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Stroll in park for Chennai
Rajasthan Royals have it easy
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Punjab need to focus on batting
Mumbai, Hyderabad in battle of survival
Cheerleaders likely to perform in Mumbai
Chaotic torch relay ends in Japan
India beat China, fail to qualify for final
Flawless Digvijay tied 5th; Jeev improves
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Chennai, April 26 Electing to bat in the battle of two unbeaten sides, the Knight Riders were restricted to a modest 147 for nine in their allotted 20 overs with New Zealander Jacob Oram returning figures of three for 32 for the home side. The Super Kings surpassed the target with three overs to spare. Hayden hit three fours and as many sixes in his 49-ball innings and was well supported by captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni who hit a quickfire 43 off 27 deliveries which was studded with six hits to the fence and two over it. The duo shared an unbeaten 86-run stand for the second wicket after Parthiv Patel fell to Ajit Agarkar for 21 in the ninth over of the innings. Dhoni, who promoted himself ahead of Australian Mike Hussey to number three, ended the run chase in style with a huge six off Murali Kartik as Chennai raced to 152 for one and the top of the points table. Hayden, who would soon return home to prepare for Australia's series in the West Indies, was in his elements right from the start. He cut and drove with impunity while opening partner Patel lived dangerously at the other end, repeatedly fishing outside the off-stump. Under pressure of defending a small total, most of the Kolkata bowlers were erratic and expensive. Earlier, an all-round bowling display saw Chennai Super Kings restricting Kolkata Knight Riders to a modest 147 for nine. The home side seized the initiative with a double blow and the Kolkata team never really recovered from that. Jacob Oram (3-32) was the wrecker-in-chief as the Knight Riders' big guns - Brendon McCullum, Ricky Ponting, David Hussey and skipper Sourav Ganguly - fell to indiscreet shots. Only Laxmi Ratan Shukla held the innings together with a crucial innings of 42. Oram started the slide dismissing McCullum and Ponting off successive balls. McCullum was the lone Kolkata batsman to show some aggression in his 24-run effort off 12 balls. The opening stand of 32 (15 balls) between him and Ganguly remained the brightest patch of their innings. Ganguly seemed be determined to carry his bat through while wickets fell at the other end. But he too made an exit trying to clear Joginder Sharma over the covers. His 12 off 19 balls had just one four. Kolkata's first fifty came off 30 balls but as wickets fell at regular intervals, the next 50 runs took 57 deliveries. While Muttiah Muralitharan remained the most economical bowler with 4-0-12-0, P. Amarnath claimed two wickets in four overs conceding 29 runs.— PTI Scoreboard Chennai Super Kings innings
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Bangalore, April 26 For the second successive time, the Bangalore outfit failed to rise to the occasion in front of the home crowd at the Chinnaswamy Stadium making just 135 for eight in 20 overs after being invited to bat. In reply, the team led by legendary Shane Warne chased it losing only three wickets with 17 balls to spare. Man of the match Shane Watson, who dismissed both Dravid and Chanderpaul early, stole the show with a well-compiled unbeaten 61 off only 41 balls with eight fours and two sixes. Graeme Smith made a useful 49 before departing just before victory was achieved. Earlier, a superb bowling effort, well supported by effective fielding, on a helpful wicket meant that it was Rajasthan Royals' day. Rahul Dravid falling first ball, trapped at the fine leg boundary by Ravindra Jadeja off Shane Watson, was an ominous start for the local team. His opening partner Shivnarine Chanderpaul claimed by the same combination when the West Indian top edged the bowler two overs later was a cruel blow. Though towards the end, the Bangalore outfit was helped by a breezy knock from Praveen Kumar, who was particularly harsh on the legendary Shane Warne, it was Ross Taylor (44 from 20 balls with six fours and