Mumbai, May 21
Yuvraj Singh could not do much with the bat but emerged a star with the ball getting two important wickets at a crucial stage as the visitors kept their nerve to eke out a nail-biting one-run victory in the DLF Indian Premier League match at the Wankhede stadium here today.

Mumbai Indians, set a target of 190 for victory lost the plot after being 159 for three in the 16th over to be bowled out for 188 on the last ball of the innings.

With this win King's XI moved into the semifinals with 16 points from 11 matches registering eight wins and three losses, while Mumbai Indians remained on 12 points from 11 matches with six wins and five losses and now need to win two of their next three matches to make it to the semis.

Mumbai Indians needing 19 runs of the final over with three wickets in hand, began with Siddharth Tipnis hitting a VRV Singh no ball for a boundary and then from a free hit he got another four as Mumbai Indians now needed nine runs in five balls.

Tipnis was, however, run out going for a second run as Mumbai Indians slumped to 183 for eight.

Ashish Nehra, the new man, then stole a bye to give the strike to Dilhara Fernando. The fourth ball was sent to the third man boundary by Fernendo but was saved brilliantly by Srivastava.

Fernando, who was satisfied with two was urged by Nehra to go for a third run and Srivastava's throw found Nehra shot of his ground with Mumbai Indians on 186 for nine.

Vikrant Yelligati then walked in with four required off two balls and scored a couple, but on the last ball was run out at the non-striker's end while going for a quick single as Mumbai Indians lost by just one run.

Sachin Tendulkar finally showed his presence with a brilliant 46-ball 65 which contained 10 boundaries to take Mumbai Indians close to victory which was not to be.

Tendulkar, who had missed the first seven matches of the IPL due to a groin injury and failed to fire in the next three matches he played, showed his class making 65 before he was run out being sent back by Robin Uthappa at a crucial stage, which changed the whole complexion of the game as Yuvraj then got Shaun Pollock for a duck and Robin Uthappa for 10 in one over to turn the match in their favour.

The hosts were given a flying start once again by Sanath Jayasuriya as he took Irfan Pathan to the cleaners in his first over with two sixes and a four.

The Sri Lankan made a quick fire 12-ball 21 inclusive of one boundary and two sixes before he fell leg before to a full-length delivery from Sreesanth who came back strongly in his second over.

West Indian Dwayne Smith, who replaced his fellow teammate Dwayne Bravo in the Mumbai Indians team, got off to a brisk start as he cut Sreesanth for a four and then swiveled back to a short delivery from Sreesanth to send the ball over ropes for a huge six.

Mumbai Indians brought up their 50 in just 4.3 overs.

Sachin Tendulkar, who started slowly, got into the groove as he hit VRV Singh for three fours in an over as Mumbai Indians stepped on the gas.

However, there was tragedy lurking for the hosts when Dwayne Smith sent back by Sachin Tendulkar who played the ball on the off side was given run out by the third umpire Suresh Shastri when a direct throw by Yuvraj Singh broke the stumps. 

Scoreboard

Kings XI Punjab:

Marsh c Pollock b Chitnis 81

Hopes c Shah b Pollock 0

Pomersbach not out 79

Yuvraj c Smith b Chitnis 7

Jayawardene c & b Fernando 1

Pathan not out 9

Extras (lb 3, w 9): 12

Total (4 wickets; 20 overs): 189

Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-134, 3-148, 4-150

Bowling: S Pollock 3-0-14-1, A Nehra 3-0-34-0, V Yeligati 4-0-43-0, S Chitnis 4-0-40-2, C Fernando 4-0-36-1, D Smith 2-0-19-0

Mumbai Indians:

Jayasuriya lbw b Sreesanth 20

Tendulkar run out 65

Smith run out 20

Nayar c Srivastava b Chawla 27

Uthappa c Hopes b Yuvraj 9

Pollock c Chawla b Yuvraj 0

P Shah c Singh b Sreesanth 5

Chitnis run out 15

Fernando not out 2

Nehra run out 0

Yeligati run out 2

Extras (b 1, lb 12, w 9, nb 1): 23

Total (all out; 20 overs): 188

Fall of wickets: 1-36, 2-81, 3-127, 4-159, 5-159, 6-163, 7-170, 8-183, 9-186, 10-188

Bowling: S Sreesanth 4-0-35-2, I Pathan 4-0-37-0, VRV Singh 4-0-56-0, P Chawla 4-0-22-1, J Hopes 2-0-13-0, Yuvraj Singh 2-0-12-2— UNI

Chennai, May 21
Chennai Super Kings’ batsmen perished under pressure as Anil Kumble’s three-wicket haul helped Bangalore Royal Challengers register a 14-run win, their first victory after five consecutive defeats, in the Indian Premier League match here today.

