Kolkata, APRIL 13
Chennai Super Kings made heavy weather of a small chase before Ravindra Jadeja's blitzkrieg powered the visitors to a four-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders in the domestic Twenty20 championship.

Chasing a paltry 120, the Super Kings found themselves on a tight corner when they were redused to 89 for six in the 17th over.

But Jadeja (36 off 14) meant business and used his long handle to great effect to wrap up the issue for CSK. He shared an unbeaten 35-run partnership with Dwayne Bravo (7) to guide CSK home.

Apart from Jadeja, Mike Hussey (40 off 51) played a sensible innings at the top to keep CSK in the hunt even thought wickets kept falling at the other end.

With CSK needing 27 runs from the last three overs, the Knight Riders brought in their trump card Sunil Narine in the 18th over, but Jadeja hit the bowler straight over his head for a huge six.

Jadeja got a huge reprieve when Yusuf Pathan dropped him at the square leg boundary as he continued his assault with three boundaries in Kallis' penultimate over that reduced the equation to two runs from the last over.

Jadeja was in no mood to relent even though the game was under their control. He pulled Pathan over midwicket boundary for another six to help the Super Kings wrap up the issue with five balls to spare. Like Knight Riders, the Super Kings had a surprise up their sleeve when they sent Ravichandran Ashwin (11) to open the innings along with Hussey. But the move failed outrightly as the visitors had a sloppy start to their low chase.

Narine gave KKR breakthrough in the fifth over, dismissing Ashwin while Senanayake, who opened the proceedings with Balaji, ran through his four overs and gave the team their second wicket in the form of Murali Vijay (2). The Super Kings were reduced to 40 for three by the ninth over as Suresh Raina (7) continued his miserable outing.

Just when Hussey and Dhoni were beginning to get going, Morgan dismissed the Super Kings skipper with a brilliant run-out. In fact, at the second break (strategic time out), the Super Kings were in a spot of bother with 50 runs required from the last five overs with six wickets in hand. Hussey finally broke the shackles when he despatched a Kallis length ball over deep square leg boundary before Jadeja spanked Balaji over his head in the very second ball he faced. Earlier, the Knight Riders frittered away a good start to be restricted to a modest 119 for nine. Opting to bat, the Knight Riders gambled with Yusuf Pathan, who was sent to open the innings along with skipper Gautam Gambhir.

The duo, however, did not disappoint and gave the Knight Riders a flying start sharing 46 runs off just 35 balls before losing the Chennai outfit turned things around.

After Gambhir (25) was dismissed by a stunning Hussey catch, the Knight Riders batsmen committed a hara-kiri of sorts as, from 46 for no loss, they slumped to 91 for eight in 15.5 overs.

It was 'mystery man' Narine's six-ball 13, which had two big sixes, that helped the Knight Riders cross the 100-run mark. For the Super Kings, Jadeja returned with figures three for 20 from his four overs, while Aswhin scalped two wickets for 21 runs. — PTI

