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Sachin ‘enjoying captaincy’
Clark’s triple strike jolts Windies
Big 2 start mindgames
Santosh Trophy from today
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Rajasthan Royals roll on
Chennai, May 24 After Graeme Smith (91) and Kamran Akmal (53) had led the Royals to a huge total of 211 for five, the Super Kings replied by the taking the visiting bowlers by the scruff of their neck with one down Suresh Raina (45; 24 balls; 6X4; 2X6) doing most of the scoring. Super Kings were cruising at 157 for three at the end of 15 overs but failed to get 55 from the last five overs with seven wickets in hand to make their semifinal hopes uncertain. With 14 points from 13 matches, the M S Dhoni side will have to win their last match against Deccan Chargers on May 27 in Hyderabad to make the grade. The home team's run chase began shakily with opener Stephen Fleming out cheaply for seven in the second over but his partner Parthiv and Raina kept on taking risks to get the big runs. The duo shared a quickfire stand of 70 runs off 41 balls for the second wicket to keep them in the hunt before Morkel woke up from the initial slumber to join the party. Raina plundered 15 runs out of 19 in the third over off Munaf Patel and then sent Sohail Tanvir scurrying for cover by taking 14 runs in the fifth over. With Raina going after the bowlers, Parthiv played second fiddle to great effect and rotated strikes to give more strike to his partner before Shane Warne broke the ice in his second over and ninth of the home team innings. Warne kept Raina to play forward and the young batsman misread the turn and lobbed to deep mid wicket where Mohd Kaif made no mistake in taking a clean catch. Parthiv survived for another six overs and accumulated runs to share a 73-run stand for the third wicket along with Morkel who opened up later in his innings, belting Yusuf Pathan for 15 runs in his third over. With the team at 157 for 3 at the end of 15 overs and still requiring 55 runs of last five overs, the hosts were in for a chance to tame the Royals.
— PTI Scoreboard Rajasthan Royals: Smith c Dhoni b Raina 91 Asnodkar run out 41 Akmal not out 53 Pathan c Muralitharan b Morkel 6Kaif c Mukund b Morkel 10Kohli run out 3 Extras (lb 5, w 1, nb 1): 7 Total (5 wickets; 20 overs): 211 Fall of wickets: 1-127, 2-150, 3-178, 4-199 , 5-211 Bowling: M Ntini 4-0-43-0, M Gony 3-0-32-0, J Morkel 4-0-35-2, M Muralitharan 4-0-31-0, L Balaji 3-0-45-0, S Raina 2-0-20-1 Chennai Super Kings: Patel st Akmal b Warne 54 Fleming run out 7 Raina c Kaif b Warne 45 Morkel c sub b Tanvir 71 Dhoni c Kaif b Tanvir 12 Badrinath c Kohli b Patel 1 Gony not out 2 Mukund b Tanvir 0 Extras (b 1, lb 2, w 3, nb 3): 9 Total (7 wickets; 20 overs): 201 Fall of wickets: 1-14, 2-84, 3-157, 4-182, 5-188, 6-201, 7-201 Bowling: Sohail Tanvir 4-0-33-3, Y Pathan 3-0-31-0, M Patel 4-0-55-1, Pankaj Singh 4-0-30-0, S Warne 4-0-35-2, D Salunkhe 1-0-14-0
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Karthik, Mahesh keep Delhi afloat New Delhi, May 24 Chasing a target of 177 for victory, Daredevils posted 179 for five in front of a packed stadium to keep alive their hopes of a semi-final berth. Delhi captain Virender Sehwag won the toss and opted to chase, and Mumbai Indians, riding on the strength of an explosive knock by Sanath Jayasuriya (66, 42b, 6x4, 5x6), scored 176 in 20 overs, which did not look a formidable target. But Delhi lost the top-order cheaply before the middle order came good for them to notch up a much-needed victory. Daredevils have logged 15 points from 14 matches and with Chennai Super Kings losing to Rajasthan Royals today, the Delhi team can nurse hopes of clinching a last four place provided Mumbai Indians and Chennai lose their remaining league engagements. In an edge-of-the-seat contest, Daredevils needed eight runs from the last