Mumbai, April 21
Having suffered two defeats in as many away games, defending champions Chennai Super Kings face an uphill task when they take on last year's runners-up Mumbai Indians in a high-voltage Indian Premier League match here tomorrow.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Super Kings have blown hot and cold this season. While they have defeated the opposition in their home venue, they have been tripped by an unknown Mumbaikar Paul Valthaty of Kings XI Punjab in Mohali and then by debutants Kochi Tuskers Kerala in their second away game.

Dhoni and his band of warriors, who won both the last year's IPL and Champions League in South Africa to make it a memorable double, would be anxious to put it across Tendulkar's Mumbai Indians here at the Wankhede Stadium.

Mumbai will be the favourites in tomorrow's match, having made a storming start to their quest of clinching the T20 League crown, which they had missed narrowly in 2010.

Both Mumbai and Chennai are aware of each other's strengths and weaknesses as they retained most of their players from last year's campaign.

Chennai's batting has come good in all four ties, although the rain interruption in Kochi two days ago had upset Dhoni's calculations, as the match got reduced to a 17-over affair midway through their innings.

It's the bowling, however, which is the major concern of the visitors, who are languishing in the bottom half of the points table, as they have allowed the opposition batsmen to run riot, even when defending seemingly adequate totals.

In three matches out of four, the Super Kings have crossed the 150-run mark — winning their lung opener against Kolkata Knight Riders by only two runs after making 153, while losing to Valthaty's amazing aggression at Mohali after having posted 188 for four against Kings XI Punjab.

But even while defending 183 against Bangalore at home in their third game of the tournament, the Super Kings allowed their rivals to rattle up 162, a clear sign that the bowling has not been up to the mark.

Against a team like Mumbai, with batting maestro Tendulkar in a sublime form and Ambati Rayudu, too, in red-hot touch, the Chennai bowlers need to step up their performance.

One of the reasons for Chennai's mixed display has been the indifferent form of all-rounder Albie Morkel, who has not really done his job either with the bat or the ball.

The fact that he was one of the four that the franchise retained ahead of the players' auction, shows how important the South African is to their scheme of things. — PTI

Mohali, April 21
Sports, just like life, is about phases, and going by their performance tonight, the Kings XI Punjab are living their dream phase! They are batting well, fielding is agile and bowling is doing the job asked off them, and it was all on view as the Kings XI beat Rajasthan Royals by 48 runs here tonight.

Propelled by a sensational knock by Shaun Marsh and decorated by what was a once-in-a-blue-moon opening partnership, the Kings took charge while bowling as well. Praveen Kumar with figues of 2 for 22 was the pick of the bowlers and the rest of the team kept chipping in at regular intervals.

Ryan Harris cleared up Rahul Dravid and six runs later Praveen got rid of Swapil Asnodkar. Watson was starting to get into his element but before he could find his stride, Praveen got rid of him as well. From there on, despite some resistance shown by Stuart Binny, the ride was always going to be too up the hill!

Earlier, the Kings XI Punjab started with a roar, loud and clear for the Rajasthan Royals to hear! They roared and roared and it rained runs, but in the end it looked like they developed a sore throat and could just not do justice to the dream start provided by Adam Gilchrist and Paul ‘Orange Cap’ Valthaty. They ended the innings at 195 for 7 after 20 overs, this after they were sitting at 175 for three after 16 overs.

The Royals fought back with some aggressive bowling and really poor shot selection by the Kings XI. Shaun Tait led the way back into the game with 3 for 22, including the last-ball wicket of Piyush Chawla, which saw the stump flying almost into the keeper’s hands. Even though Shane Watson might not have made the most of his chances with the bat, but he was equally impressive with the ball.

But all that was only after the Kings had made a statement of intent. They blasted what is the fastest 50 in any T20 game at the PCA stadium. The fours and sixes were flying, but the Kings also enjoyed their fair share of luck as first Gilchrist was bowled off a no-ball by Siddharth Trivedi, and then Valthaty was caught at third slip off another no-ball, this time Tait being the culprit.

