It’s 3 out of 3 for Daredevils
Dilshan started from where he left against Chennai Super Kings after early fall of openers and clobbered 47-ball 67 not out as his side coast home by 6 wickets

Tilakratne Dilshan (R) and Mithun Manhas of Delhi Daredevils celebrate victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore. — AFP

Port Elizabeth, April 26
Tillakaratne Dilshan struck a match-winning unbeaten 67 to help Daredevils beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by six wickets and register their third consecutive victory in the Indian Premier League here today.

After the early dismissal their openers Dilshan's 47-ball knock, studded with five boundaries and two sixes, kept the Daredevils in the hunt.

Earlier, skipper Kevin Pietersen (37) and Mark Boucher (36) helped Royal Challengers Bangalore post a modest 149 for seven after opting to bat.

Chasing a modest 150 for victory, the Daredevils once again lost skipper Virender Sehwag (7) early after he mistimed a pull off Pankaj Singh (2/31) in the second over to give an easy catch to Pietersen at mid-on.

But a determined Dilshan started from where he left against Chennai Super Kings and first hit R Vinay Kumay for a four in the third over and then struck a cheeky six over the keeper's head off Pankaj in the next over.

Dilshan, however, got a reprieve on 18 when Pankaj grounded a difficult chance off his own bowling in the sixth over, but made amends a ball later by having Gambhir (16) caught behind.

After the early burst, both Dilshan and last match centurion AB de Villiers (21 off 34) found going tough against the spin duo of Anil Kumble and young KP Appanna.

The duo kept the scoreboard ticking with ones and twos.

Appanna broke the 42-run stand between the two, cleaning up De Velliers' stumps with a gem of a delivery that turned viciously.

Needing 61 off 36 deliveries, next man in Dinesh Karthik (12) began with a six off Kallis but perished in the next over.

Dilshan, however, was in no mood to give up as he hit Kallis for a huge six over the mid-wicket and then some sloppy fielding at deep gave Mithun Manhas two easy boundaries to take 19 runs of the 17th over.

The Royal Challengers lost the grip of the match in the last four overs, thanks to some poor fielding. — PTI

Scoreboard

Bangalore Royal Challengers:
Kallis b Nannes 0
Uthappa c Sangwan b Nehra 3
Pietersen b Vettori 37
Taylor lbw b Mishra 31
Kohli c Dilshan b Nehra 22
Boucher c Mishra b Sangwan 36
Vinay run out 0
Akhil not out 8
Pankaj not out 1
Extras: (lb-5, w-5, nb-1): 11
Total: (for 7 wkts in 20 overs): 149
Fow: 1-0, 2-10, 3-72, 4-78, 5-139, 6-139, 7-145.
Bowling: D Nannes 4-0-24-1, A Nehra 4-0-34-2, P Sangwan 4-0-32-1, A Mishra 4-0-19-1, D Vettori 4-0-35-1.

Delhi Daredevils:

Gambhir c Boucher b Pankaj 16
Sehwag c Pietersen b Pankaj 7
Dilshan not out 67
AB de Villiers b Appanna 21
Karthik c Kallis b Akhil 12
Manhas not out 26
Extras (w-4): 4
Total (for 4 wkts in 19.2 overs): 153
Fow: 1-11, 2-42, 3-84, 4-106.
Bowling: R Vinay Kumar 3.2-0-31-0, Pankaj Singh 4-0-31-2, Jacques Kallis 3-0-37-0, Anil Kumble 4-0-22-0, KP Appanna 4-0-24-1,Balachandra 
Akhil 1-0-8-1.
Man of the Match: TM Dilshan (Delhi Daredevils).

Cape Town, April 26
All-rounder Irfan Pathan struck a valuable 39 and then picked up two crucial wickets to fashion Kings XI Punjab's convincing 27-run victory over Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League match here today.