over, bowled by Delhi's own Ashish Nehra. Nehra conceded a single each off the first two balls, then sent down a dot ball, but Sri Lankan Parveez Maharoof settled the argument by despatching Nehra to the long off boundary off the fourth ball and clobbered the penultimate ball to the mid-wicket fence to seal a thrilling victory for Delhi. Nehra, whose first three-over spell had cost only 20 runs with the priceless wicket of Virender Sehwag to boot, ended up with figures of 3.5-0-30-1. Delhi were in a spot of trouble when Shikhar Dhawan and Tillekaratne Dilshan fell to successive balls off Dwayane Smith in the 11th over, with the score at 89 for 4. An enterprising partnership bewteen Manoj Tiwari (36, 29b, 5x4) and Dinesh Karthik took Delhi to a safe distance. But it was the merciless assault by Karthik and Maharoof in the death overs that clinched the tie for Delhi. Karthik remained not on 56 (32bm 4x4, 3x4) while Maharoof played an unbeaten cameo of 20 (13b, 4x4). Though Delhi lost their opening pair of captain Virender Sehwag and Gaumtam Gambhir rather cheaply, it was Sehwag's 18-run knock, that set the tone and tenor for the rest of the batsmen to follow. He carted Shaun Pollock to the cover fence, and then hoisted him for two successive sixes to tally 18 runs off him in the opening over. But Ashish Nehra got one to sneak and knock out his stump with his very first delivery in the second over, and when Gambhir was held by Smith off Andre Nel for 19 (9b, 2x4, 1x6), Delhi looked shaky. But Shikhar Dhawan and Manoj Tiwari and later Dinesh Karthik anchored them close to the target with Mahroof giving the finishing touch. Earlier, Jayasuriya and Sachin Tendulkar got off to a slow start, and though Jayasuriya later fired on all cylinders by carting all the Delhi bowlers for huge sixes, Yo Mahesh's four wickets off four overs tilted the balance in favour of the hosts. Though Mahesh was hit for 17 runs in his opening over, he took a wicket each, off the first balls of his next three overs, to end up with figures of 4-0-36-4. Mumbai also suffered due to their fielding lapses and their specialist bowlers like Pollock and Nel were punished freely, while Jayasuriya's spin could make no impact on the Daredevils batsmen who kept themselves ahead of the required run-rate though to pull off a tense win. Scoreboard Mumbai Indians: Jayasuriya c Dilshan b Mishra 66 Tendulkar b Mahesh 18 D Smith c Geeves b Mahesh 17 Uthappa not out 46 Nayar c Dilshan b Geeves 1 Pollock b Maharoof 16 Chitnis c Dhawan b Mahesh 3 Shah c Geeves b Mahesh 0 Nel run out 0 Extras (lb 1, w 7, nb 1): 9 Total (8 wickets; 20 overs): 176 Fall of wickets: 1-70, 2-107, 3-112, 4-114, 5-143, 6-162, 7-163, 8-176 Bowling: McGrath 4-0-39-0, B Geeves 4-0-50-1, M Maharoof 4-0-27-1, Y Mahesh 4-0-36-4, A Mishra 4-0-23-1 Delhi Daredevils: Gambhir c Smith b Nel 19 Sehwag b Nehra 18 Dhawan c Chitnis b Smith 27 Tiwary run out 36 Dilshan b Smith 0 Karthik not out 56 Maharoof not out 20 Extras (lb 2, w 1): 3 Total (5 wickets; 19.5 overs): 179 Fall of wickets: 1-20, 2-50, 3-89, 4-89, 5-130 Bowling: S Pollock 3-0-33-0, A Nehra 3.5-0-30-1, A Nel 3-0-31-1, D Kulkarni 3-0-26-0, D Smith 3-0-22-2, S Jayasuriya 4-0-35-0.Player of the match: KD Karthik (Delhi Daredevils)
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Kings XI Punjab keen to keep up momentum
