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Hussey Jr steers
Riders home
Eden Gardens strip shocking, says Laxman
Uphill task for Royals
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Olympic hockey qualifier
Cold hampers preparation
We’ve perfect drivers
line-up: Force India
Volvo China Open
Tevez saves the day for Man Utd
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Kolkata, April 20 Having skittled out the Chargers for a paltry 110 on a poor pitch, the hosts were tottering 21 for three at one stage before Hussey changed the script with an innings, which was a good mix of caution and flamboyance. Hussey stitched together a 47-run fourth wicket stand with skipper Sourav Ganguly (14) to steady the ship before launching into an all-out assault to ensure his side's second consecutive win, with one over to spare. The Aussie turned the game the Knight Riders’ way with his savage attack on Scott Styris in the 18th over, as he plundered a six and a boundary to bring his side close to victory. Hussey brought up the winning runs with a straight six off Pragyan Ojha, after a 31-minute stoppage caused by a power failure. The low scoring match in a format known for brisk run-rate could be ascribed partly to the strange behaviour of the wicket, which seemed under-prepared and two-paced, making it difficult for the willowers to go for shots. The hosts innings got off on the wrong note, as Brendon McCullum (5) the destroyer-in-chief on the other day was dismissed cheaply when he lobbed an R P Singh delivery into the hands of Rohit Sharma at backward point. Then Ricky Ponting was trapped leg before by Sri Lankan veteran Chaminda Vaas without opening his account. It soon became 21 for 3 as the young Wriddhiman Saha (10) started his long trek back to the dressing room, becoming second victim of Vaas. Skipper Ganguly and David Hussey then played cautiously as they sought to steady the tottering ship by building up a partnership. Hussey began the assault in the 11th over, hoiking veteran pacer Sanjay Bangar over the extra cover ropes, before Ganguly also drove the bowler to the mid on pickets. Andrew Symonds seemed to aid the Knight Riders' cause, as he bowled waywardly in the 12th over, giving as many as five wides. Ganguly (14) went back in the 13th over, as he went for a huge shot off left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha, missed the line and saw his stumps shattered. Earlier, the Knight Riders bowlers utilized a tricky track to skittle out a strong batting line up of the Deccan Chargers for a paltry 110. The Chargers, electing to bat, never appeared comfortable as only five of their willwoers reached double figures, with the Aussie duo of Andrew Symonds (32) and Adam Gilchrist (23) being the principal contributors before a near-capcity crowd of 87,00 at the Eden Gardens. Scoreboard Deccan Chargers Gilchrist c Hafeez b Kartik 23 Rao c Kartik b Ishant 14 Laxman c Shukla b Dinda 0 Symonds c Hussey b Agarkar 32 Rohit c Saha b Kartik 0 Styris b Hafeez 6 Yadav c Dinda b Hussey 10 Bangar c Saha b Kartik 14 Vaas c Ganguly b Agarkar 0 Ojha run out 0 R P not out 1 Extras (nb-2, w-4, lb-4) 10 Total (all out, 18.4 overs) 110 FoW: 1-21, 2-22, 3-47, 4-47, 5-58, 6-62, 7-104, 8-105, 9-110. Bowling: Dinda 3-0-18-1, Ishant 3-1-9-1, Agarkar 2-0-19-2, Hafeez 4-0-8-1, Kartik 3.4-0-17-3, Hussey 3-0-35-1. Kolkata Knight Riders Saha c Styris b Vaas 10 McCullum c Sharma b Singh 5 Ponting lbw Vaas 0 Ganguly b Ojha 14 Hussey not out 38 Hafeez c Symonds b Ojha 13 Shukla not out 4 Extras (b-4, lb-8, w-15, nb-1) 28 Total (5 wkts, 19 overs) 112 FoW: 1-6, 2-16, 3-21, 4-68, 5-88. Bowling: Vaas 3-0-9-2, RP 3-0-15-1, Styris 4-0-19-0, Bangar 3-0-19-0, Symonds 2-0-20-0, Ojha 4-0-18-2. — PTI
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Eden Gardens strip shocking, says Laxman
