Mumbai, April 17
Yuvraj Singh's all-round show went in vain as Delhi Daredevils defeated Pune Warriors by three wickets in a high-scoring Indian Premier League clash to record their maiden victory in the fourth edition of the tournament here today.

Chasing an imposing target of 188, Delhi romped home with four balls to spare, as David Warner (46), Virender Sehwag (37) Venugopal Rao (31) and Aaron Finch (25) shone with the bat.

Earlier, opener Jesse Ryder (60) and skipper Yuvraj (66 not out) struck half-centuries to help Pune Warriors amass an imposing 187 for five.

Yuvraj then took four wickets and it looked that his team will go on to score its third successive win, but the Delhi batsmen refused to buckle under pressure of chasing a massive total and came out victorious.

Yuvraj though was adjudged Man-of-the-Match.

The visitors started splendidly with a 75-run opening stand between Warner and skipper Sehwag, but a flurry of wickets reduced Delhi to 120 for five and they appeared to be heading towards another defeat.

Venugopal (31 in 20 balls) and Finch (25 in 12 balls) then raised a crucial stand of 47 runs in 4.1 overs for the sixth wicket to put them on the doorsteps of a fine victory.

James Hopes (13), who has stayed on to play in the IPL in spite of the death of his father back home in Australia, completed the victory in style by smashing Jesse Ryder for a six and a four in the first two balls of the final over.

Twenty runs came in the 18th over bowled by Shrikant Wagh that swung the match Delhi's way.

Earlier, after being invited to bat by Delhi, Ryder took full use of two reprieves by Ashok Dinda in bludgeoning his way to 60 off only 27 balls.

He hit five huge sixes and as many fours.

During his stay, Ryder added 54 runs in 6.2 overs for the second wicket with Mithun Manjas (20 in 18 balls).

Yuvraj, who came in at the fall of Manhas' wicket, struck a quickfire 66 not out in 33 balls, with five massive sixes and four fours, to give Pune the impetus towards the end.

The skipper put on 41 runs in just 17 balls for the unfinished sixth wicket with Wayne Parnell (10*). — PTI

Kochi, April 17
The stunning win over Mumbai Indians gave IPL debutants Kochi Tuskers Kerala the fillip they desperately needed and the side would be aiming to spring a surprise once again, when they take on another heavyweights, defending champions Chennai Super Kings, here tomorrow.

Kochi upstaged Mumbai by a comprehensive eight wickets to clinch their maiden IPL win, after facing defeats in their opening two matches. Captain Mahela Jayawardene said the win should now ensure that rivals take his team more seriously.

The destructive Brendon McCullum came into his own against Mumbai and with some crucial support from Jayawardene and India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, Kochi managed to pip Mumbai, despite a solid century by their captain Sachin Tendulkar.

"We have to keep fighting till the last. I think the rival teams will take us a little more seriously now following this victory. It gives us confidence as well," Jayawardene had said after the shock win. The Sri Lankan veteran would hope for a similar performance from his team against Chennai at the Nehru stadium here.

The bowling, however, is a big concern for Kochi as pace spearhead S Sreesanth and spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan have both been off colour, prompting Jayawardene to drop the duo in the match against Mumbai. R P Singh also continues to struggle to not just take wickets, but also stem the flow of runs in the fourth edition of the league.

R Vinay Kumar and Sri Lankan medium pacer Thisara Perera can also expect to be put through a tough test by the formidable Chennai batting, bolstered by the return of Michael Hussey. Besides the prolific left-hander from Australia, Chennai, with the likes of skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Suresh Raina, veteran New Zealander Scott Styris and South Africa's Albie Morkel, have the forepower to bat any opposition out of the game.

Chairman of selectors, Kris Srikkanth's son S Aniruddha, has also been an exciting find for the team in this edition of the league. Chennai have had a fairly successful campaign winning two of their three matches so far - the only defeat being a result of the sensational Paul Valthaty's brilliance with the bat.

Their bowlers too have been putting up decent performances with Morkel, Tim Southee, Ravichandran Ashwin and Suraj Randiv sharing enough wickets among themselves. Going into tomorrow's match, Chennai certainly have the momentum, but Kochi too have a spring in their step after the win over Mumbai. — PTI

Kolkata, April 17
Kolkata Knight Riders made light work of a small total to do the double over Rajasthan Royals, beating them by 8 wickets here tonight. KKR needed a paltry 82 runs for a win and they achieved their target with ease in the 14th over.

Skipper Gautam Gambhir remained unbeaten on 35, while Manoj Tiwary scored an unbeaten 30 to see the Kolkata side home. It is the third win for them on the trot, and the second time that they got the better of Rajasthan Royals, after having beaten them a few days earlier in Jaipur.

Earlier, Kolkata Knight Riders produced a clinical bowling display to bowl out Rajsathan Royals for a paltry 81 runs, the lowest total of the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League.

Kolkata were also helped by a spineless batting performance by Rajasthan batsmen, who played some irresponsible shots at a placid Eden Gardens pitch, to be bundled out in 15.2 overs. Vintage Laxmipathy Balaji was the star with the ball for Knight Riders with figures of three for 15. He was brilliantly backed up by Bangladesh captain Shakib-al-Hasan (2/21) and some tidy work by the fielders.