Kolkata, May 24 Punjab, led by Yuvraj Singh, have already made the cut for the pre-summit round, and are now placed second with 18 points from 12 matches after Rajasthan (18 from 11). The visitors have won nine games so far and would definitely strive to collect full points against a side which has not only looked lacklustre but now must also be short of motivation with their semi final hopes evaporating into thin air. Kings XI Punjab have put up an all-round good show in the tournament, riding on a collective effort by their players. In the batting department, Australian Shaun Marsh, Sri Lankan Kumar Sangakkara and skipper Yuvraj Singh have been the mainstays for the Punjab side. Marsh has led the charts for his side amassing 438 runs at a highly impressive strike rate of 135.18, while Yuvraj pitched in with 219 and Sangakkara 203. The Preity Zinta and Ness Wadia-owned team has looked impressive right through the tournament and would be rank favourites at the Eden Gardens on the morrow. The tourists also have a strong bowling department, spearheaded by young pacer S Sreesanth who has bagged a rich haul of 16 wickets. Fellow pacer Irfan Pathan has also served his team well, collecting 13 wickets, while young leg spinner Piyush Chawla earned 12 scalps. The Knight Riders, on 11 points from 13 matches, would seek to salvage some pride after a poor performance and their campaign on a positive note. The Sourav Ganguly-led squad had started the tourney well, winning their first two matches, but the exit of dashing wicket keeper batsman Brendon McCullum and senior batsman Ricky Ponting, besides the unavailability of injured West Indies willower Chris Gayle and the partial availability of Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar stymied their chances. The dismal showing of Ganguly, excepting his two man-of-the-match performances, and the below-par performances of foreign recruits like Brad Hodge, Mohammed Hafeez, and India's Ishant Sharma have also been contributory factors in the Knight Riders' debacle. The team has also been dogged by controversies. Pacer Umar Gul lashed out against Ganguly's captaincy, while Salman Butt resented the team management's decision to use him off and on. There have been speculations of rift between Ganguly and coach John Buchanon as also between the skipper and owner Shah Rukh Khan. However, Shah Rukh has denied any differences with Ganguly.
— PTI |
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Sachin ‘enjoying captaincy’
New Delhi, May 24 Tendulkar, who had two rather forgettable stints as Team India captain, said he was feeling good to be back at the helm. "It has been good," Tendulkar told reporters yesterday. "I've enjoyed being out in the middle and it feels quite good as I'm leading after a long time," he said. A groin injury kept him out of the first half of the IPL and former South Africa skipper Shaun Pollock stepped forward as the makeshift captain. Finally back to the action, Tendulkar said the presence of two former international captains - Pollock and Sri Lankan Sanath Jayasuriya - has made his job easier. "With Shaun and Sanath's help, it has become easy. In fact, all the players are thinking about solution to the various problems we face on the field and chipping in with ideas," Tendulkar said. He also felt that his return to the side has lent more balance to the top order. "I think the experience factor was lacking in the top order and Shaun and Sanath had too much responsibility on their shoulders. Now that I'm back, the responsibility got shared among us," he explained. "You still have a lot of cricket to be played. After the first four matches too, people had a lot of opinions about us but we tried to play well and the same effort would be there. "We don't want to look back. Even when we were on the winning streak, we didn't think about past matches and the outlook would remain same," he said. Tendulkar also said that Pollock was recovering fast from a stiff back. "He is getting well and I think he would be fit for tomorrow's match," he said. Asked if there was any difference in the pressure of playing for the country and an IPL franchisee, Tendulkar said his intensity never dips, irrespective of opposition and occasion. "I always hold the bat thinking of scoring runs, whether I'm playing in the IPL, for India or against my son. I love the game and respect it and give my best whenever I play."
