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Warne pulls off a Royal win
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Kings, Indians keen to open their account
Super Kings win a thriller
IPL is serious cricket: Lillee
Fans protest after tickets ‘sold out’
Eves’ Olympic dreams dashed
Jeev tied second
Orange cap for
leading run-getter
Pak fans lapping up IPL: Malik
Steps to address dew problem
Sachin turns 35
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Warne pulls off a Royal win Earlier, an unbeaten 117 by Andrew Symonds enabled hosts Deccan Chargers to set an impressive 215 target for Rajasthan Royals at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here tonight. Andrew Symonds was in a punishing mood. His unconquered knock that included 11 boundaries and seven sixes, helped the hosts steady their innings after a bad start. Symonds got his 50 off 29 balls with two sixes and six fours. The hosts got 100 runs in 11.2 overs off 70 balls. Andrew Symonds, who failed in earlier two league ties, stormed back into the IPL tourney in style scoring the fastest century hammering sixes and fours at will to help his team put an imposing 214. He got a life when Yusuf Pathan dropped him on 76 off the bowling of Siddarth Trivedi. He got his 50 off 29 balls. Symonds added for the fourth wicket 111 runs along with Rohit Sharma, who was the only batsman to excel against Delhi Daredevils scoring a magnificent 66 in the earlier league match. Between the tenth and 15th overs, Symonds and Sharma punished the bowlers hitting at will five sixes and two fours. Warne got the much-needed breakthrough when Salukhe caught the latter. Desperate to score a win, Deccan Chargers stumbled in beginning when they lost Adam Gilchrist (13) and Shahid Afridi (10) in quick succession. The hosts were in dire straits when V.V.S. Laxman (16) was caught and bowled by Rajasthan Royals skipper Shane Warne, after he added 43 runs along with Andrew Symonds for the third wicket. Gilchrist gave a roaring start for the Deccan Chargers scoring three boundaries and the hosts had 22 runs in just two overs. Realising that things were going wrong, captain Shane Warne introduced Yusuf Pathan, who got the much-needed breakthrough for the visitors, deceiving Gilchrist with a flighted delivery. Gilchrist went forward misreading the length to be stumped by wicket keeper Kamran Akmal. A determined Shahid Afridi trying to drive a flighted delivery got an outside edge for a boundary over gully and then swept the ball over fine leg for a huge six, before Jadeja caught him when he lofted
Pathan. Earlier, Rajasthan Royals won the toss and elected to bowl first.
— UNI Scoreboard Deccan Chargers Gilchrist st Akmal b Pathan 13 Laxman c & b Warne 16 Afridi c Jadeja b Pathan 10 Symonds not out 117 Sharma c Salunkhe b Warne 36 Yadav c Akmal b Watson 16 Extras (w-5, nb -1) 6 Total (5 wkts; 20 overs) 214 Fall of wickets: 1-22, 2-32, 3-75, 4-186, 5-214. Bowling: Patel 4-0-55-0, Watson 4-0-32-1, Pathan 2-0-20-2, Pankaj Singh 2-0-14-0, Trivedi 3-0-37-0, Warne 4-0-47-2, Salunkhe 1-0-9-0. Rajasthan Royals Akmal c Bangar b Vaas 12 Smith c Kalyankrishna b Afridi 71 Pathan c Symonds b Kalyankrishna 61 Watson b Shahid Afridi 4 Kaif c Symonds b Afridi 34 Jadeja b Singh 1 Warne not out 22 Salunkhe run out 1 Pankaj not out 4 Extras (lb 4, w 2, nb 1) 7 Total (7 wkts; 19.5 overs) 217 Fall of wickets: 1-14, 2-112, 3-126, 4-186, 5-187, 6-195, 7-196. Bowling: Vaas 4-0-42-1, RP Singh, 4-0-44-1, Ojha 2-0-23-0, Kalyankrishna 3-0-30-1, Afridi 4-0 28-3, Symonds 2.5-0-46-0.
