IPL Season 2

Ajmal reported for suspect action

2009-04-26T11:02:00.000-07:00

Umpires have taken notice of Saeed Ajmal's bowling action © AFP

Saeed Ajmal, the Pakistan offspinner, has been reported for a suspect bowling action. Asad Rauf and Asoka de Silva, the umpires for the second ODI between Pakistan and Australia in Dubai on Friday, said they had concerns over Ajmal's action and hence requested the ICC to review his action.

The third and fourth umpires Zameer Haider and Nadeem Ghauri were also part of a report submitted to the ICC in which it was stated that, having monitored Ajmal's action over two ODIs, there was reason it be scrutinised further under the relevant ICC process. The ICC will obtain three copies of the relevant footage, one of which will be kept by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

"Ajmal has played against four countries and nobody raised any finger on his action and suddenly this decision comes," Pakistan coach Intikhab Alam told AFP. "I think they [ICC] are lacking consistency in this process. He bowled exceptionally well and suddenly they decided that he has a problem with his action."

Alam said that Ajmal was "all right, not disappointed". "His morale is high and we will play him. No pressure on him as he is a gutsy young man and I hope he will take it lightly."

Ajmal's doosra is under scrutiny but Alam was confident of him being cleared. "Murali bowls such a delivery and he was cleared, Harbhajan was cleared, and there is no difference between these two and Ajmal. I don't agree that Ajmal bowls a different doosra, there is only one kind of doosra. Ajmal has hyper-mobility in his arm and I hope everything goes well for him."

Ajmal will undergo an independent analysis of his action by a member of the ICC panel of human movement specialists, appointed in consultation with the PCB. If his action remains suspect during the analysis, he faces a ban and will have to remedy his action.

If the analysis confirms the umpires' suspicions of only a specific delivery, Ajmal can continue to bowl in international cricket but faces a ban if reported again.

Deccan Chargers vs Mumbai Indians Highlights

2009-04-26T03:44:00.000-07:00

Deccan Batting:

Mumbai:

Watch cricket highlights of the Deccan Chargers vs Mumbai Indians from IPL 2009.

Scoreline: Deccan Chargers 168/9 - Gibbs 58, Gilchrist 35, Dwayne Smith 35 - Lasith Malinga and Dwayne Bravo 3 wickets apiece. Lasith Malinga yorkers.
Mumbai: 156/7: Tendulkar, Duminy knocks - Pragyan Ojha 3 wickets

A pretty exciting game that swung wildly. Gibbs and Gilchrist to start with, took their chances and put on a spectacle that wasn’t exactly close to anything near their best. Deccan however faded away once big-hitting Dwayne Smith who couldn’t really produce this kind of stuff for the West Indies got out. Lasith Malinga finally discovered his beach-cricket-honed slingy yorkers that bamboozled the lower order and Mumbai were well in the chase with Tendulkar and Duminy pulling out some of their best. A strange Sachin however stepped on the other side of the ad/strategy break and Mumbai appeared to panic after that. Ojha bowled beautifully yet again and barring a late charge by Harbhajan Singh that looked quite realistic, Mumbai fell apart after Tendulkar’s dismissal. Incidentally, Sachin often jokingly calls Harbhajan the Bradman of the Indian team. Not that it has any particular relevance here, just thought of it.