three sixes), who provided some respect to their score. Taylor consolidated the innings with some lusty hitting before seeing the back of his partner Jacques Kallis (11). Taylor's contribution was 32 in a 43-run stand that the two put on for the third wicket. Warne, who became only the second player to bowl a maiden over in the IPL tournament after compatriot Glenn McGrath, got some rough treatment at the hands of Praveen, who made 34 off 30 balls with two fours and three sixes before getting run out. However, Praveen was at the receiving end when Rajasthan Royals batted, as he was clobbered for 26 runs in the 14th over by Shane Watson, who hit five fours and one towering six over midwicket. Watson, who joined Graeme Smith at the fall of Yusuf Pathan's wicket, took Rajasthan Royals to the brink of victory in a clinical fashion adding 104 runs for the third wicket in 76 balls. Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals are now on top of the table with three wins each although Rajasthan have played four games to Chennai's three. — PTI Scoreboard Rajasthan Royals
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Punjab need to focus on batting
Mohali, April 26 The 66-run victory that the Yuvraj Singh-led team registered should serve as a perfect boost to the chances of the team in the match against Delhi Daredevils at the PCA Stadium here tomorrow. The impressive victory against Mumbai notwithstanding, the hosts need some consideration vis-a-vis their batting. Barring a couple of good isolated knocks, their batting has failed to click as a unit. If Punjab were able to put a decent score against Mumbai yesterday, it was solely due to the class of Sangakkara who looked determined to come good after a couple of dismal outings in earlier matches. The Sri Lankan wicketkeeper-batsman played a valuable innings but lost his wicket when in sight of a well-deserved century. In fact, the hosts lost their last six wickets with the addition of just 30 runs. Punjab have to get its batting combination right if they have to mount a serious challenge to other in-form teams. Talented he may be, Karan Goel, as an opener, has not inspired much confidence with his batting. Despite getting off to starts, he has failed to prolong his stay at the wicket. Somewhat similar has been the case of Sunny Sohail. The continued exclusion of someone as experienced as Pankaj Dharmani, who has been the mainstay of Punjab batting for nearly a decade now, has been baffling. It was pathetic to see Simon Katich cooling his heels on the sidelines as the innings floundered after a good start. Besides Sangakkara, Punjab owe their victory over Mumbai to excellent bowling. Brett Lee was simply devastating, Piyush Chawla was a revelation keeping the batsmen on the tanterhooks with his guile, Irfan Pathan was miserly and S. Sreesanth did his bit claiming two wickets, including that of the dangerous Shaun Pollock. Bowlingwise, it was one of those days when bowlers did no wrong as the hosts won by a big margin. But such performances not likely to come everyday. So it becomes necessary all the more that proper attention is given to batting as T20 is primarily a batsman’s game and more games have been won by the likes of Brenden McCullum, Michael Hussey, Virender Sehwag and now Sangakkara. Delhi Daredevils will again count on Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir to come good. Fresh from the brutal innings that the Delhi Dashers played against Deccan Chargers, Sehwag will be eager to get going on the Mohali wicket, which will suit his style of batting. Gambhir has been in tremendous nick since last year when India won the Twenty20 World Cup and will be a threat here to the hosts. Apart from this deadly duo, Delhi have Dilshan Tillakaratne, Dinesh Karthik, Shoaib Malik and Shikhar Dhawan who make the Delhi batting look formidable. In Glenn McGrath and Mohammad Asif, the visitors have an opening bowling pair which can be a handful for any batting side. In Daniel Vettori, Farveez Maharoof, Rajat Bhatia, Pradeep Sangwan and Haryana leggie Amit Mishra, they have plenty of options to choose from to unsettle the rival batting line-up. An interesting contest is on the cards when the two sides take the field at 4 pm on the morrow.
