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No way past Marsh-land
Delhi, Mumbai seek master stroke
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Team selection for B’desh, Asia Cup on May 30
Super Kings play Royals, eye semis berth
Apologise for smoking, NGO tells Warne
Aussies in control at Kingston
Jeev risks missing cut, Chowrasia tied 12
FIFA, EU lawmakers on collision course
Indian boys notch up 5 wins
Ex-Olympian admits to doping
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No way past Marsh-land
Mohali, May 23 Batting first Deccan Chargers posted competitive 175 for the loss of four wickets, thanks to a late charge by in-form Rohit Sharma. This was never going to be good enough unless Punjab made a complete hash of the chase. As expected, this never happened and Kings XI coasted home without any hiccups to keep their winning run intact. In fact, as has been the tale earlier, Deccan Chargers were undone by limited bowling resources. With Kumara Sangakkara and in-form Shaun Marsh showing urgency in batting, Kings XI were off to a rollicking start. Marsh, as usual, looked in fine nick right from the world go, while Sangakkara also looked like making up for the matches he had missed due to injury. With both going great guns, Vijay Kumar, the new ball partner of R.P. Singh, proved a weak link as they were in blazing form. Hitting powerful strokes which raced to fence, the two ensured that 50 runs were on the board by the end of four overs. Vijay Kumar was at the receiving end of some silken strokes from the blade of Sangakkara. The Sri Lankan wicketkeeper batsman hit successive boundaries off R.P. Singh before steering Rohit Sharma to the square leg fence to complete a 23-ball fifty, the second fastest in the tournament. Immediately thereafter, he perished playing an unjudicious stroke. In an attempt to clear the long off fence, he hoisted Rohit’s delivery high. Unable to get the elevation right, he ended up being caught at long off. All this while Marsh was his confident self. Though not as adventurous as Sangakkara, he was on the job, hitting some spanking fours and clearing the fence with ease as it took 10 overs to get the total past the 100-run mark. Yuvraj Singh looked determined to come good and played his strokes from the middle of the blade. A brilliant running catch by R.P. Singh at the square leg fence brought a premature end to his innings. Part-timer Rohit Sharma and left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha stuck to good line and length. Bowling in tandem, they were successful in drying up the flow of runs in the the middle. Their miserly spell and the dismissal of Luke Pomersbach by Ojha meant a close finish. With 27 runs needed in the last three overs, R.P. Singh returned to bowl an excellent 18th over which yielded five singles and a wide, rendering the target to 21 runs in 12 overs. Piyush Chawla proved at this stage that he had the makings of an all-rounder. Showing no nerves, the left-handed batsman stunned Scot Styris with a six over mid-wicket. Mahela Jayawardene then dispatched a full toss in the same bowler over the square leg boundary with ridiculous ease as the 19th over produced 16 runs. With five runs needed in the last over, Chawla completed the formalities in style ensuring that the Kings XI Punjab were able to maintain their unbeaten run. Earlier, Deccan Chargers were provided a fine start by Adam Gilchrist and Herschelle Gibbs. Both gave the side a brisk start but were unable to maintain the tempo. After completing his half century, Gilchrist looked well set for a big innings, but was flummoxed by Romesh Powar to be bowled for 50. Gibbs contributed 44. A superb 27-run 50 by Rohit Sharma after the fall of Gilchrist gave the total a healthy look. It was this knock along with a unbeaten 23-run cameo by Chamara Silva that gave the Chargers’ total some amount of respectability. Scoreboard Kings XI Punjab
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Delhi, Mumbai seek master stroke
New Delhi, May 23 Only a win will keep Daredevils afloat for a semifinal slot as they will then have 15 points from 14 matches, and pray for Mumbai’s defeat in their last two league ties against Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore. Mumbai Indians, smarting under the last-ball one-run defeat at the hands of Kings XI Punjab at home, are on 11 points from 12 matches, and need to win their next three ties to ensure a semifinal place. But Daredevils will have to post a final win after rains put a damper in their works against Kings XI and Kolkata Knight Riders. Delhi captain Virender Sehwag is determined to give Mumbai Indians a hard run, though Sachin Tendulkar’s team are packed with explosive players like Shaun Pollock and Sanath Jayasuriya. Mumbai also have some dependable deliverers in Abhishek Nayar, Dhaval Kulkarni, and of course Delhi’s very own Ashish Nehra, who has been a bowling pivot for the visitors. And it was the all-round display of Pollock (14-ball 33 with three sixes and 4-0-16-0) and devastating bowling of Nehra (4-0-25-3) that paved Mumbai’s 29-run victory over Daredevils at home on 4 May. It will be interesting to watch how Jayasurya and Tendulkar will treat the Daredevils bowling, marshalled by Glen McGrath, who had gone wicketless against Mumbai in the away match. Daredevils’ strength of course is their top-order batting comprising of Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag and Shikhar Dhawan who have, together, ripped the best of bowling at the Kotla ground. Daredevils’ strategy once again would be to rely on their batting. For Mumbai, with Tendulkar coming good with the bat against Kings XI with an explosive 65 with 12 boundaries, Sehwag will have more than a handful to tackle if he aspires to stay in the hunt for a semifinal berth, and of course avenge their away defeat. Delhi, who won four matches on the trot before stumbling against Kings XI, have had mixed luck in the second half of the league while Mumbai came out of a lean patch to consolidate their position.
