IPL chief loses Rajasthan board presidential election to govt nominee

Indian Premier League (IPL) commissioner Lalit Modi failed to get re-elected as Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) president on Sunday, losing the race 13-18 to state government nominee and senior bureaucrat Sanjay Dixit.

Modi's defeat will be seen as a serious setback to the dispensation within the Board of Control for Cricket in India, apart, of course, from putting obstacles in the path of his global ambitions.

Jaipur: Sanjay Dixit, a 1986 batch IAS officer, has occupied several posts including that of member, Board of Revenue in Ajmer, chairman of Rajasthan Financial Corporation in Jaipur, Barmer collect

IAS officer Sanjay Dixit defeats Lalit Modi 18-13,Dixit faction takes all posts,Paid back in own coin

Life came a full circle for Lalit Modi on Sunday, when he expectedly lost the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) presidential election by five votes (13-18) to a bureaucrat, Sanjay Dixit, who had the blessings of the entire state machinery.

The result must have brought a feeling of déjà vu for Modi who had dethroned the Rungtas from the RCA four years ago with the entire might of his mentor Vasundhara Raje behind him.

Karachi, Mar. 1 : Suffering from huge financial crunch, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has now sought to sell the sponsorship rights for World Cup-bound Pakistan women's cricket team on double the amount it is being offered currently.

According to The Nation, the PCB has asked a multinational oil marketing company to double its bid if it wants to sponsor the women's team.

The company had offered an undisclosed amount for the two year term sponsorship, but the PCB rejected the offer.

Sydney, Mar. 1 : Mitchell Johnson's fighting innings of 96 runs in the first Test against the Proteas at the Wanderers has once again proved that the left hander is more than a regular number eight batsman.

Johnson averages 31 with the bat and 28 with the ball in the longer version of the game, and his present form with the willow ensures that he is capable enough of putting the innings together in case of a higher or middle order collapse.

Even though Johnson has shown promise at number eight, the Australian selectors continue to pick an unbalanced side, The Sydney Morning Herald said.

London, Mar. 1 : The Premier League in the United Kingdom has called for tighter laws against IT theft to stop the unauthorized online broadcasting of football matches, the Daily Star reports.

One website which links to unauthorized live broadcasts of Premier League and other matches now attracts more traffic than the sites of broadcasters such as ITV, according to a report by Radio 4''s You and Yours program.

The site, based in the Netherlands, receives funding from online bookmaker bwin, which sponsors Real Madrid and AC Milan.

The Premier League said it was actively engaged in combating abuses of its rights, with legal notices sent to those found broadcasting matches to which they did not own the rights.