Scoreboard

Kolkata Knight Riders

Gambhir c Hussey b Morris 25

Yusuf run out (Bravo/Dhoni) 25

Kallis run out (Badrinath) 0

Morgan c Jadeja b Bravo 2

Tiwary c Sharma b Ashwin 13

Debabrata lbw b Ashwin 19

Bhatia c & b Jadeja 1

Shukla lbw b Jadeja 1

Senanayake not out 7

Narine c Sharma b Jadeja 13

Balaji not out 9

Extras: 4

Total: (9 wkts in 20 ovs) 119

Fall of wickets: 1-46, 2-47, 3-50, 4-55, 5-82, 6-89, 7-90, 8-91, 9-1075

Bowling

Morkel 4-0-36-0

Sharma 3-0-13-0

Morris 3-0-12-1

Bravo 2-0-14-1

Ashwin 4-1-21-2

Jadeja 4-0-20-3

Chennai Super Kings

Hussey c Pathan b Balaji 40

Ashwin c Senanayake b Narine 11

Vijay lbw b Senanayake 2

Raina c Narine b Pathan 7

Dhoni run out 9

Badrinath b Kallis 6

Jadeja not out 36

Bravo not out 7

Extras: 6

Total (6 wkts in 19.1 ovs) 124

Fall of wickets: 1/24 2/31 3/40 4/54 5/71 6/89

Bowling

Balaji 4-0-28-1

Senanayake 4-0-18-1

Narine 4-0-20-1

Yusuf 1.1-0-9-1

Bhatia 2-0-12-0

Kallis 4-0-32-1

MUMBAI, APRIL 13
Approaching his 40th birthday, Sachin Tendulkar's "insatiable hunger and incredible talent" has fetched him glowing tributes from fellow cricketers who say the batting great's longevity and passion for the game can never be surpassed.

Tendulkar, regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in modern-day cricket, will turn 40 on April 24 and some of his contemporary cricketers doffed their hats for his unprecedented achievements on the cricket field.

While former India skipper Sourav Ganguly rated Tendulkar as the greatest player he had ever seen, Australia captain Michael Clarke said his passion for the game is unprecedented.

"Suffice to say, he is the greatest cricketer I have ever seen. I haven't seen Bradman, but he is as close to perfection as you can get. His insatiable hunger, combined with incredible talent, makes him a real genius. When people criticise him, all I point to them is the 100 international hundreds," Ganguly said in an article published in 'Outlook' magazine, which has brought out a special edition on the legendary batsman to commemorate his birthday.

The special edition carries brief articles on Tendulkar from several former and current players, administrators and celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan and Lata Mangeshkar who have known the batting maestro for long.

“The difference between Sachin and a really good player is the latter, if he scores a hundred in the first innings and has once again scored a fifty in the second, will, in all likelihood, play one loose shot thereafter. It happens to us all. Sachin, however, will leave nothing to chance and will get the second innings hundreds as well,” Ganguly wrote.

“That's why I always say that (Brian) Lara was a great and Ponting too was a brilliant, but Sachin, without any hesitation, is the greatest. He is the best I have ever seen and will perhaps ever see. No batsman in the next 50 years can score 100 international hundreds," added the former skipper.Ganguly said his favourite Tendulkar knock came against Pakistan in the 2003 World Cup in South Africa.

"This is about the 2003 World Cup in South Africa. It was a tournament where we played some of our best cricket ever and Sachin was in imperious form right through. Before the tournament there was a debate over his batting position. I felt he should bat at number four and guide the middle order.

“Needless to say, I was wrong. We had a meeting in South Africa between John Wright, Anil Kumble, Sachin and myself, and Anil suggested that he should open for us. I asked Sachin what he wanted to do and he preferred to bat at the top of the order," recollected Ganguly. Clarke said Sachin's uniqueness was his ability to keep the intensity going. — PTI

Bangalore, APRIL 13
Opener Chris Gayle struck an unbeaten 49 to complement an impressive display by his bowling colleagues as Royal Challengers Bangalore scored an easy seven-wicket victory over Rajasthan Royals in the domestic T20 league match.

RCB captain Virat Kohli sent the opposition in after winning the toss and his bowlers responded brilliantly by dismissing the Royals for just 117 in 19.4 overs on a Chinnaswamy track which appeared to be batting-friendly.

Pacers R P Singh (3/13), R Vinay Kumar (3/18) and Ravi Rampual (2/19) did most of the damage during the Royals innings as the visitors slumped to their lowest total in this IPL season so far.

The home side stuttered for a while in their chase with three wickets falling in quick succession before overhauling the small target easily with 13 balls to spare as they reached 123 for three in 17.5 overs to hand the Royals their second loss in six games.

Gayle ended the match in style with a huge six to remain not out on 49 which he made from 44 balls.