Kolkata, April 20 "It was not a good pitch for any form of the game. It was a shocking wicket. In the Twenty20 format you expect high scores. Though the match became exciting in the end, it was tough for the batsmen to go for shots," Laxman told reporters after the match. On whether the Eden wicket's nature was changing, the stylish Hyderabad batsman said, "Definitely. I played here in the Ranji Trophy and also a Test sometime back. The wicket was slow on both occasions. I think you are not getting the wicket we expect at Eden". Laxman was also unhappy over the power snag, which he claims affected his players. "The interruption definitely affected us. The momentum was towards us. And the bowlers were in great rhythm. But having said that, I must say that the bowlers were in great rhythm when play resumed." Man of the Match David Hussey, who authored a well-timed 38 to win the game for the Kolkata Knight Riders, said that he would have preferred a fast bouncy wicket. "I like fast, bouncy wickets better thought there will be more bouncy, more pace in the wicket," he said. Asked how bad was the track, the Australian right hander replied "I thought it wasn't too bad". Referring to the back to back wins in the first two matches, Hussey said, "It is now two out of two. I think it will be three out of three". Hussey admitted the power-cut had provided his side a good break at a crucial moment of the tie. "It was a good break for us. We got to collect our thoughts, have a drink and re-adjust our game plans and that probably worked in our favour". — PTI
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Challengers down Indians by 5 wkts
Mumbai, April 20 Set a challenging target of 166 by the Mumbai Indians, Bangalore rode on an unbeaten 39 from Boucher, and his 55-run stand with Kallis to seal a five-wicket win with two balls to spare. Earlier, a late assault by Shaun Pollock helped Mumbai Indians reach a competitive 165 for six in their IPL match against Bangalore Royal Challengers at the Wankhede Stadium here today. The ace South African all-rounder cracked three sixes and two fours in his 12-ball cameo while making 28 after coming in at number seven. The hosts lost wickets regularly after stand-in captain Harbhajan Singh opted to bat first on winning the toss and their total was built mainly around opener Sanath Jayasuriya (29), top-scorer Robin Uthappa (48) and Pollock. The home team, in the absence of injured captain Sachin Tendulkar, got off to a good beginning after the early fall of Luke Ronchi in the second over with Sanath Jayasuriya showing cracking form as he hit five fours and a six in his 16-ball knock before he was run out. A brilliant pick-up and direct hit ended Jayasuriya innings, an over after he had creamed 16 runs off Jacques Kallis's first over, with a flurry of three fours and an on-driven six. Dominic Thornely, who came in at one-down at the fall of Australian compatriot Luke Ronchi (8), receiving a nasty blow on his left eyebrow by a soaring ball from Indian pace spearhead Zaheer Khan as tried to pull and missed connecting completely. He retired hurt and did not come out to bat again and was taken to hospital, where he is kept under observation. Uthappa and Pinal Shah, the Baroda wicket keeper, joined forces and helped the score past the 70 mark at the halfway stage. Uthappa, at times beaten by his Karnataka Ranji team-mate Vinay Kumar, also swung the bowler for a six over square leg. He tried to play the unorthodox scoop shot a number of times and missed quite often before connecting once off Kallis that fetched a boundary. After being dropped at deep square leg by Vinay off Praveen when on 32, he continued to look for runs. Uthappa fell, stumped by Mark Boucher, when trying the scoop once too often as the ace South African stumper stood up to Balachandra Akhil and took off the bails when the batsman failed to connect. He struck five fours and a six in his 36-ball knock and also added 28 runs in quick time with Abhishek Nayar. Scoreboard Mumbai Indians Rochi c Kohli b Zaheer 8 Jayasuriya run out 29 Thornely retd hurt 0 Uthappa st Boucher b Akhil 48 Shah c Kohli b Akhil 19 Nayar c Zaheer b Praveen 20 Pollock b Zaheer 28 Harbhajan not out 2 Extras (b-2, lb-6, w-3) 11 Total (6 wkts, 20 overs) 165 Fall of wickets: 1-9, 2-46, 3-97, 4-125, 5-152, 6-165. Bowling: Praveen 4-0-29-0, Zaheer 4-0-17-2, Kallis 3-0-43-0, Vinay 4-0-41-0, Akhil 3-0-17-2, Joshi 2-0-10-0. Bangalore Royal Challengers Chanderpaul c Nayar b Kulkarni 16 Dravid c & b Harbhajan 32 Taylor c Nayar b Jayasuriya 23 Kallis c Nayar b Harbhajan 25 Kohli c Ronchi b Nehra 23 Boucher not out 39 Akhil not out 3 Extras (w-5) 5 Total (5 wkts, 19.4 overs) 166 Fall of wickets: 1-37, 2-68, 3-76, 4-106, 5-161. Bowling: Nehra 4-0-45-1, Pollock 4-0-17-0, Kulkarni 2.4-0-19-1, Jayasuriya 4-0-39-1, Harbhajan 4-0-36-2, Nayar 1-0-10-0. — Agencies
