Hyderabad, April 9
Johan Botha smashed his way to an unbeaten half-century as Rajasthan Royals kicked off their campaign in the fourth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) with a comfortable eight-wicket win over Deccan Chargers here today.

Electing to field after skipper Shane Warne won the toss, Rajasthan rode on Siddharth Trivedi's three for 15 and Amit Singh's three for 35 to restrict Chargers to none -too impressive 137 in their stipulated 20 overs.

Chasing a modest total, Rajasthan then rode on Botha's unbeaten 47-ball 67 to romp home in 18.5 overs.

Botha's innings included eight boundaries and a massive six.

After the bowlers' disciplined show, Amit Paunikar and Rahul Dravid failed to set the stage ablaze, but made valuable contributions which proved handy in the end, at the Rajiv Gandhi International stadium.

Paunikar swept Pragyan Ojha's first ball of the innings to the fine-leg boundary to kick off the chase and then drove the next delivery over wide midwicket region.

The 23-year-old right-hander gave ample evidence of what he is capable of, in the next over.

Up against Dale Steyn, the world's number one fast bowler, Paunikar caressed the South African speed merchant through covers, and then swiveled to pull him over midwicket in grand fashion.

Steyn, however, had the last laugh when he had Paunikar caught behind in the innings' sixth over, to cut short a promising innings.

Botha along with Dravid raised a productive half-century partnership to take their team closer to victory. Steyn dismissed Dravid for 28 but by that time, the match was more or less in Rajasthan's bag.

Despite losing Paunikar, Rajasthan never looked in any sort of trouble as Botha was going great guns.

Botha played every shot in the book -- he swept Ojha, reverse swept Amit Mishra, pulled Steyn, drove and glanced Dan Christian -- during his blazing knock.

After Dravid's departure, Botha along with Ross Taylor guided the team home. Taylor remained not out on 21 off 14 balls.

Earlier, Shikhar Dhawan and Ishank Jaggi gave Deccan a flying start, putting on 40 runs for the first wicket in less than five overs, before Amit dismissed the former for 24.

The left-hander from Delhi played some stunning shots during his brief stay at the crease, including a six over deep midwicket off Amit, before the bowler had his revenge two balls later with a well disguised slower ball.

In the next over, the Hyderabad outfit was dealt a body blow, when they lost skipper Kumar Sangakkara to Trivedi even before the left-handed Sri Lankan could open his account.

Sangakkara poked at a short-of-length delivery that cut away and keeper Abhishek Raut dived to left to complete a neat catch.

Jean-Paul Duminy sent Warne over long-on during his 17-ball 14 but could not sustain the momentum, lofting the Australian to the the long-off fielder.

Warne finished with impressive figures of two for 21 from his four overs. Duminy's was a big wicket as the South African was in good form during the recently-concluded World Cup in the sub-continent.

With the top-order batsmen back in the dug out, it was left to Daniel Christian and D Ravi Teja to infuse some life into Deccan innings.

While Christian contributed 26 off 19 deliveries with the help of two sixes and a boundary, Teja struck 28 off 20 balls ti finish as the team's highest scorer.

Teja's innings included 2 fours and a six.

That Deccan failed to put up a big score was due to some smart captaincy by Warne. The legendary leg-spinner from Australia was also backed by youngsters like Trivedi and Amit.

As the opening duo of Dhawan and Jaggi went after Jacob Oram and Amit, Warne forced a bowling change bringing himself on, to stem the flow of runs.

The ploy worked and as runs dried up, the batsmen were forced to play extravagant shots that led to their dismissals. — PTI

Scoreboard
Deccan Chargers
Dhawan c Raut b Singh 24
Jaggi c Botha b Warne 25
S’kkara c Paunikar b Trivedi 0
Chipli b Trivedi 6
Duminy c Botha b Warne 14
Christian c sub b Trivedi 26
Teja c Menaria b Singh 28
Steyn c Botha b Singh 7
Mishra not out 2
Ishant not out 1
Extras (w 4) 4
Total (8 wkts; 20 overs) 137
Bowling: Oram 2-0-13-0, Singh 4-0-35-3, Botha 4-0-31-0, Trivedi 4-0-15-3, Warne 4-0-21-2, Menaria 1-0-8-0, Binny 1-0-14-0.

