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Viru makes points for
DD
Virender Sehwag finally found some form and proved unstoppable on Sunday. — PTI
Miller, Mandeep pull-off stunning win for Punjab
New DD mentor Richards hogs limelight
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Nole ends Nadal’s Monte Carlo reign
Novak Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal in straight sets in the final on Sunday. Nadal had won the title for eight years in a row. — Reuters
Saina vs Sindhu a possibility at India Open
P.V. Sindhu could be expected to pose a tough challenge to Saina Nehwal at the India Open. — File photos
India’s Hitender grapples with Kazakstan’s Damitriy Popov (red) in the men’s 120kg freestyle match for bronze in New Delhi on Sunday. Hitender won the bronze. — PTI
Kebede, Jeptoo win London Marathon
Ranjit Singh Award presentation postponed again
Vettel wins Bahrain, leads by 10 pts
Sebastian Vettel won in Bahrain for the second year in a row. — AFP
CSK hold edge over Royals
Title race almost over as City lose to Spurs
Manchester City’s Carlos Tevez (2nd R) has an attempt on goal saved by Tottenham Hotspur’s goalkeeper Hugo Lloris (L) in north London on Sunday. — AFP
Mo Farah nearly late after he overslept
Fabregas goal moves Barca closer to title
IOA mourns Adithan’s death
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Viru makes points for
DD
New Delhi, April 21 Mumbai Indians suffered their fourth defeat in six matches, to slip further on the points table, while Daredevils broke the hoodoo of defeats, but now need to win the rest of their matches to keep themselves in the title hunt. A sell-out crowd savoured every moment of action as Sehwag and Jayawardene went hammer and tongs to smother the Mumbai Indians bowling with smooth-flowing scoring action. The stage was set for a run feast when Sehwag punished Jasprit Bumrah and Munaf Patel for 17 runs each, in the fourth and fifth over, respectively. Thereafter, runs flowed in a cascade, and Daredevils hoisted the century stand off 60 balls in 46 minutes. Though the scoring slowed down thereafter, there were enough overs in the quiver for Sehwag and Jayawardene to go slow, and reach the target in an unhurried manner. When Jayardene was trapped by Malinga for 59 (43b, 8x4, 1x6), Daredevils needed just 11 runs from 25 balls to win, and it was easy cruise for the hosts, as they finished. Sehwag, who made his 50 off just 31 balls with six fours and two sixes, remained unconquered on 95 (57b, 2x6,13x4) to make his best score of the season. The run-riot of the Daredevils’ openers put in shade the efforts of Sachin Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma, who had cracked 96-run third wicket stand to put Mumbai Indians on course to handsome total after they lost Dwayne Smith and Dinesh Karthik in the space of 11 runs with the team total on 22. Sachin and Rohit joined hands to make mincemeat of the Delhi bowling, though Sachin exited after making a 47-ball 54 with three fours and two sixes while Rohit Sharma blasted a brilliant 73 off 43 balls with five fours and as many sixes. Rohit blazed his bat like a sledgehammer to rain fours and sixes as he and Kieron Pollard put the Delhi bowlers to the sword, with the last four overs yielding 50 runs. Rickey Pointing won the toss and opted to bat, but stood down from opening the innings with Sachin. Instead, Dwayne Smith was promoted, though he could not help build a solid opening stand as he was snapped up by Umesh Yadav at mid on off Van der Merwe for 8. Eleven runs later, Dinesh Karthik too was back on the bench, when he became a run out victim by Umesh Yadav. But the fall of two big wickets did not hold back Sachin and Rohit Sharma from going for their strokes that pulled Mumbai Indians out of a spot of bother, but in the end, it proved inadequate in the face of the run-feast by Sehwag and