Chasing a modest target of 127 to win, the home batsmen spoilt a good platform provided by openers Stephen Fleming and Parthiv Patel to manage only 112 runs for the loss of eight wickets. The defeat at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium meant that Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men, with 14 points from 12 matches, will have to wait further to book their semifinal berth.

Fleming (45 off 40 balls) and Patel (24 off 29 balls) provided a solid start to the Super Kings putting up a decent 60-run partnership for the opening wicket.

The New Zealander was more attractive of the two, hitting three crisp fours and two towering sixes in his knock. While batting sensibly, Patel also played some delightful shots to get four boundaries. Anil Kumble broke the partnership when the veteran leggie caught Patel off his own bowling.

Dhoni promoted himself up the order but did not last long as Vinay Kumar got him caught by Kumble when the Super Kings’skipper was only on four. Kumble banked on his experience to bring the Royal Challengers back into the game as he struck twice in his fourth over to get Fleming and Badrinath.

While wickets started to fall at regular intervals, Suresh Raina held one end intact and waged a lone battle playing some entertaining shots. But Raina looked on helplessly as wickets fell at the other end and the home side crashed to their fifth defeat in 12 matches.

Earlier, Morkel’s four-wicket haul helped the Super Kings restrict the Royal Challengers to a modest 126 for eight wickets. After electing to bat, the visitors’ pathetic batting again let them down and they banked on captain Rahul Dravid’s 39-ball 47 to go past the 120-run mark. 

Scoreboard

Bangalore Royal Challengers

Kallis c Fleming b Gony 5

Goswami c Patel b Gony 10

Kohli c Morkel b Muralitharan 10

Dravid c Dhoni b Morkel 47

Misbah-ul-Haq c Patel b Balaji 4

Boucher lbw Morkel 17

Akhil not out 6

Kumar b Morkel 21

Vinay b Morkel 0

Kumble not out 2

Extras: (lb-3, w-1) 4

Total: (8 wickets; 20 overs) 126

Fall of wkts: 1-7, 2-22, 3-33, 4-41, 5-76, 6-97, 7-124, 8-124

Bowling: Ntini 4-0-27-0, Gony 4-1-11-2 , Muralitharan 4-0-19-1 , Balaji 4-0-34-1, Morkel 4-0-32-4

Chennai Super Kings

Patel c & b Kumble 24

Fleming c Akhil b Kumble 45

Dhoni c Kumble b Vinay 4

Raina not out 21

Badrinath lbw Kumble 1

A Morkel c Vinay b Steyn 1

Vidyut c Kallis b Steyn 0

Gony c Steyn b Kumar 4

Balaji run out 0

Ntini not out 0

Extras: (lb-2, w-8, nb-2) 12

Total: (8 wkts; 20 overs) 112

Fall of wickets: 1-60, 2-65, 3-85, 4-87, 5-93, 6-93, 7-108, 8-110

Bowling: Steyn 4-0-28-2, Kumar 4-0-26-1, Kumble 4-0-14-3, Kallis 4-0-15-0, Vinay 3-0-23-1, Akhil 1-0-4-0

Player of the match: Kumble (Bangalore Royal Challengers)— PTI

New Delhi, May 21
Delhi Daredevils will be haunted by the memory of Shoaib Akhtar's fiery spell when they take on Kolkata Knight Riders in their penultimate league match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 Cricket Championship at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground here tomorrow night.

Shoaib Akhtar, making his PHL debut for Kinght Riders against Daredevils at the Eden Gardens on 13 May, after missing two earlier ties due to fitness problem, ripped apart the Delhi top-order, scalping skipper Virender Sehwag off the second ball of his first over for zero, and other three wickets cheaply to end up with dream figures of 3-0-11-4.

The Kolkata team rode to a 23-run victory, and they would want to play an encore when they take on Daredevils tomorrow, though the visitors seem to be out of the semi-final stake, having lost seven of their 12 matches.

