NEW DELHI: Even as the Indian cricket team --- or should it be called the BCCI XI? --- was left staring at a humiliating defeat in the Bangalore Test match against Australia, cricket managers in India were busy fighting their own battles in the court.

As expected, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) filed a special leave petition in the Supreme Court challenging the Madras High Court's order restraining all its newly elected office-bearers from functioning.

BCCI has sought a stay of the Madras HC order on the ground that the high court committed "gross error" in entertaining the review petition filed by Netaji Cricket Club when the BCCI had not violated any of the undertakings given by it before the Court, the Press Trust of India reported today.

A division bench of Madras HC in its order yesterday had restrained newly elected president Ranbir Singh Mahendra and other office-bearers from functioning, while appointing retired Supreme Court Judge S Mohan as interim administrator to run the affairs of the Board, subject to his consent.

The order was passed on the petitioner's demand for setting aside the elections held in Kolkata on 29 September, restraining the newly-elected office bearers from functioning and appointment of an interim administrator to conduct the Board's affairs till the disposal of the petition.

Mahendra had been elected in a highly contentious election after narrowly beating Maharashtra politician Sharad Pawar 16-15 with the help of the casting vote by the outgoing president Jagmohan Dalmiya.