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Team selection for B’desh, Asia Cup on May 30
Mumbai, May 23 "The team for Bangladesh as well as the Asia Cup will be selected in Mumbai on May 30. It's up to the selectors on how many touring squad members should be chosen," BCCI Secretary Niranjan Shah told PTI from his hometown Rajkot. Shah said that the probables for the ICC Champions
Trophy in September, with June 11 being the deadline, would be declared later. India will clash with arch-rivals Pakistan and hosts Bangladesh in the four-match triangular series from June 8-14 (June 15 reserve day). The three sub-continental countries will then play in the June 24-July 6 Asia Cup to
be held among six nations in Pakistan. India are pooled in Group B with Pakistan and Hong Kong in the One-day tournament - their group matches scheduled on June 25 and 26 against Hong Kong and Pakistan respectively. Group A consists of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and United Arab Emirates.
— PTI |
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Super Kings play Royals, eye semis berth
Losing their last home-leg tie against Bangalore Royal Challengers must have hurt the side badly as they messed up a modest run chase to let slip a golden chance of reaching the semis. The host batsmen would be cautious against committing the hara-kiri that compounded the problem for them and lingered their semifinals aspirations further. The Super Kings will also hope not to repeat the mistake of taking their opponents lightly, even though Rajasthan Royals’ captain Shane Warne is planning to field untested players as the side has already made it into the last-four stage. But, the bigger headache for the Super Kings is that a win over Rajasthan will not ensure a place in the semis as they have to await the result of match between Mumbai Indians and Deccan Chargers. The Chennai-based team is presently placed third on the table with 14 points from 12 matches (seven wins and five losses) and Mumbai Indians (12 points), also looking to make the cut for the semis, have three more matches to go in the league stage. Super Kings’ assistant coach and administrator V.B. Chandrasekar admitted that the team was indeed under pressure after they were defeated by the Bangalore outfit. “In any way we will be under pressure after losing the last game. It does not matter whether we play a second string or the first eleven of Jaipur team,” he said. “It may be a tight rope walk but we cannot keep losing and hope to qualify for the semifinals. We have to pull up our socks and win against Rajasthan tomorrow and beat the Deccan Chargers too (on May 27),” he added. Chandrasekar said they had learnt a few lessons from the tie against Bangalore and would need to put up a flawless show tomorrow. “There cannot be any changes in our strategy. We need a win tomorrow. One bad show put us in this situation but lessons have been learnt from the loss. Parthiv Patel or Stephen Fleming should have carried on. It was also not easy for batsmen when the ball was not coming on to the bat”. Assessing the Rajasthan side, the former national selector said, “Anything they have tried, they have found success. Everything clicked well for Warne including the changes in batting order. They are going along with the stream doing things spontaneously, which is something worth watching and learning. They are having a dream run. Somewhere it has got to end. Twenty20 is a dangerous game. We are hoping it will end with us,” he added. — PTI
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Apologise for smoking, NGO tells Warne
