The petitioner had made an urgent request before a bench consisting of Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justice R V Raveendran. As per the petitioner,  illegal promotion of liquor is going on, with the aid of Twenty20 tournament. This will make harmful effects on society. The person who filed the petition is one Mr Y Kapoor.

According to Indian law, surrogate marketing of alcohol products is not allowed. Vijay Mallya, the chairman of United Beverages (UB) Group is the owner of the Banglore’s IPL team. Mallya had named the team ‘Royal Challengers’ which is also the brand name of a whisky manufactured by the UB Group.

The petitioner said that it should not allow to promote a liquor brand under the name of cricket tournament. He immediately wants to prohibit the illegal promotion of the liquor. He also demands the change of name of the iPL team, Royal Challengers.

According to the court, this case does not have any special importantance. So it does not require any urgent hearing. Like the other normal cases, the hearing of this case will also take some time, the court said.

Kingfisher will provide airline services to the players and the BCCI officials who take part in the tournament, according to the agreement. A statement from Kingfisher said, “There will be dedicated check-in counters, VIP lounge access, an exclusive ground handling team at all airports and a special helpline number for all air travel needs”.

Vijay Mallya has a long history of being associated with all kinds of sports activites. Mallya has been linked to tennis, formula 1, polo and this new announcement marks Mallya’s entry into the cricket arena.

Global media and production rights for the DLF IPL had already been bagged by  sports broadcaster Sony Max and World Sport Group. The co-sponsorship rights for the IPL Twenty 20 tournament had been bagged by Hero Honda.

Bangalore Royal Challengers take on Kolkata Knight Riders in the inaugural DLF IPL Twenty20 tournament’s opening match in Bangalore on April 18, the clash will be between two former India skippers and two flamboyant personalities also — Rahul Dravd captains Bangalore Royal challengers promoted by liquor baron Vijay Mallya, while Sourav Ganguly is the skipper of Kolkata Knight Riders, promoted by Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan.

Pointer: At least on paper, the Kolkata Knight Riders are seen as having an advantage, partly due to the mix of the opposition team.

Bangalore Royal Challengers

The Bangalore Royal Challengers are seen more as a bunch of solid batsmen in the mould of skipper Rahul Dravid, with sound technique, but are not known as big hitters, with the exception of Jacques Kallis and Misabah-Ul-haq, their late catch, bagged in the second auction for $125,000. For starters, the big hitting Pakistani had almost snatched the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup trophy from the Indian Team in South Africa.

Jacques Kallis has played three international matches in Twenty20, scoring just 39 runs, but his strike rate, which counts most in this version of the game, is an astounding 108.33 — that means if Jacques Kallis can stay put in 3-4 overs in the crease, the opposition in in trouble. The other South African in the pack, Mark Boucher has played 9 matches, but his strike rate is a shade less at 89.93. But Boucher makes up for that by doubling as the man behind the stumps.

Skipper Rahul Dravid does not even figure in India’s Twenty20 squad, but the Indian batting mainstay is the only Indian apart from Sachin Tendulkar to have scored 10,000 runs in both Tests and ODIs — the message is that experience counts.

Rahul Dravid scored 1761 in calendar year 1999. That is the third highest by a batsman in a calendar year after Sachin Tendulkar (1894 runs in 1998) and Sourav Ganguly ( 1767 in 1999).

Rahul Dravid has an astonishing career ODI record — 329 matches, 304 innings, 39 not outs and 10,464 runs, with a highest score of 153, an average of 39.48 and a strike rate of 71.16. Twelve hundreds and 80 half centuries have been recorded in his name.

Pakistan’s latest find Misbah-ul-haq,31, has played only 27 ODIs for his country and scored 727 runs at an average of 36.35 with a strike rate of 77.84, figures which mask his utility as a match winner.

But when it comes to the nine matches he has played in Twenty20, his average shoots up to 50.20, scoring 251 runs. The key, however, is his phenomenal strike rate of 127.41, a pointer to the fact that this Pakistani can turnaround matches.

Kolkata Knight Riders

Sourav Ganguly’s Kolkata Knight Riders’ definite advantage is their explosive batting line-up starting from icon player Sourav himself. Sourav Ganguly, like Dravid, is not part of Indian twenty20 and is a former ODI skipper. In M S Dhoni’s scheme of things, Ganguly does not figure much, and hence been ignored from ODI and twenty20 versions of the national squad.

