Jaipur, May 1
Ross Taylor smashed a quickfire unbeaten 47 as Rajasthan Royals thumped Pune Warriors by six wickets in a thrilling encounter to jump to the top of the table in Indian Premier League here today.

Taylor, who was dropped when on 31, smashed four boundaries and two sixes in his 35-ball unbeaten knock and shared 52 runs with Ajinkya Rahane (15 not out) for the unseparated fifth wicket to chase down the target of 144 with three balls to spare.

At one stage, it looked like Pune would snap their five-match losing streak with the asking rate rising near 11 by the 16th over but Taylor and Rahane kept their nerves as Rajasthan reached 144 for four in 19.3 overs in the match that went down the wire.

With the victory today, Rajasthan Royals have won 15 of their 19 matches they had played at Sawai Man Singh Stadium in the IPL so far.

They are now on top of IPL table with 11 points from nine matches ahead of Kolkata Knight Riders (10 points from eight matches) and Mumbai Indians (10 from seven).

For Pune, who dropped three catches in the match, leg-spinner Rahul Sharma took three for 13 while Alfonso Thomas got one wicket. Left-arm spinner Murali Kartik went wicketless for 41 runs from his four overs.

Chasing 144 for a win, the RR openers Shane Watson (12) and Rahul Dravid (18) did not contribute much and that gave Pune a chance before Taylor and Rahane took the game away.

Pune started their bowling with Kartik and he could have achieved success in his fourth ball itself but Manish Pandey failed to hold onto a difficult catch and Watson survived.

Watson did not, however, stay long as he was out in the fifth over with Thomas finding his edge with an outswinger for Robin Uthappa to take the catch behind the stumps.

Dravid, who hit two flourishing fours early on, later struggled and was dropped by Harpreet Singh in sixth over.

But the blunder did not cost Rajasthan Royals dear as Dravid was out in the eighth over with the addition of just four runs to his individual score. The former India captain was caught and bowled by Rahul Sharma in a soft dismissal.

RR lost their third wicket in the 11th over in the form of Johan Botha (12) but they were still on course at 59/3.

Taylor and Ashok Maneria (29) had some lusty hits mainly off Kartik but the asking rate rose to more than 10 by the end of the 15th over.

The explosive New Zealander then changed the complexion of the game with a flurry of big hits though he was lucky to have survived as Nathan McCullum dropped him when on 31.

Taylor took 16 runs from Kartik in the 16th over with the help of two fours and a six and the asking rate dropped down nine per over.

Rajasthan required 19 from the last two overs but Taylor hit a huge six in the penultimate over to take the game away from Pune. — PTI

Chennai, May 1
Despite a sensational start, propelled by Sunny Sohal’s lusty hitting, the Deccan Chargers lost to Chennai Super Kings by 19 runs on a slow Chepauk track here tonight.

The opening pair of Sunny Sohal and Shikhar Dhawan had started with flair, but the innings lost momentum mid-way, with Albie Morkel and Doug Bollinger taking charge and picking five wickets between themselves.

But before the despair had set in for the Chargers, Sohal was in his element and hit the ground running, getting himself a 30-ball 56. His innings surely ruffled a few Chennai bowlers, especially Albie Morkel, who got hit for 20 runs in the third over. Sohal’s innings comprised of six fours and four sixes.

Earlier, a fine half century from Suresh Raina backed by superb slogging by Albie Morkel at the death helped defending champions Chennai Super Kings post commendable 165 for five.

While Raina showed signs of returing to form with a 35-ball 59 (6x4, 2x6), it was Albie Morkel (19, 6 balls, 3x6) who hit three of the biggest sixes in the penultimate over off Ishant Sharma's (4-0-41-0) bowling to spoil his figures.

The last five overs saw CSK smashing 69 runs with Raina, doing the bulk of the scoring.

Opting to bat on a slowish track, Murali Vijay and Michael Hussey made quiet start before Pragyan OJha (3/26) dismissed Vijay.

Ojha angled one into Vijay (3, 14 balls) who was cramped for room while going for a cut-shot. Vijay was struggling to keep the scoreboard ticking on a slowish pitch and the dismissal only ended his misery.

Raina, who hasn't had a great IPL so far showed lot of composure on a slow track where one found it difficult to readily go after the bowling.