Panaji, May 23 Dr Salkar today wrote a letter to IPL commissioner Lalit Modi and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), condemning the act, a copy of which was handed to mediapersons here. Speaking to mediapersons here, he said in the letter he had stated that “We were aghast to see Mr Warne, a cricketer of international standing, smoking during the widely-watched IPL match”. A daily newspaper in its May 21 daily had carried a photograph of his “reckless behaviour”, enlightening its readers of his yet another foolish escapade. “Hope you are aware that smoking in public places is a criminal offence in India and IPL is no exception to the rule. Now if, Warne is not forewarned about the legal repercussions of his mindless act, it is high time that he be publicly warned about it. I demand that this act of Mr Warne should promptly be reported to International Cricket Council (ICC) officials as well as appropriate authorities in Australia. Warne should be asked to apologise to Indian viewers and take a promise from him that there would be no public display of his vice,” he wrote to Modi. — UNI
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Aussies in control at Kingston
Jamaica, May 23 Ponting used a West Indies attack hamstrung by the withdrawal just prior to the start of key strike bowler Jerome Taylor with a stiff shoulder to serenely progress to 158 which was the rock upon which Australia reached 301 for four in their first innings when stumps were drawn on the opening day of the Test at Sabina Park. Ponting reached his milestone, when he moved down the pitch and whipped a flighted delivery from debutant off-spin bowler Amit Jaggernauth through mid-wicket for two. It completed his fourth hundred in a row in the Caribbean, and his seventh against West Indies which carried him past former India captain Sunil Gavaskar’s 34 on the list of batsmen with the most hundreds in Tests. Another Indian batting superstar Sachin Tendulkar holds the record of 39. But Ponting was not finished yet, and he past 150, when he drove a full-length delivery from Daren Powell through extra-cover for two. Ponting shared in two partnerships that put Australia back on track after they had slipped to 37 for two in the first hour. He added 137 with Mike Hussey, and put on 119 for the fourth wicket with Brad Hodge which has carried until through to the close. Hussey batted painstakingly for most of his 56, and Hodge played within his limitations and was unbeaten on 53. Tests a welcome change: Ponting
Kingston: Australia captain Ricky Ponting opened the test series against West Indies with an innings of 158 at Sabina Park on Thursday and declared himself delighted to be back in the long version of the game. Ponting scored a century in his last test appearance but that was back in January against India -- since then he has been focused on one-day and Twenty20 cricket in India and struggling to make scores. “It’s nice to know you have six hours to go out and build an innings. In (Twenty20) sometimes you have got six balls or six minutes," Ponting told a news conference after helping his team to 301 for four. “The start of a test summer for me is always exciting. Our last overseas test was nearly two years ago, we haven't played a lot of test cricket. I've been looking forward to putting on the whites again and the green baggy and spending some time in the middle. I got that today," he added. “The last test innings I had was a hundred but I struggled through the one day series and never felt that comfortable and today felt comfortable again. “I didn’t feel like I did much wrong at all today to tell the truth, I've been working pretty hard at my game and felt really good in the nets going into the game, in the practice game last week felt some things coming back again.” Although Ponting was caught with just 11 minutes remaining in the day's play, his team are in a dominant position heading into the second day. “Four down for 301 you would take at the end of the first day in any test match,” he said. “The wicket is pretty good to bat on but as you saw at the end of the day there is a bit of variable bounce there. But I think we are in a really good position," he said. “It’s important that we don't let today's (work) slip tomorrow.