Daredevils, on the other hand, are back in reckoning, after beating Royal Challengers Bangalore in their last match, to be on 12 points from as many matches.

Daredevils will have to win their remaining two home matches against Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians to keep alive their hopes of finding a place in the semi-finals as the fourth team.

Rajasthan Royals, Chennai Super Kings and Kings XI Punjab are riding high at the top three positions while Daredevils and Mumbai Indians are presently in line for the fourth slot.

Daredevils were rather unfortunate to lose their home matches against Chennai Super Kings off the last ball and to Kings XI Punjab by six runs on the Duckworth-Lewis method of calculation of the rain-spoilt tie. And in both the matches, Sehwag's costly overs proved decisive in the final calculation.

And Sehwag dared not bowl against Deccan Chargers Hyderabad which the hosts won, with spinner Amit Mishra claiming five wickets, including a hat-trick. But Sehwag had been in devastating form with the bat against Punjab and Bangalore, and Delhi once again hope to cash in on the batting might of Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Shikhar Dhawan and others to post another victory.

Gambhir, having tallied 500 plus runs, has emerged as the top-scorer of the IPL, and he hopes to maintain his batting momentum, though it would surely be tough going if Kolkata field both their fiery bowlers - Shoaib Akhtar and Ishant Sharma.

Interestingly, Sehwag and company will be battling against their own Delhi teammates Ishant Sharma and Akash Chopra, when they take on Knight Riders. Chopra has scored tons of runs at Kotla and Ishant has a bagful of wickets to his credit at the same venue. If both play, it will be to the advantage of Kinght Riders as they know the Kotla wicket like the lines on their palms.

Though Sourav Ganguly has not been able to marshal his forces on winning ways in the last seven matches, he's unlikely to throw in the towel till the battle is taken to the wire.

New Delhi, May 21
All India Tennis Federation today categorically turned down Mahesh Bhupathi’s proposal of teaming up with Rohan Bopanna instead of Leander Paes for the Beijing Olympic Games, saying there would be no change in the team.

Continuing his flip-flop on combining with Paes to represent India in the upcoming Olympics, Bhupathi wrote an e-mail to AITA, saying there was no point in playing with Paes “without communication and preparation” and he would rather like to partner Bopanna in the quadrennial event.

But AITA Secretary Anil Khanna asked Bhupathi to keep the country’s interest in mind while making it clear that only “the best” team which has already been announced would be sent to compete at the highest level.

“AITA’s position is extremely clear. We have already nominated their names as a team on February 28,” Khanna told PTI.

“Olympic is bigger than Davis Cup. Only best players compete there and in India they (Bhupathi and Paes) are the best. Bopanna is still to reach that level. So there will be no change in the team.

“Mahesh should keep the country’s interest in mind. I request Leander and Mahesh to forget the differences and come together to play for the country,” he said.

Asked why did not AITA mediate between the players when they were in incommunicado for the last one month, Khanna said “this all sounds good only in a sound byte. Eventually the players have to make their plan and work out schedule by coordinating with each other”.

Bhupathi and Paes were seen together during the Olympic torch relay in the capital last month, showing their solidarity to the Olympic spirit.

But Bhupathi said in the e-mail that he had no communication with Paes since Doha Asian Games, when the two openly hurled verbal volleys against each other. Bhupathi had also announced that he would never play with Paes in future but softened his stand and now changed his mind again.

“There has been absolutely no communication between Leander and myself since the Doha Asian Games even though I have reached out at various times through different avenues,” Bhupathi wrote.

“Four years ago, even though we were not playing together we decided to put country first, made an effort to talk, built a team and played some events on Tour in preparation.

“Despite doing all that we lost a heartbreaker for the bronze, which personally took me a long time to get over. I was willing to give it a shot again. You assured me you (AITA) would make it happen, but seeing that I’ve received absolutely no communication from either you or Leander in the last four weeks, I’m guessing it’s not on the agenda.

“We are not magicians. A medal will not happen just because we step on court,” he said.

Indian Olympic Association General Secretary Randhir Singh told PTI that Khanna spoke to him for a fortnight-long camp before the Olympics.

