(29 November 2005 2:00 pm)

MUMBAI: In the end, it was a knockout punch that the till now undisputed king of the Indian cricketing firmament Jagmohan Dalmiya received at the hands of political heavyweight and Maharashtra strongman Sharad Pawar.

Much in the way the winds of change are blowing through the Indian cricket team, the 76th AGM of the Board of Control for Cricket in India held in Kolkata today witnessed the sweeping to power of Union Minister and Maharashtra Cricket Association chief Sharad Pawar. The final verdict: 20 votes in Pawar's kitty versus 11 for Dalmiya candidate and incumbent president Ranbir Singh Mahendra.

The other new office bearers of the BCCI who were also voted are Niranjan Shah as secretary, MP Pandove joint secretary, N Srinivasan treasurer.

Addressing the press after his victory, Pawar said, "Our focus will be on developing basic infrastructure for cricket in India. With the collective effort of the BCCI body, we will be able to give justice to the young budding players and the cricket loving people of India. We expect full cooperation from the outgoing president Mr Mahendra and all those who were associated with BCCI for the last one year."

"I am confident of victory," Pawar had earlier told reporters before heading for the AGM. And he was proved right on the count.

A jubilant Shah said, "Our priority will be to streamline the entire system."

Declining to comment on other things, he said, "It would take us three - four days to assume office. We will talk about cricket and nothing else."