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Bowlers won it for us: Sanga
Challengers take on wounded Chennai Super Kings
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FIH to allocate one tournament to India every year
Tiger: I was living a lie
French Open could move out of Paris
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Mumbai, March 22 Captain Tendulkar, who struck a 48-ball unbeaten 71, tore apart the Knight Rider bowling attack with a superb exhibition of strokeplay to notch up his second IPL III half century in front of a packed crowd at the Brabourne Stadium. He was given good support by opener Shikhar Dhawan (23 in 21 balls) and one-down Saurabh Tiwary, who made a quick-fire 30 in 24 balls with three fours and a six, as Mumbai Indians romped home with nine balls to spare in chase of 156. Earlier, Chris Gayle's stroke-filled 60-ball 75 in his first IPL III appearance powered Kolkata Knight Riders to a competitive 155 for three after the visitors elected to bat. Tendulkar, who hit 10 fours for his fifth IPL half century, was particularly severe on speedster Ishant Sharma whom he hooked and pulled with disdain for the majority of his boundaries. Tendulkar and Dhawan, playing his first match, put on 61 runs in 6.5 overs to give the MI innings a flying start, and 56 for the second wicket with Tiwary. Tendulkar, whose previous half-century (63) helped MI to beat Delhi Daredevils in their second tie, later forged an unfinished stand of 27 with Rajagopal Satish (21 not out in 11 balls) for the fourth wicket to take the home team past the finish line in 18.3 overs. With the win today, their third in four matches, Mumbai Indians joined Royal Challengers Bangalore and Deccan Chargers at the IPL III table with six points. Kolkata Knight Riders, on the other hand, slupmed to their third loss on the trot after winning their first two matches in IPL III. Mumbai Indians rocketed off to a brilliant start in their run-chase with Dhawan setting the tone in the first over before Tendulkar took over the attacking reins from his junior partner. Dhawan, included in the team to launch the innings after MI left out out-of-touch veteran Sri Lankan batsman Sanath Jayasuriya, struck New Zealand speedster Shane Bond for three fours in the first over. Turning Bond to the fine leg fence off the first ball, the left-handed opener from Delhi cover-drove the Kiwi fast bowler exquisitely for his second boundary before finishing the over in style by square driving for another four. Tendulkar, who watched his teammate from the other end in appreciation, followed suit immediately by carving the tall Ishant for three fours, the first two shots passing the bowler on his follow through on either side and the last a superb cover drive. With 24 runs coming in first two overs, KKR skipper Sourav Ganguly turned his attention to Gayle's fast off breaks and the West Indian applied the brakes in third over. But another poor over by Ishant, coupled with a misfiled due to bad bounce from the practice wicket, was taken full advantage by Tendulkar who struck the India pacer for three more fours - a cover drive, followed by a hook and a ferocious pull. — PTI Scoreboard Kolkata Knight Riders: Gayle lbw b Khan 75 (60) Ganguly b Harbhajan 31 (34) Shah b Khan 31 (23) Mathews not out 3 (3) Extras (b 6, lb 3, w 6) 15 Total (3 wickets; 20 overs) 155 Fall of wickets: 1-70, 2-152, 3-155. Bowling: Malinga 4-0-28-0, Zaheer 4-0-27-2, McLaren 4-0-38-0, Bravo 4-0-36-0, Harbhajan 4-0-17-1. Mumbai Indians: Dhawan c Ganguly b Kartik 23 (21) Tendulkar not out 71 (48) Tiwary c Ganguly b Sharma 30 (24) Pollard lbw b Sharma 7 (7) Sathish not out 21 (11) Extras (w 4) 4 Total (3 wickets; 18.3 overs) 156 Fall of wickets: 1-61, 2-117, 3-129. Bowling: Bond 3-0-31-0, Ishant 4-0-44-2, Gayle 4-0-31-0, Kartik 4-0 -21-1, Mathews 3.3-0-29-0.