At the other end 'Mr Dependable' Hussey went about his job with lot of precision hitting the odd boundary in between a lot of singles and twos. Hussey's batting was an example of how to keep the scoreboard ticking on a difficult track without taking any undue risks. — PTI

New Delhi, May 1
‘Home, sweet home’ is the refrain that should consume Delhi Daredevils, as they return to play their sixth home match at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground against Kochi Tuskers Kerala, in the Indian Premier League season IV tomorrow night. Instead, Daredevils would be dreading the thought of playing at home, as nothing has gone good for them at the Kotla in their previous five matches, save for once - against Kings XI Punjab.

But captain Virender Sehwag and his boys are in a buoyant mood after tethering Kochi Tuskers in their own back yard at the Nehru Stadium in Kochi, and will now hope to play an encore, when the teams meet again in a span of two days tomorrow night.

The win against Kochi helped Daredevils jump from the bottom place to the seventh slot, while Tuskers have fallen to the ninth place. Both teams are sailing in a boat of despair and have to get back to winning ways to keep their chances alive for a semi-final slot.

Daredevils had lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders at home before taking down Kochi Tuskers successfully. The Tuskers, on the other hand, suffered their third home defeat to further slip on the points table.

Daredevils are yet to gel as a team to post wins consistently, as when their batters flourish, the bowlers get mauled. Sadly, the batting depends solely on Sehwag and to some extent David Warner, though the latter has found the going difficult in the last three matches.

In short, the Daredevils bane has been that they could win only when Warner and Sehwag batted big. But such knocks have been few and far between and it's time that Warner and Sehwag once again provided a goog start-up to put them on course of a victory trail. Sehwag had blamed the slow pitch at the Kotla for their defeats, but when they lost chasing Kolkata Knight Riders’ modest total recently, the Delhi captain had no excuses to offer, but only blame his own players for the defeat.

If the bowling went for a toss in the first few matches, it has steadied in the last two games to boost the confidence of Daredevils. Their costliest player, Irfan Pathan, is finally getting his act together in both bowling and batting, while bowling spearhead pacer Morkne Morkel, Ajit Agarkar and spinner Roelof van der Merwe, are also proving to be wicket-taking and economy bowlers.

The hosts will also strive to get their batting and fielding in place, while trying to break the Kotla jinx as they have now come to realise that whether they get a green-top or a slow track, they can win only if their players perform to a planned strategy.

Kochi Tuskers are also riding low after suffering their third home defeat and they would be thirsting for revenge and blood when they meet Daredevils. Captain Mahela Jayawardene and batting pillar Brendon McCullum will have to deliver big scores and bowlers like R.P Singh and S Sreesanth will need to strike when they need it most, if the visitors want to get on top at the Kotla.

But if Sehwag plays his familiar batting tune to aggressive perfection, he would indeed prove to be the lone pied piper for the beleaguered Delhi Daredevils.

Kolkata, May 1
Kings XI Punjab captain Adam Gilchrist called it difficult for batsmen but Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Gautam Gambhir feels the Eden Gardens' pitch is not that challenging and the visiting side lost their IPL match here due to its failure to bat well. Gilchrist said the Eden pitch was difficult to bat as it spun and assisted pacers when his side batted in the match.

“It’s the same for both teams. It was a difficult batting wicket. The wicket in Kochi was difficult as the ball was not consistent at all. But here it bounced and spun,” Gilchrist said after the eight-wicket loss to KKR who were chasing 120.

“I would not say it's a bad cricket wicket. It was just a challenging one for batsmen. Unfortunately we were a little bit too low today,” he added.

But Gambhir differed with Gilchrist and said the pitch was not all that challenging. “If it’s difficult then people will stop playing here. We chased 120 in 17.2 overs. If they think it’s difficult, I can't comment much on it. The ball was gripping otherwise it was not all that dangerous. The opposition needs to bat well,” Gambhir said at the post-match press conference after his side won by eight wickets.

KKR jumped to the top spot with last night's win and Gambhir said he was least concerned about his side's forgettable campaigns in the last three seasons of the Indian Premier League. “History is history. I don't believe in history, I don't believe in the past. I only believe in one thing that is present. Neither do I believe in future,” he said at the post-match press conference.

“Personally I only concentrate on the present game. Past is past. It does not mean what happened in past will happen in present as well,” he said.

On the top spot with 10 points after eight matches, KKR now have a chance of reaching the play-offs which will be a first for them in the IPL but Gambhir said he would not believe it till they get there. — PTI

New Delhi, May 1
World number one Lee Chong Wei continued his dominance over Peter Gade Christensen in the Super Series events to win the men's singles title in the inaugural Indian Open badminton championship here today.

