spokesperson from Caving Dreams. Duggu is our one big time committed hero! His upcoming movie is ‘Kites’ by Anurag Basu.

Best IPL Catches!

Shah Rukh, Shilpa, Preity back IPL shift abroad.

The svelte Kareena Kapoor unlike Preity Zinta & Shilpa Shetty who are trying their luck
In the business of cricket through the Indian Premier League (IPL), but our Bebo says she has no such plan as she doesn't have a business sense.

Asked if she planned to enter IPL like other actresses, Kareena said: "I have no idea about business. I only know how to act. As for business, I will think about it five years later.” While Preity co-owns IPL team Kings XI Punjab, Juhi is part owner of Shah Rukh's Kolkata Knight Riders and Shilpa Shetty joined the cricket bandwagon this year with beau Raj Kundra by buying a stake in Rajasthan Royals. Maybe soon our Youth Icon Pair ‘Bebo & Saif” will be the owners of IPL team next time! So not only do our cricketers compete on screen, now there will be rivalries off-screen too!

Controversies, More Controversies for IPL…

Last few weeks have been tough for IPL. First the brutal attack on the Sri Lankan cricketers then the location change which created stir in the nation amongst the cricket fans & now the latest bubble is that Kolkata Knight Riders will have more than one captain! What a journey it has been for the IPL over the last few weeks. It has been one rutted boulevard.

March 2: The election commission announced the dates for the 16th Lok Sabha elections.

March 3: Sri Lankan cricketers attacked in Lahore.

March 4: Home Minister P Chidambaram drops the bombshell, tells CNN-IBN that providing paramilitary forces for IPL matches during general elections will be difficult.

March 5: Government-IPL decides to review dates to save the event. IPL bosses get into action to salvage the billion dollar event.

March 6: Lalit Modi says IPL to roll on schedule, Mumbai not Jaipur to host inaugural match.

March 7: IPL submits fresh schedule to Home Ministry.

March 9: Ministry of Home Affairs asks states to respond and the ministry puts the ball into the State Governments' court.

March 10: Lalit Modi addresses a press conference in Mumbai claiming IPL will take care of its own security

March 12: Deadlock continues as states demand central forces for IPL.

March 13: Ministry of Home Affairs asks for a further revised schedule.

March 14: IPL starts to work on yet another schedule

March 15: Government asks IPL to consult states on revised dates.

March 16: Home Ministry officials and BCCI meet in North block but fail to find a solution

March 17: A third revised schedule sees Delhi and Jaipur omitted from the list of venues as IPL.

March 18: New schedule is then send to Home Ministry with Mumbai as a main centre hosting as many as 14 matches.

March 20: A huge blow for the IPL as reports of Mumbai backtracking from their earlier approval comes through.

March 21: The final nail in the coffin with the Maharashtra Government refusing on grounds of security in a written letter to the IPL.

March 22: IPL shifted out of India.

March 24: Lalit Modi pulls the rabbit out of the hat, takes IPL to South Africa.

March 25: Kolkata Knight Riders decide to have Multiple Captains.

The Journey of Controversies continues….