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New Delhi, April 20 Delhi Daredevils scored a thumping win over Royals in Kotla Saturday, but Warne vowed to fight back. "This is just the start of the tournament. We will get better as the tournament progresses. We had a young team and they do not have the experience of playing in pressure situations. Give them some more matches and they will prove themselves," Warne said. Warne also said that Smith, Mascarenhas and Pakistani players would join the "The overseas players will join us next week and we will be a stronger team then. Smith is a class player and one of best openers. Mascernhas is also important for us. Pakistani players will also join the team. They will add depth to the side," he said. The ace leg-spinner said that seniors in the side like Munaf Patel and Mohammad Kaif will have to take more responsibility. "We are expecting more from Kaif and Munaf. They will have to stand up and show to the juniors in the side," he felt. He also had a take on the youngsters in his team. "The young players in the side will learn with some more matches. They have not played in such atmosphere before and give them some time to settle down. Everybody will get better in this six weeks," he said. "Ravindra Jadeja and Dinesh Salunkhi are talented youngster and they will come up in big way." Warne said that they were on the back foot right from the start of the game and could never recover from there. "We lost some wickets in the first six overs. We needed a good start but we were suddenly on the back foot. Things did not worked out for us from there on." Warne though gave a thumbs up to the electric atmosphere in Kotla. "It is amazing the kind of passion India has for cricket. We had a fantastic start to the IPL in Bangalore and the atmosphere there was great. There will be some bad games along with the good one's. We need to take that in our stride. Every match will not finish in the last over." — IANS
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Jaipur, April 20 Both teams have lost their opening matches and are desperate to open their account in the high-profile tournament. Though Punjab lads fought gamely, their efforts proved to be insufficient against Chennai Super Kings. On the other hand, Rajasthan Royals failed to put their act together and were largely done in by inept batting. They were restricted to 129 for 8 in 20 overs and their bowlers could not dent the formidable batting lineup of Delhi Daredevils, who marched to nine-wicket facile win. Warne had claimed that his team was well-balanced and had worked on a clever strategy but the burly tweaker was made to eat a humble pie last evening. It was poor batting which weighed heavily against the Rajasthan Royals and the hosts would be compelled to take on the field tomorrow with more or less same set of players. South Africans Graeme Smith and Morne Morkel and Pakistan players Younis Khan, Sohail Tanveer and Kamran Akmal will not be here for tomorrow's match. According to the owner of Jaipur Franchise, Manoj Badale, Pakistani players are expected arrive on Tuesday after their T20 match against Bangladesh. The woes of the host team also lies with form of top players. Shane Watson could not build on his start and Darren Lehmann looked a bit rusty. Punjab Kings look better with their top batting order including James Hopes, Kumar Sangakkara, Yuvraj Singh and Simon Katich, who were among runs, while the presence of veteran Brett Lee, S Sreesanth, Irfan Pathan and young Piyush Chawla gives variety to their attack. — PTI
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Include IPL in calendar: Dhoni
Chandigarh, April 20 Talking to Tribune, Dhoni said, “The money factor is so big that it will force the cricketers of other nations to take early retirements if they would not be allowed to participate in the BCCI-backed league.” Dhoni was of the view that the cricketers have right to earn money to secure their future after their retirements. “Unlike India, in many countries, the players are being paid very less. So the money being offered in the league is a big attraction for every cricketer”, said Dhoni. However, the maiden Twenty20 World Cup winning captain also maintained that the big amount would not cause the youngsters to lose their focus on the game. “I think, every player knows that what he is today, is just because of the game. It is money, which follows the game”, said Dhoni. Terming the response of the people on the inauguration of IPL at Bangalore and Mohali as encouraging, Dhoni said the real picture would unfold in the coming days. “I think it will take another one or two years for the people to associate