Jayawardene. Scoreboard Mumbai Indians Smith c Yadav b van der Merwe 8 Tendulkar c Warner b Yadav 54 Karthik run out 2 Rohit c Russell b Yadav 73 Pollard not out 19 Rayudu not out 2 Extras:
(lb 1, w 2) 3 Total (4 wkts; 20 overs) 161 Fall of wickets:
1-11, 2-22, 3-118, 4-149 Bowling Pathan 4-0-24-0 Nadeem 4-0-20-0 van-der-Merwe 4-0-35-1 Yadav 4-0-31-2 Agarkar 3-0-37-0 Russell 1-0-13-0 Delhi daredevils Jayawardene lbw b Malinga 59 Sehwag not out 95 Warner not out 7 Extras:
(w 1, nb 3) 4 Total (1 wkt; 17 overs) 165 Fall of wicket:
1-151 Bowling Malinga 4-0-26-1 Bumrah 3-0-38-0 Patel 4-0-36-0 Harbhajan 3-0-30-0 Smith 2-0-24-0 Pollard 1-0-11-0 |
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Miller, Mandeep pull-off stunning win for Punjab
Mohali, April 21 Though both sides bowled mindlessly to concede boundaries and sixes in plenty, it was Kings XI Punjab (186/3 in 19.5 overs) who scraped through by the skin of their teeth in penultimate bowl of the match. Chasing a total of 185, Mandeep Singh (77;58b,7x4) and David Miller (80; 41b, 5x6,5x4) scored 128 in just 79 balls for the fourth wicket partnership to snatch a victory from the visitors. Opener Mandeep Singh did not put a foot wrong by playing with a straight bat for most of the times, it was left to South African David Miller to blast the opposition right from the word go. He was declared man-of the-match for his whirlwind innings. Luke Wright who had done everything right with the bat tripped with the ball as he conceded 16 runs, including two sixes, in the crunch over to end up on the losing side. Earlier, Pune Warriors had scored 185/4 in 20 overs with a late flourish from Wright (34 off 10 balls). Kings XI Punjab paid through nose as skipper Adam Gilchirst dropped a regulation catch behind the wickets off Azhar Mahmood just when Aaron Finch had just opened his account. Finch cashed on the opportunity (65;42b,8x4, 2x6) and Robin Uthappa (37) was at his fluent best as Kings bowler gifted away short balls in plenty to give them a effortless start. City player Yuvraj Singh made a rollicking comeback after a brief hiatus as he scored 34 runs in just 24 balls with the help of two boundaries and three sixes. Brief Scores: Pune Warriors:185/4 in 20 overs (Aaron Finch 65, Robin Uthappa 37, Kings XI Punjab: 186/3 in 19.5 overs (Mandeep Singh 77, David Miller 80)
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New DD mentor Richards hogs limelight
New Delhi, April 21 Everyone who’s someone rushed to meet Sir Richards, shake hands with him, or chat with him, depending on the importance of the caller. When Sachin Tendulkar walked into the ground, he immediately went towards Richards, who was preparing to give a television byte. Richards left the TV anchor in the lurch to have a friendly banter with Sachin, took the maestro’s bat, and made some batting gestures with the certitude of the old. His fit-like-a-fiddle body, and rippling muscles, could give the younger lot a massive complex, though Sir Richards seemed to compliment Sachin for his fitness, particularly his perfect tummy with not an ounce of bulge. While Sir Richards was having an “audience” with Sachin, Keiron Pollard, who rushed to meet the West Indian great, had to patiently wait for his turn...such is the aura of the great West Indian master blaster. Richards has an abiding love affair with the Kotla as it was here that he blasted his maiden Test century, on his debut series, back in the Seventies.
