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Kings in recharge mode
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England stay on course for series win
FedUp, finally
Fergie will go on
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kings in recharge mode
Johannesburg, May 17 Deccan needed 11 to win off the last over, but left-arm seamer Irfan Pathan conceded only nine to build on man-of-the-match Yuvraj's effort. Pathan also claimed two wickets, including that of Rohit Sharma. Sharma sustained Deccan's hopes with a quickfire 42 before being bowled. He smashed three sixes and as many fours in his 26-ball knock. There was no hint of collapse after Deccan reached 73/2 chasing a modest target, but Yuvraj dismissed Herschelle Gibbs, Andrew Symonds and Venugopal Rao off successive balls. Yuvraj removed South African Gibbs (26) with the last ball of his second over, with Piyush Chawla taking a superb diving catch at point. He had Australian Symonds (25) stumped with the first ball of his next over and then bowled Indian Venugopal Rao to complete his second hat-trick of the tournament, having earlier achieved the feat against Bangalore. India paceman Rudra Pratap Singh earlier played a key role in restricting Punjab, finishing with 3-26 off four overs to become the tournament's leading wicket-taker with 19 in 13 matches. Singh also got the prize wicket of Sri Lankan Kumar Sangakkara (56) just when the batsman looked like boosting the innings in the closing overs. — AFP Scoreboard Kings XI: Deccan Chargers:
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Going gets tough for Royals as Daredevils get going
They now need to beat the Kolkata Knight Riders soundly in their final league game. If they don't manage that the race for a semifinal spot shifts to net run-rates, and hoping some of the other teams slip up. In a match when the ball jagged and spun past the bat more often than it hit the middle - largely down to a sporting pitch that assisted pace and spin - two crucial hands allowed Delhi to recover from the loss of their openers. Munaf Patel appeared to have it figured from the first over, keeping it straight and on a length to get rid of the dangerous duo of Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag in his second but returned to bowl a horror 19th over after Rajasthan's support cast disappointed. From 15 for 2 a resourceful 87-run stand between AB de Villiers, who read the conditions excellently, and Tillakaratne Dilshan buttressed Delhi to a competitive total. And therein lay the difference between a reasonable total and a winning one. Delhi's innings gradually changed character when Rajasthan's second-choice bowlers came on. The pitch was slow and Shane Warne set attacking fields for the first ten overs, so all that was needed was for de Villiers and Dilshan to perforate the field consistently. The loose offerings weren't spared - Siddharth Trivedi strangely dropped it short and wide when the pitch was demanding of a fuller length - and both batsmen slapped fours off his first and only over. As Warne brought Johan Botha and himself on for spin, de Villiers and Dilshan resorted to common-sense cricket. Balls were knocked in the gaps, the cross-batted shots were shunned and the score ticked over mainly with singles and doubles. Both employed the late dabs effectively and their ability to scamper between the wickets hurt Rajasthan. It wasn't smooth sailing, though, as Warne got plenty of turn from a slow track and Botha mixed flight and speed in a tidy spell. de Villiers, not one for subtlety, bided his time and played himself in - much as the game's situation demanded despite this being a Twenty20. Leading the partnership going into the ten-over break, he turned a tad more urgent after it, reaching out to edge Warne for three and taking Ravindra Jadeja and Abhishek Raut for first-ball fours off the back foot. Dilshan, always more comfortable against spin, continued to cut and flick after being dropped on 16 off Botha. Botha had his revenge in the 17th over, locating the fuller length which Munaf had so brilliantly tapped, but the damage had been done. de Villiers' aptitude for regular rescue jobs came in handy while Dinesh Karthik walked into the hot seat and immediately connected. — Agencies Scoreboard Delhi Daredevils Rajasthan Royals Player of the Match: De Villiers
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England stay on course for series win
Chester-Le-Street, May 17 Earlier in the day Ramnaresh Sarwan struck a fluent century and the touring side were lifted by a lively eighth-wicket partnership of 70 between Denesh Ramdin and Sulieman Benn which lifted them to 303 for eight at tea. Benn was run out for 35, his highest test score, but Ramdin reached his seventh test half-century and was 52 not out at the interval with Fidel Edwards on eight. West Indies still need 67 runs to avoid the follow-on. Sarwan added 99 for the fourth wicket with Shivnarine Chanderpaul whose typically obdurate innings ended on 23. — Reuters Scoreboard England first innings 569-6 declared West Indies first innings 310 all out West Indies second innings
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Madrid, May 17 World number two Federer fended off break points in the second and sixth games of the first set and then grabbed a crucial break in game nine before serving out the set to love. A delicate drop shot that even the athletic Spaniard could not chase down gave him another opportunity in the fifth game of the second set and Nadal netted a backhand to fall 3-2 behind. Federer slipped to 15-40 when serving for the match but fought back to deuce and powered an ace down the middle on his second championship point before raising his arms in triumph. Federer and Nadal have played 20 times going back to the Miami Masters in 2004 and the Swiss had won only one match on clay against the French Open champion in 10 previous attempts, the final of the Hamburg Masters in 2007. They have now faced each other in 16 finals, with Nadal winning 11, including three Roland Garros crowns and titles at Wimbledon and the Australian Open. — Reuters Federer vs Nadal Mutua Madrilena Masters Madrid
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Fergie will go on
There was bad news for Manchester United’s rivals last night when Sir Alex Ferguson announced that he is good for a few more years in management yet. Having seen United match Liverpool’s record of 18 League titles, he is particularly keen to overhaul them as soon as possible. But after watching the champions complete a second Premier League hat-trick with the goalless draw at home to Arsenal, Ferguson was forced to admit: “That was the longest 90 minutes in history, but we got there. It was a cautious match and there wasn't a save until five minutes from time.” It was one of United’s least impressive performances this season and Arsenal had what few chances there were. Gary Neville, who picked up the trophy, hailed his team’s strength in depth as the key factor in their campaign. “The quality and depth of the squad, during the season, we’ve never really had a consistent team. We've had 20 players. Kiko Macheda himself could have won us the League and he's not even got a medal today.” Whether Carlos Tevez will still be at Old Trafford alongside the manager next season remains in the balance. “We want him to stay,” said Ferguson, who had annoyed the home crowd by substituting him with 25 minutes left. “It may be goodbye,” Tevez said. — By arrangement with The Independent
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Chester-Le-Street, May 17
Bloemfontein, May 17