themselves with the local teams. The matches at Mohali and Bangalore were high scoring and had a lot of boundaries and sixes. It is definitely a good sign”, said Dhoni. Terming the yesterday’s win of his Chennai Super Kings over Kings XI Punjab a big boost, Dhoni said the team got a psychological boost with the win. “Putting on over 225 runs in a Twenty20 match means, you put your rival under tremendous pressure. Yesterday, Michael Hussey was the key factor in the win with his great innings”, Dhoni said. On Bollywood connections with the IPL, Dhoni said cricket and Bollywood virtually rule the heart of the people of our country. There are old links between the two. “Both go hand in hand and there is nothing new in it”, he said. On being asked whether he was interested in films, Dhoni said, “I have been flooded with a lot of offers but I have declined all as I am not interested”.
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We will stress on cricket along with academics: Binny
Chandigarh, April 20 The school, being headed by 1983 World Cup winning team member Roger Binny, was inaugurated by national chief selector of Indian cricket team Dilip Vengsarkar this week. Talking to media, former Indian Test cricketer Binny said, “We are targeting to rope in around 50 budding cricketers in our academy initially. A total of five main pitches and four practice pitches conforming to international standards have been prepared there.” “International-level facilities, including bowling machines, PitchVision computer modeling for ball-by-ball analysis and simulation, top class gymnasium, tennis courts, swimming pool and health and medical facilities will be provided at the academy,” he revealed. Besides, a library having books on cricketing skills and biographies of legendary cricketers has also been set up. On the coaching front, the academy has roped in Rajdeep Kalsi, an NCA level III coach, V Venkatram, Jharkhand Ranji coach, Sarkar Talwar, India junior team coach, Ravindra Negi and Roger Binny to polish the skills of the trainees. Besides that renowned cricketers and other top class coaches will be engaged to visit the academy to give the trainees, their valuable tips, Binny said. Talwar, the former distinguished off-spinner of Haryana said that the facilities being provided were comparable with the best and Vengsarkar was highly impressed.
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Eves’ Beijing hopes suffer blow
Go down to Netherlands Antilles 1-2 Prabhjot Singh Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, April 20 Yesterday, India had beaten hosts Russia 3-1 to make a good start. In another Olympic qualifier tournament that was played in Baku in Azerbaijan, Spain made it to the Olympics defeating the hosts with a last minute penalty corner goal. Spain won the final 3-2. The winners of the Kazan tournament will join Spain in Beijing. The last slot in the Beijing Olympics will go to the winners of yet another qualifier tournament to be played in Victoria, Canada, in the last week of this month. Though India’s ranking (13) in world hockey is much higher than the Netherlands Antilles (20), the shock defeat today has put a question mark over its chances of making it to Beijing. The Indian men’s hockey is already out of Olympics for the first time in 80 years. The only time Indian women played in Olympics was in 1980 in Moscow where they finished fourth. Netherlands Antilles had defeated France 2-1 in their first game yesterday. After an impressive 3-1 wins over the hosts Russia yesterday, Indian girls took the field on a positive note but could not contain the onslaught of the little known Netherlands Antilles, the babes of international hockey. In the first half, the Netherlands Antilles had taken 1-0 lead through their striker Claire Visser. India’s hockey wonder kid, 13-year-old Rani Devi of Shahbad Markanda, restored parity midway in the second half. But a goal by Maria Hinskens in the 54th minute proved decisive for the winners. At one stage, two of the Netherlands Antilles players were shown yellow card but still India could not equalize. India also wasted a penalty corner, three minutes from the final whistle. Yesterday, Rani Devi, Jaspreet Kaur Handa and Pritam Siwach scored in the game against the Russians. Irina Kuzina was the only scorer for the hosts. Belgium, which went down fighting to the favourites USA in the opening game of the tournament, defeated France 5-0 for its first win.
