Pune and Kochi unveiled as new IPL franchises

IPL commissioner Lalti Modi has announced Pune and Kochi as the locations of the two new franchises which will join the Indian Premier League in 2011.

IPL commissioner Lalti Modi has announced Pune and Kochi as the locations of the two new franchises which will join the Indian Premier League in 2011.

The Pune franchise was captured by the Sahara Adventure Sports Group for $ 370 million while Kochi was secured by the Rendezvous Sports World Limited for a total of $ 333.3 million.

The announcement was made more then two weeks after the original tender was canceled by the BCCI because of harsh financial clauses. The new tender which was opened today and received 5 bids.

The prices paid by the two winning bidders to secure IPL franchises are more then 3 times the amount paid to secure Reliance Industries Limited, the Mumbai franchise at the first auction in 2008.

Pune and Kochi will join the Indian Premier League in 2011 when the league is expanded to 10 teams featuring 94 games, format of increase of 34 from the existing 60 game.

"There were five qualified bids and the bidding was extremely tough," said Modi.

Sahara had highest bids for three cities - Ahmedabad, Pune and Nagpur - Pune, but eventually choose as their franchise.

"They made the highest bid for all three cities and were asked to choose one of those cities. Thus, Pune will be the home ground of their team," said Modi.

The first tender was canceled by the BCCI two weeks ago when they only received two bids after concerns were raised concerns over the terms of the tender.

Bids are expected to be made by Videocon, Jaypee Associates, Sahara, Adani Group and a partnership from Pune. The base price of $ 225 million is still in place but a number of the terms from the original tender have been removed.

These included the IPL wanting a $ 100 million performance guarantee paid 24 hours before the auction took place and a further 10% bank guarantee within 48 hours of winning a franchise.

"Essentially, we have gone back to 2008 when bidding for the existing franchises was held. But, since the values have gone up, the performance guarantee has also gone up from $ 5 million to $ million 10," Modi said when he announced the new tender .

Chargers collapse hands victory to Indians

The Deccan Chargers suffered a top order collapse as they suffered a 41 defeat against the Mumbai Indians after they were rocked by Harbhajan Singh, who picked up run 3 wickets and scored a quick fire 49 from just 18 balls.

The Indians were indebted to Harbhajan Singh, who's 18 ball innings allowed them to set the Chargers a target of 173 after they had been reduced to 119-7.

The Chargers got of to the worst possible start losing skipper Adam Gilchrist from the second ball of the innings thanks to a stunning reflex catch by Sachin Tendulkar at first slip giving the impressive Harbhajan Singh, the break though.

Herschell Gibbs fired back smashing a rapid 16 ball 27 which included two sixes of the bowling of Zaheer Khan, but when the South African picked out Kieron Pollard at square leg the Chargers middle order collapsed.

Monish Mishra (13) and Andrew Symonds (1) were dismissed by Lasith Malinga in the next over as the Chargers lost 3 wickets in the space of 9 balls to be reduced to 50-4.

Tirumalasetti Suman and Rohit Sharma offered some hope with a 31 run partnership but when Suman (15) was caught by Harbhajan Singh off his own bowling the Chargers chances of winning The Game all but disappeared.

Wickets continued the case as the Chargers slumped to a disappointing 41 run defeat.

Having lost the toss and put into bat the Indians enjoyed a good start to their innings despite losing opener Shikhar Dhawan (8) in the third over after he was trapped LBW by Jaskaran Singh.

Tendulkar, who's averaging 64 in this years tournament was joined at the crease by Dwayne Bravo and the pair built the foundations of an excellent partnership before Bravo (23) was dismissed in the 7th over by RP Singh.

The partnership had reached 40 when Bravo picked out Andrew Symonds at long off to give the Chargers a vital breakthrough. Two balls later, Saurabh Tiwary Bravo followed back to the dug out after he was caught by Adam Gilchrist to leave the Indians 68-3.

The Indians continued stutters when Ambati Rayudu (6) was stumped by Gilchrist Pragyan Ojha to give his first wicket of the innings and then Rajagopal Sathish (3) was caught by Suman Tirumalasetti to reduce the Indians to 92-5.

