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The Mumbai Indians and the Delhi Daredevils have been fined US$1000 and $500 respectively by match referee Javagal Srinath for maintaining a slow over-rate during yesterday’s match at the DY Patil Stadium. According to the Indian Premier League’s regulations, a team will be docked $500 for each slow over.The regulations came into force on May 2, when Lalit Modi, the chairman and commissioner of the IPL, said that he had asked the match referees to keep an eye on the over-rate. “Match referees have been asked to ensure that over-rates go as per the stipulated time. From next match, there will also be a penalty of $500 dollar for every slow over.”The first teams to be docked for a slow over-rate were Deccan Chargers and Kings XI Punjab, who were each fined $1000 on Friday.

Shafali Verma continued her superb form, cracking a 42-ball 79 as India brushed aside Sri Lanka once again to win the third T20I in Thiruvananthapuram and complete a series victory.The template was familiar and ruthlessly executed: win the toss, bowl, restrict Sri Lanka, and then stroll through the chase. Just as in the first two matches, India were clinical. Renuka Singh spearheaded the bowling, with support from Deepti Sharma, to keep Sri Lanka to 112 for 7 before Shafali wrapped up the chase with 40 balls to spare.

Renuka returns with a bang

Sri Lanka shuffled their opening combination, leaving out Vishmi Gunaratne and promoting Hasini Perera to partner Chamari Athapaththu. Perera showed early intent, striking two boundaries off Renuka, who returned to the XI in place of Arundhati Reddy, in the first over.India introduced Deepti in the third, and Perera greeted her with another boundary. While Perera looked positive, Athapaththu struggled to find her rhythm, managing just 3 off 12 in a stand worth 25 – Sri Lanka’s highest opening partnership of the series. The pressure told in the fifth over when Athapaththu attempted a cross-batted swipe and top-edged to mid-on, handing Deepti her first wicket.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Renuka then turned the screws in her second over of the powerplay. After Perera pierced the infield early in the over, Renuka placed Deepti at short third, a move that paid dividends as Perera edged one straight to the fielder. She fell for 25 off 18, unable to capitalise on her start. Renuka capped off the over in style, having Harshitha Samarawickrama caught and bowled off the final delivery, swinging the powerplay decisively India’s way.From there, the contest drifted into territory that had become all too familiar over the course of the series.

Dulani, Dilhari offer hope

With Sri Lanka at 45 for 4 at the halfway stage, Imesha Dulani – coming into the XI for this match – combined with Kavisha Dilhari to add some much-needed runs for the fifth wicket. Dulani, reprieved on 8 when Shree Charani put down a chance, found the gaps, while Dilhari injected some intent, launching Kranti Gaud for a six.The partnership, however, was short-lived. Deepti ensured it did not go beyond 40 runs, having Dilhari caught at deep midwicket for 20 en route to becoming the joint-highest wicket-taker in women’s T20Is.India were not flawless in the field, putting down two more chances – Kaushini Nuthyangana on 4 by Gaud and Malsha Shehani on 5 by Deepti – but Sri Lanka failed to make India pay, drifting to 112 for 7 at the end of 20 overs.Shafali Verma’s 79 not out made up 68.7% of India’s total•BCCI

Shafali Shafalies the chase

Shafali set the tone for the chase immediately, launching Shehani for 6, 4 and 4 in the opening over. Smriti Mandhana struggled to find fluency at the other end, but it scarcely mattered with Shafali in full flow. She took on debutant Nimasha Meepage in the third over, picking up two boundaries, before Mandhana fell for 1 in the fourth, also burning a review in the process.Shafali, meanwhile, continued to show her full range. In the fifth over, she took Meepage for 19 runs: starting with an uppish drive to the extra cover boundary, a back-foot whip that raced through midwicket, a full toss that was muscled for six over extra, and finishing the over by dropping to one knee to loft another boundary over cover. By then, she had raced to 43 off just 19 balls, bringing up her half-century in the following over from 24 deliveries. India, on the whole, were 55 for 1.-Dilhari, who had bowled tidily in the fourth over, was reintroduced in the eighth and immediately created a chance, but Jemimah Rodrigues was put down by captain Athapaththu. The miss proved inconsequential as Dilhari struck the very next ball, bowling Rodrigues.Shafali continued to dictate terms, scoring 68.7% of her team’s runs in a completed innings – which is a new national record – and rising to No. 4 on the list of India’s highest run-getters in women’s T20Is.The win, along with a 3-0 lead in the five-match series, marked Harmanpreet Kaur’s 77th as captain, going past Meg Lanning to become the most successful captain in the format.