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Kazan, April 20 With the dipping temperature and occasional rains, the players are facing a big hurdle to practice and play the matches. Besides the cold conditions and strong wind, the skies opened up today compounding the already hostile climate. The first match between Belgium and France started late due to rain. Kaushik is deeply concerned because of the unfavourable weather which, he thinks, might affect the performance of his side. "We cannot cope up with the prevailing cold weather. Sometimes our players are even unable to hold the stick properly," Kaushik said. "I first thanked the weather god yesterday for our win over Russia. There was a bit of sunshine, not much of winds, no chilly condition. I cannot expect the weather god to be favourable all the time," he said, adding "I cannot really understand why major tournaments such as Olympic Qualifiers are organised in extreme conditions." The Indian team even skipped a couple of practice sessions because of the cold conditions. "I don't think we ever played even a friendly match in such frosty weather, not to speak of a six-nation tournament," said a senior player. An official with the Indian team, who doesn't want to be quoted, expressed surprise over the distribution of Olympic qualifiers. "Why two of the three Olympic Qualifiers should be allotted to the same region. We had one in Azerbaijan and the other one here." The official contended that the Competition Committee of the FIH should have evenly spread the venues. "Even if they want to promote hockey in new regions such as this, it would be better to give them some small tournaments, not the Qualifiers." Indian Women's Hockey Federation Secretary and manager of the team, Amrit Bose said it would not be proper on her part to comment anything when the tournament is underway. "We have an appropriate forum for such things, where I will take up the issue. "I can only say the qualifier is a serious tournament and it needs serious consideration. FIH wants to promote hockey in all regions which is a good idea," she said. Bose, also a member of the FIH Competition Committee, regretted that the Executive Committee of the world body did not consider IWHF's bid for hosting one of the three qualifiers. "That would have been better considering our contribution to the women's hockey and our status as a leading Asian nation," she said. — PTI
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We’ve perfect drivers
line-up: Force India
New Delhi, April 20 All in all, Force India Chief Technical Officer Mike Gascoyne is convinced that the outfit has got a perfect drivers line-up. Gascoyne was generous in his praise for Fisichella who has been the guiding force behind the team but he tipped Sutil too to make a strong impression on the timesheets.
Add Vitantonio Liuzzi in the mix and the team has a perfect line-up, says Gascoyne. "In general, Giancarlo's contribution to the team has been very strong," Gascoyne told PTI from Silverstone, rating the veteran Italian, who finished creditable 12th both in the Malaysian and Bahrain Grand Prix. "He is obviously very experienced and can compare our car to other cars he has driven, which can confirm whether we are going in the right direction," said Gascoyne. Having been around for quite a while, Gascoyne reckons that while Fisichella is winning all the plaudits, Sutil would break into the scene anytime soon, while the presence of former Red Bull and Toro Rosso driver Liuzzi as the test driver makes it a perfect line-up for the outfit. "...the driver line up we have is the perfect driver line-up for Force India. We obviously worked with Adrian (Sutil) last year and we know his talent and it is a good opportunity for him to have Giancarlo Fisichella beside him. "With Tonio Liuzzi as a test and reserve driver, I think we have the best driver line-up we could, with experienced and young, hungry drivers to push the team onwards," he explained. No less important has been Gascoyne's own contribution to the team's rapid growth. One of the high-profile Formula One experts around - his $8 million salary made him the highest paid engineer back in 2005 - the Englishman's impressive CV includes stints with teams like McLaren, Sauber, Tyrrell, Jordan, Renault and Toyota. Besides, he brings vast knowledge of working at the highest level to Force India. Meanwhile, though there is not an iota of doubt about Sutil's potentials, the youngster is yet to come out of the shadow of his illustrious Fisichella. Hydraulic snags cooked his goose both in Melbourne and Sepang before the German lad finally brought home the car at 19th in Sakhir. Gascoyne, however, has high expectations from the youngster and he urged everyone to hold their horses. "Adrian has shown that he has the talent to be in Formula 1 and race at the highest levels, and he is making fewer and fewer mistakes as he grows in experience, which culminated in Fuji 2007 with his and the team's first point," Gascoyne said. And if he could not bring home the car in the first two races, Sutil could hardly be blamed, he argued.
