The goal scored with Shashi Tharoor’s resignation has been so powerful that it has rebounded upon the scorer himself. The self goal has meant that Modi stands suspended from the league he himself created, and faces a slew of corruption charges.

So much information has been leaked from various ‘sources’ with each passing day that the average cricket viewer’s attention has been forced to move away from the games being played on the field, to those off the field. It is indeed a sad state of affairs that a tournament which gave India immense international recognition, and brought on India’s domestic talent to the forefront, has been so tainted with corruption.

Adding fuel to the fire are the match fixing allegations. If they turn out to be true, there will be immense public anger, and the BCCI can then bank upon the fact that TRPs for any future editions of the IPL will never be the same again.

In spite of the information overload, there are many things we do not know; and though Modi had threatened to reveal the dirt in the game once the tournament concludes, he is yet to open the promised Pandora’s Box.

It is ironical that at the beginning of this year’s tournament, Lalit Modi made the team captains sign the MCC ‘spirit of cricket’ pledge.

The spirit has been murdered.

In a country where the rich and the powerful almost always escape the clutches of the law, will the spirit ever get justice? Even if Lalit Modi is convicted and prosecuted, there are bigger pawns (read politicians) on this chessboard, who may yet again subvert the system to save their skin. And the common man‘s faith in democracy will be further diminished.

Pop, Reggae and Bollywood enthralled a packed house at the home ground of Deccan Chargers team (Hyderabad having been replaced due to violent protests there).

Meanwhile the first match of the tournament saw a big upset when a seemingly victorius Deccan Chargers were defeated by Kolkatta Knight Ridersby 11 runs. Batting first, KKR lost two wickets in the first over and two more by the start of the sixth. Chaminda Vaas struck with the first and third balls of the match to remove Manoj Tiwary and Sourav Ganguly. Cheteshwar Pujara and Brad Hodge departed to leave the Knight Riders wobbling on 31 for four after 5.1 overs.

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However, England batsman Owais Shah and Sri Lanka all-rounder Angelo Mathews united in an unbeaten fifth-wicket stand of 130, the second highest recorded in professional Twenty20 matches, to take Kolkata to an above-par total of 161.

Although Deccan started at a gallop, with Adam Gilchrist and V.V.S. Laxman putting on 61 for the first wicket in less than six overs, they lost their way after both departed and finished the match scratching around for singles and overthrows. Pace bowlers Ishant Sharma and Charl Langeveldt exploited the damp conditions as Kolkata won by 11 runs.

IPL also created history by being the first major sports tournament to be telecast live on YouTube. All matches of IPL 3 will be broadcast with a 5 minute delay on the popular video sharing site. However, all did not go as planned because YouTube was ‘experiencing technical difficulties’ during the first half hour of the match. Hopefully things will be more streamlined as the tournament progresses.

Sadly, IPL fixtures this year have been set in a bad calendar with most of the international teams busy playing one another. Therefore we shall be seeing a lot more retired and not so great players play bat and ball this season. Already the Indian Premier League resembles a retirement destination of Aussie cricketers. Need I say more?

India’s batting legend Sachin Tendulkar smashed a world record 200 not out against South Africa at Gwalior in the second ODI of the three match series.

It is the highest ever score by an individual in a one day international, the previous record being 194 runs by Charles Coventry of Zimbabwe. Tendulkar reached the milestone in the 50th over of India’s innings, as the Proteas tried their best to keep him off strike. The pitch was described as a batting paradise by its curator and turns out he was true to his word; for all but one of India’s batsmen contributed magnificently in India’s massive 401/3.

The crowd at Gwalior’s Roop Singh stadium turned ballistic as the Indian batsmen reigned supreme with a stupendous display of fireworks from their bats. Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni scored 68 off 35 balls hitting 7 fours and 4 sixes.

Earlier Dinesh Kartik and Yusuf Pathan hit 79 and 36 respectively. Only Virender Sehwag failed to contribute, scoring a paltry 9. We can expect a good fightback from the Proteas with excellent batsmen in their line up on this great batting wicket. Hamish Amla in particular is a dangerous player and South Africa do have the potential to chase a 400 plus score. Lets hope for further entertainment!

After sehwag fell and India were 309/2, a quick tumble of wickets followed. Captain MS Dhoni who was partnering Sehwag after Tendulkar’s departure made 72 off 53 balls. Sureh Raina, Guatam Gambhir and Harbhajan Singh fell succesively and cheaply and it looked like India would not be able to cross the 400 barrier until Ravindu Jadeja took on the mantle towards the end of India’s innings and scored a brisk 30 off 17 deliveries, including 2 sixes.