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“It wasn’t a pretty win but the guys responded well to finish it off. I am very happy with the performance of Rusty (Juan Theron), Irfan Pathan, Shalabh Srivastava and the spinners. They won the match for the side,” Sangakkara said after the heart-stopping thriller which was decided by one-over eliminator after the two sides were locked to IPL III's first tied match. “Theron, who came into this game just out of a long flight from South Africa, did really well. We got the confidence after Matthew Hayden got out and we did well to stem the runs after that. The wicket was not that easy to score runs. We know we did not bat to our potential, and there is hard work ahead. “After three losses I am proud of the effort and we need to enjoy this win and prepare well for the next game,” he said. Chennai Super Kings captain Suresh Raina thought the game would have been over in his side's favour had half centurion Parthiv Patel stayed back till the end. “It was a very good game of cricket. We bowled really well. We should have chased it down but we didn't bat well in the middle. Parthiv played really well but I think he should have finished it off for us,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll do better in the next game. Albie Morkel and Muttiah Muralitharan are bowling well, which is good for us,” Raina said. He said South Africa pacer Justn Kemp, who left the field without completing his first over apparently due to a side strain, would be fit for CSK's next match on Tuesday. “He (Kemp) is feeling better, he will come back for the next game,” said Raina. For man-of-the-match Juan Theron, who made his IPL debut today, the thought of having won the match for his side just after reaching from South Africa is yet to sink in. “Jet-lag is not too bad. I landed here late last night and had little time at the nets this morning. Did not expect to come out today and experience all this. But happy that it has come off well for me. It’s been an unbelievable experience to be a part of this. I was just trying to keep things simple at the death and glad that it worked out,” he said. — PTI
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Challengers take on wounded Chennai Super Kings
RCB have been on a wild run, notching up three consecutive wins since their defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders in their tournament opener. Their batting have come alive with Kallis leading the batting brigade with a bevy of unbeaten and match-winning knocks like 65, 89, 44 and 66 in the last four ties. The supremely talented Manish Pandey has also been in rollicking form, producing cameos that have left even seasoned cricketers bewildered on the field. The 21-year-old, who has been shortlisted for the ICC T20 World Cup in the Caribbean islands, has not only destroyed bowling attacks with impunity but has also caught the eye with his outstanding fielding. RCB have another big hitter in Robin Uthappa, who virtually butchered Sreesanth, plundering 25 runs in one eventful over off the emotive Kings XI Punjab paceman. Having been part of the triumphant T20 World Cup team in South Africa, Uthappa would be itching to win back his place in the Indian team with more blazing performances in the IPL. Besides their batting, RCB have also jelled well as a bowling unit, restricting Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians to modest scores in the their last two outings. Speedstar Dale Steyn, hat-trick man Praveen Kumar and last match’s hero R Vinay Kumar have done their job pretty well, giving skipper Kumble the liberty to tease and lure batsmen to their doom with flight and guile. All-rounder Kallis have also contributed with the ball and have chipped in whenever the team needed him most. Considering their match-winning performance over the last week, RCB should start favourites here. But they would make a mistake if they take Chennai Super Kings for granted. For Chennai, Matthew Hayden, who destroyed Delhi DareDevils with a blistering 43-ball 92, could be dangerous anywhere, anytime. So could Suresh Raina, captaining the side in place of the injured Dhoni. Raina’s men, who have lost two of their first four games, should be an incensed lot and last night’s nail-biting Super Over defeat to Kings XI Punjab is bound to play on their mind. Chasing a modest 136, CSK could only manage to tie the game. And when it mattered most, they fell excruciatingly short in the one-over eliminator, throwing a life-line to Punjab who had lost three games on a trot. Defeats like these could be demoralising but, on the converse, could also trigger performances which are much above their potential. But for that to happen, they would have to consign the dramatic loss to history before the game starts. The wheels of fortunes can change quickly in a T20 game. A different venue and a bouncy and lively wicket could produce different results. With two teams of equal professional ilk and skill challenging each other, tomorrow’s night game should be an enthralling fare. — PTI
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FIH to allocate one tournament to India every year
New Delhi, March 22 The FIH took the decision in its Executive Board meeting in New Delhi last week after the conclusion of the World Cup. “The FIH Board agreed in principle to allocate one tournament for men or women per year to India for the next four years and the FIH hopes to attract commercial and Television interest in these events,” the international body said in a statement today. “The Executive Board of FIH Board met in New Delhi on March 14 and 15 March at the end of a very good Hero Honda FIH World Cup. The Board was very pleased with the World Cup tournament,” it said. During a media summit here earlier this month, FIH had accepted that India contributed a major chunk of revenue earned by the world body, which came mainly from television. The decision, however, did not come as a surprise as FIH marketing manager Steven Morris had earlier declared that looking at the commercial success of the World Cup, India would be an integral part of international body’s effort to lift the profile of hockey in the world. Interestingly, during the World Cup FIH president Leandro Negre said India would also host the inaugural World Cup of clubs in December this year and the international federation had even roped in an Indian sponsor for the event. FIH Executive Board had also discussed the probability of starting a World Series competition from 2012 and a final call in this regard would be taken after studying the proposals from various committees during its next meeting in July, the statement said. “The main agenda item of these fruitful meetings was on a new structure of the Executive Board to be presented at the next FIH Congress to be held in November 2010 in Montreux, Switzerland. The agreed structure calls for a reduction in the size of the Executive Board in order to focus on the strategy policy and direction of the FIH,” the release added. — PTI