Riding on a 51-ball 60 by Kumar Sangakkara and an equally important 33-ball 39 by Irfan, Kings XI Punjab first posted a modest 139 for six after electing to bat first and then restricted the Rajasthan Royals at 112 for seven in the stipulated 20 overs.

Chasing 140 to win, Rajasthan Royals lost half their side within seven overs for 36 runs, thanks to a disciplined piece of bowling by pacers, Irfan (2/26) and Yusuf Abdulla (3/21) and leg-spinner Piyush Chawla (2/22).

Irfan started the proceeding, striking twice in his very first over, removing openers - Swapnil Asnodkar (3) and Graeme Smith (2) - to leave the Rajasthan Royal struggling at nine for two in two overs.

Abdulla then followed Irfan's footsteps and dealt two more severe blows when he had Rob Quiney (7) and Dimitry Mascarenhas (4) back into the pavillion in his second over.

New man Yusuf Pathan (10) tried to break the shackles and hammered two fours in the fourth and sixth bowl off Irfan's second over. But he too perished at short fine leg off Piyush Chawla in the 6.4 over.

Chawla struck again in his second over, when he had Abhishek Raut (1) hold out at mid off to Ramesh Powar.

Ravindra Jadeja (37) and skipper Shane Warne (34) kept the hopes alive with a 60-run partnership but with the run-rate rising every moment, Jadeja perished when his timbers were rocked by Abdulla in his second spell.

Earlier, Kings XI Punjab made a disastrous start, losing three crucial wickets of Karan Goel (0), Ravi Bopara (11) and skipper Yuvraj Singh (2) within a span of 6.1 overs with only 38 runs on board.

Kumar Sangakkara (60 off 51 balls) and Irfan Pathan (39 off 33 balls) then combined together and stitched a valuable 75-run partnership to resurrect the Punjab's innings. — PTI

Scoreboard

Kings XI Punjab:

Bopara c Patel b Kamran 11
Goel run out 0
Sangakkara run out 60
Yuvraj c Rawat b M Patel 2
Jayawardene c Kamran b Patel 7
Pathan b Kamran 39
Chawla not out 6
Mota not out 1
Extras (b-2, lb-2, wd-9): 13
Total (for 6 wkts in 20 overs): 139
Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-21, 3-38, 4-48, 5-123, 6-130
Bowling: Kamran Khan 4-0-15-2, D Mascarenhas 4-0-29-0, M Patel 4-0-24-2, Y Pathan 4-0-30-0, S Warne 4-0-37-0.

Rajasthan Royals:

Asnodkar c Powar b Pathan 3
Smith c Sangakkara b Pathan 2
Quiney c Sangakkara b Abdulla 7
Yusuf c Goel b Chawla 10
Mascarenhas b Abdulla 4
Jadeja b Abdulla 37
Raut c Powar b Chawla 1
Warne not out 34
Rawat not out 4
Extras (lb 5, w 5): 10
Total (7 wickets; 20 overs): 112
Fow: 1-7, 2-9, 3-23, 4-27, 5-36, 6-42, 7-102
Bowling: RR Powar 2-0-10-0, IK Pathan 4-0-26-2, YA Abdulla 4-0-21-3, VRV Singh 4-0-19-0, PP Chawla 4-0-22-2, Yuvraj Singh 2-0-9-0. 

London, April 26
English Premier League club Liverpool is in talks with the billionaire owners of an Indian Premier League cricket team that could lead to a massive investment and an eventual buy-out. Representatives of the GMR group, who run the Delhi Daredevils IPL side, were guests at last week's clash with Arsenal.

GMR chairman Grandhi Mallikarjun Rao is worth an estimated 4.2 billion pounds and the senior official he sent to Liverpool in midweek is known to be a supporter of the club, News of the World reported.

Hicks started the talks initially with a view to securing a sponsorship deal, but Bangalore-based GMR have made no secret of their desire to branch out into other sports.