Rajasthan Royals
Paunikar c S’kkara b Steyn 20
Dravid b Steyn 28
Botha not out 67
Taylor not out 21
Extras (lb 2, w 1, nb 2) 5
Total (2 wkts; 18.5 overs) 141
Bowling: Ojha 3.5-0-44-0, Steyn 4-0-18-2, Ishant 4-0-24-0, Christian 3-0-25-0, Mishra 4-0-28-0.

Kochi, April 9
A B de Villiers smashed a blistering unbeaten half century as Royal Challengers Banglaore thumped debutantes Kochi Tuskers Kerala by six wickets in their Indian Premier League here today.

Coming in at 48 for two in the sixth over, South African de Villiers (54 not out) anchored the RCB innings with a strokeful knock which came from 40 balls as the visitors chased down 162 with eight balls to spare on a batting track.

Needing 33 from the last three overs, de Villiers smashed three sixes in the 18th over to take 20 runs from medium pacer Raiphi Gomez to reach his fifty and that changed the complexion of the game.

Gomez was surprisingly introduced for the first time by KTK captain Mahela Jayawardene in the match at that crucial stage.

Asad Pathan then smashed three fours off Vinay Kumar in the penultimate over, including the winning runs, as RCB reached 162 for four in 18.4 overs to stun the cheering KTK supporters who were experiencing their first IPL match at home.

Chasing 162 for a win in their opening match, RCB made a shaky start with their key opener Tillakaratne Dilshan out for just one in the second over. Dilshan got a leading edge while trying to whip an outswinger off Sreesanth and Brendon McCullum dived forward to take a low and sharp catch.

The early dismissal, however, did not deter RCB batsmen from playing big shots as Virat Kohli and the other opener Mayank Agarwal scored at a brisk pace.

The duo took 13 runs from the fifth over bowled by Ravindra Jadeja with Agarwal hitting the bowler for a six and Kohli a four.

Just as Kohli (23 off 18 balls), one of India's World Cup heroes, looked like settling in for a big knock, he was dismissed in the sixth over LBW as Vinay Kumar skidded the ball into the right-hander from outside off. — PTI

Scoreboard
Kochi Tuskers
B McCullum c Nannes b Kohli 45
Laxman c Pujara b Dilshan 36
Jayawardene st de Villiers b Vettori 18
Hodge b Zaheer 27
Jadeja not out 23
Gomez c Tiwary b Nannes 0
Patel not out 1
Extras (b 1, lb 2, w 7, nb 1) 11
Total (5 wkts; 20 overs) 161
Bowling: Zaheer 4-0-28-1, Nannes 3-0-31-1, Vettori 4-0-17-1, Dilshan 4-0-30-1, Mithun 1-0-19-0, Kohli 2-0-14-1, Asad 2-0-19-0.

Royal Challengers
Agarwal c Vinay b Jadeja 33
Dilshan c McCullum b Sreesanth 1
Kohli lbw Vinay 23
de Villiers not out 54
Tiwary c Jayawardene b Gomez 26
Asad not out 12
Extras (lb 4, w 7, nb 2) 13
Total (4 wkts; 18.4 overs) 162
Bowling: RP 3-0-29-0, Sreesanth 3-0-28-1, Jadeja 4-0-28-1, Vinay 3.4-0-26-1, Muralitharan 4-0-27-0, Gomez 1-0-20-1.

New Delhi, April 9
Virender Sehwag has inherited a less formidable Delhi Daredevils team in IPL Season IV and the hosts will be clear underdogs when they taken on Mumbai Indians in their opening day-night match (starting time 4 p m) at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground here tomorrow. Yet, the Sehwag-Sachin Tendulkar face-off tomorrow will surely lit up the Kotla stands.

Sehwag had led Delhi Daredevils in the first two editions of the IPL when they made the semi-final grade, but he gave up the captaincy mantle to Gautam Gambhir last season, though Gambhir and many others of the once formidable Daredevils’ squad, have been snapped up by other IPL franchisees.

Gambhir has been bought for a whopping Rs 11 crore by the Kolkata Knight Riders of Shahrukh Khan while pacer Ashish Nehra, spinner Amit Mishra, Shikhar Dhawan, Rajat Bhatia and Mithun Minhas have been recruited by other fanchisees in the season four auction, leaving Delhi Daredevils considerably depleted. But the retention of Sehwag by Daredevils franchise GMR, and giving the captaincy back to him, make the Delhi team a potent one, which boast of the best opening pair in Sehwag and David Warner.

