New Delhi, April 19
The organisers of the Indian Premier League couldn’t be happier. No team is winning too many matches, nor is any losing all the time. That keeps the interest going since all the franchises and cities are happy, at least a part of the time. Delhi Daredevils played to that script at the Ferozshah Kotla this evening, going down to Deccan Chargers by 16 runs. Daredevils were coming out of a big win while Chargers were recovering from a heavy defeat.

In terms of the mathematics, Chargers won the toss and elected to bat and posted 168 for four off their 20 overs. This too was about 20 runs short of what they were hoping for, but then, anything beyond 160 is a good total on the Kotla. As it turned out, Delhi managed just 152 for 7 in their innings.

Chasing something akin to eight runs an over from the beginning never augurs well for the team batting second in Delhi and the hosts were always up against it, despite a rollicking start as usual from Virender Sehwag and David Warner. Sehwag somehow doesn’t seem too enamoured with his surrounds nowadays and that invariably reflects in some disinterested swings of the bat. But such is his genius that even then he connects. He scored 12, with three boundaries.

Chargers’ Dale Steyn and Dan Christian, especially the latter, were clattered around so Sangakkara fell back on Harmeet Singh, playing his first match. The medium-pacer probed an uppish shot from Sehwag to point and as a bonus, Harmeet also found the edge of Aaron Finch’s bat and suddenly the match became a steep climb for Delhi, especially when Naman Ojha was adjudged lbw off Christian.

Warner did his job to the best of his ability while Venugopal Rao as always was a game fighter. But the Kotla pitch has denied many a better batsman, and as the asking rate rose, both were forced to take the aerial route, sadly not very effectively.

Yogesh Nagar tried to do the impossible, including a six apiece off Amit Mishra and Steyn, but it was all too much to do for Delhi, who now have only one win and two points after four games. Chargers on the other hand posted their second win and have four points.

Earlier, Kumar Sangakkara, who hasn’t had a particularly happy outing so far, called right and batted with his lazy elegance to make the telling difference between the two teams. It was his 49 and a stand of 92 for the second wicket with a delightfully inventive Sunny Sohal which pretty much played Delhi out of the competition. Sohal scored a fine 62 while vice-captain Cameron White chipped in with 31 runs.

Sohal’s confidence and the faith imposed on him by his skipper yielded some very good runs, as he played all kinds of shots against a Delhi bowling which as always left a lot to desire. They haven’t been able to find a consistent wicket-taker, neither any bowlers who are miserly. The fielding saved a few runs for Delhi, but with an average bowling and precious few match-winning batsmen, they will be tested all the time. But one never knows how the plot of the IPL turns. 

Scoreboard

Deccan Chargers

Sohal c Finch b Nadeem 62

Dhawan b Irfan 8

S’kara c Finch b Dinda 49

White not out 31

Christian b Hopes 8

Chipli not out 5

Extras: (b 1, lb 2, w 2) 5 Total: (4wkts;20overs) 168

Bowling: Dinda 4-0-33-1, Irfan 4-0-28-1, Morkel 4-0-31-0, Hopes 4-0-36-1, Nadeem 3-0-24-1, Yogesh 1-0-13-0.

Delhi Daredevils

Warner c Teja b Dhawan 51

Sehwag c Christian

b Harmeet 12

Ojha lbw b Christian 2

Finch c S’kara b Harmeet 0 Rao c Christian b Mishra 21

Irfan c Chipli b Ojha 5

Hopes not out 18

Yogesh b Christian 22

Morkel not out 8

Extras: (b6, lb1, w6) 13 Total: (7wkts;20overs) 152

Bowling: Steyn 4-0-24-0, Christian 4-0-38-2, Singh 4-0-27-2, Ojha 3-0-21-1, Mishra 4-0-28-1, Dhawan 1-0-7-1.