— PTI |
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A clash of the vanquished
Hyderabad, May 24 Already out of contention for semifinals, the two teams will fight it out to avoid the ignominy of ending up with a wooden spoon at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. Royal Challengers though have the advantage to avoid finishing last as they have garnered six points from 12 matches as against the Chargers' four. The Rahul Dravid-led side has the psychological advantage after their shock 14-run defeat of Chennai Super Kings on Wednesday. Captain Rahul Dravid is the highest run-getter for the team followed by Mark Boucher, J Kallis and Virat Kohli. But, the side will require all of its batsmen to fire to win their second match on the trot. In the bowling department, veteran spinner Anil Kumar and speedsters Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar, Dale Steyn make an envious line-up. But on the traditionally batsma On the other hand, the Chargers, who have even started thinking about the next edition of the tournament, would want to register their first win on home turf. For the Chargers, captain Adam Gilchrist, Rohit Sharma and Venugopal Rao have been playing consistently well but the batsmen like Herschelle Gibbs, Shahid Afridi and Scott Styris have failed to rise up to the expectations. Afridi has not contributed much with the bat in this tournament though have had a decent performance with the ball. But what must have made captain Gilchrist happy was Gibbs' contribution of 44 runs in yesterday.
— PTI |
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Lawson may not return to Pak
Karachi, May 24 It said people in the Pakistan cricket set-up were not happy with the performance or commitment of Lawson who was appointed as coach last August after the tragic death of Bob Woolmer during the 2007 World Cup in Jamaica. The reports said there were rumblings within the cricket circle against Lawson, who is currently on vacation in Australia, but there was no immediate confirmation that he would not be returning to Pakistan. A top PCB official, however, maintained that Lawson was still the coach. "No he is very much the coach and has a two year contract with us. It is not correct that he has problems with his job or we want him out," an official of the Board said on condition of anonymity. He said while it was true that some people were not satisfied with Lawson's performance, the board's policy was clear it would give ample time to the Australian to reach long term targets.
— PTI |
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Clark’s triple strike jolts Windies
Kingston, May 24 Clark has so far collected three wickets for 18 runs from eight overs, as West Indies, replying to Australia's first innings total of 431, reached 115 for three when stumps were drawn on the second day at Sabina Park. Clark removed Devon Smith, Ramnaresh Sarwan, and Brenton Parchment in a tidy opening spell which left the home team wobbling on 68 for three. But Shivnarine Chanderpaul, not out on 25, joined Runako Morton, not out on 23, and they carried West Indies through to the close with little or no incident. Scoreboard Australia (1st Innings): 431 West Indies (1st Innings): D Smith b Clark 32 Parchment c Haddin b Clark 9 Sarwan c Haddin b Clark 7 Morton batting 23 Chanderpaul batting 25 Extras (b1, lb7, nb11): 19 Total (for 3 wkts, 37 overs): 115 Fall of wickets: 1-47 2-62 3-68 Bowling: Lee 11-4-25-0; Johnson 10-1-40-0; Clark 8-1-18-3; MacGill 6-0-24-0; Symonds 2-2-0-0. — AFP
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Big 2 start mindgames
Paris, May 24 Federer, desperate for a first Roland Garros title to add to his 12-strong Grand Slam collection, believes he is the more positive of the two men while Nadal, bidding for a fourth historic trophy, says the world number one's decision to bring in Jose Higueras as coach could backfire. Nadal, with a perfect record of 21 wins in 21 matches here, holds a mesmeric stranglehold over the world number one, winning eight of their nine claycourt meetings, including the last two finals here, and 10 of their 16 total career clashes. That dominance has continued in 2008 with Nadal beating Federer in the finals of the Monte Carlo and Hamburg Masters. But the Swiss superstar, who needs a Roland Garros title to become just the sixth man to clinch a career Grand Slam, insists his approach has not reaped its rewards. "I