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Mumbai, Hyderabad in battle of survival
Mumbai, April 26
While the hosts were already struggling to open their account after three matches in the Twenty20 extravaganza in the absence of regular captain Tendulkar, who is nursing a groin injury, Harbhajan Singh added to their agony as he allegedly slapped rival pacer S. Sreesanth immediately after their match against Kings XI Punjab in Mohali last night. Mumbai opening match at the Wankhede Stadium against Bangalore's Royal Challengers came a cropper and then they missed a victory over Chennai in the latter's backyard before being embarrassed by the Punjab King's XI at Mohali last night. In batting, the Mumbai top-order, with Sanath Jayasuriya heading it, has not fired in unison and this has resulted in the team's bottom order trying to salvage the situation, but to no avail. The bowlers too have not come up to scratch with only Shaun Pollock, to some extent, and the under-scrutiny Harbhajan looking capable of stemming the run-glut from the opposition ranks. With Deccan chargers also not able to win a point still, both the teams would be eager to put it across one another and kick-start their tepid campaign under lights at the state-of-the-art stadium in the satellite township of Navi Mumbai, just across the harbour. Hyderabad are struggling to gel as a team with retired Australian great Adam Gilchrist yet to provide value for the huge amount of money invested in him by team owners Deccan Chronicle. Captain V.V.S. Laxman has also not yet shown that the national selectors were wrong in repeatedly ignoring his claims in the shorter forms of the game. — PTI
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Engineer to conduct probe
Mohali, April 26 Confirming the development, IPL’s Chief Commissioner Lalit Modi, said match referee Farokh Engineer would conduct enquiry. Engineer said both the parties (Harbhajan and Sreesanth) would be called at New Delhi on Monday to put their side. “The complaint made by the Kings XI referred to me by Lalit Modi. I have already started the process and will be summoning all concerned, related to this case including any video evidence recorded by the host broadcaster TWI”, said Engineer at PCA stadium here today. The match referee will submit his report to Modi. However, Engineer did not disclose the deadline of submission of his report to the IPL’s authorities. He also remained tightlipped when asked what kind of action would be taken if Bhajji found guilty. “I can’t comment on this”, he said. Earlier, the Punjab team management submitted their complaint against Harbhajan Singh to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) today. It is to be noted that an outraged Harbhajan slapped his national teammate Sreesanth immediately after the culmination of match between Punjab team and Mumbai Indians team at PCA stadium yesterday. In the absence of regular skipper Sachin Tendulkar, Bhajji led the Mumbai team in the match. In their complaint, the team held that Harbhajan made an unprovoked attack on Sreesanth. “The Kings XI Punjab team and management consider this behaviour as "unacceptable" and against the spirit of the game. The Team was pleased with the win over the Mumbai Indians and is attempting to not let this matter overshadow that result in any way”, mentioned the complaint.
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Cheerleaders likely to perform in Mumbai
Mumbai, April 26 Maharashtra's politicians have revived flagging local interest in the tournament with their controversy over the cheerleaders. After the controversy where ruling Congress leaders joined hands with the Shiv Sena and the BJP to embarrass the NCP over the issue, home minister R.R. Patil has put his foot down and said there was nothing wrong with the cheerleaders. He went on to say that the cheerleaders cannot be equated with bar dancers though "obscenity will not be allowed". Sources say, the girls may be asked to cover a bit more and carry on with their number. "Who will go all the way to Navi Mumbai to watch a match?" asked collegian Altaf Quereshi, a resident of Borivali in North Mumbai. But with the cheerleader controversy erupting, Quereshi said he would be there with a gang of friends. The Maharashtra government, which is eagerly promoting Navi Mumbai as an alternative to the congested Mumbai city, is keen on shifting cricket matches from south Mumbai's Brabourne and Wankhede stadia. |
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Chaotic torch relay ends in Japan
Nagano, April 26 Pro-Chinese supporters and protesters kicked and punched one another during the relay, in incidents that injured at least four Chinese. A demonstrator, whose nationality was unclear, kicked at the pro-Chinese crowd and Chinese supporters charged with flagpoles until Japanese police broke up the clash near the main train station here, an AFP photographer said. One young man, who appeared to be Chinese, was seen on the ground with bloody cuts on his forehead as supporters wrapped a Chinese flag around him. It was one of the most serious of a string of incidents throughout Japan’s leg of the worldwide relay in the central mountain town.