Rao (58) made his millions in the airport and construction industry and recently formed a subsidiary company to invest in sport, with English football considered the most attractive.

A Liverpool source said: "The GMR group were invited by Hicks and their representative watched the Arsenal match in the directors' box with Hicks' son Tommy. It was quite clear the representative was a fan.

"When you look at the company's commitment to sport they're exactly the type of partner Tom would be looking for."

Liverpool's American owners have been scouring the globe for finance to stave off the threat of having to sell the club on the cheap in July. — ANI 

Durban, April 26
Depleted by star all-rounder Andrew Flintoff's pull-out due to injury and struggling with poor form, last year's runners-up Chennai Super Kings start unlikely underdogs against rampaging table-toppers Deccan Chargers in an Indian Premier League match here tomorrow.

The Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Chennai side have won just one of their four matches so far, losing two while splitting points in their fourth game against Kolkata Knight Riders following a wash-out.

Deccan, on the other hand, have been simply unstoppable winning all three of their matches, riding mostly on their good batting led by in-form skipper Adam Gilchrist.

In contrast, Chennai have been surprisingly off-colour and the only win they have managed so far came against bottom-placed Royal Challengers Bangalore.

The pullout by Flintoff, costliest player on the IPL roster along with Kevin Pietersen, has only added to their woes.

Opener Matthew Hayden's good form and the fact that he is available for the entire tournament seems to be the lone highlight of Chennai's campaign so far.

The burly Australian, who retired from international cricket last year, is the leading scorer of the tournament having accumulated 166 runs in three matches, including two fifties, at a strike rate of over 171.

But the rest of the Chennai batting has not been able to back Hayden's form much as yet, quite evident in their loss to Delhi Daredevils.

Set 189 to win, Hayden's 57 and Suresh Raina's 41 were the only notable contributions for Chennai in their nine-run loss.

Dhoni, considered one of the best international skippers right now, has somehow failed to inspire the team and his lacklustre form with the bat has also become a concern.

On the other hand, last season's laggards Deccan have have completely turned it around under Gilchrist this year and much of it has been possible because of their in-form batting line-up.

Gilchrist himself have been in excellent touch and is fourth on the leading scorers list with 119 runs at a strike rate of 150.

South African Herschelle Gibbs and West Indian Dwayne Smith have ensured that Gilchrist's blazing run is complimented well at the top. — PTI

Melbourne, April 26
Troubled Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds says he had all but given up hopes of reviving his sliding career before the match-winning knock against Pakistan brought back some of the lost confidence.

Symonds struck a 62-ball 58 after picking up a couple of wickets in the second one-dayer against Pakistan to lead Australia to victory. The two sides are competing in a five-match ODI series to be followed a Twenty20 game in the UAE.

The burly Queenslander said the effort has re-instilled some of the confidence that had been shattered by a series of off-field misdemeanours and on-field failures.

"In the first game I got out and I thought 'Gee, there's one down, I've got possibly five to go.' That's how I was looking at it. I did feel like that," Symonds was quoted as saying by 'The Australian Associated Press' -- a news agency here.

"I'd been away for quite a while and that was probably the main thing that was going through my head the last little bit, whether I could find the way that I played successfully when I was in the side," he added.

Symonds said he felt relieved after his contribution won Australia the match.

"It was a very important innings for me. I am glad that it happened now and not in two games' time or the last game, because this has given me a bit of confidence going into the next few games that I play," he said. — PTI 

BRIEFLY

Nadal beats Ferrer for 5th straight Barcelona title
Barcelona: World number one Rafael Nadal won his fifth consecutive Barcelona Open title on Sunday with a 6-2 7-5 victory over Spanish compatriot David Ferrer. Top seed Nadal, who also beat Ferrer in last year's final, exchanged early breaks with the fourth seed on the clay in the Catalan capital before racing into a 5-2 lead and taking the set with an ace. Ferrer put up more of a fight in the second set as the pair broke each other twice but lost his serve again in the 11th game and Nadal sealed victory on his second match point when Ferrer went long with a forehand. The 22-year-old Mallorcan has only lost four times on clay since 2005, most recently to fellow Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero at last year's Rome Masters when he was not fully fit. He is favourite for a fifth straight French Open crown when the grand slam begins in Paris at the end of next month and also holds the Australian Open and Wimbledon titles. — Reuters