Dubai, April 19
Following protests by some Associate members, the ICC is now going to reconsider its decision to have only 10 teams for the 2015 cricket World Cup. The ICC's Executive Board will reconsider the composition of the 2015 World Cup during the Annual Conference in Hong Kong at the end of June 2011, according to a media release issued by the game's governing body today.

At the recent ICC Executive Board meeting in Mumbai on April 4, the Board decided to allow only the 10 Full Members to participate in the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2015. But the Associate members like Ireland and the Netherlands took strong exception to the decision prompting the governing body to revisit the issue.

After receiving representations from the Associate and Affiliate Members of the ICC, the ICC President Sharad Pawar has decided to request the Executive Board to reconsider the issue.

"I have given this matter further serious thought and will request the Board to consider this topic once more. I can understand the views of the Associates and Affiliates and ICC will seek to deal with this issue in the best way possible," Pawar was quoted as saying in the media release.

The Board had also confirmed its previous decision made in October 2010 that the next two World Cups (in 2015 and 2019) would comprise 10 teams. According to the release, these decisions were part of a strategic restructure of ICC events and the context and content for international cricket.

As part of the restructure, a Test play-off for the top four teams was introduced and the ICC World Twenty20 was expanded to 16 teams. The Executive Board had also agreed in Mumbai that the 10 teams for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 in England would be determined on the basis of qualification.

Flower in running for India job: Report

London: England cricket coach Andy Flower is among the few who have been reportedly shortlisted by the BCCI for the India job left vacant by Gary Kirsten, prompting a worried ECB to offer the Zimbabwean a new three-year deal. According to 'the Daily Telegraph', Flower, along with Duncan Fletcher, are among the shortlisted candidates for the post vacated by Kirsten after India's World Cup triumph.

The ECB, which is determined to hold on to Flower after he guided England to the Ashes and World Twenty20 triumphs, is doing all it can to prevent the former wicketkeeper from being lured by India. "Andy Flower has been offered a new three-year contract as the England and Wales Cricket Board attempts to head off any moves for their highly rated coach from India," the report said. — PTI

Chandigarh, April 19
For this new season King’s XI Punjab went in for an entirely new team but there were a couple of players that they did not change. Australian batsman Shaun Marsh is one of them. He has been with the franchise right form the first season and has been their most consistent performer.

In 2008, Shaun Marsh scored the highest number of runs in the IPL and received the orange cap. Although Shaun has been quite succcessful, his team has failed to go past the semi-final stage on the last three occasions.

“In the end what matters is the team, therefore the focus is on the team’s success. Every player is looking to perform better. So, if the team does well, then we all have done well,” said Shaun.

This time King’s have unearthed a new hero in the form of Paul Valthaty and Shaun is full of praise for him. “Paul has been in great touch. The way he played against Chennai and Deccan was fantastic. He is a talented player and he’s also a very humble person. He surely deserves all success in the future,’ says Shaun.

Although Shaun Marsh has been successful for the Australian team as well but his progress has been hampered by injuries. “Injuries have been very frustrating. But I have been training hard and looking after my body and now everything seems to be all right,” he says.

Shaun Marsh feels that the new make up of Kings XI this time hasn’t affected the team at all and the Australian and Indian players are doing quite well.“With new coach, new captain and many new players, I am quite comfortable and we just hope to do well this season,” he says.

“Gilly is a very good captain and he gels very well with all of us. Our team gives hundred percent in every match, no matter win or lose. So I am very happy with the team and our coach Bevan.” Also, Shaun is really enjoying the Punjabi food here and he loves the culture of the state and he wants to continue doing well for his ‘home state’.

Chandigarh, April 19
After making the switch from Delhi Daredevils to Kings XI Punjab, former Indian wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik, in his own words, is finding the transition a lot smoother than expected. With Kings XI skipper Adam Gilchrist donning the role behind the stumps, Karthik is finding his flair as an outfielder, and loving every bit of it.