know I can beat him. I'm the one playing aggressive. I'm the one trying hard. I'm the one taking the risks in those matches, so I think I have positive chances of winning here," said Federer who will face tricky American Sam Querrey in his opener. "Two years ago I was more pessimistic, because I saw that Rafa was completely dominating the game on clay. But now I think I'm really close, and I believe I have the good tactics. "I showed it in Monte Carlo and Hamburg. I just need to be broken one time less." Frustratingly for Federer, he surrendered healthy leads in Monte Carlo and Hamburg where he was defending champion. In an effort to iron out the problems, he has turned to Higueras who coached Michael Chang and Jim Courier to the title here. However, Nadal, is not convinced by the merits of that decision. "It's difficult to change the style of probably the best player in history in just three or four weeks," said Nadal who will be bidding to follow Bjorn Borg into the record books by winning four French Opens in a row. "It's a long job. If I had a new coach it would be impossible for me to change my game in three weeks." The 21-year-old Nadal will begin his campaign against a qualifier but could face world number three Novak Djokovic, the Australian Open and Rome Masters winner, in the semi-finals. Compared to Federer, he has the toughest of the two draws with a potential quarter-final match-up with Argentina's David Nalbandian, against whom he has played two and lost two, also to consider. But his record on clay is intimidating. Since April 2005, the 21-year-old Spaniard has racked up 108 wins in 110 matches on the surface. Djokovic, who starts his campaign against Germany's Denis Gremelmayr, is the man breathing down both Federer and Nadal's necks. Beaten by Nadal in the semi-finals here in 2007 and quarter-finals in 2006, the Serbian third seed, who celebrated his 21st birthday on Thursday, is the most successful player on tour this year. He won his first Grand Slam title in Melbourne dropping just one set in seven rounds and also clinched the Indian Wells Masters before his win on clay in Rome. Djokovic also pushed Nadal all the way in a three-set semi-final in Hamburg. Djokovic is also closing in on Nadal's world number two position and the Spaniard believes it's just a matter of time before the Serbian is on top of the world. Federer, Nadal and Djokovic are head and shoulders above the rest of the men's field; world number four Nikolay Davydenko is almost 2000 points adrift of the Serbian in the world rankings. As a result, the top trio are certain to dominate court time and column inches, but there won't be a dry eye in the house when former triple champion Gustavo Kuerten plays and, probably, loses in the first round.
— AFP |
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Santosh Trophy from today
Srinagar, May 24 As many as 31 teams from across the country will take part in the 22-day championship, being hosted by the Jammu and Kashmir Football Association (JKFA) under the auspices of All India Football Federation (AIFF), said Prof Bashir chief spokesman of JKFA. He said teams have already started arriving here. ''Delhi, Pondicherri, Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat football teams have arrived here today while others are on their way,” Prof Bashir said. ''Out of the 31 teams, last year semi-finalists Punjab, Kerala, Maharashtra and Bengal have been given direct entry into the quarter-final, stage'' he said adding, ''other teams have been divided into eight clusters.'' Cluster-1: Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Chandigarh, Sikkim. Cluster-2: Services, Manipur, Orrisa, Nagaland. Cluster-3: Delhi, Tripura, Gujarat. Cluster-4: J&K, Pondicherri, Deman and Diu, Himachal Pradesh. Cluster-5: Karnataka, Utter Pradesh, Jharkhand. Cluster-6: Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Assam. Cluster-7: Chattisgarh, Railways, Mizoram. Cluster-8: Maghalaya, Goa, Uttaranchal. Out of 52 matches, 13 matches would be played at Jammu in two grounds - Maulana Azad Stadium and GGM Science College -, while 39 matches, including pre-quarter, quarter, semi-finals and final, would be played at Bakshi Stadium and Polo ground in Srinagar. He said all arrangements were finalised for the smooth conduct of the tournament, being held in the state after 30 years of long wait.
— UNI |
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