Mumbai loses IPL 7 final to Bangalore

MUMBAI: In a major embarrassment for the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA), the IPL governing council has shifted the final from the city to Bangalore. The title clash is slated for June 1.
MCA vice-president Ravi Savant, also the BCCI vice-president from West Zone, said the association was still to be informed about the reason for the shift. "I am not willing to pre-empt anything.Let the IPL GC give us the reasons, will we react after that," Savant said.
As per norms, the defending champs host the first match of the season and the final. As Mumbai Indians had won IPL 6, the city was to host the IPL 7 final.
Some MCA officials felt the development may be the fallout of their chief Sharad Pawar criticizing the BCCI over the ban on the Rajasthan Cricket Association due to the Lalit Modi row.
MCA pressure led to shift in venue?
Bangalore, not Mumbai, will host the IPL 7 final. While the reasons for the move have not been spelt out, MCA vice-president Ravi Savant refused to respond to the theory that Sharad Pawar's criticism of the BCCI over Lalit Modi may have sparked it.
He told TOI that until Saturday morning IPL chairman Ranjib Biswal and BCCI president-IPL Sunil Gavaskar had assured him that MCA would host the final.
While BCCI sources said the IPL governing council was forced to take the call as the MCA had been mounting pressure on it with some unreasonable demands for the final, IPL chairman Ranjib Biswal dismissed the claim, saying, "It was purely the GC's call and there's nothing more to it."
Those in the know say the IPL governing council has the authority to change the venues. Gavaskar, one understands, wasn't physically present at the meeting and had attended it via a teleconference.
BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel, in a press statement on Saturday, said the play-offs had to be shifted because the first half of the IPL was played in the UAE.
"Considering that 20 matches were played overseas, the GC took a decision to try and take the play-offs to as many stadia as possible. Several venues had expressed their interest in hosting the play-offs," the statement said.
Earlier this week, Savant had told TOI, "We have a contract with the Mumbai Indians, so there is no chance that the final will not be held at the Wankhede Stadium. Further, the IPL rules clearly state that the final will be held at the venue of the defending champions."
NEW SCHEDULE
May 27: 8 pm: Qualifier 1 : 1 v 2 at Eden Gardens, Kolkata May 28: Reserve Day: 4 pm: Same venue. May 28: 8 pm: Eliminator: 3 v 4 at Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai May 29: Reserve Day: 8 pm: Same venue. May 30: 8 pm: Qualifier 2: Q1 loser v Eliminator winner: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai (No reserve day) June 1: 8 pm: Final: Q1 winner v Q2 winner M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru June 2: Reserve Day: Same venue.