But Sourav Ganguly is among India’s most successful captains. In the 302 ODI matches he has played for the country, the Bengal southpaw has scored 11046 runs, which includes 22 hundreds and seventy half-centuries. His strike rate is 73.60, a tad better than rival Rahul Dravid. Sourav Ganguly can also chip in as a change bowler – he has taken 99 wickets in ODIs at an average of 37.65.

Kolkata Knight Riders have two formidable explosive bats in West Indian Chris Gayle and Australian skipper Ricky Ponting. Christopher Henry Gayle is another batsman who can just shatter any bowling attack and also do a bit of bowling.

In 173 ODI matches Chris Gayle has revelled with the willow, his average is just below 50 but his strike rate is a phenomenal 80.16. The point to note, however, is his Twenty20 strike rate, which is a hundred percent jump – 164.96 in five matches in which he scored 193 runs, including a Twenty20 best 127.

Punter Ricky Ponting is among the most hated figures as far as Indian cricket fans are concerned but his record as a player is par excellence. Ricky Thomas Ponting has scored 11,096 runs in 297 ODIs, and is just 24 short of the 10,000 mark in Tests. Ponting’s strike rate is exactly 50 in ODIs, which jumps to 138.16 in Twenty20. But Ponting hasn’t been that successful in Twenty20, scoring just 98 runs in ten matches. But his massive utility would be as a scheming and thinking cricketer, which Sourav Ganguly should be able to exploit.

Mindgames

With former Aussie coach John Buchanan donning the role of Kolkata Knight Riders’ coach, it is a sure bet that Kolkata Knight Riders would have five strategies lined up for the match, but New Zealander Martin Crowe would not be found wanting in strategic pitches for Bangalore Knight Riders.

Key players, issues and forecast

South African pace sensation Dale Steyn, who was instrumental in handing India a drubbing in the Ahmedabad Test, would be the key bowler in the match as Kolkata Knight Riders Shoaib Akhtar is unlikely to be included in the Kolkata Team following as ban imposed by Pakistan Cricket Board.

Steyn’s menacing pace and nagging line would be difficult to tackle for Kolkata Knight Riders. He would be ably backed by Indian test skipper Anil Kumble. The key for Sourav Ganguly would be to come down the order and display his prowess to throw spinners out of gear and safeguard himself from Steyn’s promised chin music. Gayle and Ponting should be left to tackle Steyn and create some chaos in Bangalore Royal Challengers famed bowling attack, which also has stingy Aussie bowler Nathan Bracken.

Kolkata Knight Riders’ another issue is that Ricky Ponting would be available only for two weeks as he has to report to the Australian training camp by the first week of May, but that wouldn’t be an issue in the first match against Bangalore Royal Challengers. Indian pace sensation Ishant Sharma can be a dangerous bowler to tackle for Bangalore Royal Challengers. Despite being a quality Twenty20 side, Kolkata Knight Riders have now only a slight edge in the initial match against Bangalore Royal Challengers on April 18. Chances of a win for Kolkata Knight Riders against Bangalore Royal Challengers are 51:49 and the margin of error in a Twenty20 match is anybody’s guess.

As part of the Rs 106-crore deal, Kingfisher Airlines will get to display its brands on Umpires’ uniforms in all the IPL matches.

Lalit Modi, Chairman and Commissioner, DLF IPL said, “I am very pleased to have the country’s premier five star airline Kingfisher join us as the Umpire Partner in an exclusive five-year deal. Kingfisher Airlines has a long association with a variety of sports at both the domestic and international level including Tennis, Formula 1, Polo and now Cricket. Their decision bears testimony to the fact that the DLF IPL is here to stay and is set to carve out a distinct niche for itself in the international cricket calendar.”

The DLF IPL matches will start on April 18, 2008, and will run for 44 days. The first match will be played between the Shahrukh Khan-owned Kolkata Knight Riders and the UB Group’s Royal Challengers of Bangalore, at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore.

The DLF IPL will have eight franchises: ShahRukh Khan’s Kolkata Knight Riders, Preity Zinta -Ness Wadia-owned Mohali, the Mumbai Indians, GMR’s Delhi Daredevils, UB Group’s The Royal Challengers of Bangalore, Indian Cements – Chennai Super Kings, Deccan Chronicle’s – Hyderabad Chargers and Emerging Media’s Jaipur Royals.

Each franchise will get to play seven matches at home. The final will be held in Mumbai.