Though India discards like Irfan Pathan and Ajit Agarkar make up their pace attack, some talented Twenty20 players recruited from Australia and South Africa give Daredevils much strength on paper, which will be tested in the coming weeks.

The Mumbai Indians, led by Sachin Tendulkar, on the other hand not only retained their core team in the auction, but also recruited some star names to beef-up their line-up. They have some formidable batting and bowling talents, with Sachin leading an eclectic pack comprising Andrew Symonds, Kieron Pollard, Rohit Sharma, Ambati Rayudu, James Franklin, Harbhajan Singh, Munaf Patel, Ali Murtaza, Lasit Malinga and Dilaro Fernando. Sachin also has bowling options in Pollard, Symonds and Franklin, in addition to his specialist seamers and tweakers.

Mumbai Indians, though, suffered a big loss when Zaheer Khan was snapped by Bangalore Royal Challengers, Malinga and Munaf are expected to make up the loss. The last year’s finalists are fancied to go far in this tournament, and with Sachin Tendulkar brimming with hope and confidence, and having a competent player like Robin Singh as coach, Munbai Indias are likely to prove more than a match for Virender Sehwag’s Delhi Daredevils.

But Sehwag had promised that his players will give their 100 per cent, and “Dil Se Khelenge Dilli Ke Liye”, Sachin’s team will not find them easy fodder. The one major drawback of Daredevils this time is that other than Sehwag, the “Delhi flavour” is missing from the team, as the captain will not have many of his Delhi colleagues in the dressing room. Though the Daredevils had many top names world cricket in the first three editions of the IPL, the foreign recruits are sourced this only from two countries-six from Australia and four from South Africa.

Morne Morkel, who was a major cog in the South African World Cup campaign, will spearhead the Delhi pace attack, and Sehwag and David Warner will give them a blazing start with the blade. But the bowling options-particularly in the spin department-are limited as Sehwag himself will not be able to chance his arm, due to the shoulder injury he suffered some time back. Yet, the Delhi captain is such a fighter and gritty player that he himself is capable of carrying his bat through to make even the most penetrative bowling attack look ordinary. With a seasoned man like Greg Sheppered of Victoria (Australia) as the coach and mentor, Daredevils will not let go of any chance without a fight. But it is a moot point whether the out of form Irfan Pathan, who was bought by Daredevils for a whopping $ 1.9 million, will really provide value for money.

the Kings of 20XI

l New-look team with Adam Gilchrist at the helm l Seasoned pros like Dinesh Karthik, Abhishek Nayar l Twelve domestic players to add to the internationals l Enhanced stadium experience with even more live performances l More areas to be covered under stadium hospitality l On-the-spot ticket printing Kings XI COO Arvinder Singh

Mohali, April 9
Another season of the Indian Premier League is underway. At this juncture last year, Kings XI Punjab were a team hit by controversies, issues on the field and off it. Too much was being said, written and contemplated as to why the team was failing to rake up points. In all fairness, the past year has been the league’s baptism by fire and for the Kings XI Punjab as well.

But now, as normal service resumes, the ‘Lions of Punjab’ are ready to sharpen their teeth, pounce with a roar and set their eyes on the prey. Kings XI Chief Operating Officer (COO) Arvinder Singh spoke exclusively to The Tribune on a range of issues, including Yuvraj Singh, Adam Gilchrist, last year’s dismal run and hope for the upcoming season. Some excerpts:

Q: Finally, the ordeal seems to be over. Kings XI are back in business, and will be back on the field against the Pune Warriors in your first game.

A: Yes, it has been a somewhat tough time. But we always backed ourselves to come out stronger from these situations, and I am happy that we were able to do that.

Q: That brings up the question of your team taking on Yuvraj Singh’s Pune side.

A: This is sports, and we are totally looking forward to giving it our best. Individuals are not bigger than the game and it will be about their XI, playing against ours.

Q: But there were some issues between the team and Yuvraj last year?

A: The truth is far from that. In all honesty, we went for Yuvraj even this year, and would have loved to have him back. He has been the star for three years here and we tried to have him back with us. Unfortunately, that didn’t work out, and that is all there is to the story.

