Mumbai Indians post third consecutive victory

The march of the Mumbai Indians appeared to be gathering steam as they beat league leaders Rajasthan Royals comprehensively in an effort to keep their semi-final hopes alive.

A solid bowling performance by (medium) pace quartet of Ashish Nehra, Dhawal Kulkarni, Dwayne Bravo and Rohan Raje saw the Mumbai Indians restrict the solid batting line up of the Rajasthan Royals to 103 all out in 16.2 overs. Only Swapnil Asnodkar (39) and Shane Watson (32) of the Rajasthan Royals offered any resistance with the bat to the Mumbai Indians quartet.

A solid start by Sanath Jayasuriya and Yogesh Takawle saw the Mumbai Indians post a sound 41 run opening stand. Robin Uthappa then made a quickfire 34 to see the Mumbai Indians coast to their third consecutive victory taking them to fifth position in the league standings. The action now shifts to the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi for game 28 of the DLF Indian Premier League between the Delhi Daredevils and the Chennai Super Kings.

Orange Cap Standings

Rohit Sharma of the Deccan Chargers continued to retain the Orange Cap today with a cumulative total of 258 runs. Delhi Daredevils Captain and opening batsmen Virender Sehwag was also firmly entrenched in the second position with a cumulative total of 247 runs. Sehwag’s Daredevil compatriot and opening bat Gautam Gambhir also retains his third position with a cumulative total of 225 runs. Shane Watson though of the Rajasthan Royals leapfrogged into fourth position with a battling 32 today taking his cumulative score to 208 runs, just above Kings XI Punjab stumper Kumar Sangakkara.

Vodafone appointed Official Telecom Partner of the DLF IPL

The DLF Indian Premier League announced that Vodafone Essar, one of India’s leading cellular service providers, has been chosen as the Official Telecom Partner for the league for a period of five years.

Lalit Modi, Chairman and Commissioner, DLF Indian Premier League said, "It is indeed a pleasure to partner with a pre-eminent global telecommunication brand like Vodafone. The company has a long standing association with sports globally, ranging from Formula 1 with the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes to the UEFA Champions League. I am certain the company's association with the DLF Indian Premier League as its official partner will prove to be mutually beneficial.

This association with Vodafone bears testimony to the success of the DLF Indian Premier League as has been witnessed in the last fortnight of fantastic cricket and further reiterates the fact the league is set to carve out a distinct niche for itself in the international cricketing calendar."

Harit Nagpal, Director-Marketing and New Business, Vodafone Essar said, “We were always confident of the success of the new format of cricket as presented in the DLF Indian Premier League and had signed on as an exclusive media partner. We are now cementing our relationship with DLF Indian Premier League with this natural next step and we hope to create added value propositions for our customers through this association."

With this, tickets for the DLF Indian Premier League matches will now be available on Vodafone live! for Vodafone customers. Vodafone customers will also be able to participate in the Predict the Man of the Match contest and the winner will be announced as the Vodafone Winner of the contest, at the post-match presentation ceremony.

Earlier Leading sports broadcaster Sony Max & World Sport Group had bagged the DLF Indian Premier League's global media and production rights for USD$ 1.026 billion. DLF Ltd., India’s leading real estate company, is the league’s title sponsor, while Hero Honda, the country’s largest two-wheeler maker, won the Co-Sponsorship rights for the cricket extravaganza. PepsiCo India, one of the country’s leading beverage companies, has been the Official Beverage Supplier.

Kingfisher Airlines, the country’s only 5 Star Airlines certified by Skytrax, is the Official Airline and Umpire Partner for the league and the ITC Welcomgroup Hotels, Palaces and Resorts, has been chosen as the preferred hospitality partner for the league. Citi, the leading global financial services company, is the official bank of the league.