With today's win, which put brakes on the fine run of the Royals in the tournament, the RCB jumped to joint top with Sunrisers Hyderabad with 10 points from 7 matches while the Royals remained on eight points from six matches. Gayle anchored RCB victory after Virat Kohli (1) and A B de Villiers (7) were out cheaply.

Brief Scores: (RR): 117 all out in 19.4 overs (R Dravid 35, S Binny 33; RP Singh 3/13, R Vinay Kumar 3/18);(RCB):123 for 3 in 17.5 overs (Gayle 49 not out, Watson 2/11). — PTI

Kolkata, APRIL 13
The IPL Governing Council is likely to shift the Qualifier and Eliminator matches from Chennai in order to allow respective teams with Sri Lankan players, freedom to choose their best playing eleven.

The members of the IPL governing council will be meeting in Chennai on Monday to decide the fate of the first Qualifier at the Chepauk on May 21 and the Eliminator on the following day.

"The final decision will be taken at the Governing Council meeting in Chennai on April 22," IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla said. The Tamil Nadu government had barred Sri Lankan players or match officials to play or officiate in Chennai in the wake of the anti-Sinhalese sentiments prevailing in the state. The Governing Council had then decided to go ahead with the matches in Chepauk but without Sri Lankan players.

However, it has been learnt that the franchises were not too happy with the decision but considering the logistical nightmare it would have posed to redraw the schedule with a new venue, they decided to co-operate. The franchises want the IPL Governing Council to review the decision for these two matches, arguing that these games were crucial and it would unfair on them if they could not be in a position to field their best team.

“In league stages, a bit of compromise is always possible. But tell me why would Sunrisers agree to drop a guy like Thisara Perera if they qualify for the knock-outs or why would MI even think of leaving out Lasith Malinga in such a do-or-die match," a BCCI official said. — PTI

MONTE CARLO, April 20
Eight-times champion Rafael Nadal will lock horns with world number one Novak Djokovic for third time in the Monte Carlo Masters final after both sailed through their semi-finals with relative ease on Saturday.

Nadal was given a fight by Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga before the Spaniard won 6-3 7-6 but Djokovic was dominant in a 6-2 6-1 thrashing of Italian showman Fabio Fognini.

Former world number one Nadal, looking for his fourth title of the year in only his fifth event since returning from a long-standing knee injury, clinched a 46th consecutive victory at the traditional claycourt event alongside the Mediterranean.

The final against Djokovic will give a further measure of Nadal's physical power as he eyes the French Open, especially as the Serb is showing no obvious signs of being worried by the ankle he twisted while on Davis Cup duty two weeks ago. "It's fantastic to be in a fifth final in a row after seven months out," Nadal told reporters. "Novak always pushes you to the limits." Djokovic, who has branded Nadal "the ultimate challenge on clay", will hope to improve on his previous Monte Carlo finals against Nadal. He was beaten 6-3 6-1 in the final last year and in three sets in 2009.

Nadal set up a 16th tournament final against Djokovic despite a wobble from 5-1 up in the second set when Tsonga produced a late surge to make a match of it. — Reuters 

MANAMA, April 20
Germany's Nico Rosberg looked forward to 'kick-starting' his season after seizing Mercedes's second successive pole position in qualifying for the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix on Saturday.

Compatriot and triple world champion Sebastian Vettel joined him on the front row for Red Bull at a circuit where no driver has won from lower than fourth place on the grid in eight previous races.

"Am I surprised? A little bit. It wasn't really clear who was the quickest car over one lap," said Rosberg of his second career pole. "I really want to kickstart my season. It has been a rough ride in the first three races. Today was my first real qualifying."

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, three times a winner in Bahrain, will share the second row in Sunday's race with Brazilian team mate Felipe Massa after penalties for Mercedes's Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull's Mark Webber. Hamilton collected a five-place penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change after Saturday's final practice. — Reuters