Hyderabad, April 23
Their campaign has been inconsistent so far and the task does not get any easier for former champions Deccan Chargers, as they take on in-form Mumbai Indians in their Indian Premier League match here tomorrow.

Kumar Sangakkara's Chargers have been struggling to gel as a team and that has reflected in their roller-coaster run so far. In five matches they have played till now, the 2009 champions have won twice, while finishing on the losing side on three occasions.

But the Chargers go into the match as a confident unit after beating Delhi Daredevils in their previous outing, in which the batting came good for them. The line-up does not exactly boast of established stars except for Kumar Sangakkara and to some extent Shikhar Dhawan. But Sunny Sohal and Bharat Chipli have done a decent job in the past two outings to bring a semblance of balance to the Chargers' batting.

As far as their bowling is concerned, the team would be hoping that South African pacer Dale Steyn and Manpreet Gony would continue their fine form. The duo may not have bagged too many wickets, but have done the containing job that is also crucial in the Twenty20 format.

But Ishant Sharma, Daniel Christian and Amit Mishra will also have to get into the rhythm to cope with the onslaught that Mumbai is bound to unleash tomorrow.

Led by the iconic Sachin Tendulkar, who incidentally turns 38 on match day, the last year's runners-up have been in fantastic form, winning four of their five matches so far. Mumbai's batting has clicked very well with Tendulkar and Ambati Rayudu and now Andrew Symonds and Rohit Sharma in fine form.

Rohit, who laid the platform for Mumbai's competitive total of 164 with his superbly paced innings of 87 in 48 balls yesterday, said he would be aiming to make an impression in the IPL to force his way back into the national side.

"I am glad to make runs. I know I missed out on the World Cup. But it's alright; things happened like that. I just need to keep my focus on. Don't lose my heart and whenever I get my opportunity just (want to) go out and do my best," said the youngster.

Mumbai's bowling has been adequate, if not spectacular, with Lasith Malinga and Munaf Patel doing a good job along with Harbhajan Singh, who made quite a statement with a five-wicket haul against the Chennai Super Kings last night.

Mumbai, in fact, would be aiming to give Sachin Tendulkar a perfect 38th birthday gift by winning against the Deccan Chargers. — PTI

Jalandhar, April 23
The ‘Monkeygate’ scandal that shook the cricketing world in 2008 has evidently become a thing of the past as its two principal characters — Harbhajan Singh and Andrew Symonds — have become good friends. Both play for Mumbai Indians in the IPL and one could say that the enmity between the two has ended.

“It was a pleasing for all us to see Symonds appreciating and congratulating Bhajji for his excellent bowling against Chennai Super Kings last evening”, said a close relation of Bhajji. “Obviously, we are happy to see Bhajji and Symonds playing together as true professionals. Their applauding each other on the field further added to our joy,” said Kartar Singh, who is also a coach.

Harbhajan’s close friends here said today that Mumbai Indians captain Sachin Tendulkar, who is a close friend of Harbhajan’s, has played a crucial role to bringing the two together. The owner of the team, Nita Ambani, had also lent a hand to heal the old wounds, sources said. Bhajji came running thrice from his fielding position to shake hands with and hug Symonds, whose fielding at covers was brilliant. When Bhajji took Suresh Raina’s wicket, Symonds ran in to pat on his back.

It was Tendulkar who had stood by Bhajji when the monkeygate scandal occurred three years ago. Symonds had alleged that Harbhajan had called him a ‘monkey’. Bhajji had denied the allegations and said it was a case of misunderstanding.

New Delhi, April 23
Delhi Daredevils rode on the devilish batting might of David Warner and Virender Sehwag to post their first win at home in three matches and second overall in five when they inflicted a 29-run defeat on Kings XI Punjab in the fourth edition of the Indian Premier League at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground here tonight.

It was always a difficult task for Kings XI, who came here after three successive wins, to chase Delhi Daredevils’ total of 231 for 4 made in 20 overs at the rate of 11.55 runs per over. Kings XI not only failed to match the run-rate even once but it rose to become 15 plus per over which looked beyond the reach of the Punajb team, who eventually folded up for 202 for 6 in 20 overs..

The Delhi Daredevils victory was achieved on the bedrock of the blazing knocks by Warner and Sehwag who put on 146 runs for the opening wicket in just 11.5 overs. They both scored 77 runs each to hoist the highest total in this edition of the IPL, and the Punjab chase suffered a big jolt when they lost the new kid on the block, Paul Valthaty for 14, to Irfan Pathan, who also bowled a maiden over to boot, with the total on 25. Though captain Adam Gilchrist and Shaun Marsh kept the scoreboard racing, the exit of Gilchrist dashed the hopes of Kings XI and when the dangerous Shaun Marsh, who cracked 95 off 46 balls with nine fours and six sixes, also departed, the route became clear for a much-needed Delhi victory, which has kept the hosts in the hunt for a semi-final berth.

Earlier, Warner and Sehwag went on a blistering run-riot to keep the packed stands entertained.