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Kings, Indians keen to open their account
Mohali, April 24 Sailing in the same boat are Mumbai Indians. With the players of the calibre of Sachin Tendulkar, Sanath Jayasuriya, Shaun Pollock, Dwayne Bravo, Luke Ronchi, Robin Uthappa and Dominic Thornely at its disposal, Indians face the same predicament, having slumped to two defeats in as many outings. When the two teams come face to face tomorrow at the PCA Stadium in the evening game, victory will be uppermost in minds of the players of both the teams. With victory being the sole objective, Yuvraj Singh and Co have been slugging it out at the PCA Stadium since yesterday, aware that another defeat tomorrow could be demoralising for the team. The Punjab team has failed to fire collectively. Barring individual exuberance in batting here and there, the players have failed to click as a unit. In the first match against Chennai Super Kings at Mohali, James Hopes played a cracker of an innings (33-ball 71), while Sangakkara was a bit circumspect with a 33-ball 54. The rest of the batsmen failed to make their presence felt as the team could only reach 207 in pursuit of a tough victory target of 241. In the second match against Rajasthan Royals at Jaipur, Yuvraj played hit a brisk 34-ball 57. There was no other notable contributors, barring cameos from Karan Goel and Piyush Chawla, as the team put 166 on the board. This was never going to be challenging and Australian all-rounder Shane Watson played a scorcher (49-ball 76) as Punjab crashed to a six wicket defeat. Punjab bowlers have not really looked penetrative. Brett Lee has been on the target, but without much success. Sreesanth and Pathan failed to make much impression in the first game, but were a shade better in Jaipur. An extended session in the nets by seamer V R V Singh is an indication that the Chandigarh lad may get his first game tomorrow. But who faces the axe will be known tomorrow as Tom Moody said here that team composition will be decided before the start of the game keeping in view the prevailing conditions. Piyush Chawla, who has bowled just three overs in two games without much sucess, could make way for V R V Singh or Ramesh Powar. In the absence of Sachin Tendulkar, Mumbai have been found struggling. Though in their second match yesterday they made a valiant efforts in an attempt to upstage Chennai Super Kings, they fell short by 6 runs. They will be seeking to put up a vastly improved performance in this match. It is Robin Uthappa, who has been the most successful batsman from the side, though not in control in either match. Ronchi and Thornely, having the reputation of being explosive batsmen, are yet to click. Sanath Jayasuriya has failed to capitalise on the starts that he got in both the matches, while all-rounder Pollock looked good during his brief stay at wicket on both the occasions. Mumbai will take heart from the authoritative batting of Abhishek Nayyar, who looked good against Bangalore Royal Challengers and played a gem of an innings yesterday against Chennai Super Kings. It was his 20-ball 45 along with some lusty hitting from skipper Harbhajan Singh which raised hopes of an unlikely win, which at one point of time looked virtually out of question. Speculation about the participation of skipper Tendulkar in the crucial contest persists. His absence will be the last thing Mumbai will be expecting. Either way, a needle contest is on the cards when the two teams take the field tomorrow evening.
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We will go all out: Yuvraj
Mohali, April 24 The swashbuckling batsman, whose form with the bat will be crucial if Punjab have to make a match of it, agreed that their rivals had some dangerous players in their ranks, but said that he was fancying the chances of his players to come good in the crucial game. “I hope he does not play,” he replied in jest when asked about the speculation that continued till late in the evening about whether maestro Sachin Tendulkar will overcome his groin injury to play against Punjab. Mumbai had players like Jayasuriya, who could be very dangerous on his day. Pollock, Harbhajan and others make Mumbai a tough opposition, he said adding “but we go all out, as our rivals would surely do, and try to win the game.” Yuvraj refused to agree to the viewpoint that the dismal performance of the team in the first two games had dampened spectators’ interest, replying that the enthusiasts will surely appreciate a good performance whether it was from his team or from any rival team players. The southpaw, however, conceded that captaincy was not an easy job. With two defeats on the trot in first two games, he observed: “Nothing comes easy in cricket. I may have a mistake or two as a skipper, but I am positive for the match tomorrow.” “Moreover, I have the experienced players like Mahela Jayawardene and Sangakkara in the team to fall back on. So that is not something to worry.” About the lack of exposure to a couple of foreign players so far, the India one-day vice- captain said he was it was tough to feel that such players are out of the playing eleven. But they will get their chance. Tom Moody, Kings XI Punjab coach, refused to divulge the playing eleven tomorrow saying that it would be done before the start of the game. Quizzed what his views were about so many youngsters in the Punjab squad, he said he was focusing on about 16 players at the moment. But the chance they got by virtue of being in the IPL that provided them an opportunity to share the field with the established stars like Lee, Yuvraj, Sangakkara or Jayasuriya was a huge advantage to them. If they continue to work hard, they are bound to become better cricketers. |