Kieron Pollard (1) Indians become the sixth batsman to be dismissed when he was caught by Suman at third man to give Jaskaran Singh his second wicket of the innings as the visitors innings was in danger collapsing with the score 93-6.

Although the Chargers had picked up six wickets Remained Tendulkar at the crease, joined by South African Ryan McLaren the Indians IPL skipper reached another half century but he was unable to push after he was on caught by Gilchrist to leave the Indians 119-7.

With the Indians in big trouble Harbhajan Singh came to the crease and his innings of 49 help the Indians reach 172-7 giving them the perfect opportunity to record their fifth win in this years tournament.

Ticket sales boom as tournament kicks off

Ticket sales for the third season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), which began on Friday are expected to boom as the cricket tournament returns to home soil after last year's South African diversion.

Cashing in: Deccan Chargers' players celebrate the wicket of Sourav Ganguly during the first IPL match of 3 in Navi Mumbai on Friday. PTI

Cashing in: Deccan Chargers' players celebrate the wicket of Sourav Ganguly during the first match of IPL 3 in Navi Mumbai on Friday. PTI
Officials at five of the eight teams Mint spoke with said 80% of tickets for the first three home matches have been been snapped up, in contrast with the first two IPL seasons.

Ticket sales took a while to pick up in the inaugural season in 2008, while the relocation to South Africa meant few could attend the Indian matches.

"In season 1, most ticket sales for home matches happened two days before the match, but now we are all sold out for the first two matches and 60% for the third home game," said Rakesh Singh, marketing head of Chennai Super Kings , which is looking at a 66% jump in revenue from 2008. The team is scheduled to play its first home match on Sunday, its second on 21 March and the third on 31 March.

Rajasthan Royal's chief marketing officer Raghu Iyer is expecting a 300% increase in ticket sales this year compared with season 1, with "tickets for most of our seven home games already maxed out. The team's decision to add Ahmedabad as One of the host venues apart from Jaipur stadium could help boost attendance.

The story is no different for the Mumbai Indians, Deccan Chargers and Delhi Daredevils, all of whom reported an overwhelming demand for tickets, with revenue expectations exceeding those of previous seasons by 25-100%.

"There is no doubt that IPL is a bigger product today, but what has really helped sell tickets this year is that the all the teams have set up a strong distribution network through partners, big and small, that are eager to ride on the IPL brand, "said Amrit Mathur, Chief Operating Officer of GMR Sports Pvt. Ltd., a subsidiary of GMR Holdings Ltd. that owns the Delhi team. The Daredevils have ticketing partners such as ING Vysya Bank, bill payment service provider Easy Bill and Bookmyshow.com, besides sales through IPL's website.

On Bookmyshow.com, for instance, ticket sales had crossed RS10 crore for Mumbai Indians and over RS8 crore for Kings XI Punjab as of 12 March.

Deccan Chargers chairman V. Shankar was worried that the matches moving out of Hyderabad would dampen interest in the team. "But the response has been better than expected, with the first few matches almost sold out," he said. The matches were moved to Hyderabad, Mumbai, Nagpur and Cuttack owing to security concerns over the ongoing pro-Telangana state movement. But the team is upbeat about revenue through ticket sales and hopes to see a 40% jump to RS14 crore this year compared with season 1

The IPL management teams had compensated for loss in ticket sales last year due to the move to South Africa. Team owners, however, say that the amount they made was still significantly lower than season 1 sales.

Apart from the box-office, teams are getting another Rs3 crore from the IPL management, which has struck a deal with them to reserve the best seats in the house for their own club-membership initiative.

Under this scheme, tickets are being sold at a premium of Rs45, 000 each context, confirmed an executive from one of the above mentioned teams, who did not want to be identified in this. Revenue from the elite club membership IPL will benefit directly.

The boost in ticket sales stems from a coordinated team effort not just from individual franchisees, but from the IPL management as well.

In a meeting with Mint last month, Sundar Raman, chief executive of IPL, had said that while the first two seasons of the tournament were dedicated to building the IPL brand and creating a fan base, the focus this year is to push ticket sales.