After a shaky start, Ashok Menaria showed some promise with a quickfire 21 from 17 balls, but there was no end to Rajasthan's misery, as they lost their last five wickets for just three runs within a space of 13 balls. Put into bat, Rajasthan made their intentions clear promoting in-form Shane Watson (11 off 13) up the order to open the batting with Amit Paunikar, who scored a run-a-ball 15.

But Knight Riders skipper Gautam Gambhir justified his decision to bowl first as Balaji and Abdulla made early in-roads, dismissing both the openers within five overs. — PTI 

Hyderabad, April 17
He captained Deccan Chargers for three seasons, guiding them to the IPL trophy once, before being bought by Kings XI Punjab, and Adam Gilchrist says someone in his former franchise has been making "bad" comments about him ever since he left.

Gilchrist (61) and Paul Valthaty (75) combined to guide the Kings XI Punjab to a comprehensive eight-wicket win over Deccan Chargers last night. "I had three wonderful years with Deccan Chargers and it was a particularly sweet victory today. But I must admit that I had been a little bit disappointed with some comments I heard from a person within the franchise (Chargers)," the former Australian wicketkeeper said after the match.

"It had been brought to my attention that someone had been saying a few things about me. I'm not going to elaborate on who or what it was. But everyone else in the franchise has been wonderful but it was disappointing to hear that," he added. Gilchrist refused to say who that person is and what comments he made. "From having had a wonderful experience here (with Chargers), this (sweet win) is on that one person (member) who knows what they are (comments). We are going to play them again in the tournament. Every dog has its day but it was our day today," he said.

Asked about Gilchrist's statements, Chargers coach Darren Lehmann said, “I don't have anything to say on that. Gilchrist is one of the greatest players of all time and at 41, he is still doing that (batting well).” — PTI

Chandigarh, April 17
Everything Paul Valthaty is trying his hand at seems to be coming off nicely at the moment, but the "man of few words" is determined not to let the sudden success go to his head.

"I take each game as it comes. My dream has not been fulfilled yet, there is still a long way to go," he said. From being a relatively unknown cricketer, two back-to-back match-winning performances against Chennai Super Kings and Deccan Chargers in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) have catapulted Valthaty to the spotlight.

"I am not thinking too ahead and not thinking too much in the past as well. It's a long tournament and we will need to play well," Valthaty said.

According to his father Chandrashekar, the 27-year-old has been a fighter to the core all his life.

"He is a man of few words, I would not say reserved, but an assertive man who likes to keep it to himself. But he is a fighter and very determined to achieve what he wants to," Chandrashekar told PTI.

Originally from Andhra Pradesh, Valthaty Sr has been settled in Mumbai for decades now.

The cricketer comes from a family of doctors. Though his father is an engineer, Paul's mother Chandrawati is a doctor and so are his three elder sisters, who are married and settled in United States, London and Sharjah.

Chandrashekar revealed that his son was so fascinated by the legendary Kapil Dev that he wanted to become a bowler like him one day.

"As a 5-year-old, he used to imitate his action and I used to tell him then that Kapil is a tall, strong fellow and you are short and thin, how can you become like him," he said about his son who also idolises Sachin Tendulkar. — PTI

Shanghai, April 17
McLaren's Lewis Hamilton roared to victory in the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday to deny Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel a fifth win in a row.

Germany's Vettel finished runner-up and 5.1 seconds behind the Briton, who narrowly avoided starting from the pit lane due to a pre-race engine scare, while Vettel's Australian Red Bull team mate Mark Webber took third after starting 18th.

"That was amazing, thank you so much!" yelled Hamilton, whooping with delight after his first win since Belgium in August last year. The 26-year-old, triumphant in Shanghai on his way to the title in 2008, was the first driver to win twice in China since the race made its debut on the calendar in 2004.

"The car just wouldn't start," he said of the pre-race problems that had his McLaren mechanics working feverishly to get him out of the garage and onto the grid with only seconds to spare.

Vettel had won the first two races from pole position and looked the hot favourite again after grabbing the top slot in qualifying. His decision to make two stops to Hamilton's three, proved crucial. The McLaren man made the most of his fresher tyres to reel in the Red Bull remorselessly over the closing laps. "Congratulations to Lewis and Team McLaren," said Vettel. "They did a very good job."

Hamilton and team mate Jenson Button, who finished fourth after starting on the front row, had both screamed past Vettel at the start with the older Englishman leading the eventual winner for the first 13 laps.

The 2009 champion then blew his lead on his first pitstop with a rare mistake that would have embarrassed even a rookie, let alone one of the smoothest of drivers. With Vettel following him in, moments after passing Hamilton, Button stopped at the Red Bull box before the German's mechanics frenziedly waved him on to make way for their man — who then exited again before the flustered Briton.

Seven times world champion Michael Schumacher crossed the line in eighth place at the circuit where he had his last podium finish with Ferrari in 2006. — PTI

Shanghai, April 17
After securing points in the last two races, Force India drivers Paul Di Resta and Adrian Sutil today returned empty handed, finishing 11th and 15th respectively, at the Chinese Grand Prix here.