Asked to bat on a greenish wicket, Warner and Sehwag made merry, sparing none of the bowlers, to put on 146.. Though after Sehwag's exit, the run flow slowed down as Delhi lost a couple of quick wickets, Venugopala Rao and Naman Ojha swung their bats around to remain unbeaten on 28 and 19 respectively.

Scoreboard
Delhi Daredevils
Warner c Harris b Kumar 77
Sehwag c Karthik b Hussey 77
Nagar c Harris b Nayar 11
Venugopal not out 28
Finch c Karthik b Chawla 3
Ojha not out 19
Extras: (lb 2, w 14) 16
Total: (4 wkts; 20 overs) 231
Bowling: Kumar 4-0-45-1, Harris 4-0-48-0, Srivastava 4-0-46-0, Nayar 2-0-22-1, Chawla 4-0-36-1, Valthaty 1-0-13-0, Hussey 1-0-19-1.

Kings XI Punjab
Gilchrist b Aaron 42
Valthaty c Nagar b Pathan 14
Marsh c Sehwag b Morkel 95
Karthik c Sehwag b Agarkar 6
Hussey c Sehwag b Hopes 20
Nayar not out 18
Singh c Hopes b Agarkar 2
Harris not out 1
Extras: (lb 1, w 1, nb 2) 4
Total: (6 wkts; 20 overs) 202
Bowling: Morkel 4-0-32-1, Pathan 3-1-26-1, Aaron 4-0-36-1, Nagar 1-0-16-0, Agarkar 4-0-48-2, Hopes 4-0-43-1.

Jaipur, April 23
Struggling Rajasthan Royals will face an uphill task to bring their campaign back on track when they clash against in-form Kochi Tuskers Kerala in their Indian Premier League match, here tomorrow.

Out of six matches they have played so far, the 2008 champions, after having started on a great note by winning the first two games, finished on the losing side on three occasions, while one match got abandoned due to rain. Led by Shane Warne, Rajasthan Royals though have lacked the fire power and killer instinct that made them the champions in the inaugural IPL.

While the batting looks inconsistent, the bowlers have not been able to stop the flow of runs. It is high time that the Royals pull up their socks and get back to winning ways. And they would require to do it tomorrow itself against a confident Kochi outfit, before it becomes a much stiffer task to make it to the last-four stage.

But for that, they would have to get their act together quickly in all three departments of the game. The likes of Shane Watson, Ross Taylor, Rahul Dravid, Stuart Binny, Ashok Menaria have not been able to make an impression yet and they will now have to raise their hands and be counted. The hosts would also be desperate to include Johan Botha, who has been in good form with willow, if he is fit.

The bowling department, which looks impressive on paper, has also failed to penetrate into the opposition camps so far in the tournament and Warne will be looking to lead from the front when they take on the Kochi Tuskers. Shaun Tait, Shane Watson, Sidhartha Trivedi and Warne himself were all found lacking at times, but it will be just a matter of one match, as any of these players are capable of changing the complexion of the game.

On the other hand, Kochi Tuskers have been on a rampage. After putting behind the disappointment of the first two losses, this new IPL team has hardly looked back.

Mahela Jayawardene and Co have stunned three powerful sides in the competition - defending champions Chennai Super Kings, runners-up of last season Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders - to emerge as one of the favourites in the tournament.

With Brendon McCullum, Jayawardene, Parthiv Patel, Brad Hodge in good form, Team Kochi might be expecting a cake-walk tomorrow, but they would certainly be guarding against complacency. They would also be hoping that all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja would continue with his fabulous run.

The bowling also looks solid with the presence of veteran Muttiah Murlitharan, R P Singh, Vinay Kumar and Jadeja, who have lived up to the expectations so far and the Keralites would want the story to be no different tomorrow as well.

But all said and done, even though the visitors start favourites against the Royals, wily skipper Warne is well aware of the fact that in Twenty20, equations can change extremely fast and the veteran spinner would be looking to come out with a new trick to change the fortunes for his side. — PTI

Mumbai, April 23
Former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming, whose name is doing the rounds as a possible candidate for the Indian cricket team's coaching job, says he has not given a thought to taking up a full-time coaching assignment.

Fleming has been the coach of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for three seasons now. "I'm enjoying my coaching stint with Chennai Super Kings. I got my hands full at CSK. It is a good experience. I have not given a thought about my coaching career.

It is something that I'll consider as time goes on," Fleming said Friday. Fleming said at the moment he was happy coaching an IPL team. "It's a great challenge for two months of the year. I am still learning my coaching philosophies in these two months," Fleming said after CSK beat Mumbai Indians by eight runs.

The Indian cricket board is hunting for a coach after the exit of Gary Kirsten who ended a highly successful tenure with the World Cup victory. Fleming, Zimbabwean Duncan Fletcher, a former England coach, and current England coach Andy Flower's names have cropped up for the high profile job. — IANS

New Delhi, April 23
The Indian football team’s British coach Robert Douglas Houghton, who was hired with much fanfare five years ago to put the sport on a pedestal, has resigned, unable to reconcile with the ways of the All-India Football Federation (AIFF).