The recent marketing campaigns have focused on building excitement around the in-stadium experience. While cinema halls will be showing matches for the first time, they will not be able to show games being played locally. "You will not get the feed for those home matches," said Jayendra Banerji, vice-president (operations) for Satyam Cineplex, which is showing the championship in four locations in New Delhi and Indore.

Theater owners say watching IPL in movie halls would be an improvement on television. "What you are seeing on a (movie) screen be bigger than you want to see on the television. I am not only talking about the size, that is, but the scope, "says Amitabh Vardhan, chief executive of PVR Cinemas, which is showing IPL matches in 19 theater complexes. "You will be seeing more 33%."

Ahead of the opening tournament, television news channels settled their dispute with the IPL board and the official broadcaster footage showing over, according to Lalit Modi, IPL chairman and commissioner.

"We're going to review (the agreement) in June. The idea was to go forward. Both parties had a long dialogue before coming to an understanding last night, "Modi said.

'Extra action this IPL!'

Time to pad up again, cricket-o-holics, for the third season of the DLF Indian Premier League is all set to rock from today.

And as always, this time too, there's going to be a whole lot of 'Extraaa' excitement, Behind-the-scenes and live interviews and gupshup commentary on Max's show Extraaa Innings T20. The channel will be broadcasting the matches live and exclusive, and is leaving no stone unturned to give its viewers that something extraaa.

Four charismatic and dashing presenters - Samir Kochhar, Gaurav kapur, Ayushmann Khurrana and Angad Bedi - wants to bring all the action from the field and the locker rooms straight into your homes!

Reminisce about how Gaurav Kapur, as a kid, he used to watch matches on DD and then discuss it with friends the next day. "With shows like Extraaa Innings T20, cricket seems like a round-the-clock fun fiesta where you can chat with the entire nation," says Gaurav, who admits he loves to be "out there" and talk about cricket with fellow cricket lovers . Samir Kochhar throws a direct hit at us. "I'm back n to stack 'attack, you guys better free yourselves to get groovy with me for DLF IPL Season 3!" Says Samir. Angad Bedi feels it is an honor to be on the show, after all, he is former cricketer Bishan Singh Bedi's son and has lived cricket all his life. "I am looking forward the fervor to share with everyone. What a luxury to do what I do best and be acknowledged for it, "he smiles. Ayushmann Khurrana, a self-confessed cricket fan, states, "I've played cricket and I love cricket. To be on Extraaa Innings T20 is an opportunity to be treasured.

Matches apart, watch out for interviews with players, team owners and fans straight from the stadium, live cricket analysis from experts in the Mumbai studio cricketainment and loads more! With A foot-tapping opening track composed by Vishal, Shekhar, Extraaa Innings T20 will keep you glued to your seats before, during and after every match. The DLF IPL 2010 tournament back in India promises to be truly Saare jahan se achcha. Watch live tonight, starting at 6 pm, only on Max. Is your TV on?

Preity Zinta to spread AIDS awareness via IPL

Bollywood actor Preity Zinta, who was Friday appointed as the goodwill ambassador for UNAIDS in India, wants to create awareness against AIDS, along with the members of her Indian Premier League (IPL) team Kings XI Punjab.

"All our players will sport red ribbons during their matches. In our first match against Delhi Daredevils, we will take an HIV positive person to the toss to convey our message against stigma and discrimination, 'Preity said here.

'Me and my team will produce a short commercial to spread awareness against the disease. I will be there, our captain Kumar Sangakkara and other players will also be there, 'she added.

Besides, Kings XI Punjab, people want to donate 25 percent of the profit they will earn from selling their merchandise to UNAIDS, which will decide its usage for the betterment of HIV positive.

On being appointed goodwill ambassador for UNAIDS, Preity said: 'I have done many roles. This one is different. I am very happy. "

'All human beings, wherever we are, have the basic right to be happy and healthy. I see this as a great opportunity to bring the realities faced by people living with HIV to the forefront and to call for attention to the injustices faced by them, 'she said.

Preity will work to create awareness on HIV prevention, treatment, care and support, with an emphasis on women, children and oppressed classes, the UN body said.

'Goodwill Ambassadors are celebrities with a demonstrated commitment to improving the lives of people living with HIV. Highly talented in their own right, they all share in ability to bring issues to global attention, to galvanize support from the public and leading decision makers, and to raise urgently needed support and attention for vital UN programs, "Charles Gilks, country coordinator, UNAIDS, said.