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Tiger: I was living a lie
Los Angeles, March 22 In the billionaire golfer’s first interview since he smashed his car in November outside his Florida home, Woods said it wasn’t until he did some soul searching with the help of a therapist that he came to the “ugly” truth and “saw a person I never thought I would become.” “I was living a lie, I really was,” Woods told ESPN reporter Tom Rinaldi. “And I was doing a lot of things, that hurt a lot of people. And stripping away denial, and rationalisation, you start coming to the truth of who you really are, and that can be very ugly.” Woods announced his return at the Masters in April after four months of self-imposed exile. Woods conducted two separate five-minute interviews with ESPN and The Golf Channel yesterday afternoon. He talked about his personal feelings and what it feels like to become a late-night talk show punchline but he refused to give details about the early-morning car smash or his time in a southern US rehabilitation clinic. “A lot has transpired in my life. A lot of ugly things have happened. I have done some pretty bad things in my life,” Woods said. He said he is starting to get his life back in order. “When you face it, and you start conquering it, and you start living up to it, the strength that I feel now. I have never felt that type of strength,” the 14-time major championship winner said. Woods has not played since winning the Australian Masters in mid-November after a sex scandal in which he admitted cheating on wife Elin, and apologised for igniting a tabloid frenzy where more than a dozen women have claimed affairs. He and Elin have a two-year-old daughter and a one-year-old son. Dressed in a green sweater and a white baseball cap, Woods chose his words carefully as he was interviewed near his home in Windermere, Florida. Woods said he reached a low point when he had to face his mother and wife with the truth. “I had a lot of low points. Just when I didn’t think it could get any lower it got lower,” Woods said. “There were so many different low points. People I had to talk to and face like my wife, like my mom. I hurt them the most. Those are the two people in my life who I am the closest to and to say the things that I’ve done, truthfully to them, is ... honestly ... was ... very painful.” Responding to how his wife took the news, Woods said, “She was hurt, she was hurt. Very hurt. Shocked. Angry. She had every right to.” Woods’ interview come just days after former porn star Joslyn James released more than 100 text messages on her website that portray Woods as someone who fantasises about having violent sex with submissive women. “Just one is enough,” Woods said of his affairs. “Obviously that wasn’t the case.” Woods attended a clinic in Mississippi in January and February. Asked what he went into in-patient therapy for, Woods refused to go into specifics. “That’s a private matter. But I can tell you that it was tough. Really tough to look at yourself in a light that you never want to look at yourself.” Woods appeared on television on February 19 and made a public apology but it was a tightly controlled and scripted show. Only a few handpicked reporters were in attendance and none was allowed to ask questions. Woods did not give details yesterday on the infamous car crash. “It is all in the police report,” he said. “Beyond that, everything is between Elin and myself and that is private.” Woods also declined to comment on why he lost control and smashed his car. “As I said. That is between Elin and myself,” Woods said. South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker recently dedicated an entire episode of their hugely popular comedy cartoon to Woods’ infidelity problems. “It was hurtful,” he said of the ridicule and scorn he has received. “But then again, you know what? I did it. Looking back on it now, with a more clear head, I get it. I can understand why people would say those things. It was disgusting behaviour.” Woods told The Golf Channel that even people in his inner circle didn’t know the extent of his problems. “It was all me. I’m the one who did it. I’m the one who acted the way I acted. No one knew what was going on when it was going on,” Woods said. — AFP
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French Open could move out of Paris
Paris, March 22 The projects, including the construction of a roof-covered court to avoid rain delays to the springtime claycourt tournament, have stalled, however, because of opposition, notably from the public and environmentalists. “Over the last 10 years, the three other grand slam tournaments have progressed, notably in terms of infrastructure, but we haven’t,” tournament director Gilbert Ysern told reporters, referring to the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. “Roland Garros cannot stay the way it is,” he added. “We have two options. One is to make it bigger, the other is to move out.” While the various extension plans are not shelved yet, organisers are now considering four possible new locations in the Paris suburbs. — Reuters
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Chennai, March 22
In the first interview after the sex scandal shattered his image, Tiger Woods admits he has done a lot of ugly things in life
Paris, March 22
Chennai, March 22
Bangalore, March 22
Messi hits successive hat-trick