Both drivers made good starts, with Paul up one place to seventh and Adrian making up three positions to eighth by the end of the first lap. But unfortunately, the usual front runners who had started lower down the grid were just too strong as the race unfolded, and the team narrowly missed out on a top 10 finish.

While Paul completed the 56 laps, his German partner Sutil had an incident with Perez, which forced him to come into the pits for an unscheduled nose change in the latter stage of the race. — PTI

Monaco, April 17
Spaniards Rafa Nadal and David Ferrer will lock horns again in the Monte Carlo Masters final after the claycourt conquistadors sealed contrasting victories in their semi-finals on Saturday.

World number one Nadal, who lost to Ferrer at the Australian Open quarter-finals, was pushed hard by injury-hit third seed Andy Murray but won 6-4 2-6 6-1 in a less than vintage display. "It was a very physically demanding match," Nadal said courtside as he gears up for next month's French Open.

Fourth seed Ferrer roared back from a shaky start to cruise through with a 6-3 6-2 win over Roger Federer's quarter-final conqueror Juergen Melzer of Austria. The Monte Carlo Country Club will host a second successive all-Spanish final fiesta after Nadal set a men's professional era record of winning six titles in a row at the same event by beating Fernando Verdasco here last year.

Nadal lost in the final of his last two tournaments to Novak Djokovic but the Serb withdrew from the season's first European claycourt event because of a minor knee injury. Not even Ferrer would bet against the top seed ending his mini title drought on Sunday. "It's very difficult to beat Nadal of course. He is the best player in history on clay," Ferrer said. — Reuters

Ropar, April 17
BSF Jalandhar today won the Silver Jubilee Dashmesh Hawks All-India Hockey Festival final match by beating Punjab Police Jalandhar 5-4.

Punjab Police took an early lead in the 15th minute through Hardeep Singh to go 1-0 up. The BSF forward line made repeated attacks to score an equaliser, but Punjab Police’s defence stood their ground. Th score at half-time read 1-0 in favour of Punjab Police, Jalandhar.

In the second half BSF continued to press and succeeded in getting an equaliser through Ranjit Singh in the 40th minute who capitalised on a defensive lapse by their opponents and scored to bring the match back to life.

Punjab Police again scored through a penalty corner, converted by Harmik Singh in 67th minute to lead 2-1. In the last minute of the match, BSF’s hero Ranjit Singh scored a field goal to equalise and make it 2-2. Both teams were locked after normal time and the match looked heading for a tie-breaker.

The organising committee decided that in view of the weather 7.5 minutes would be given to each side, with the golden goal rule in place, but still the deadlock remained. Then the tiebreaker rule was applied and BSF won the match 5-4.

Jamshedpur, April 17
Former Indian goalkeeper Brahmanand Shankhwalkar today said that the country has plenty of talents and could do well in international level if the AIFF hosts foreign teams on a regular basis.

"It is not that we do not have talents. We have good players with technique, physique and speed but we lack style of play and international exposure at home," Brahmanand, an Arjuna awardee, told PTI here.

We should invite foreign teams to play at home more than sending our boys abroad, he said. "The matches against the foreign teams should be played in every state, particularly in football crazy places such such as Kerala, Goa and West Bengal to promote and encourage the sport," Brahmanand, the assistant coach of Goa's Sesa Football Academy said. — PTI

Madrid, April 17
Barcelona took a giant stride towards a third straight La Liga title when they drew 1-1 at 10-man Real Madrid on Saturday to preserve their eight-point lead over their arch rivals at the top with six games left.

In a tense encounter at a packed Bernabeu, the first of four clashes between the teams in three competitions in 18 days, Lionel Messi put Barca ahead from the spot in the 53rd minute after Raul Albiol was sent off for a foul on David Villa.

The champions looked to be cruising towards a sixth consecutive victory in the "Clasico" under coach Pep Guardiola when Dani Alves felled Marcelo and the referee awarded another penalty, converted by Cristiano Ronaldo in the 82nd minute.

With Wednesday's King's Cup final and the two-legged Champions League semi-final still to come, Real may take some comfort from the fact they managed to come from behind to snatch a point despite a numerical disadvantage. Barca will perhaps feel they squandered a chance to bury their rivals in the league title race as they bid for a repeat of their 2009 treble. — Reuters

Kuala Lumpur, April 17
Jeev Milkha Singh sank a stunning five birdies in his 15 holes, as none of the three Indians who made the cut in the Maybank Malaysian Open completed their third round today.

Jeev, with a five-under through 15 holes today, was six-under for the tournament and in tied 14th place, while Shiv Kapur was one-under through 12 was five-under for the tournament and in tied 19th. Anirban Lahiri, who played a superb second round of 68 to make the cut, was one-over through 15 holes and even par for the tournament. Jeev, starting from the 10th, birdied the 13th, 15th, 16th, third and fifth. He still had three holes to play and had no bogeys in third round.

Rory McIlroy holed a 10-foot birdie putt to establish a two shot clubhouse advantage after day three. — PTI