The two-time All England champion, Lee prevailed over world number six and third seed Gade 21-12, 12-21, 21-15, in a hard-fought contest to pocket the winner's prize of USD 15,000 at the Siri Fort Complex. The capacity crowd present inside the venue could not have asked for better showdown between the two titans of badminton world, as both came out with every shot in the book to highlight their supremacy over each other.

Gade's athleticism was in full display on the court as he did not allow the reigning All England champion Lee to make the clash a one-sided affair. The 34-year-old Gade, whose passage to the final was a result of lot of hard work coupled with experience, was in his prime form today, as on many occassions he retrieved the shuttle from near impossible positions at the back court during the long rallies and also unleashed flurry of smashes, much to the delight of weekend crowd.

Gade was keen to improve his 1-11 head-to-head record against Commonwealth Games gold medallist Lee, prior to today's meeting and after winning the second game with his age-defying fitness, it looked like the Danish shuttler will turn the clock back on the Malaysian. But with Lee, securing his lost confidence in the third and final game, it was all about another milestone in his illustrious career.

"Gade played really well today. This complex has proved to be lucky for me. In the second game, I lost my confidence and focus, but in the third, I gained it and went on to securing a win," Lee said after winning the match. "Gade planned everything to perfection today. His fighting spirit and his experience, all were on display. He is a very good player and it is always a pleasure to play against him," added Lee.

Lee has played Gade 12-time earlier in his career and has lost only once during the 2009 Korea Super Series. Gade, seemingly disappointed after losing a close tie, said, "It's been tough match as he is the world number one and full of confidence. He is the best player in the world. May be another one and a half year to go and then I'll stop him." — PTI

Ludhiana, May 1
Pune FC waged a spirited battle against JCT FC, Phagwara before going down 1-2 in the 22nd round match of the I-League played at Guru Nanak Stadium, here today. Pune FC players weaved fine moves and dominated the proceeding initially. S Venkatesh, Keita Mandjov and Sunil Kumar moved like well-oiled machines but failed to take advantage of their chances as JCT custodian Naveen Kumar made excellent saves.

Hitting back on the counter, JCT’s Maninder Singh and Ajay Kumar too missed the target narrowly, much to the relief of the visitors. However, Ajay again ran into the right flank, took control of the ball at half-line, dodged past Pune defenders S Fernandez and Arata Izumi and also beat custodian Subrata Paul to cap off his solo effort (1-0).

JCT could have added to the lead immediately but Amandeep Singh’s sizzler flew over the cross bar. JCT increased the lead in the 65th minute when Ajay added another goal through a header to put the home team in a comfortable position at 2-0.

Stung by this, the visitors unleashed a flurry of attacks on the JCT goal and their attempts yielded result in the 70th minute as Keita Mandjov scored an opportunistic goal to reduce the margin (1-2). But in the end, the JCT team held their nerve to complete a well-deserved victory.

JCT have now won two back-to-back games at their home ground and after earning these three points, they have taken their tally to 23. This improves their standing from 13th to 10th place, and they are tied with Indian Arrows, Delhi.

Seoul, May 1
Shiv Kapur endured a rollercoaster on the final day, carding an even-par 72 to sign off tied 24th in the euro 2.2 million Ballantine's Championship here today. Kapur, one of only two Indians to make the cut this week, ended with a four-under 284 after carding even-par for third and fourth rounds. Gaganjeet Bhullar, with three double bogeys had one of the worst rounds of his professional career, ended with an 81 that saw him finish at 12-over for the week and in 69th place. The two birdies on the 15th and 18th reduced the pain, but it saw him drop from a possible top-10 to 24th.

England's Lee Westwood showed why he is deserving of his world number one status when he shrugged off the challenges of closest rival Miguel Angel Jimenez of Spain to win the title. Westwood closed with a flawless five-under 67 for a four-day total of 12-under 276 to make it two wins in a row, following his earlier triumph at the Indonesian Masters last week.

Dustin Johnson of the United States who was making his debut in Asia this week, closed with a 69 to take the fourth place. — PTI

New Delhi, May 1
Four Indian boxers were crowned champions in the AIBA Women's Youth and Junior World Championships in Antalya, Turkey with convincing victories against their opponents in the finals of their respective weight categories.

Sarjubala Devi (48kg), Minu Basumatary (64kg) in the Youth Championship and Lalenkawli (46kg) and Nikhat Zareen (50kg) in the Junior Championships won a gold each in the inaugural edition of the tournament. In the summit clash of the light welter weight division, Minu, a silver medallist at National Youth Championship last year, fought against Turkish Elif Kayan. Minu won gold. — PTI