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Nole ends Nadal’s Monte Carlo reign
Monte Carlo, April 21 The Serbian, who lost to Nadal in Monte Carlo in 2009 and last year, celebrated his 14th Masters crown and became the first player to defeat Nadal in three different finals on clay, having beaten him in Madrid and Rome in 2011. “Thanks for letting me win this tournament at least once,” Djokovic told his opponent on the court after the Prince Albert of Monaco had given him the winner’s trophy. Monaco-based
Djokovic, who made a late decision to participate in the tournament after injuring an ankle on Davis Cup duty two weeks ago, produced a superb performance to outplay Nadal on the picturesque centre court that has been the Spaniard’s stage since 2005. “I cannot be happier than I am at this moment, knowing what I’ve been through the whole week ... trying to recover and make my decision to play,” he told a news conference. “If somebody had told me 10 days ago that I’d be winning the trophy, I wouldn’t have though it was realistic.” The Serbian, who had said he would need to be at his very best to get a chance to win, played some stunning shots to delight the crowd. “The first six, seven or eight games were unbelievable. It’s the best I can play on clay,” he said. GRAND
SLAM Nadal tried to make light of a loss which could be a milestone on the way to the French Open, the only grand slam event Djokovic has not won. “It’s no tragedy. I lost after eight years without losing here. That’s the normal thing,” he said. “I think it was a positive week. I just practised here before the tournament. With not much practice, I was able to play the final.” After light rain delayed the start of the match for 45 minutes, Djokovic punished an error-prone Nadal to go 5-0 up in the first set. “Even if it’s true that he started strongly, my feeling was that 4-0 was too much,” Nadal said. “He was playing great, yes, probably better than me, but I had that feeling that I was not playing that bad,” added the Spaniard, who took a month-long break before the tournament after winning three titles following his return from seven months out with a knee injury. “I need to put in a little more physical performance. That’s the real thing, play all the points with the same intensity. The match had little in common with last year’s Monte Carlo final, when Nadal overwhelmed Djokovic 6-3 6-1 in the first big claycourt event of the season a month before he secured his seventh French Open
crown. Nadal saved five set points on his own serve and fought back to 5-2, only to hand his opponent the set with a double fault. A more aggressive Nadal put Djokovic under pressure by taking a 4-2 lead in the second set. But Djokovic dug in to level at 4-4, and after another exchange of breaks the Serbian ran away with the tiebreaker 7-1 as Nadal made the last of his 34 unforced errors.
— Reuters |
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Saina vs Sindhu a possibility at India Open
New Delhi, April 21 Pusarla Venkata Sindhu, to give her full name, is excited at the prospect of playing the world No.2 but she doesn’t want to think that far ahead. All the same, she is game for challenging
Saina. “I am not thinking of playing Saina right now. I have two stiff hurdles to cross. I play a Chinese in the first round and if I win, then the next opponent could also be a Chinese. If both of us (me and
Saina) go through to the quarters as scripted in the draw, we should have a good match. I can only say I will try to give my best and obviously play to win,” Sindhu said on Sunday after a practice session here at the Siri Fort Complex. “It all boils down to who plays better on the given day. I am taking one thing at a time and every round is tough.” The two Indians have been in different halves of the draw because of their rankings. and at last the clash between the two could not be avoided here at the Indian leg of Badminton World Federation’s
(BWF) Super Series. The 17-year-old daughter of former India volleyball star
P.V. Ramana has been making steady progress, pulling off upset victories on the way. Only three days ago, she stunned former world No.1 Shixian Wang of China at the Badminton Asia Championships in Taipei. “I played well against Shixian and could have won it with a lot more comfort. In the decider, I was leading 17-8 and suddenly I lapsed into all manner of errors to allow her to get back into the match and get to
matchpoint. Thankfully, I reeled off three to stop her and win the match. It was a highly satisfying win,” said the
Hyderabadi, who is seeded eighth at the India Open. Her record against Chinese players has been pretty impressive. Late last year, she knocked out another top Chinese, reigning Olympic gold medallist Li
Xuerui, from the China Masters Super Series to enter the semifinals. The world No. 16 has been on the verge of winning Grands Prix besides reaching the last four stage of Super Series events. Does she believe she can make the next grade this year? “I am world No. 16 now and aim to be in the top-10 by the end of the year. To achieve that, I am working hard. I am training to be fit, up my concentration levels,” she said.
