Chennai Superkings have made it again and in style. Virtually making it impossible for the Mumbai Indians to have any chance for a direct entry with their grand score of 192 in the game batting first, they managed to get the morale of the MI players so low that a win was assured for the teams.

Michael Hussey and Suresh Raina were at the crease pretty much all the time scoring 80s and taking the team to the high total. Vijay who failed to continue his quick scoring stint passed on the bat to Raina who managed to live up to the monstrosity of Hussey on the other end.

Dwayne Smith who shouldered the responsibility of the game couldn't do it all alone for Mumbai Indians with poor support from his mates. Kieron Pollard who looked dangerous was dismissed by "Sir" Ravindra Jadeja working out the magic in favor of CSK who won with a 48 run lead.

IPL Playoffs: Qualifier 1, Feroz Shah Kotla, New Delhi

Chennai : 192/1 in 20 ovs

Mumbai : 144/10 in 18.4 ovs

Chennai won by 48 runs

Man of the Match : Michael Hussey

In the Eliminator match of IPL today, Rajasthan Royals will lock horns with Sunrisers Hyderabad at Feroz Shah Kotla, New Delhi. RR are not in the greatest shape after several injuries especially the spot fixing incident bringing the team into negative spotlight. Will they recover enough by tonight to seize their chance and move on to the second qualifier to fight with Mumbai Indians for a chance in the Finals against CSK or will they pass the opportunity to Hyderabdis?

(AW- Anil)

Mumbai Indians will come face to face with the two time champions Chennai Super Kings today in the first play offs after they qualified at the top of the table for the playoffs. The winner of the game will find a place reserved for them in the finals of IPL 2013.

Win this match you are assured to walk away with the winners or the runners trophy, guaranteed! Losing it won't do them much harm either since they will be given another chance to play with the team that wins the eliminator, either SRH or the RR in the second and final qualifier for the finals.

Mumbai has already won both the encounters against CSK this year. It has been defeated by the latter in several occasions. They have never won a tournament yet but the stats of IPL 6 show that they are not very different from each other on the league table. Winning 11 matches each, and having a difference of only 0.09 on the runrate, this could be one of the toughest matches to judge this IPL. Can Mumbai continue their form against the Chennai Super Kings?

(AW- Anil)

Anil Kumble, livid at the tainted reputation of Indian Premier League afte the spot fixing incident came to light, said that the erring trio should be not be spared at any cost. He urged that they receive the harshest punishments for their illicit activities that tarnished the reputation of Indian cricket as a whole.

He asked if an international body like ICU could award the biggest punishment of erasing all records of Lance Armstrong for his positive doping tests, BCCI should also do the same for S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan.

The coversation took place through video conference in which he urged for zero tolerance in such activities. BCCI responded positively saying, "It's definitely a point that we should take note of," the official added.

Young sportsmen should be taught the same since childhood. They should be taught the do's and dont's much strictly and even given handbooks, Ravi Shastri suggested to improve the quality of the game world wide.

(AW- Anil)

What a game that was! Electing to bat at the home ground, Sunrisers coudln't have gone off the mark with a poorer start. Early wickets that keep falling at the slightest breeze and a very poor run rate. It wasn't until Samantray stepped in and stepped up the game. He brought some sort of a balance between the balls and the runs. Miraculously, Hyderabad managed to eke out a run rate that is higher than 6 at the end of the game.

As SRH always does, it bowled extremely well mounting pressure on the visitors. Dravid, Watson and all the other important players were handpicked and sent back to the pavillion one by one. In the end it was a comfortable win for the team with Amit Mishra claiming the man of the match trophy in the end for his splendid 4 overs giving away only 8 runs with two wickets in his pocket.

Hyderabad vs Rajasthan, 68th Match, Hyderabad
Rajasthan: 113/9 (20.0 Ovs)
Hyderabad: 136/9 (20.0 Ovs)
Hyderabad won by 23 runs

(AW- Anil)

Punjab vs Delhi, 67th Match, Dharamsala

In a match that was totally one sided, Delhi managed to crawl back to a respectable score and faced their loss like gallant warriors in the 67th match against Punjab at Dharamsala who scored a magnificient 171 runs. David miller the driving force behind the score managed 44 in just 24 balls provided the momentum at much needed times.

Delhi: 164/7 (20.0 Ovs)
Punjab: 171/4 (20.0 Ovs)
Punjab won by 7 runs

Hyderabad vs Rajasthan, 68th Match, Hyderabad

CSK has achieved the never before in Hyderabad, breaking the jinx for all visitors by defeating SRH in its own ground once. Was this merely a one time affair or is the jinx broken for good? The errant Rajasthan Royals, who have three players locked up in jail as we speak, are in Hyderabad waiting to face their rivals. Will their morale that plummetted through the floor pull them down?

(AW- Anil)

Sreesanth who was accused of spot fixing along with two of his colleagues in the matches held over the week, according to the Delhi Police, had elaborate signals for the bookies that were discussed over phone calls over the months. Just at the time that every one thought of the IPL 2013 is all smooth sailing, three players were known to involve in illicit practices.

Sreesanth's major signal was his towel that was tucked into his pants. In overs that he bowled with the towel tucked in, he would concede more runs and the bookies can bet on the over being expensive. And Duly he gave away over 14 runs in one over with the tucked towel. In the previous over, the towel was not a part of his attire, and hence a visual signal.

His associate Ajit Chandila had a different code, pulling up his shirts for indicating that the over would be fixed. There are phone conversations that confirm this too.

The police claim that over months of investigations they have gathered information on spot-fixing, primarily by intercepting phone conversations. The bookies and players, they say, have codes to indicate which over will be fixed. However, he forgot the code and didn't perform it which upset one bookie who lost money. Allegedly, Ajit was paid Rs 20 lakh in advance.

