Bangalore loses IPL matches to bombs

Bangalore/ Mumbai: Two semi-final matches of the Indian Premier League in Bangalore have been shifted to Mumbai after explosions in a stadium at the Karnataka capital on Saturday.

The Indian cricket board on Sunday announced it was shifting the April 21 and 22 matches from Bangalore. IPL chairman and commissioner Lalit Modi said the governing council was not ready to take any chances and they wanted to ensure the safety of players and spectators. The matches will take place on Wednesday and Thursday at the D Y Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai.

Modi said in a statement IPL was reluctant to relocate the semifinals at such short notice. "But yesterday's incidents have made it clear that the current environment in Bangalore prevents us from continuing with our original plans. The incidents were assessed by local police and the IPL's security agency as being of a minor nature but they have forced our hand."

"This decision is naturally disappointing for the people of Bangalore but has been taken with the tournament's best interests, and the interests of its many varied stakeholders, in mind," Modi said.

"The IPL wishes those affected by yesterday's incidents a speedy recovery from injuries suffered as a result of the cowardly actions. Despite this setback, we're confident the semifinals and finals of DLF IPL 2010 will be successfully contested and provide a fitting finale to a remarkable tournament."

Bombs before match

Bombs set by timer devices went off outside the packed M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore minutes before an IPL match on Saturday. The blasts wounded at least 14 people and blew off a small portion of an outer wall of the stadium. Police later found a third bomb fitted with a timer and defused it.

On Sunday, three more unexploded bombs were found metres away from the stadium, M R Pujar, a senior police officer, told Reuters.

Police said it was too early to say whether the blasts and subsequent recovery of explosive material today was the handiwork of terrorists.

"The matter is being investigated and only that will reveal everything. It is too early to say who has done it," Additional-Director General of Police (Law and Order) A R Infant, Karnataka, told PTI.

"In view of the recent developments, all preventive measures have been taken across the state," he said.