— Reuters Scoreboard |
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French Open
Paris, May 23 Instead the Serbian world number three, who took Federer’s Australian Open title in January, was placed in the same half of the draw as triple champion Rafael Nadal who is bidding to become the first player since Bjorn Borg in 1981 to win four titles in a row here. Nadal, who has a perfect record at Roland Garros of 21 wins in 21 matches, begins his campaign against a qualifier with a possible tricky quarter-final against David Nalbandian lying in wait. Nadal has lost both his career meetings with the muscular Argentininan. Djokovic, meanwhile, begins his campaign against Germany’s Denis Gremelmayr. Federer will still have a tough road to a possible final. Federer, bidding to complete a career Grand Slam after losing to Nadal in the last two years, will face the 20-year-old Querrey who is riding high after capturing his maiden career title in Las Vegas this year. Querrey also showed that he is no fool on clay when he reached the quarter-finals at the Monte Carlo Masters in April knocking out former French Open winner Carlos Moya on the way. Former triple champion Gustavo Kuerten, who will be playing his last tournament before retirement, faces a tricky opener against French top 20 player Paul-Henri Mathieu. Women’s top seed Maria Sharapova, bidding to win a first French Open and complete a career Grand Slam, begins her campaign against fellow Russian Evgeniya Rodina, the world number 104. Second seed Serbian Ana Ivanovic, the runner-up to Justine Henin in 2007, faces Sweden’s Sofia Andersson while 2002 champion Serena Williams of the United States starts against fellow American Ashley Harkelroad. — AFP
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Jeev risks missing cut, Chowrasia tied 12
Virginia Water (England), May 23 Jeev faltered on a treacherous front nine, dropping as many as five bogeys. On his way back, the seasoned campaigner did birdie the 11th and 18th holes but that was of little consolation as he dropped three shots in between to stutter to 78. In contrast, Indian Masters winner Chowrasia finally seemed to have got his mojo back. The Kolkata pro cancelled out a bogey treble with three birdies and went on to fire an eagle on the par-five 12th hole to stay in the hunt for a decent finish. Shiv Kapur too rode a 12th hole eagle to manage a sub-par card after a round which included two birdies and three bogeys. Randhawa, on the other hand, had a rollercoaster round as four birdies and five bogeys flew from his club as the former Asian Tour number went one-over. Ireland’s Paul Mcginley blasted seven-under 65 to grab the opening round lead, even though Swede Robert Karlsson kept breathing down his neck from one shot behind. Atwal starts with even par 72
MITCHEVILLE: Arjun Atwal, winner of the Malaysian Open on the European and Asian Tour this year, made an even par start at 72 at the Melwood Prince George[’s County Open on Thursday. Atwal was tied for 38th on a day when only 37 players in the field of 153 broke par thanks to 12-18 mph winds that occasionally gusted to 30 mph. Atwal, currently 14th on the Nationwide Money List and hoping to stay inside top-25 to find a place on main PGA Tour next year, had three birdies and three bogeys in his round in swirling and gusting winds. Starting on 10th he birdied the 15th, 17th and third, while he dropped shots on 16th, second and fifth.
— Agencies |
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FIFA, EU lawmakers on collision course
Singapore, May 23 At stake is more than a set of sporting regulations, but also the reputation of a consummate sports politician and survivor who may find the odds stacked against him in this battle of ideologies. On the one side sits Swiss Blatter, who’s oft-stated credo is to nurture soccer and ensure its growth and well-being. He could look for support to those nations who routinely suffer an exodus of talent to the rich, European leagues. Across the indelibly drawn battle lines sit an encampment of opponents who say the so-called “6+5” proposal -- limiting the number of foreign players who start a match to five -- is a product of jealousy and an unworkable policy which contravenes the European Union’s free movement of workers rules. Already, Blatter’s proposal would seem to have placed great strain on the harmony between soccer’s leagues and the sport’s national, regional and global bodies. Whether it will lead to more serious, permanent damage, remains to be seen. England’s Premier League has blamed the proposal to limit foreign players on jealousy. “There is an envy out there. You cannot deny it. It is there,” Premier League chief executive Peter Scudamore said recently, describing the English top flight as “a ladder to the
stars”.— Reuters |
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New Delhi, May 23 In the Format II, which is of 60 minute duration, India beat Pakistan 1-0 but lost to Nepal (0-1) and Iran (0-2). A total of 176 children from eight countries -- Bhutan, Afghanistan, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, India and host Iran -- participated in the event and in all, 36 matches will be played in the five-day long festival which started on May 18. First 24 matches were Format I and another 12 of Format II. Rather than being a full-fledged competition, with tournament winners and runners-up, the festival aims to develop football skills of youngsters and identify talented players. They were tested in five skills -- short passing, long passing, dribbling, juggling by various parts of body and shooting. — PTI
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San Francisco, May 23 Pettigrew, who once trained under Graham, was called to testify before US district judge Susan Illston having been implicated by the main prosecution witness at the trial, Angel Heredia. — AFP
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Mohali, May 23
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Chennai, May 23