Ankeet Chavan was given a ridiculous sum of Rs 60 lakhs in advance when he was to give away more than 13 runs in one over.

The issue according to the Delhi police involved only these three miscreants and 11 bookies who were arrested and put in police custody for five days. Other teams were not involved.

(AW- Anil )

Just as you come to the conclusion that not IPL seasons are corrupt as IPL 6, 2013 seemed to have a smooth sailing, Rajasthan Royals star player Sreesanth and two of his colleagues were allegedly involved in spot-fixing in the T20 tournament.

The Keralite along with Ajit Chandela and Ankit Chavan, all of them from Rajasthan Royals, were arrested for spot-fixing in several matches over the week. Delhi police took custody of the allegedly corrupt players. They will be produced in Mumbai Court initially and then be subjected to intense interrogations to dig out the finer details.

At least seven other bookies in relation to the event were also booked. There were investigtions going on from quite a long time on IPL 2013 owing to the high influx of money in the game already.

Rajasthan Royals, co-owner Shilpa Shetty, said that the team would provide full cooperation to the investigting authorities and that they do not tolerate any corrupt activities that would go against the spirit of the game.

We are yet to see if the team will be disqualified from the tournament for the involvement in malpractices.

(AW- Anil)

Bangalore vs Punjab, 63rd Match, Bengaluru

Bangalore  could have managed a lofty 174 for the loss of five wickets with impressive team efforts by all but Punjab's efforts managed to overshadow Bangaloreans at their home ground. Adam Gilchrist proved his worth with a massive 85 leading Punjab to a victory. This puts RCB at a disadvantage with SRH who share the same points but have two more games to play as they compete for the playoffs.

Punjab: 176/3 (18.1 Ovs)
Bangalore: 174/5 (20.0 Ovs)
Punjab won by 7 wkts

Chennai vs Delhi, 64th Match, Chennai

Delhi couldn't chase an average target set by Chennai of 169 runs after impressive bowling attack from almost all the bowlers. They were 33 runs behind the target at the end of 20 overs driving CSK to the to of the chart. They qualify for the playoffs too along with Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals.

Delhi: 135/9 (20.0 Ovs)
Chennai: 168/4 (20.0 Ovs)
Chennai won by 33 runs

4 pm Today : Kolkata vs Pune, 65th Match, Ranchi

Kolkata wins the toss on the alien ground and chose to break the timber but failed to do so as Pune managed to score 170 runs losing only 4 wickets. Aaron Finch and Manish Pandey drove Pune to glory. Now it remains in the hands of Kolkata who have an easy target to chase.

Kolkata: 85/3 (11.0 Ovs)
Pune: 170/4 (20.0 Ovs)
Kolkata need 84 runs in 54 balls

Mumbai vs Rajasthan, 66th Match, Mumbai

The redundancy of this match cannot be stressed more. Both the teams have already qualified for the play offs and it is only a matter of pride to wrestle their way to the top and get an expedited ticket to the further rounds of the game.

(AW- Anil)

One match can change it all in IPL T20 and this was it for the Mumbai Indians, after Kieron Pollard rescued the team from the depths of despair in the 17th over. After what can be called a collective and an impressive effort at scoring big from the willow, Sunrisers had an easy win with 179 runs to be chased by Mumbai. Extraordinary bowling as always put the MI batsmen behind bars. The game turned around completely after Pollard stepped onto the field and wildly thrashed all white, round things he saw to the boundaries. The team scored over 62 in the last 4 overs winning the impossible game with three balls remaining. Mumbai are now at the top of the game.

Mumbai vs Hyderabad, 62nd Match, Mumbai
Mumbai: 184/3 (19.3 Ovs)
Hyderabad: 178/3 (20.0 Ovs)
Mumbai won by 7 wkts

Bangaloreans have set a good target for Punjab who will have to chase 175 at an alien ground. With over 9 wicket in hand with an impressive score at the end of 8 overs, Punjab have the edge.

Bangalore vs Punjab, 63rd Match, Bengaluru
Punjab: 61/1 (8.0 Ovs)
Bangalore: 174/5 (20.0 Ovs)
Punjab need 114 runs in 72 balls

At 8pm today, Delhi will vie with the Chennai Super Kings where the latter will aim to reclaim their position at the top of the league table.

(AW- Anil)

If anyone watches football, soccer for Americans, there is no way in hell that he wouldn't know the legend Alex Ferguson. This is not even an overstatement! That is how revered and popular Ferguson is with the footballing world. One of the most fabled and dramatic journeys of football will come to an end this month leaving a gaping hole in the English Premier League after Sir Alex Ferguson announces his retirement.

The 71 year old champion behind the victories, and defeats, of Manchester United with which he shares a 26 year old bond decided to hang up his boots. He is not just a person who has brought United the ultimate status in the game but he has also raised its value commercially taking it to stellar heights currently valued at $3 billion.

Ferguson is the man behind the popularity of the team United as a brand from the kids in the streets of Kolkata to the far western Colorado. His departure from the team will leave a gaping hole, a coveted spot desired by several top coaches in the game. At the moment, Everton boss David Moyes and Real Madrid's Jose Mourinho are frontrunners for the position.

Under his management, Manchester United won 38 trophies in all the 26 years which include 13 EPL titles and two Champions League titles. He will retire after a punultimate game at his home ground Old Trafford against Swansea on May 12, and the final game leading the Red Devils against West Brom on May 19. This game would mark the 1,500th match for Ferguson with United.

"The decision to retire is one that I have thought a great deal about and one that I have not taken lightly. It's the right time. It was important to me to leave an organisation in the strongest possible shape and I believe I have done so," he said in a speech announcing his decision.

He would be the greatest manager Manchester United would have ever witnessed.

(AW- Anil)