“You see Delhi to Chandigarh is not all that far, and it is not really a transition. I had a wonderful time playing for Daredevils, and I have had an equally good time playing for the Kings XI too. Also, with Gilly behind the stumps, I am more free and it is fun to play as an outfielder,” said Karthik.

He also praised the team for showing immense character and bouncing back with two back-to-back wins in the League but added, “We have to guard against complacency, and stay at our best all the time”. Karthik also said that his former team, the Delhi Daredevils should not be underestimated, and that they had it in them to bounce back.

When quizzed about why foreign coaches were ruling the roost in the Indian Premier League, Karthik said, “That is something you should be asking the owners. We play for them, and they pick who they think are the best men for the job.”

Karthik also said that playing for the Kings XI suited his taste buds as well. “You get to eat the best food, and with aloo parantha’s up for breakfast every day, who would ever complain?” 

Mumbai, April 19
Sachin Tendulkar’s Mumbai Indians will meet Yuvraj Singh’s Pune Warriors here on Wednesday with both sides looking to get back to winning ways. Mumbai Indians went down to Kochi Tuskers in their last match and the Pune team also had to endure defeat at the hands of Delhi Daredevils in their previous game.

The Warriors had posted a seemingly impregnable total of 187 against the Daredevils, who managed to make a great comeback from a losing position in the last three overs to cross the finish line with four balls to spare on Sunday last.

Pune would be happy with the form shown by burly New Zealander Jesse Ryder and Yuvraj Singh, who has carried forward his splendid form in the World Cup into the Twenty20 League. But after two good displays by their bowling unit, it came short of expectations on a better wicket for batting than in the first two games and coach Geoff Marsh conceded as much after the three-wicket defeat to Delhi.

"We gave too much room knowing how good these (Delhi) players are. You have to bowl tight. We just had to bowl straight and full but not underneath the bat. Hopefully the bowlers will learn from it," he had declared.

He was referring to the likes of David Warner and Virender Sehwag who had blasted 75 runs in tandem for the first wicket in only seven overs as well as Venugopal Rao and Aaron Finch who took Delhi past the finish line with a stand of 47 runs in just 4.1 overs.

The new-ball attack of Alphonso Thomas, Shrikant Wagh and Wayne Parnell needs to bowl with much more discipline against Tendulkar and company. Marsh saw the game against Mumbai as a very tough challenge.

"It will be a great challenge against Mumbai Indians and we're looking forward to the next game. We need to come back from the last game. We look forward to the challenge. They have very good players," the former Australian opener had remarked after his team's first loss in three games.

Teams:

Pune Warriors: Yuvraj Singh (capt.), Robin Uthappa (wk), Murali Kartik, Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Deeraj Jadhav, Eklavya Dwivedi, Ganesh Gaikwad, Harpreet Singh Bhatia, Harshad Khadiwale, Kamran Khan, Mithun Manhas, Mohnish Mishra, Rahul Sharma, Sachin Rana, Shrikant Wagh, Shrikant Mundhe, Imtiyaz Ahmed, Graeme Smith, Jesse Ryder, Wayne Parnell, Alphonso Thomas. Tim Paine, Callum Ferguson, Mitchell Marsh, Jerome Taylor.

Mumbai Indians: Sachin Tendulkar (capt.), Harbhajan Singh, Rohit Sharma, Munaf Patel, Kieron Pollard, Lasith Malinga, Andrew Symonds, Davy Jacobs, James Franklin, Abu Nechim Ahmed, Aditya Tare, Ali Murtaza, Ambati Rayudu, Dhawal Kulkarni, Pawan Suyal, R Satish, Sarul Kanwar, Suryakumar Yadav, T Suman. Yuzvendra Singh Chahai. — PTI

New Delhi, April 19
Hockey India today named an 18-member inexperienced national squad without at least half a dozen senior players, including former captain Rajpal Singh, for the Azlan Shah tournament starting May 5 in Ipoh, Malaysia.