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Chennai, April 24 Earlier, Looking for their second win on the trot, Chennai Super Kings, put into bat by Mumbai Indians, scored 208 losing five wickets in the stipulated 20 overs led by a brilliant 81 by opener Mathew Hayden and a fine 53 by Suresh Rain and their 104 run stand in the DLF Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the M A Chidambaram stadium here yesterday. The Super Kings, who had outplayed Punjab in their first outing went into bat to a bright start opening with left handers Parthiv Patel and Mathew Hayden. With both the former India stumper and the hard hitting Aussie opener taking on the Mumbai pace spearheads former Proteas all-rounder Shaun Pollock and the dropped India medium pacer left hander Ashish Nehra. Striking hard blows Parthiv and Hayden put on 34 in 3.4 overs.But the Mumbai Indians, looking to compensate their loss against Royal Challengers, Bangalore on home turf, struck two early blows. Nehra forced Parthiv Patel to nick to wicket keeper Loots Bosman off the first ball of the fourth over. Patel fell for 14 off 11 balls with the help of three fours. Hayden in the meanwhile struck 15 runs including a six and two fours off Pollock as a near full house at the historic Chepauk ground cheered wildly, enjoying every hit by the two batsmen. — Agencies Scoreboard Chennai Super Kings Patel c Ronchi b Nehra 14 Hayden run out 81 Hussey b Kulkarni 5 Raina c Bravo b Khote 53 Dhoni c Bravo b Khote 30 Oram not out 5 Badrinath not out 2 Extras (b-4, lb-3, w-9, nb-2) 18 Total (5 wkts, 20 overs) 208 Fall of wickets: 1-34, 2-39, 3-143, 4-194, 5-206. Bowling: Pollock 3-0-32-0, Nehra 4-0-35-1, Kulkarni 3-0-25-1, Harbhajan 2-0-14-0, Bravo 3-0-36-0, Yeligati 1-0-16-0, Nayar 1-0-14-0, Khote 3-0-29-2. Mumbai Indians Ronchi run out 2 Jayasuriya c Joginder b Gony 20 Uthappa b Joginder 43 Pollock b Amarnath 17 Bravo c Oram b Joginder 24 Nayar not out 45 Khote c Raina b Muralitharan 9 Harbhajan c Badrinath b Muralitharan 28 Nehra not out 1 Extras (lb-5, w-6, nb-2) 13 Total (7 wkts, 20 overs) 202 Fall of wickets: 1-9, 2-30, 3-81, 4-97, 5-130, 6-141, 7-189. Bowling: Oram 4-0-53-0, Gony 4-1-18-1, Joginder 4-0-29-2, Amarnath 4-0-57-1, Muralitharan 4-0-40-2.
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IPL is serious cricket: Lillee
New Delhi, April 24 The legendary Australian pacer, now bowling coach of the Delhi Daredevils, says the intensity level is as high as it can get and it's a no-holds-barred battle between the teams who loath to concede an inch without a fight. "IPL is not about showmanship. This is serious stuff. Here you have players playing for the pride of their teams and they really want to win," Lillee said here today. He, however, did not find anything wrong with a pinch of showmanship mixing with cricket and said, "If showmanship comes along, it's fine, but definitely cricket is more important here." The man who tormented batsmen all over the cricketing globe in his heydays before inspiring a whole generation of fast bowlers with his iconic "The Art of Fast Bowling" admitted Twenty20 poses a new challenge to the bowlers but was confident that they would survive the litmus test. "The format is such that even the best attack can be taken to cleaners and a great delivery can disappear to the boundary. It is tilted towards the batsmen, because people want to see more sixes and fours. I think the bowlers need to play with a different mindset. They have to learn how to send down those four overs and still come out unscathed." Lillee, however, felt that IPL has provided a golden opportunity for the upcoming bowlers to pick the brains of the star bowlers, especially when they share the same dressing room. "For a youngster, the best things is to sit and listen to the seniors. They can learn how to prepare for a match, how they change line and length when needed... "I was telling Yomahesh that he needed to relax and not to worry even if he is hit for a boundary. Glenn (McGrath) then came forward and told me 'Don't worry Dennis. I'll be at mid-on or mid-off and I'll make sure he is fine.' That's what IPL can do," Lillee said. — PTI
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‘I am enjoying interaction with youngsters’
