Diamond-studded trophy for 'Man of the Match' in MI IPL ties

Mumbai:

A glittering trophy encrusted with hundreds of diamonds and other precious stones would be presented to the man of the match for the home matches of Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Indian Premier League starting in South Africa this week-end.

The 2-feet tall trophy, prepared by the Gitanjali Group and adorned with 550 diamonds and 785 precious stones, is worth about Rs 3.5 crore. It was unveiled on Wednesday at a function.

Mumbai Indians, led by champion batsman Sachin Tendulkar, are to commence their campaign in the IPL by playing in the tournament opener at Cape Town on April 18 against 2008 runners-up Chennai Super Kings (CSK), led by India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

The IPL would designate the home and away matches for the eight franchise teams in the second edition of the tournament as it's being held outside the country.

The inaugural match between Mumbai Indians and CSK has been designated as a neutral tie and the former have thus been allotted six home ties in the second edition by IPL, a spokesperson for the Reliance Industries-owned outfit said.

Australia team physiotherapist Alex Kountouris said though Lee has recovered from his surgery, he has not bowled enough to be fit for international cricket and needs to be monitored for some more time.

"Brett's ankle has recovered well from surgery in January this year. However, the rehabilitation process is ongoing and, to date, Brett has not bowled sufficiently to allow him to be fit to resume playing cricket.

"Brett will remain in South Africa to continue the rehabilitation program and gradually increase his bowling volume and intensity. I will be monitoring Brett's progress to assess his availability for any part of the VB series against Pakistan in the UAE," he said.