The Vijay Mallya-owned Bangalore Royal Challengers IPL promotional video would see Bollywood stars Katrina Kaif and Deepika Padukone with team skipper and icon player Rahul Dravid. (That should be interesting – good boy Rahul Dravid always looks a bit self-conscious and earnest in ad videos.) Kartina Kaif, bollywood actress, is riding a string of light hearted hits in Bollywood, while Deepika Padukone is riding high on the success of Om Shanti Om with SRK. Deepika was recently linked with Yuvraj Singh romantically by the media.

Mumbai-based Sanjay Gupta has been contracted by Vijay Mallya for the promotional video for Bangalore Royal Challengers, reports say.

Rahul Dravid recently said that he thinks that his team can perform as well in the Twenty20 format as in tests. There has been criticism that the Bangalore IPL team looks more like a test side.

Vijay Mallya is not stopping there. The UB Group chairman also plans a promotional music video and team anthem. That will be pretty much following on the lines of Shah Rukh Khan’s Kolkata Knight Riders’ theme song and video.

Allan Amin (Dhoom) would organize the action scenes. Rahul Dravid has almost finished the shoots.

Bangalore Royal Challengers captain Rahul Dravid was instrumental in Martin Crowe’s appointment. Martin Crowe would work with team strategy as well as offer tips on brand building for Bangalore Royal Challengers. Crowe will also act as a batting coach, while Venkatesh Prasad will look after the bowling department.

Bangalore Royal Challengers’ first match in IPL will be against Kolkata Knight Riders in Bangalore on April 18.

Fourteen players were auctioned in the second and final round of bidding for the DLF IPL Twenty20 tournament beginning on April 18, with Australian James Hopes bagging the highest bid of $300,000 from Mohali franchaise owned by Bollywood’s Preity Zinta and friend Ness Wadia.

Dimitri Masceranhas became the first England player to bag an IPL contract, being bagged by Jaipur for $100,000.

Dimitri Masceranhas , however, does not have an England and Wales Cricket Board, contract.

In the first auction in Mumbai’s Hilton, 75 international stars were contracted by various IPL teams.

Misabah-Ul-Haq, who was earlier reported to be with Kolkata IPL promoted by Shah Rukh Khan, has been bagged by Vijay Mallya’s Bangalore IPL team Royal Challengers for $125,000. Pakistan players Salman Butt and Mohammad Hafeez were both bought for Rs 40 lakhs each

Bangalore Royal Challengers, owned by Vijay Mallya, also bought Bangladesh’s left-arm spinner Abdur Razzaq for Rs 20 lakhs ($ 50,000) and Kiwi batsman Ross Taylor for Rs 40 lakhs ($ 100,000). Virat Kohli, the captain of the victorious under-19 Indian team was also taken by Bangalore for Rs 20 lakhs.

The second auction’s highest price of $300,00o is in sharp contrast to the first auction where Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni went for $1.5 million from the Chennai IPL team promoted by India Cements.

Andrew Symonds was second with a $1.3 million bid from Deccan Chronicle, which promotes the Hyderabad IPL team.

Pakistan’s premier batsman Mohammad Yousuf was not contracted by any teams, though he will be paid a retainer fee by the BCCI.

Australian Shaun Tait was not considered eligible for the auction as the player’s offer came late.

Extra from CNN-IBN:

Jaipur, which was fined for not spending the prescribed minimum amount in the first auction, bought all-rounders Shane Watson (Australia) for Rs 50 lakhs, Morne Morkel (South Africa) for Rs 24 lakhs, Dmitry Mascarenhas (England) for Rs 40 lakhs, Pakistani seam bowler Sohail Tanveer for Rs 40 lakhs and a couple of Indian U-19 players in Taruwar Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja.

Auction details

Dmitri Mascarenhas (England) – $100,000 – Jaipur
Shane Watson (Australia) – $125,000 – Jaipur
Sohail Tanvir (Pakistan) – $100,000 – Jaipur
Morne Morkel (South Africa) – $60,000 – Jaipur
James Hopes (Australia) – $300,000 – Mohali
Kyle Mills (New Zealand) – $150,000 – Mohali
Luke Pomersbach (Australia) – $50,000 – Mohali
Misbah-ul Haq (Pakistan) – $125,000 – Bangalore
Ross Taylor (New Zealand) – $100,000 – Bangalore
Abdur Razzak (Bangladesh) – $50,000 – Bangalore
Salman Butt (Pakistan) – $100,000 – Kolkata
Mohd. Hafeez (Pakistan) – $100,000 – Kolkata
Ashwell Prince (South Africa)- $175,000 – Mumbai
Brett Geeves (Australia) – $50,000 – Delhi