KKR sends Chopra, Bangar back home
Port Elizabeth: Kolkata Knight Riders have asked Aakash Chopra and Sanjay Bangar to return home, saying they don't fit into the team's scheme of things for the second edition of the Indian Premier League. KKR CEO Joy Bhattacharya said the decision was taken after the team management's meeting with the two players who accepted the decision and would board a home-bound flight on Monday. "They are two very good senior international players so (coach) John Buchanan and the team management thought that if they are not going to have the opportunity (to play) it is unfair to keep them around," Bhattacharya was quoted as saying by 'Cricinfo'. Chopra played in Kolkata's first two matches, but got the opportunity to bat only once while Bangar played the match against Rajasthan Royals on Thursday but made just two and could not leave any impression. "Nobody is ever happy about going back, but they took it in right frame of mind," Bhattacharya. He, however, asserted that both the players would be back for the third edition of the IPL since they had a three-year contract with KKR. — PTI

Oram willing to give up Tests to prolong ODI, T20 career
Durban: Desperate to prolong his ODI and Twenty20 career, injury-ravaged New Zealand all-rounder Jacob Oram says he is willing to give up Test cricket as his body can no longer withstand the fitness demands for all three formats of the game. "At the moment, with what I do, I know it's not sustainable. I am 30, and I have the passion and desire to play well into my mid-30s, but to be honest, with the way things have been going, that is not going to happen unless something gives," he said. "I have talked to people about giving up bowling, or bowling in as few forms of the game as possible. I haven't talked about this publicly before, but if I had to choose one thing, I would probably give up Test cricket before bowling," Oram told 'Cricinfo'. "I have played eight years of international cricket and being an allrounder is part of who I am. To give up the bowling - it's just not me, not what I do. I think it would be giving up Tests before I gave up being an allrounder." Oram said he has spoken to his close confidantes on the matter and has been advised to consider reducing bowling workload or bid adieu to Tests. — PTI

Bhupathi-Knowles runners-ups at Barcelona Open
Barcelona: Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles faltered at the final hurdle and had to be content with the runners-up title at the Barcelona Open following their defeat to the reigning ATP World Tour Champions Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic here today. Bidding for their first title in six months, the fourth seeded Indo-Bahamian pair lost 3-6 6-7(9-11) to the Canadian-Serbian pair, also the number two seeds, in one hour and 33 minutes. Bhupathi and Knowles were playing their second summit clash of the season after ending runners-up at Australian Open to Bryan brothers, whom they defeated in the semifinals here. Since reaching the championship match in Melbourne, Bhupathi and Knowles had won just two matches in four tournaments and suffered opening round exits in their past two outings at ATP Masters Series events at Miami and Monte-Carlo. — PTI

Ghei finishes T68, Digvijay 71st in Ballantine's C'ship
Jeju Islands (Korea): The Indian duo of Gaurav Ghei and Digvijay Singh signed off with a whimper to finish tied 68th and 71st respectively in the $ 2.1 million Ballantine's Championship golf tournament here today. Ghei's final round of five-over 77 took his aggregate to 16-over 304 as the veteran joined two others at the 68th place. A 10th tee starter, Ghei double bogeyed the 12th and sixth holes and then bogeyed the eighth in his final round which didn't have a single birdie. Worse awaited Digvijay (305) who stuttered to seven-over 79 at the Pinx Golf Club. Digvijay drained his lone birdie on the 18th hole but looked in complete disarray after dropping as many as five bogeys besides the triple bogey on the 15th hole. — PTI