The South Africa-based Houghton, who was receiving a monthly salary of $30,000 and whose contract would have run till 2013, apparently could not get along with new AIFF general-secretary Kushal Das, though his equation with former secretary Alberto Colaco was quite satisfactory. With AIFF president Praful Patel, who is a Union Cabinet Minister, having little time to spare for federation affairs, Das has been running the show, and he has already taken many steps to restructure the functioning of the federation at Football House, the AIFF headquarters, in Dwarka here.

“Mr. Houghton, for his personal reasons, does not wish to continue working in India and in his position as the head coach of the Indian football team. Mr. Houghton has therefore tendered his resignation. His resignation is accepted by the AIFF,” said an AIFF media release.

Houghton, who came to India with considerable coaching experience when Priyaranjan Dasmunshi headed AIFF, coached the national senior football team to two back-to-back Nehru Gold Cup International Tournament titles, besides helping the country qualify for the Asian Championship finals, held in Qatar early this year, after a gap of 24 years.

India conceded 13 goals in the league matches of the tournament, making critics derisively point out that the country had paid a hefty price of Rs 16 crore for the team’s preparation for the Asian Championship, and ended up with the wooden spoon. Prior to and during the Asian Championship, Houghton was critical of the ways of AIFF, though he enjoyed full support and confidence of the senior players, like Baichung Bhutia, Sunil Chetri and others.

The AIFF Disciplinary Committee issued a show cause notice to Houghton on March 23 last, asking him to explain his side of the story about allegations that he had made racial remarks against an Indian referee, Dinesh Nair, during a friendly with Yemen in Pune last October. The AIFF also conducted an internal investigation through an inquiry committee, which could not find any evidence to substantiate the allegations.

“Based on the report of the inquiry committee, the AIFF feels that in the absence of any definitive and concrete evidence, the allegations against Mr. Houghton cannot be sustained and therefore the AIFF agrees to withdraw all charges and allegations made against him,” the AIFF stated.

After Houghton submitted his resignation, “both the parties have mutually agreed to terminate the employment contract of Houghton”. The AIFF thanked Houghton “for his services to the Indian football team for about last five years, and Mr. Houghton expresses his gratitude to the AIFF for having given him an opportunity to coach the Indian football team, and wished the Indian football team all the very best for its future endeavours”, the release added.

Chennai, April 23
Home favourite Joshna Chinappa had hopes of winning her sixth title but succumbed to higher rated Donna Urquhart of Australia 3-1 in the season's first WISPA Squash Championship at the Indian Squash Academy courts here today.

World number 16 and top-seed Urquhart won the match 7-11, 11-6, 11-6, 11-4 in 39 minutes. Joshna, ranked 35th in the world, has won five WISPA titles, including one at home at the same venue in 2009. "I wanted the title badly. I tried my best but Donna played really well and kept up her pace. She deserves the win," said Joshna. — PTI

New Delhi, April 23
Defending champions Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) defeated R.R. Gymkhana by 56 runs to enter the semi-finals of the 21st All-India Om Nath Sood Cricket Tournament, played at the RSKP ground here today.

Scores: ONGC: 243 for 7 (M Tehlan 81, Radhey Shyam Gupta 60, Sandeep Sharma 42, Sumit Mathur 2 for 30, Abhinav Bali 2 for 54). R.R. Gymkhana: 187 for 8 (Rahul Tyagi 69, Rahul Yadav 50, Sumit Mathur 20, Puneet Mehra 3 for 36.)

Chengdu, April 23
After two successive 66s, it was a bleak day for Jeev Milkha Singh, as he managed just two birdies against one bogey for a one-under 71 and slipped to tied ninth at the Volvo China Open here today.

Shiv Kapur, the only other Indian in the field, played an even par 72 in the third round with two birdies on the front nine and two bogeys on back nine at the Luxehills International Country Club. Kapur is now six-under 210 and in tied 56th place. SSP Chowrasia had missed the cut earlier. The wind changed the course dramatically on third day and forced the golfers play carefully.

Jeev was 13-under for 54 holes and five shots behind leader Nicolas Colsaerts, who will take a one shot lead into the final round as the Belgian seeks a first European Tour title. Colsaerts, 28, produced a third round 66 to reach 18 under par, one stroke clear of Han Cheng-won, who was the first round leader. Jeev birdied the first, bogeyed the second and birdied the seventh before parring the next 11 holes.

Colsaerts was the second youngest player ever to come through The European Tour Qualifying School, when he graduated on his 18th birthday in 2000, but he struggled to establish himself at the top level until last year - when he managed five top-10 finishes and finished 67th on The Race to Dubai.

Colsaerts, the longest hitter on Tour in 2010, played the four par fives in five under par, courtesy of an eagle at the first and three birdies.

The 19 year old former Asian Amateur champion, Han, who after a first round 64 dropped out of top-10 with a 70 on second day, birdied five of his first seven holes en route to a best-of-the-day 65. Irelands Peter Lawrie and France's Gregory Havret are tied for third after both carded 68s to advance to 16 under.

Overnight leader Jamie Donaldson failed to capitalise on his sparkling 61 as the Welshman slipped to fifth with a 70, but 22 players are within six shots of lead, on what promises to be an exciting final day. — PTI