Besides Rajpal, who is yet to fully recover from an injury, the squad, announced after a two day trial here, does not have drag-flicker Sandeep Singh and defender Sardara Singh, besides midfielder Bharat Chikara and striker Tushar Khandekar.

Six players were also named as standbys after a selection committee meeting today attended by Col Balbir Singh (Sr), B P Govinda, Syed Ali, Manohar Toppo, Thoiba Singh and two government nominees Dilip Tirkey and Harbinder Singh.

Addressing a press conference, national coach Harendra Singh said the selectors have picked the best available squad due to injury to some senior players and the seven-team tournament would serve as the build-up to Champions Trophy (here in December) and the 2012 Olympic qualifiers (here next February).

"The selectors have picked the best available squad. We have left out some six-seven senior players as they are not fully fit. We are taking Azlan Shah as a build-up and it will give a good exposure to the young players," he said. "Our main aim is to qualify for the 2012 Olympics and do well in the Champions Trophy. The main objective is to have a core group of 24-28 players for the Olympic qualifiers. We need to qualify for the Olympics," added Harendra.

Sandeep and Sardara were apparently not considered for the tournament as they did not report for the national camp, which began from May 1 at the Major Dhyan Chand Stadium here. However, striker Gurwinder Singh Chandi, who was hit by the ball on his face during the camp, has been named in the squad as he has been cleared after medical examination.

Harendra also said, "Rajpal is suffering from lower abdominal pain. There is no treatment for this other than strengthening the abdominal muscle and take rest.” — PTI

New Delhi, April 19
In a sporting season dominated by cricket so far, the boxers are set to be back in action for India with six of them heading off to Belgrade, Serbia, today for an International Tournament where the country has been invited for the first time.

The team may not feature a certain Vijender Singh but it does have a couple of Commonwealth Games gold medallists in like Manoj Kumar (64kg) and Paramjeet Samota (+91kg) and Asian Games silver-winner Manpreet Singh (91kg).

Multiple-time national champion Kuldeep Singh (75kg) and rookies Shiva Thapa (56kg) and Mandeep Jangra (69kg) are the other members of the team which would be presenting India's challenge in a competition that would feature boxers from traditional powerhouses, such as Russia and Kazakhstan.

The tournament is part of the build-up program that the Indian Boxing Federation has laid out for the Olympic qualifiers that start later this year. "It is about testing the talent that we have at hand so that the best possible boys are ready for the Olympics. Results and medals don't matter much here, but we certainly don't want to come back empty-handed," coach Jaidev Bisht said ahead of the team's departure.

Of the six going for the event, Shiva and Mandeep would be making their senior international debut. The 17-year-olds have had a good track record in the junior and youth level events. Shiva is, in fact, a silver-medallist from the Youth World Championships and a bronze-winner from the inaugural Youth Olympics. — PTI 

New Delhi, April 19
A new rule that makes wearing skirts on court mandatory for female shuttlers has created a furore in India with former and current players saying such an "unfair" move could discourage girls from taking up the sport.The Badminton World Federation (BWF) has introduced a new dress code, which requires all female shuttlers to wear skirts from May 1. Players may continue to wear shorts if they wish to, but it has to be underneath a skirt. India's most successful doubles players Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa prefer wearing skirts on court, but even they feel it should not be made compulsory.

BWF's new rule is a step to glamourise badminton like tennis and Jwala said though she is all for boosting the glamour quotient, wearing skirts should not be mandatory as it might affect a player's freedom. "I have always been comfortable in skirts but forcing players to wear them is not right. A player can wear a skirt if she is comfortable, but making it mandatory is not right," Jwala said. — PTI

Karachi, April 19
The tennis duo comprising Rohan Bopanna of India and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi of Pakistan have improved their ATP doubles ranking by two positions after they made it to the semifinals of the Monte Carlo ATP Masters tournament.

According to the latest rankings by the ATP World Tour, the Indo-Pak Express are now ranked at number six, a double-hop from their pre-tournament rank of eighth and a testament to their ever-improving performances in big tournaments. — ANI