IPL final shifted from Chennai to Hyderabad

New Delhi, April 22 

The Indian Premier League final scheduled on May 12 has been shifted from Chennai to Hyderabad after the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) failed to get the requisite permission from the government to open the three closed stands. While the Chennai Super Kings still have a chance to play the Qualifier 1 at home if they finish among the top-2 teams in the league but the Eliminator (May 8) and Qualifier 2 (May 10) have been shifted to Visakhapatnam. “We had to shift the matches from Chennai to Hyderabad after TNCA intimated us that they have not procured the requisite permission to open the three stands I, J and K,” Committee of Administrators chief Vinod Rai said. “Since the gate sales of the knockout matches is BCCI’s prerogative, we had to take a call. We would be having two knockout matches in Vizag,” he added. The three stands make up for more than 12,000 tickets and BCCI would have lost out on a few crores of gate money. The stands have remained closed since 2012 save one international match between India and Pakistan when an exception was made. Hyderabad only got the final and not the Eliminator or Qualifier because of the general elections in the cyber city on May 6, 8 and 10. The first mini women’s IPL will be held from May 6 to 10 in Jaipur with a new team Velocity being added to the existing Trailblazers and Supernovas. — PTI 

‘Pay Rs 120cr or vacate Wankhede’ 

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government has sent a notice to the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) asking it to pay Rs 120 crore towards unpaid dues and lease renewal, failing which it will have to vacate premises of the iconic Wankhede Stadium in south Mumbai. The notice, issued by Mumbai City collector Shivaji Jondhale on April 16, stated that if MCA authorities fail to turn up for a hearing with appropriate documents on May 3, then the takeover procedure will be initiated. Jondhale said, “MCA had applied for renewal of its lease when the issue of dues surfaced. Seeing their reputation, it is a petty amount for the association. The future course of action will be decided only after the meeting on May 3”. — PTI

Points table

Team m w l pts

Delhi 11 7 4 14

Chennai 10 7 3 14

Mumbai 10 6 4 12

Hyderabad 9 5 4 10

Punjab 10 5 5 10

Kolkata 10 4 6 8

Rajasthan 10 3 7 6

Bangalore 10 3 7 6