— PTI |
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Indian wrestlers impress
New Delhi, April 21 India’s bet in the men’s 120kg category, Hitender, too bagged a bronze medal to end the penultimate day on a high for the hosts. Navjot, who earned a bye in the opening round, was the first to attack in the gold medal bout as she attempted single-leg takedown on her opponent. However, the Mongolian successfully resisted the challenge to deny the local favourite a point. Ochirbat, in the dying moments, collected a point through a back grip on Navjot to win the first period. The Punjabi girl started the next period warily and Ochirbat, who had beaten her in the World Cup in March, was quick to pounce on her rival to take 5-0 lead. Egged on by a vociferous crowd here at the KD Jadhav Wrestling Stadium, Navjot fought hard to make a match of it and collected two points but she lost the tie 0-1 2-5. “I was feeling nervous ahead of the bout. I wanted to win gold medal in front of my home crowd,” Navjot said after the summit clash. “The same opponent had thrashed me in the World Cup in March this year. I am happy that I made a match out of it,” she added. Seasoned Indian grappler, Geetika Jakhar, recorded a win ‘by fall’ over Thailand’s Wilaiwan Thongkam to win the bronze medal in the 63kg category. Geetika, who won her opening bout, was overwhelmed in the semifinals by China’s Zhuoma Xiluo, who went onto win the gold. India’s 72kg women wrestler, Jyoti came from behind to triumph over Elmira Syzdykova of Kazakhstan and finish on the podium. She lost the opening period 1-4 but won the next two 4-0 1-0. In the men’s 120kg freestyle competition, Hitender took just one minute to mat Kazakhstan’s Dmitry Popov in the bronze medal encounter. The Kazakh wrestler was quick to get off the block and took the first point. The Delhi lad, however, made a strong throw down to take the lead.
— PTI |
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Kebede, Jeptoo win London Marathon
London, April 21 Ethiopian Tsegaye Kebede made up for missing out on the Olympics and destroyed Kenyan hopes of retaining the men’s title by overhauling 2011 winner Emmanuel Mutai in the closing stages to win in two hours six minutes and four seconds. People turned out in force in the sunshine to support the elite athletes and some 36,000 fun-runners taking part in the London event which took place six days after the Boston Marathon bombings. A 30-second silence was held before the men’s race and mass start and many of the competitors had black ribbons pinned to their tops in honour of the three dead and over 170 injured in Boston. Women’s pre-race favourite Gelana collided with wheelchair athlete Josh Cassidy at a drinks station at 15 km and had dropped off the pace by the halfway mark of the 42.195-km race, eventually finishing 16th.
Jeptoo, second to Gelana at the London Olympics, was always up with the front runners and, after a cagey first half, the 28-year-old pulled away from compatriot and world champion Edna Kiplagat after 30km. Her arms flailing as she ran alone up the Mall to the finish, Jeptoo crossed the line in 2:20:15. Last year’s runner-up Kiplagat was second again, over a minute behind Jeptoo and Japan’s Yukiko Akaba took a surprise third place. Up until the final couple of kilometres of the men’s race, it looked as though Kenya would have cause for a double celebration but
Kebede, almost a minute down on the leaders, found a second wind and timed his attack to perfection. Mutai staggered over the line for second and Ethiopia’s Ayele Abshero took third place. Olympic champion Stephen Kiprotich from Uganda finished sixth.