It was raining sixes and fours and if you blinked, surely you must have missed something. Eventually Gilchrist was dismissed by Watson, and in walked Shaun Marsh. The highest run-scorer of the first edition of the IPL, found his rhythm, and from there on, the Royals were just dancing to his tunes! Marsh scored a breathtaking 42-ball 71, which included 3 sixes and six fours! While he was on the crease, 220, 235 even 250 looked a possibility.

St Lucia, April 21
A defiant Chris Gayle today hit back at the West Indies Cricket Board, saying that being left out of the home series against Pakistan and the WICB's vindictive attitude towards him forced him to join the IPL.

The explosive opening batsman, who yesterday joined the Royal Challengers Bangalore after Dirk Nannes was ruled out with an injury, said an uncertain future forced him to accept the IPL franchise's offer.

West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) had yesterday reacted angrily to Gayle's decision, saying that the move was "unacceptable and disappointing".

The 31-year-old Jamaican was critical of the remarks and said, "I was actually forced to make this decision based on what was happening around me and based on what has happened to players — (Ramnaresh) Sarwan and (Shivnaraine) Chanderpaul."

The left-hander added that after getting injured during the recently-concluded World Cup, he was left at his own and had to pay for his medical treatment in Britain before flying home.

"I took it upon myself to commence a rehabilitation programme with my personal trainer," said Gayle. "A group of players were selected for a training camp in Barbados, and I never got a call, nobody spoke to me, and I decided to leave it alone," the swashbuckling batsman told 'KLAS Sports Radio' in an interview.

"I continued my training programme, and I came to find out via the media that a Twenty20 squad was announced, and a One-day International squad was announced, and I was stunned when I saw a big headline in the newspapers, 'Gayle, Sarwan, Chanderpaul dropped'," he said.

The outspoken Jamaican, however, made it clear that he was not ready to end his West Indies career as yet. "I'm still the hardest fighting cricketer for West Indies. I go on West Indies field with broken finger and bat on one leg. You know who's the most hardcore cricket for West Indies. Chris Gayle. Ask anyone that," an emotional Gayle said. — PTI

Eleven Sri Lankan players, including Lasith Malinga (top) are currently in action in the cash-rich IPL

Colombo, April 21
A major standoff between the powerful BCCI and Sri Lanka Cricket was today averted with the island nation extending the deadline for its players' return from the IPL till May 18, a compromise which put an end to the uncertainty over their availability.

Under pressure from the BCCI to extend the original May 5 deadline, SLC relented after a meeting with country's Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage and allowed its star players to participate in cash-rich event for 13 more days.

Sources said according to the revised schedule, the players will now participate in the IPL till May 18 and leave from Mumbai for their tour of England after that. The series against England starts May 14 with a practice match against Middlesex, followed by another warm-up game against England Lions on May 19.

The first Test of the three Tests is scheduled to begin in Cardiff from May 26 which means that those players staying back for IPL would just have about a week to prepare for the series.

The indications of a compromise came earlier in the day when Aluthgamage said that the players might be allowed to stay beyond the original May 5 deadline. "I have received several e-mails from the BCCI and I will meet the selection committee and the SLC officials to discuss the matter. We might extend the May 5 deadline," Aluthgamage said.

"The players have to leave for England on May 10 and we might consider postponing that too. We don't want to embarrass the BCCI, we have good relations with India and we want to maintain this. We are trying to work out new dates for the players," he added.

Eleven Sri Lankan players, including Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene who are captaining their respective franchises, are currently in action in the cash-rich IPL. Their early return would have had an adverse impact on their respective teams' combinations as the franchises were under the impression that the players would be available till May 21. There is speculation that Sri Lanka's climbdown came after the BCCI gave them a deadline to sort out the issue and even threatened to withhold the 10 per cent cut from the players' fee which the SLC was due to get after the IPL. The SLC stands to earn approximately Rs two crore from the Rs 21 crore that the participating players would pocket from the event.

The controversy began after the Sri Lankan government asked the SLC to direct all its cricketers playing in the IPL to return home by May 5. It got murkier after the government and the SLC rejected the BCCI's request to allow its star cricketers to play in the lucrative Twenty20 tournament till May 15.