— PTI |
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Volvo China Open
Beijing, April 20 Among other Indians in the fray, Gaganjeet Bhullar (298) signed off with a disastrous nine-over 81 to finish tied 44th, while SSP Chowrasia (304) brought home an identical card that had him tied 63rd. Torrential rain lashed the Beijing CBD International Golf Course and Ireland's Damien McGrane (278) claimed his maiden title after closing with a one-over 73. He was nine shots ahead of the Oliver Wilson, Simon Griffiths and Michael Lorenzo-vera trio who were all tied for second on 287. Conditions were not ideal for scoring but two bogeys were cancelled out by as many birdies and Ghei managed to stay level-par as he approached the 14th hole. He dropped a shot and then the final two holes cost him as many shots to ruin his card. Ghei finished with a four-day total of seven-over 295.
— PTI |
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Tevez saves the day for Man Utd
London, April 20 Roque Santa Cruz put Blackburn ahead in the 21st minute at Ewood Park and Rovers threatened to throw the title race wide open. After Rovers goalkeeper Brad Friedel had made a series of top quality saves, Tevez levelled in the 88th minute when he headed home a flick-on from Paul Scholes. United now has 81 points and Chelsea has 78 with the two teams meeting at Stamford Bridge next Saturday. United has a far superior goal difference of 54 against Chelsea's 36. Chelsea was idle after beating Everton 1-0 on Thursday. Blackburn unsettled United's defense and was rewarded with Santa Cruz's 20th goal of the season. Both Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic missed the ball as Morten Gamst Pedersen's throw in found its way to Santa Cruz's feet. Friedel thwarted free kicks and a header from United winger Cristiano Ronaldo, who was unlucky not to be awarded a penalty when he was clipped in the box by Johann Vogel from behind. The ball fell to Tevez, who thought he had levelled. Friedel watched in desperation as he palmed Tevez's low shot back into his goal, but the ball came to a halt on the line. United had another penalty claim dismissed when Pedersen appeared to handle in the 86th. Then, Nani released Wayne Rooney in the 86th only for Friedel to divert the shot wide. After Friedel produced another save to deny John O'Shea's header, Tevez nodded home at the far post to level after Scholes flicked on Nani's corner. Emmanuel Adebayor scored his 21st league goal of the season and Arsenal beat relegation-threatened Reading 2-0. In yesterday's other games, fourth place Liverpool won 2-0 at Fulham to push the Cottagers closer to relegation. Although manager Rafa Benitez rested several front-line players ahead of Tuesday's Champions League game against Chelsea, goals by Jermaine Pennant and Peter Crouch gave Liverpool an easy victory at Craven Cottage. Bolton climbed two places - and out of the relegation zone - by winning 1-0 at Middlesbrough after a rare goal by Gavin McCann. West Ham edged already relegated and last-place Derby 2-1, while Wigan and Tottenham drew 1-1. Arsenal midfielder Gilberto Silva had his first goal of the campaign to make it 2-0 at halftime, and the Gunners twice hit the bar and missed several more chances at Emirates Stadium. Arsenal's second victory in nine league games put the club within four points of second-place Chelsea and lifted some of the depression hanging over the club after last week's loss at Man United put the team realistically out of the title race. — AP
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David Hussey played a crucial unbeaten knock of 38 to help Kolkata Knight Riders secure a five-wicket win over Deccan Chargers in a close Indian Premier League tie, marred by a power snag, here today.