— AFP |
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Olympic Qualifier
Kazan (Russia), April 26 India toyed with their opponents throughout the match with action mostly confined in the France half and Mamta Kharab's girls, who led 3-0 at the breather, got half a dozen penalty corners of which they converted two. Young Rani Devi (4th, 54th, 70th) found the target three times while Surinder Kaur scored twice (6th, 45th). Rajwinder Kaur (17th) and Jasjeet Kaur Handa (66th) were the other goal getters. With today's win, India are fourth in the six-team tournament with six points from two wins while France end their campaign without a win. India play for third place tomorrow. — PTI
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India beat China, fail to qualify for final
Perth, April 26 In the second match of the day, Australia beat Korea 3-2 but the two sides will take on each other again in the final slated for tomorrow. For India, who led 1-0 in the first half, Tushar Khandekar (15th), S.V. Sunil (51st) and Gurwinder Singh Chandi (66th) were the goal scorers while Hu Liang (50th) scored for the losers. In a faced-paced game, China looked to move the ball as fast as possible to create some fast break opportunities but it was Khandekar who drew first blood for India to put them in lead in the first half. China created a number of opportunities for themselves but it was only in the 50th minute when Hu converted a penalty corner to score the equaliser. But China's hopes were short-lived when after a minute, India regained the lead through Sunil who penetrated the Chinese defence to score the second goal for his team. India then launched an all-out attacking game and scored once more in the 66th minute to seal the match in their favour. India will take on China again for the third place tomorrow. — UNI
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Flawless Digvijay tied 5th; Jeev improves
Shanghai, April 26 Digvijay, tied 29th overnight, now has a total of three-under 213 - six strokes off the pace of leader Ireland's Darren Clarke (67). In his best round of the tournament so far, Digvijay struck back-to-back birdies on the seventh and eighth to make the turn two-under. He picked up three more shots - on 10th, 13th and 17th holes - in the back nine to round off a brilliant performance. Jeev, on the other hand, lies a shot below Digvijay at tied ninth. The seasoned campaigner struck a birdie-brace on the first two holes and parred the rest to bounce back after a horrendous 76 in the second round. S.S.P. Chowrasia (72) is the next best-placed Indian on the leaderboard at the tied 32nd spot with a total of one-over 217. Shiv Kapur, meanwhile, had another disastrous outing, turning in a two-over 74 to slide to the tied 52nd position with a total of four-over 220. Atwal makes cut
Richmond: Arjun Atwal survived a late slump to turn in a two-under 70 in the second round and make the cut for weekend action in the $500,000 Henrico County Open on the Nationwide Tour here. The Orlando-based pro was tied for the 57th spot with a total of two-under 142. Playing his back-nine first, Atwal could not have hoped for a better start as he birdied the 10th before picking up another stroke on the 12th. He parred the next four holes before completing his first nine with back-to-back birdies on the 17th and 18th to make the turn four-under. However, Atwal lost his way in the front nine as he bogeyed the third, seventh and ninth but a birdie sandwiched in between helped him stay within the cut-line. Chopra disappoints
Dallas: Daniel Chopra's woeful run of form continued as he carded a second successive four-over 74 to miss the cut in the $6.4 million Byron Nelson Championship here. The Indian-born Swede, who was tied for the 104th spot overnight, signed off with a total of eight-over 148, five strokes below the cut-line. Chopra dropped the first of his four bogeys on the par-four third hole. The birdie on fourth brought him back on par but dropped strokes on the sixth and ninth saw him make the turn two-over. The Swede's back-nine was off to a fine start as he picked up a birdie on the 10th but it all went downhill from there as he first bogeyed the 15th before a double-bogey on the 17th completed his forgettable outing.
— PTI |
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Chennai, April 26
Mohali, April 26
Olympic
Qualifier