Q: What difference has Gilchrist made to the team?

A: Gilly has made an immense difference. He has been fantastic with the boys and he has brought amazing calmness to the side. He is a great player and a great leader of men. The levels of commitment are phenomenal under him and it is good to see him and Bevan work in such a harmonius way.

Q: Don’t you think that the team lacks star quotient?

A: We had a plan in place, and we stuck to it in the auction. Of course you can’t buy every player you want, but we got most of what we had hoped for. Performances on the field make you a star. That is what the IPL is all about, and we are sure that with the amount of talent we have in this side, you will see an entire galaxy in there.

Q: People look to the IPL as a way of relaxation. Anything different they can expect this time around?

A: We give a lot of importance to the fact that when someone buys a ticket, they should get their money’s worth. We have, like last year, performances lined up to keep the crowds on their feet, and are also putting in additional hospitality centres across the ground to extend the experience at the Kings XI home ground. The local authorities and police have been very helpful in ensuring that we have had a smooth run into the tournament.

Mumbai, April 9
After a stunning all round show for triumphant Team India in the World Cup, Yuvraj Singh is all set to lead debutantes Pune Warriors in the fourth Indian Premier League against Kings XI Punjab at the D Y Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai tomorrow.

The talented left-hander, who received the man of the tournament award in the World Cup for his superb display, has to put behind those heady feelings and celebrations and inspire his team to a dream debut against his former franchise outfit tomorrow.

Yuvraj has, at his command, what on paper appears to be a good and balanced outfit. But injuries to key bowlers, India's Cup-winning member Ashish Nehra and Angelo Matthews of Sri Lanka, present him with a challenge to shuffle his attack.

With only four foreign players eligible to be in the playing eleven and in the absence of the two injured players, Yuvraj and coach Geoff Marsh, the former Australian opener, have left-arm medium pacer Wayne Parnell and right-handed duo of Jerome Taylor and Alphonso Thomas to choose from.

With offie Nathan McCullum, left-arm Murali Karthik and he himself available for bowling the slow stuff, the Pune bowling appears to cover a lot of base in the spin department.

The batting also looks quite strong with South Africa captain Graeme Smith, Aussie stumper Tim Paine, Kiwi Jesse Ryder and Mitchell Marsh - son of coach Geoff, available for selection. Besides, India discard Robin Uthappa as well as experienced domestic campaigners Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, Dheeraj Jadhav and Mithun Manhas gives Yuvraj a lot of option to choose from. — PTI

New Delhi, April 9
Indian cricketers from small towns are making their presence felt in a big way in international cricket, says batting icon Sachin Tendulkar, who feels these players are a bit "more motivated" to make it big. "I think the players from the smaller towns sacrifice a bit more for developing their cricketing skills. They are a bit more motivated to make it big," Tendulkar said.

"In places like Ranchi, Mahi (M S Dhoni) told me that cricket facilities are bare minimum. Look at Dhoni or Munaf (Patel), they have their own style of playing cricket. Dhoni played football with heart and that made him run faster and made him stronger," he told 'Outlook' magazine.

Tendulkar said the epicentre of Indian cricket has shifted from big cities such as Mumbai and Bangalore to small towns.

"Players are coming from smaller towns. Our captain is from Ranchi. Players like Munaf Patel, S Sreesanth and Piyush Chawla belong to smaller towns and skill-wise they are as good as everyone," he said.

The 37-year-old champion batsman, who became a part of a World Cup winning team for the first time in his six appearances in the just-concluded edition, once again dedicated the trophy to the fans, especially to the armed forces.

"Our success on the field means so much for 120 crore Indians and even those Indians living abroad, which is why the team dedicated the Cup to the 120 crore Indians," he said.

"We are so proud of our armed forces. Because of them we feel secure. We can experience freedom because they are sacrificing their lives for us. I am too small a person to comment on them but I would like to salute them on this occasion," he added. — PTI

New Delhi, April 9
Mumbai Indians mentor-cum-bowling coach Shaun Pollock feels that there's "absolutely no issue" in the team ranks as far as the relationship between old foes Harbhajan Singh and Andrew Symonds is concerned. The off-spinner and the star Australian batsman were involved in the infamous 'Monkeygate' scandal during a Test match at Sydney in 2007-08 series Down Under.