“Anil Khanna spoke to me about a 15-day camp before the Olympics. There is nothing to be reinvented between them. They just need some practice together before the Games,” he said. “They are the best players. They have been the world number one. I request them to play their best for the country. I firmly believe they have a great chance to win a medal in Beijing,” he added. — PTI

New Delhi, May 21
For a long time, India appeared cursed in the area of penalty corner conversion. But suddenly from stark deprivation of drag-flickers, the team enjoys an abundance of them and coach Ajay Kumar Bansal says he has no complaint about this problem of plenty.

The fact that he had three drag-flickers - Sandeep Singh, Diwakar Ram and V R Raghunath - at his disposal at the Azlan Shah tournament provided Bansal a luxury few Indian coaches afforded but at the same time he found it tough to decide whom to drop.

Bansal acknowledges that the penalty corner specialists played a key role in the young team's silver winning performance in Azlan Shah and feels the problem of plenty is good for the team's health.

"It was a good problem to have. It was good for the team, while it was a problem for me. All three are very good in their job. Sandeep is an accomplished drag-flicker while Diwakar holds immense promise. And Raghunath has been playing with the senior side for a year or two. So it was really difficult to make the call," Bansal told PTI.

But, the soft-spoken coach said he was confident of his decision and made it in the best interest of the team.

"Besides being good drag-flickers, both Sandeep and Diwakar are good full-backs. Raghunath is also decent in his position. But I could not have played all three of them and I had to make a decision. Though it was tough, I never had a doubt, I knew what to do," he said.

Fielding two drag-flickers, India gave jitters to their opponents as both Sandeep and Diwakar were ready to take the shot whenever the team earned a penalty corner and created a lot of doubts in the mind of their rivals.

Sandeep emerged as the top scorer of the tournament with nine goals, while Diwakar shot four to help India's turnaround in the tournament.

So how did Bansal handle the three short corner experts? "I told Raghunath clearly that the other two are better than him on the field. It's all about the team and he should not feel bad on being left out. And my due regards to him that he did not mind it despite being benched as No. 17 or 18," the coach said. — PTI 

Moscow, May 21
Chelsea defender Ashley Cole should be fit enough to face Manchester United in today’s Champions League final despite injuring his ankle in a training session.

A statement on Chelsea’s website (www.chelseafc.com) said: “In a challenge with Claude Makelele in front of hundreds of cameras and the world football press, Ashley Cole hurt his right ankle.”

“He was treated, it was tested, then strapped. After consultation between Avram Grant, club doctor Bryan English and physios Dave Hancock and Thierry Laurent, Cole resumed and took full part in the final training game, only disappearing down the tunnel after the players had listened to (manager) Avram (Grant)’s address and been stood-down for a final kickaround.”

Cole’s fellow England defender Wayne Bridge is available to replace him if he does not fully recover in time, but Cole is expected to be fit and play in his second Champions League final after being on the losing side with Arsenal two years ago.

United go into the game with no injury worries and start as slight favourites after pipping Grant’s men to the Premier League title earlier this month.

United’s centre back Nemanja Vidic sat out their final training session on Tuesday night at the Luzhniki Stadium but he is fit to play.

Manager Alex Ferguson says he has known for several days what his starting line-up will be and the hardest part of the build-up will be telling some of his players that not only are they not in the starting line-up but they will not be among the substitutes either. — Reuters

Jammu, May 21
The Jammu and Kashmir Football Association (JKFA) today announced a 22-member team for the forthcoming Santosh Trophy to be played at Srinagar from May 25.

The Santosh Trophy matches have been divided into eight clusters and it would be declared open at Bakshi Stadium, Srinagar on May 25 followed by an opening match between the host and Pondicherry. The matches of two clusters would be played in Jammu from May 26, official sources said.

Team: Goal-keepers: Vikramjeet Singh, Tanvir Ahmed.

Defenders: Kamaljeet Kumar, Mansoor Ahmed, Imran Rafiq, Billu Khan, Wasim Feroz, Mohit Verma, Majid Dar, Arun Malhotra and Mehraj Wadoo.

Mid-fielders: Shahnaz Iqbal (captain), Adil Qadir, Sheikh Rizwan, Rohit Kumar, Manoj Kumar, Sandeep Sharma.

Forwards: Bilal Ahmed Wani, Mohd Asif, Zubair Ahmed, Toufiq Ahmed, Ishfaq Ahmed. — UNI