— Reuters |
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Ranjit Singh Award presentation postponed again
Patiala, April 21 It is pertinent to mention that these awards, which earlier include a cash award of Rs 1 lakh, a scroll and a statue of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, were last given in 2004. Earlier, the government used to select 15 players each year for these awards but as these awards have not been given for past few years, the department, in 2011, shortlisted 79 players and announced that the awards would be presented in the month of December, but never gave away the awards. Now, the department had once again announced that the awards would be presented on April 24 and had shortlisted 67 players for their extraordinary performances from 2005 to 2010. They had even increased the cash award from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh but once again the function has been postponed as the CM and the Deputy CM were not free on the same day. Giving information in this regard, Director Sports, Punjab Sports Department, Shiv Dular Singh Dhillon said the programme has only been temporary postponed and will most likely be held in the last week of April. Meanwhile, one of the players who have been selected for Maharaja Ranjit Singh Award said he was a little disappointed due to the delay being caused in presenting these awards. “I have been waiting for these awards for many years and was happy that I was finally getting it. Now, it has been postponed again. I just hope that the wait is not very long,” he added. |
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Vettel wins Bahrain, leads by 10 pts
Manama, April 21 In a controversial race that went off without major drama, untroubled by anti-government protests and reported clashes elsewhere in the tiny Gulf kingdom, the German beat Lotus’s Kimi Raikkonen by 9.1 seconds. Protesters blocked several roads and police fired teargas at a school in Bahrain on Sunday, activists said, as the Gulf state staged a Formula One race promoted by the government as pure sport but seen by the opposition as a public relations stunt. Scores of police cars and a couple of armoured vehicles stood along the highway from the capital Manama to the race circuit, where the Grand Prix, won by Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel, took place without incident. Vettel’s win, with Bahrain’s Crown Prince Salman al-Khalifa watching, was Vettel’s second of the season and 28th of his career. “It was pretty dominant today,” said the 25-year-old, who started on the front row and was so far ahead after 25 of the 57 laps that he could pit and still come out in the lead, after swigging the winner’s rosewater on the podium. “Certainly we had more pace than we expected.” France’s Romain Grosjean finished third for Lotus, his first podium of the season, to complete the same top three as last year. — Reuters
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CSK hold edge over Royals
Chennai, April 21 Another all-rounder Dwayne Bravo and new recruits Chris Morris and Mohit Sharma have also done their bit to bolster the team but batting would be a concern for them given the struggle they endured while chasing a small total against Kolkata Knight Riders yesterday. It was Jadeja’s blitzkrieg which powered the visitors to a four-wicket win after they found themselves in a tight corner when they were reduced to 89 for six in the 17th over. Apart from Jadeja, the in-form 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. Hussey had earlier made a stellar 65 not out from 50 balls that was instrumental in handing CSK an 86-run win against Delhi Daredevils. But the poor forms of Murali Vijay and Suresh Raina are a massive concern for the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side. CSK had a surprise hero in young Mohit Sharma when the Haryana quickie, in his second IPL match, splintered through the famed Daredevils top-order including the wickets of David Warner and Virender Sehwag, returning with figures of 3/10. Sharma will have the guidance of Albie Morkel in the pace department while the duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Jadeja would look after the spin department.
— PTI Today: CSK VS RR (8 pm) live on set max |
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Title race almost over as City lose to Spurs
London, April 21 Leading 1-0 through Samir Nasri’s early goal, City looked as though they would prolong the title race for another week at least but Tottenham produced a stunning burst of three goals in seven minutes to keep alive their hopes of a top-four finish. With five games left, City are 13 points behind Manchester United, who will seal a 20th English title if they beat relegation-threatened Aston Villa at home on Monday. Clint Dempsey levelled for Spurs after 75 minutes before substitute Jermain Defoe curled a superb second four minutes later to turn the match on its head. Gareth Bale’s chip in the 82nd minute completed the comeback for the hosts, who moved level on 61 points with fourth-placed Chelsea, who face Liverpool later. Third-placed Arsenal, who have played a game more than Spurs, have 63 points. For much of the afternoon City looked comfortable against a Tottenham side whose season has hit the buffers of late, but they were guilty of sitting back after the break and were punished as Tottenham roared back to life. Both sides needed a victory for differing reasons, although Tottenham’s need was perhaps the greater as barring a calamitous United collapse the title already looked beyond Roberto Mancini’s City side, who reached the FA Cup final last week. Tottenham began brightly in the spring sunshine, with Bale, back after an ankle injury, in the thick of the action. The home crowd were silenced when City took the lead with their first foray forward, however. Carlos Tevez did well down the right to hold the ball up and, after occupying two Tottenham defenders, he slipped a clever pass for James Milner, whose low cross from the byline was prodded past Hugo Lloris by former Arsenal player Nasri. Tottenham responded with Kyle Walker, who was lucky to escape serious injury from a rash tackle by Nasri that went unpunished, wasting a chance for Spurs when he was played in by a neat pass from Dempsey.