Kolkata, April 24 "I made it a point to mingle with all the youngsters here and pass on my knowledge of the game to them," Ponting said after offering batting tips to Bengal all-rounder and Knight Riders team-mate Laxmi Ratan Shukla here. Shukla and Ponting were seen having a long chat at the Eden Gardens today during a practice session. "I enjoyed sharing my experience with them," Ponting said. Ponting and dashing Kiwi wicketkeeper-batsman Brendon McCullum are set to return home for national duty after Knight Riders' fourth IPL match against Mumbai Indians on April 29. "Can't help it. Myself and McCullum have to go. But it's good for the team that David Hussey will be here." Ponting hoped that the Kolkata Knight Riders would be able to get good replacements. "They're trying to get two replacements. I'm sure it will work out well," he said. Ponting, who is going through a lean patch with the willow, had a prolonged net session under the supervision of coach John Buchanan. Later, the duo also had a lengthy discussion. "John's tips always help. I need to get back among the runs and it's good to get back to working with your old coach," he said. Ponting pointed out that he had been the victim of a bad decision during his side's second match against Deccan Chargers here. "But in cricket one has to accept such things and carry on," he said. Ponting felt though he might not have scored too many runs in the first match on April 18 against Bangalore Royal Challengers, he played an important role by giving McCullum company in the middle. McCullum and Ponting had shared a 51-run stand. Meanwhile, Buchanan said a clear leader in the tournament would emerge after the next three or more matches. — PTI
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Fans protest after tickets ‘sold out’
Kolkata, April 24 Angered at the authorities closing down ticket counters after opening just 15 minutes for selling tickets of two lower denominations - Rs 110 and Rs 220 - the fans vented their ire on Cricket Association of Bengal president Prasun Mukherjee. The police chased the crowd with batons and two fans were injured in the mad scramble that followed. "How can so many tickets be sold in such a short time? It seems tickets are being sold unscrupulously through the back door. Black marketeers are grabbing most of the tickets," said a cricket fan, who was keenly awaiting the battle royale between Sachin Tendulkar-led Mumbai Indians and Sourav Ganguly-led Kolkata Knight riders. — PTI
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Kazan, April 24 This was India's third successive defeat and they now have only three points from four matches and will play France in their last league assignment. For the US, who led 1-0 at half time, the goal scorers were Tiffany Snow (29th), Kelly Doton (38th), Angie Loy (45th), Carrie Lingo (48th). In a one-sided affair, the 11th ranked US dominated the proceedings throughout and Indians were lucky to have escaped with a ''lighter'' punishment. This was US' fourth win in a row and they are now a very strong contender to win the title. Already under pressure to perform, India's chances of making a comeback in the second half were dashed as the US scored three times in 10 minutes. In the 29th minute, Kelly Doton smartly pushed across a pass in to the goal to make it 2-0 in the US' favour and six minutes later Loy increased the margin as she tipped the ball in to the target. Lingo further increased the margin by another goal in the 48th minute and the Indians had no answer to their rivals' assault. — UNI
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Tarlochan Bawa dead
Chandigarh, April 24 According to his son Sukhwinder Bawa, a Sports Authority of India (SAI) cricket coach, Bawa was suffering from diabetes and had gone to Ambala to take some rest. “It happened all of sudden. He went for morning walk, had his breakfast and read the newspapers. Around 2 pm, he died all of sudden,” Sukhwinder said. Bawa, who was known as ‘China Wall’ among his peers, represented the country in the 1948 London Olympics where the team won the gold medal. The veteran player, who played at right full back position, represented Brothers Club, one of the most famous clubs of Lahore, before Partition. In 1947, he played for Punjab for the first time. After Partition, he represented Faridkot state hockey team along with renowned Olympian Uddham Singh in the national championship from where he was selected for London Olympics. He hogged the limelight by scoring a goal each in the semifinal match against Holland and in the final against England. After that he remained an integral part of Punjab team till 1955 before injuring his right knee, which ended his illustrious career. Tarlochan also served in the Punjab Armed Police before shifting to Haryana Police. He retired as Superintendent of Police. Terming his death a great loss for hockey, his former teammate and Secretary General of Chandigarh Hockey Association Y. P. Vohra said, “His death has caused a void which would be difficult to fill. Tarlochan was one of the safest full back players and a superb penalty corner specialist .” Expressing deep shock over the death of his old teammate and close friend, three-time Olympian Balbir Singh said, “I am unable to cope up with this sudden loss. It is a big loss for the country as well as our national game. We played together in many national and international tournaments, including the 1948 Olympics. Tarlochan was one of most disciplined and dedicated players .” The cremation of the veteran player, who is survived by his wife, one son and two daughters, will take place at Topkhana Bazar, Ambala Cantt , at 10 am tomorrow.