Symonds alleged that Harbhajan called him a "monkey" during the match. In Australia that is considered a racist remark. However, the allegations against the 'Turbanator' couldn't be proved. The popular notion in the cricket fraternity about that incident is that Symonds was never the same player again after that incident.

The feuding duo never called truce and after Symonds was picked up by Mumbai Indians at the IPL auction this year, there has been intense speculation about how their relationship would be.

If the opening day is an indicator, then it will really take some time for the duo to forget the past and move on. "I have been a part of many teams over the years. Trust me, not everyone is best of friends with the other. It doesn't happen like that. These two (Harbhajan and Symonds) are professional cricketers. They know their job is to perform for the team," Pollock tried to set the record straight when media inquired about whether the duo have been gelling well or not. — PTI

Mumbai, April 9
World Cup hero Yuvraj Singh today agreed with Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's comments that hectic schedule drained the players mentally and said they could not even get enough time to celebrate the historic triumph.

"Very much of what Dhoni said was right. The World Cup was a very emotional tournament for not only the team, but also the whole of India. It has taken a lot of emotions and mental stress out of us. We had little time to celebrate and regale (after) that (triumph)," said Pune Warriors captain Yuvraj ahead of his side's opening IPL match against Kings XI Punjab here tomorrow.

Dhoni had said before the IPL opener in Chennai that because of the hectic schedule, the Indian cricketers found themselves drained emotionally.

Yuvraj, however, saw the positives which the players involved in the World Cup victory can take into the Indian Premier League.

"The good thing is we have had a lot of training and practice in the World Cup which will definitely help us in the IPL games," he said.

Asked about Gary Kirsten's observations that he wanted to be the best fielder in the World Cup, Yuvraj said he wanted to field at point as he felt that was his best position.

"I had been training hard for a while. On the World Cup, was focusing on a few things. (I) did that with Gary. Wanted to save lot of runs fielding at point because I feel whenever I come at point I am at my best.

"If I save 10-15 runs for the team it helps my batting. That was my goal of the tournament," said Yuvraj.

Looking ahead to the IPL, Yuvraj said it was important for his new team to start on a sound note and gain some early momentum.

"(I'm) pretty excited to play for Pune Warriors. Sahara have always been our (Indian team's) main sponsors, always like family to us. (I) look forward to the first game versus Punjab. It's the fist IPL game for us and we need to get momentum going. It's important we do well tomorrow," he said. Yuvraj felt the key for his team is to gell as fast as possible by getting to know each other. — PTI

New Delhi, April 9
Anirban Lahiri’s resilience came good for him as he clawed back from a challenging position to upstage Mardan Mamat of Singapore and compatriot Manav Jaini on the first play-off hole to lift the inaugural US$ 300,000 Panasonic Open at the Delhi Golf Club here today.

Lahiri, who was second overnight, trailing Mardan by three strokes, made the most of his own poise and a drop in concentration from the overnight leader to finish the round tied at 13-under 275 after the 18 holes today. He then played some superb approach golf on the play-off hole and as Mardan and Jaini managed only pars, he posted a four-foot birdie to settle the issue.

Lahiri began well, opening with a birdie but then dropped two strokes on the outward nine. He recovered with a birdie on the 10th but went on to lose it on the 12th. However, the 14th proved to be lucky for the Bangalore golfer as he fired an eagle and then kept his poise to return par scores to finish at one-under 71 for the day.

The win was a double delight for Lahiri as he, Mardan and Jaini also qualified for the Asia-Pacific Panasonic Open, to be played in Japan in September.

Jaini, who was one stroke behind Lahiri after the third round, scored four birdies but two bogeys didn’t help his cause.

Mardan had it all to win today. Leading by three strokes when play began this morning, he needed to play some steady golf to keep the challenge at bay. He seemed to be way too cautious, and that didn’t help as he lost strokes on the 8th and then again on the 10th and 13th, as the Indian duo closed in inexorably.

Birdies on the 14th and 15th seemed to be bringing him back but a horrendous 17th, where he had to take a drop and then lost a stroke for a double bogey put him behind Lahiri and Jaini. But he recovered his poise to carve out a birdie on the deciding hole to make it 13-under and force a play-off.