Day 1
Scorecard

England Lions’ captain Michael Yardy struck an unbeaten 151 to lead his side to a healthy 273 for 4 at the end of the first day of their Duleep Trophy match against West Zone in Vadodara.After choosing to bat, the Lions got off to a poor start as the in-form Michael Carberry was trapped leg before by Gujarat medium-pacer Ashraf Makda in the second over. Yardy, who has represented the England national side in Twenty20s and ODIs, came in at No. 3 and forged a series of sizeable partnerships to ensure the Lions gained the upper hand.A brisk 50-run stand for the second wicket with Joe Denly (32) was ended when Denly was run-out by Siddharth Trivedi. Yardy was then joined by Ed Joyce (32), another player who was part of the national set-up, and they stitched together a patient 75 runs before Joyce was dismissed by Makda.With the Lions at 126 for 3, the usually aggressive Jonathan Trott (44) played a subdued knock and put on 141 for the fourth wicket as the Lions took control. With only three overs left in the day’s play, Trott became Makda’s third lbw victim. Graham Onions was sent in as the nightwatchman and the Lions saw out the remaining overs without any further casualties.Yardy, meanwhile, had brought up his 12th first-class century with the help of 20 boundaries to leave West, who need a win to make the finals, facing an uphill task.

Glenn McGrath’s successful return to cricket in the Indian Premier League (IPL) has reportedly prompted a bold bid from Surrey to lure him onto the county scene. However, McGrath says he has no intention of extending his comeback beyond the IPL and he is keen to return home when the tournament finishes in a fortnight.McGrath, 38, retired from international and state cricket at the end of last year’s World Cup but the Indian Twenty20 competition tempted him to return and in his first ten matches for the Delhi Daredevils he has grabbed nine wickets at 27.44. The reported that Surrey had offered him a three-week stint but McGrath said he was not interested.”They must be desperate,” McGrath told the paper. “Playing in the IPL has been a great experience, but it has only confirmed the reasons why I retired. There’s no way I want to play county.”I’ve been really happy with the way I’ve bowled, I think it has surprised a few people. However, I’m really looking forward to getting home to [wife] Jane and the kids. I’m missing them.”

Confusion surrounds the sudden resignation of Clive Howard, the chairman of the Hong Kong Cricket Association (HKCA).Howard quit with immediate effect in the middle of the week, but the brief statement from the board cited “family and work commitments”. However, a report in the South China Morning Press stated that he owed the HKCA around HK$210,000 (US$27,000)”During his time as chairman, cricket developed significantly, with the introduction of the “Challenge League” for players not able to find places in teams competing in the regular Saturday and Sunday League competitions run by the HKCA and the setting up of a women’s league competition,” Terry Smith, the board president, said. “He also played a significant part in developing the International Cricket Sixes into an event of true international stature.”Given the scale of the activities now being undertaken by the Association, we are now considering the appointment of a CEO to support the chairman and executive committee and implement all aspects of association policy.”

Jesse Ryder should have been happy at securing a New Zealand Cricket contract on Monday but instead the prospect of potentially missing the ODI tour of England was weighing him down. Ryder was one of the 20 men to be offered national deals for 2008-09 and although he said he was “stoked” to get the news, his ongoing hand injury remained a concern.Ryder sustained tendon damage around his thumb and forefinger when he punched a window in a bar in February. He was therefore unavailable for the Test series in England but was picked for the ODIs, which start in June, although even that could be too soon for a return. “My main worry is the hand, it’s going to be touch and go,” Ryder told the .He is hoping to start batting by the end of the month and, provided all goes well, he will warm up for the five-match contest with a club cricket stint in England. Peter Fulton is on standby to replace Ryder should his hand not recover in time.While there was restrained joy for Ryder at receiving a contract, there was no good news for Craig Cumming, Mathew Sinclair, Michael Papps or Matthew Bell, all of whom were axed. Bell said it was hard to go from being part of New Zealand’s most recent Test to not being in their top 20 players in the space of three weeks, especially after such a prolific domestic season.”I’m gutted, I’m not going on the tour and now I haven’t got a contract, it’s pretty disappointing,” Bell said. “I had a big year, not many people score 1000 first-class runs [1016 at 53.47]. I admit I had a bad last month and I’m paying a pretty big penalty for it. I’ve just got to take it on the chin I suppose. I’ve got a review on Thursday where I’ll ask a few questions.”However, Bell is considering playing club cricket in England to make himself available should injuries strike New Zealand during their tour. In his five Tests during the past season, Bell scored 245 runs at 30.62, although he also made three ducks in the home series against England.

Required to hit just 2 for a win Delhi finished the formalities withall their 10 wicket intact to register a facile win over Jammu andKashmir on the third and final day of the North Zone Ranji Trophymatch at the Maulana Azad Stadium in Jammu on Saturday.Resuming at the score of 17 for no loss, J&K were guided by a fineunbeaten 117 by Kanwaljeet Singh. After the fall of the openers VidhyaBhaskar (28) and A Bhatti (4) in quick succession, Dhruv Mahajan (55)and Singh came together for a 85 run third wicket partnership.Thereafter, Though Kanwaljeet Singh held the fort on one end, he ranout of partners at regular intervals. By the time the J&K inningsfolded up at 269, Singh had remained at the crease for 259 minutes andfaced 204 deliveries during which he found the signboards on 13occasions.But with Delhi having scored a mamoth 466, the target was a paltry 2runs for a Delhi win. The openers were aided by a wide sent down byKanwaljeet in first over of the innings. The second over Ashu Danifound the boundary off the fourth ball to signal the end ofproceedings in favour of Delhi.