— Reuters |
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Mo Farah nearly late after he overslept
London, april 21 As he passed the journalist, he said: “Radio 5, gotta go! Gotta run, run, run, run!” And asked whether he’d warmed up yet, he said “Not yet! I’m late! I woke up late! I’m going to miss the bus!” The Olympic 5,000m and 10,000m champion added: “It should be good weather as well, so I’m quite excited.” The build-up to Farah’s participation in this year’s London Marathon has been shrouded in controversy as he will be paid a reported £425,000 for taking part in the 2013 and 2014 events. Today he ran only half of the 26.2 mile course, but will do the full marathon in 2014. The double Olympic champion crossed Tower Bridge in the leading group, which reached 20 kilometres in 58 minutes 28 seconds, before slowing and stepping off the course. The 30-year-old was comfortably keeping pace with a strong field, which included the world record holder and all three medallists from the 2012 Olympics. Farah’s plan to run to halfway, as preparation for making his debut on the streets of the capital next year, had met with anything but universal approval in the build-up to the race. But Farah, who won the mini-marathon event three times in a row between 1998 and 2000 as a west London schoolboy, has said the race brings back plenty of happy memories. Asked how he expected to pull out of the race at the 13.1 mile mark - expected to be around Tower Bridge - he said, “I’m not sure mate”, before jogging to catch his bus. — The Independent
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Fabregas goal moves Barca closer to title
Madrid, April 21 A victory away to Athletic Bilbao next Saturday, and a Real defeat at city rivals Atletico Madrid would enable Barca to be crowned champions for a fourth time in five years. In the late game, Valencia’s push for a top-four finish was boosted with a 5-1 thrashing of Malaga at home when they scored four times in six first-half minutes. Valencia climbed to fifth with 53 points, pushing Malaga down to sixth on 50, and they are one point behind fourth-placed Real Sociedad, who visit Osasuna on Sunday. The top two fielded weakened sides with next week’s Champions League semi-finals in mind. Barca visit Bayern Munich for their first leg on Tuesday, and Real travel to Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday. Eric Abidal made his first start in over a year since having a liver transplant and playing the full 90 minutes, while World Player of the Year Lionel Messi failed to make the squad as he recovers from a hamstring strain. — Reuters
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IOA mourns Adithan’s death
Chandigarh, April 21 IOA president and Haryana legislator Abhay Singh Chautala and secretary general Lalit Bhanot in a joint condolence message said: “We are grieved, the IOA has suffered an irreparable loss. Adithan’s death has created a vacuum that can never be filled. He led by example. He was always helpful to sportspersons. He always worked for the betterment of Indian sports.” Adithan was also a life president of the National Rifle Association of India. He was associated with shooting sport for more than four decades. He was an active shotgun shooter and had also organised competitions in Chennai. Chautala said Adithan was known to help volleyball players to get training and exposure abroad. “We will set up a memorial or an award after his name to perpetuate his memory,” Chautala said. Adithan, a keen sports enthusiast, was a volleyball player. Later, he served as the president of Volleyball Federation of India. In 1996, Adithan received the Olympic Order of Merit from the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
— PTI |
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Virender Sehwag was at his vintage best as he and captain Mahela Jayawardene put on a 151-run opening wicket-stand to power Delhi Daredevils to their first win in seven matches, by nine wickets, against Mumbai Indians here tonight. Chasing MI’s total of 161, Daredevils coasted to 165 with 18 balls to spare.
Monte Carlo, April 21
Badminton buffs have been waiting for a mouthwatering marquee clash between Saina Nehwal and
P.V. Sindhu. The two Indians could possibly face off for the first time if both go through to the quarterfinals at the India Open here next
week. Pusarla Venkata Sindhu, to give her full name, is excited at the prospect of playing the world No.2 but she doesn’t want to think that far ahead.
Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel won the Bahrain Grand Prix for the second year in a row for Red Bull on Sunday to extend his overall lead to 10 points after four races.
In a controversial race that went off without major drama, untroubled by anti-government protests and reported clashes elsewhere in the tiny Gulf kingdom, the German beat Lotus’s Kimi Raikkonen by 9.1 seconds.
Protesters blocked several roads and police fired teargas at a school in Bahrain on Sunday, activists said, as the Gulf state staged a Formula One race promoted by the government as pure sport but seen by the opposition as a public relations stunt.
London, April 21