'I am very pleased to appoint Preity Zinta as UNAIDS' special representative, "Gilks added.

India is home to at least 2.3 million HIV positive people.

High-voltage glamour for jamboree's opening night

The IPL's season three promises to be bigger and better, and not just because a UK-based brand evaluation firm has pegged the value of cricket's biggest circus at Rs 18.999 crore (more than double of what it was last year). When it opens at the D. Y. Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Friday evening, the glam quotient of IPL is set to touch a new high.

The entertainment extravaganza takes off with the opening ceremony featuring international performers such as Lionel Richie, Ali Campbell of UB40 and Bjorn Again. Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone wants to give them company with a troupe of 40 dancers. But there's going to be more to this than IPL dance and music.

Kings XI Punjab has launched on-line fan club - the KXIP Lion's Den - and released a series of funny animation films featuring their mascots Rocky and Ranjit (these will be shown on YouTube and Facebook, and in stadiums as well). Fan club members - as many as 13.322 people have already registered - will enjoy a host of benefits, from hefty discounts on match tickets and merchandise to opportunities to meet and party with the cricketers.

Rajasthan Royals, who lifted the trophy at the inaugural IPL, has come out with two new looks for their players jerseys. For the first time in the history of IPL, a team will have two jerseys, one for home matches (blue with golden sleeves) and another for those played away from home (gold with blue sleeves).

The Kolkata Knight Riders, who in the earlier two editions turned out in black and gold jerseys will now be seen in purple and gold. Team co-owner Shah Rukh Khan said he was hoping the purple jerseys would attract more women fans to his team.

"I'm told girls like the color," he said.

There's IPL action happening elsewhere too. Apart from watching the matches on television, viewers will have a whole lot of options. They could either catch the matches on giant screens in restaurants - some like Freeze in Rajouri Garden are even complementing the IPL experience with drinks named after the hockey teams - or see them at multiplexes. UFO Moviez, a digital distribution company, will telecast all 60 matches live across theaters in the country. In Delhi, some multiplexes that the company has tied up with PVR Cinemas are, DT Cinemas and Movie Time.

For the first time, IPL has tied up with vRock Mobile to be its value added services (VAS) partner.

It means, apart from getting SMS and MMS updates, users can tune in to commentaries by experts on their mobile cricket - an experience so far limited to television and radio. If being online is your preferred mode of communication, you can log on to YouTube, which will live stream all 60 IPL matches with a time lapse of only five minutes.

Fans can also catch the IPL cricketing fever by downloading the application on their iPhone or by tackling the official IPL T20 game that has been launched by Indiagames on Facebook.

The online media, meanwhile, is buzzing with activity.

An analysis by The Nielsen Company Nielsen Online using BuzzMetrics, which has measured online posts on message boards, blogs, discussion groups and Twitter cricket-following across all nations, have found that the overall buzz about IPL in social media is almost twice as high this year.

The analysis shows that Kolkata Night Riders team is the most discussed online, a distinction it had in 2009. Among the players, Ricky Ponting is the most discussed online, like he was last year.

This year, the IPL management is also out to prove that it is not only about fun and games. It has partnered with the UN Environment Program to make cricket fans across the world more eco-sensitive.

Through this long-term partnerships, IPL joins the ranks of global events such as the Olympics and the FIFA World Cup, and even the 2010 Commonwealth Games, which are working hard to project themselves as 'green' events. IPL has grown, and how!

2010 IPL Schedule: Catch the action on YouTube Live Stream

Kolkata: 2010 IPL Schedule: It is time for the biggest event of cricket of the year. The Indian Premiere League (IPL) Season 3 kicks off today.

2010 IPL Schedule Catch the action on YouTube Live stream

Today, DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai will be abuzz as IPL 3 kicks off with a bang. One can catch the action live online via YouTube.

The opening game is between the defending champions Deccan Chargers and King Khan Shah Rukh Khan's team Kolkata Knight Riders.

The Game commences at eight in the evening and live streaming will be available on YouTube for viewing on the IPL channel on the site.