 Lara's Mumbai Champs are in action on Saturday |
Chandigarh Lions, lead by former New Zealand star Chris Cairns, emerged victorious in the first match of the controversial Indian Cricket League. With South African Andrew Hall hitting 31 not out and Kiwi Daryl Tuffey taking 3-15 they beat Delhi Jets, led by Sri Lanka's Marvan Atapattu, by nine runs.
A glitzy ceremony marked the launch in the northern town of Panchkula, with a $3.85m [�1.86m] for the winner.
The six-team, 17-day series includes stars Brian Lara and Inzamam-ul-Haq.
Former West Indies captain Lara is leading Mumbai Champs, while Inzamam is the captain of Hyderabad Heroes, with the two sides meeting on Saturday.
 | 606: DEBATE |
The other teams have been named Kolkata Tigers and Chennai Superstars, although all games take place at the same venue, near Chandigarh.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has refused to acknowledge the ICL and has threatened players with lengthy bans.
An officially sanctioned rival, the Indian Premier League, begins play in April with star names including Australia's Ricky Ponting and Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka.
A new rule has been introduced in the ICL which prevents batsmen running for overthrows if a fielder's throw hits the stumps.
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 
Bookmark with:
What are these?