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Jeev tied second
Shanghai, April 24 The 2006 Asian Tour number one needed only 23 putts at Tomson Shanghai Pudong Golf Club to share the early honours with Henrik Stenson of Sweden, England’s Oliver Wilson and Mikko Ilonen of Finland before Aussie Peter O’Malley blasted 67 to grab the sole lead. Among Jeev’s conmpatriots, Delhi lad Shiv Kapur carded 71 to be tied 14th, while Indian Masters winner SSP Chowrasia’s level-par round of 72 had him at tied 35th. Fellow Kolkata pro Rahil Gangjee was tied 51st after returning 73, one shot ahead of Gaurav Ghei and Digvijay Singh. However, India’s top ranked golfer Jyoti Randhawa’s campaign got off to a disastrous start and his opening round of three-over 75 had him tied 98th, while Amandeep Johl was way down the leaderboard after stuttering to 78 in the USD 2.3 million event sanctioned by the Asian Tour, European Tour and China Golf Association. Fresh from his 25th place finish in the Masters, Jeev struggled to find the mark with his ball striking after taking last week off but made up with an outstanding putting display. “I didn’t hit the ball good today but my putting was excellent. Last week was an off week and I didn’t practise much and it showed up today. However, I would prefer good putting to ball striking on any day. It’s a good feeling when you can get the ball into the hole,” he said. A 10th tee starter, a birdie treble marked Jeev’s flawless back nine, while he picked up two more shots, against the lone bogey on the sixth hole, for a satisfying round. Jeev has posted two runner-up outings in Indonesia and Korea this season and believes he has a chance of securing Asia’s first victory in the BMW Asian Open. “I love this golf course. You’ve got to have strong management and I did that today. You have to drive it well here and I have been driving it well. That’s why I was comfortable and it suits me,” he said. — PTI |
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Orange cap for
leading run-getter
Mumbai, April 24 The holder of the Orange Cap at the end of the Twenty20 extravaganza will be honoured with the Winner of Orange Cap 2008 on the day of grand finale in Mumbai on June 1, the IPL said in a release here. The leader of the multi-stage gruelling cycle race Tour de France wears the yellow jacket at the start of each new stage to help identify the overall leader easily. New Zealander Brendon McCullum, playing for the Kolkata Knight Riders team, is currently holder of the Orange Cap as the highest cumulative run scorer in the Twenty20 League following his world record 158 not out scored against the Bangalore Royal Challengers at the inaugural game on April 18. The Kiwi stumper is closely followed by Australian Michael Hussey, of the Chennai Super Kings, while the latter's compatriot Mathew Hayden, also playing for Chennai, and Delhi Daredevils captain Virender Sehwag are tied at number three. Swashbuckling
Indian Test opener Sehwag catapulted to third position by smashing 94
not out against Hyderabad's Deccan Chargers, while Hayden scored a
blistering 81 off 46 balls against the Mumbai Indians. — PTI |
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Pak fans lapping up IPL: Malik
New Delhi, April 24 Popular Hindi movies have traditionally, and often stealthily, managed their ways to the other side of the Line of Control. But of late, the Pakistanis have discovered a new source of wholesome entertainment in the form of the ongoing IPL, said Malik. "People there have lapped it up like movies. It's like enjoying a cinema with popcorn. The three-hour duration (of the matches) also helped to create the craze," Malik, part of the IPL Delhi Daredevils squad, said here today. Along with the rest of the people in Pakistan, Malik and his teammates were also hooked on to IPL matches even when they were playing against Bangladesh in the just-concluded ODI series. "Even when we were playing Bangladesh, we saw the IPL matches in the dressing room," he said. Malik had no qualms admitting that the IPL's standard was higher than that of Pakistan's recent series against Bangladesh. "The competition is definitely tougher (in IPL). So many international players are involved and each team can have only four foreigners, so the competition is naturally intense." Malik rates his team among the top three strongest sides of the IPL.
— PTI |
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Steps to address dew problem
Mohali, April 24 The steps follow as the excessive dew played a major role and resulted in the match between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians in Chennai yesterday extending it well beyond half an hour. Announcing the measures, M P Pandove, Co-Chairman, Cricket Committee, IPL, said today these will be applicable whenever the staging association felt there was excessive dew and the chances of match extending past the normal time were there. “We were surprised to find so much dew at Chennai at this time of the year. Hence, we felt that the steps were needed to address the problem,” Pandove said.. Experience with spray during the Champions Trophy matches 2006 at Jaipur and Mohali yielded excellent results. The spray creates a coating on the grass leaf and the dew slips over it into the ground leaving the grass dry on top, he explained. |
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Sachin turns 35
Chennai, April 24 As Tendulkar cut the rectangular-shaped cake which had the logo of Mumbai Indians, he was joined by two other Mumbai Indians players, Luke Ronchi and Vikrant Yeligati, who had a delayed celebration after their birthday clashed with the team's match against Chennai Super Kings yesterday. New Zealander Ronchi turned 27, while Yeligati celebrated his 23rd birthday.
— PTI |
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