New Delhi, March 18
Delhi Daredevils’ woes continued, still reeling under the 98-run defeat heaped on them by Mumbai Indians last night, on the eve of their second home match against Chennai Super Kings at the Ferozeshah Kotla here tomorrow, as captain Gautam Gambhir has been ruled out for the tie.

Gambhir, who had limped off the field in the second over yesterday, may have to sit out a couple of more contests, which would be a big blow to Delhi Daredevils whose two-match winning streak against Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals, was halted by Mumbai with a ruthless batting and bowling performance, plotted by captain Sachin Tendulkar.

It was surprising that Delhi chose to field after winning the toss on a featherbed strip which could have been exploited by the strong Delhi batting line-up. As an hindsight wisdom, it could be surmised that even the injury to Gambhir might not have happened had Delhi batted first.

Were Delhi afraid of facing the strong bowling of Mumbai first? Or were they overconfident of their batting might and did not care much for Sachin and Co.? Indeed, the defeat has put Daredevils under tremendous pressure when they take on Chennai Super Kings here tomorrow.

The absence of Chennai captain Dhoni, nursing an elbow injury, will cancel out Gambhir’s non-presence but others have to deliver to keep the Daredevils hopes on track.

Chennai Super Kings’ confidence was restored following their 55-run victory over Kolkata Kinght Riders with Badrinath and Dhoni displaying pleasing batting pyro-techniques.

The bowling of pacers Kemp and Balaji then knocked the wind out of the Kolkata sails, and the pace duo would be looking for blood against Daredevils too, to get their winning momentum going, to erase the memory of their 31-run opening match loss to defending champions Deccan Chargers.

Delhi Daredevils would have to get their batting,bowling and fielding on course. Mumbai Indians had come down severely on Amit Mishra and Sarabjit and Delhi’s sloppy fielding also benefited the visitors greatly.

Stand-in captain Dinesh Karthik has his hands full, though with a player like Virender Sehwag around, Delhi can expect a run-feast any time, provided the hosts put their heads down to come out with a top class team effort.

Suresh Raina will lead Chennai with Parthiv Patel taking the position behind the wickets, which would be sweet music for Delhi, as the hosts have some experienced, iconic heads to plan their strategy better.

Another full house is expected, as was the case yesterday, which will be a morale-booster for Delhi to give out their best, and regain lost ground. An exciting contest is definitely on the cards. 

Cuttack, March 18
After back-to-back defeats, Kings XI Punjab will be eyeing a redemption while defending champions Deccan Chargers hope to continue with the winning momentum when they take on each other in an Indian Premier League match here tomorrow.

The Punjab side have opened their IPL campaign on a disappointing note, losing to Delhi Daredevils and then Royal Challengers Bangalore, mainly due to their depleted bowling attack which is certainly giving skipper Kumar Sangakkara sleepless nights.

On the other hand, despite a shocking 11-run defeat to last year’s laggards Kolkata Knight Riders in their opening tie, the Adam Gilchrist-led side has managed to put things together to beat Chennai Super Kings by 31 runs in the next encounter. Bowling is the worrying factor for the Punjab team, who lost both the matches despite putting good totals on the board as the opponent batsmen managed to overhaul the targets.

They are clearly missing the service of Australian pace spearhead Brett Lee as Punjab’s new-ball pair of S Sreesanth and left-arm Irfan Pathan have so far failed to make much impact on the batsmen.

Punjab’s batting department, however, has impressed in previous matches with England’s Ravi Bopara leading the charge on both the occasions. — PTI 

Patiala , March 18
In what could be termed as a major blow to 2004 Olympics silver medalist Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, the ace shooter might not be able to make it to the various shooting tournaments, including the Commonwealth Games, scheduled to be held in New Delhi in October.

Rathore’s prospects for the upcoming tournaments suffered a major setback, after he failed to qualify for the first five shooting slots in the 2010 selections trials underway at the New Moti Bagh Gun Club (NMBGC) shooting range in village Maine on outskirts of Patiala today.