Meanwhile for Lanka; Kulasekara, Welegedara and Fernando took 2 wickets apiece but none of them could check the scoring rate and went for over 6.00 run an over. Tilekratne Dilshan was the mot expensive bowler giving 26 runs in his 2 overs.

Shepherd and his trademark 'Nelson hop'

My all time favourite cricket umpire David Shepherd from England, has died at the age of 68 from prolonged lung cancer.

Shepherd stood in 92 Tests between 1983 and 2005 and 172 ODIs, including three consecutive World Cup finals, advancing England’s reputation, with Dickie Bird, for producing the finest umpires in the world. He was a romantic, sentimental man, especially when it came to cricket, and resented what he saw as examples of greed creeping into the modern game.

His superstitious habit of hopping on one leg when the team score or a batsman was on 111 or a multiple thereof – known as “Nelson” – endeared him to players and onlookers alike.

Most of ‘Shep’s’ performances were full of quiet efficiency, though he did consider retiring after a rare blunder in England’s 2001 Test at Old Trafford against Pakistan, when three English batsmen lost their wickets to deliveries that he should have called as no-balls.

After reassurances from friends, colleagues and players, he continued for another four years before finally stepping off the hectic treadmill of international cricket in 2005, at the age of 64. “At least the dog will be pleased to see me, I expect,” he said.

Its a great loss for the cricketing world.

Indian one-day captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds attracted maximum moolah as teams spent big ahead of the inaugural Twenty20 Indian Premier League (IPL). Star-studded names were up for grabs in Mumbai ahead of the Twenty20 tournament, which begins on 18 April.

Some of the country’s biggest companies, including Vijay Mallya’s UB Group, have bought franchises. Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta have bought into the Kolkata and Mohali franchises, adding further glamour to the league.

Surprises were in store in the course of the long auction conducted by the London-based independent auctioneer, Richard Madley.

Chennai – a franchise team owned by N. Srinivasan’s India Cements, set the ball rolling by giving $1.5 million for Dhoni while Hyderabad (owned by Deccan Chronicle) paid $1.35m for Symonds at a glitzy auction to determine who plays where in the IPL tournament

Retired Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne was the first player to go under the hammer fetching $450,000 from Jaipur. Compatriot Brett Lee went higher, being bought for $900,000 by Preity Zinta and Ness Wadia owned Mohali. Rookie Indian pacer Ishant Sharma was bought by Shah Rukh Khan owned Kolkata team for $950,000, while his partner Rudra Pratap Singh fetched $875,000 and was bought by Hyderabad. Reliance Industries Limited kept quiet for a long time before opting to take Sri Lankan opener Sanath Jayasuriya.

TOP 10 WINNING AUCTION BIDS

Mahendra Dhoni: $1.5m (Chennai)

Andrew Symonds: $1.35m (Hyderabad)

Sanath Jayasuriya: $975,000 (Mumbai)

Ishant Sharma: $950,000 (Kolkata)

Irfan Pathan: $925,000 (Mohali)

Brett Lee : $900,000 (Mohali)

Jacques Kallis: $900,000 (Bangalore)

RP Singh: $875,000 (Hyderabad)

Harbhajan Singh: $850,000 (Mumbai)

Chris Gayle: $800,000 (Kolkata)

Five “marquee players” players were reserved from the auction – team captains Ganguly (Calcutta), Yuvraj Singh (Mohali), Sachin Tendulkar (Mumbai), Rahul Dravid (Bangalore) and Virender Sehwag (Delhi) – and guaranteed 15 per cent more than the highest-paid player at their franchise.

The 15 per cent premium meant Tendulkar would fetch $1,121,250 per season – still short of Dhoni’s salary.

The eight franchise teams of the IPL — Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Mohali and Mumbai — had a budget of up to $5 million each to purchase contracted players. The maximum number of overseas signings was capped at eight per team.

The structure of the bidding saw players auctioned off in groups – “marquee players”, batsmen, bowlers, wicketkeepers, allrounders – and produced some unusual results. Ponting, skipper of the world’s best international team, will be paid some $275,000 per year less than Calcutta teammate David Hussey, who is only on the fringe of the Australian setup.

The teams will pay the winning bid to the player annually. The contracts are for a three-year period and are guaranteed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

In all, the first IPL will pay one million plus dollar salary to six cricketers: five Indians and one Australian.