Speculation was that the Lankan government's move was in retaliation to the treatment meted out to Sri Lankan minister who had accompanied President Mahinda Rajapakse during the World Cup final. — PTI

Karachi, April 21
Just days away from returning to Pakistan, runaway wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider has claimed that he has got two fresh death threats, warning him not to come back. Zulqarnain, who is planning to return home on April 24 or 25 from London where he has remained since last November, told 'Geo News' that he has got two phone calls.

"The caller twice threatened me with death and problems for my family. I have informed the police in London," he said. "The police has advised me to be very cautious and to take the threats seriously," Zulqarnain said.

The keeper fled the Pakistan team hotel in Dubai during a one-day series against South Africa last November, claiming he got threats from an unidentified person who wanted him to fix matches. Zulqarnain fled to London and sought asylum there but last week, after meeting Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik, said withdrew his application.

Zulqarnain, who is living in a residence provided by the government, said he had moved to another location after getting the fresh threats. The keeper, who scored 88 on his Test debut against England last year, said he was grateful to the Scotland Yard and other authorities for helping him a lot during his stay in the United Kingdom. — PTI

New Delhi, April 21
Facing intense resistence from players in India, the Badminton World Federation today postponed the implementation of its controversial new rule, which makes wearing skirts mandatory for female shuttlers, by a month to June 1.

"Badminton's new clothing regulations, part of an overall campaign to raise the profile of women in badminton and profile of the sport, will be implemented on June 1, granting member associations and players another month to adapt to the new ruling," the BWF said in a statement.

The new rule was set to come into practice after next week's Indian Open Super Series here and female players in India were uncomfortable with the dress code.

Top shuttler Saina Nehwal had stated that though she herself was not against wearing skirts, but the choice of attire should be left to players. The BWF said it has received varied feedback on the new regulation and would talk to the players.

"Sometimes it is necessary to make rules to get a consistent implementation. BWF have for many years encouraged both badminton clothing manufacturers and players to produce and wear clothing that would enhance the presentation of the game in general," said BWF Deputy President Paisan Rangsikitpho. — PTI

Valencia, April 21
Real Madrid defeated archrivals Barcelona 1-0, after extra time in a dramatic finale to win the Spanish Cup for the first time since 1993, setting off an all-night party. A header from Cristiano Ronaldo sealed the championship, delivering coach Jose Mourinho's first trophy since joining the club last May.

As the final whistle blew in Valencia, fans in Madrid honked car horns and descended into the streets wrapped in the Real Madrid and Spanish flags or waving them in joy. In central Cibeles Square, traditional home of Real Madrid victory celebrations, thumping music blared into the early hours, lights beamed the team logo across the city hall facade, and fans chanted: "Champions, Champions."

Last weekend Real ended a run of five straight defeats against Barca with a 1-1 draw in the league but at the Mestalla Stadium they went one better with their first trophy since 2008. There still remain two more mouth-watering matches between the rivals in the Champions League on April 27 and May 3.

"This victory was for the fans as things haven't gone well at the club over the last few years. Mourinho is phenomenal," said Real goalkeeper Iker Casillas. Mourinho admitted that there was little to choose between the teams. "I thought it was a great game where players worked hard, were concentrated and did what they had to do," he said.

"Barca are a side which is used to winning and when they didn't score they became frustrated. I was told recently that I was a great coach for titles but not for football — I am happy to remain that way. I have won four cups now in four countries." But Mourinho does not believe this victory will have any bearing on the upcoming Champions League clashes. "We have now won one each and drawn a game this season, so who knows what will happen in the next. — AFP

New Delhi, April 21
Air-India defeated Collage Group by 63 runs to enter the semi-finals of the 21st All-India Om Nath Sood Cricket Tournament, played at the RSKP ground here today.

Scores: Air-India: 298 for 6 (Deepak Joon 85, R.R. Parida 66, Rohit Prakash 46, Pawan Negi 43, Sanjay Gill 3 for 58, Pradeep Parashar 2 for 32). Collage Group: 235 (Rahul Dagar 60, Rameez Nemat 40, Pankaj Joshi 36, Jaideep Chaudhary 34, Sanjay Gill 23, Abid Khan 5 for 29, Ashish Hudda 2 for 52).