Shooters, who are already part of the team for double trap include Mohammed Asab, Ajay Mittal, Ronjon Sodhi, Himanshu and Vikram Bhatnagar, who had scored better than Rathore in the recent past.

According to officials of the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), if any of the above-mentioned five shooters in the Indian team performs “pathetically” at the upcoming Asian Clay Shooting Championship, scheduled to get underway from March 27, then only there may be some hope for Rathore to make it to the team.

Interestingly, after the end of the first round in the double trap, Rathore complained of a missed bird following which the match referee Brij Bhan Singh allowed him another chance.

Finally, Rathore managed 100 per cent score by shooting of 50 of 50 in the first round. However, in the end Rathore’s final tally stood at 140. Notably, from past some time, Rathore has been passing through a rough phase and he himself had admitted this to the media last year.

“Rathore has some chance to make it to the team but only if any of the five selected shooters performs poorly at the Asian Clay”, said an NRAI official.

Despite repeated attempts, till the time of filing this copy, Rathore was not available for comments. Interestingly, while requesting the sports ministry to intervene and save him from a near relegation from the Indian shooting scene for the whole of 2010, Rathore has left a message on his Twitter account, which reads, “Let the sports federations work with sportspersons and not against us”.

Notably, Rathore has recently expressed his views, which were very critical of the new selection policy. In wake of the new selection policy for the shooting championships, based on performances at the national trial and two big international events, a five member national squad would be selected.

Also, for all the shooters, who are not there in the Indian team, participation in the selection trials is mandatory. However, one of the shooters participating in the trials said, “Rathore wants a selection policy which suits him. The new policy would give a level field to all shooters and there is nothing wrong in it.”

Chandigarh, March 18
“Cricket in India makes money the way every sport should, but obviously can’t. Boxing is not in the same league, but it seems we will soon be able to say that no boxer in India will starve,” says the man of the moment, and many moments in the past two years, Vijender Singh.

On way to his home in Bhiwani after a gold-winning performance at the Commonwealth Championship in New Delhi, Vijender speaks about the $1 million deal that Indian boxers signed with the Monnet Steel group. The deal also makes the steel firm the kit sponsor for Indian boxers.

Apart from this, sports management firm Percept, who already are looking after Vijender have now roped in the other gold medallists - Suranjoy, Jai Bhagwan, Dinesh and Balwinder - for three years. “Each of us also received Rs 25,000 and a Hero Honda bike. These are signs that people have started realising the market value of boxing. It augurs well, not just for the current boxers, but also the future crop, as every sport needs monetary sport to grow,” adds Vijender.

But right now, he is not thinking brands, endorsements or sponsors. He just wants to be in his own backyard. “The past month has been pretty hectic with training and then the championships. I just want to be at home, with my family and friends. I need some home food to make up for the lost blood during the final bout,” he adds with a laugh. A clear sign that while the fighter inside him takes a breather, the ‘Boy from Bhiwani’ is back home. a

Chandigarh, March 18
Punjab is all set to witness 14-day-long sports extravaganza with the 10 nations World Cup Kabaddi 2010 making a spectacle start in Patiala on April 3.Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal today gave final touches to the preparation of this unique and highest prized Kabaddi meet, attracting the attention of sports fans from all over the world.

Badal said opening and closing ceremonies would be spectacular with cultural troupes from 10 states supported by famous Punjabi singers and choreographers of international acclaim treating the audience in laser supported show. He said the basic purpose of organising the World Cup in Punjab was to attract Punjabi youth towards this traditional ancient game. He said nine national teams of UK, USA, Canada, Pakistan, Iran, Australia, Italy, Spain and host country India have already sent their consent to participate in this tournament. The opening match would be in Patiala whereas closing ceremony would be in Guru Nanak Stadium, Ludhiana on April 15. Badal also approved an attractive trophy and logo for the World Cup.

Principal secretary to the Chief Minister D.S. Guru gave an overview of arrangements for the worldwide live coverage of all the matches. Sukhbir Badal also reviewed the arrangements for security, boarding and lodging of the participating teams. He asked the Punjab DGP P.S. Gill to ensure foolproof security of the players besides arrangements for smooth traffic as well as parking.