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Kings, Knights chase elusive win
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Kolkata pip Chennai by 10 runs
Rohit, Rayadu take Mumbai Indians to victory
Ganguly will strengthen our team: Yuvi
Gayle threat looms large
‘Forget about CWG final’
Indian Grand Prix fails attract top athletes
Nadal sets up semis clash with Federer
Saina enters final
Make-or-break for Chelsea, United
Santosh to lead Delhi
Spanish golf legend Ballesteros dies
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Kings, Knights chase elusive win
Their new captain Adam Gilchrist has managed 227 runs in eight innings at an average of slightly over 28 (with one half-century). That’s hardly the kind of form Kings were expecting from Gilchrist. Also, Adam opens the batting so he can’t complain that he ran out of partners or overs. The simple fact is he hasn’t clicked. Yuvraj Singh, the captain of the other team (Pune Warriors) has been in form with the bat but has been short on strategy. Quite inexplicably, Yuvi tends to come way down the order to have any major impact on the innings. Little wonder that Pune have lost seven of their nine matches. Both Kings and Pune are languishing right at the bottom of the table and it’s difficult to assess which team is struggling more. As these two bottom-placed teams meet at the PCA Stadium on Sunday, the focus will largely be on two players - Yuvraj Singh and Sourav Ganguly. Yuvi is the local star turning out for the opposite team and he for sure wants to show his previous team that they made a mistake by letting him go. No, Yuvi is not saying this. But his body language on the field will speak for him. He wants to win this one. For somewhat similar reasons Ganguly will want to show with his performance that there’s still fight left in the Bengal Tiger. Together, Yuvi and Ganguly can galvanise the Pune Warriors, although it’s a bit late in the tournament now for any spectacular turnaround to take place. But some strong performances will do no harm to the morale of the Pune Warriors. For the other team Kings XI, it must be a sobering experience to suffer four straight losses after the high of three consecutive wins. Captain Gilchrist has had a thing or two to say after every defeat - the boundaries were too short, Ambati Rayudu was injured so how come he came out to keep wickets and things of that sort. But the fact remains that the boundaries are short or long for both teams in equal measure. Gilchrist was a great batsman till a few years ago. He is not the same anymore. Shane Warne has announced his retirement from the IPL. Some other players from Gilchrist’s era - Michael Bevan, Darren Lehmann etc. - have donned the mantle of coaching. It’s about time for Gilly to realise that at his age for coaching an IPL team is a better idea than leading it. Some other players involved in this contest will want to enhance their reputation. Pune’s Rahul Sharma is one such bowler who has caught everyone’s attention with his leg-spin. A couple of more incisive spells can have him on the selectors’ radar quite soon. Kings Paul Valthaty is also due for another good knock, as is Shaun Marsh. It’s these kind of young players who will have to come to the fore for Kings XI if they are to make their way to the top four. |
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Kolkata pip Chennai by 10 runs
Kolkata, May 7 Chasing a modest 115, the hosts were marching towards the target comfortably despite losing two early wickets — Eoin Morgan (5) and Gautam Gambhir (16). Jacques Kallis remained cool, displaying some of his trademark drives as he ensured that his side was ahead by 10 runs when the rain stopped play at 61/2 after 10 overs. Kallis remained unbeaten on 21 from 23 balls while Manoj Tiwary was 15 not out from 12 balls . With his win, Kolkata have moved to second position in the points table while Chennai now occupy third spot. Rain had affected the start of the play in the afternoon as the match was delayed by an hour, even as the umpires did not reduce the number of overs. Brett Lee (4-0-8-0) and Iqbal Abdulla (4-0-15-1) utilised the slow nature of the wicket exceptionally well to restrict Chennai to 114 for four after opting to bat. Dropped twice, Subramaniam Badrinath top-scored for the Chennai with 54 from 41 balls before he ran himself out in the last ball of the innings. Albie Morkel hit a-run-a-ball 30 and stitched 65 from 54 balls with Badrinath for the fourth wicket. The visitors did not have it easy against the Knight Riders as pace spearhead Lee and left-arm spinner Abdulla ensured a slow start for the visitors. Lee was spot on giving away just five runs from his first spell for three overs while Abdulla provided the first breakthrough in the form of Murali Vijay (5). Michael Hussey (15), Murali Vijay (5) and Suresh Raina (4) batted themselves out in very odd fashions, while skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni did not get to bat. After Abdulla gave the first breakthrough, Yusuf Pathan via took the prized-scalp of Raina. Only 12 runs came from their first five overs, while it took them 59 balls to get the first boundary. — PTI Scoreboard Chennai Super Kings Hussey c Morgan b Balaji 15 Vijay c & b Abdulla 5 Raina c Kallis b Yusuf 4 Badrinath run out 54 Morkel not out 30 Extras (lb 3, w 3) 6 Total: (4 wkts; 20 ovrs) 114 Bowling: Lee 4-0-8-0, Abdulla 4-0-15-1, Yusuf 4-0-25-1, Bhatia 2-0-10-0, Balaji 4-0-33-1, Unadkat 1-0-11-0, Kallis 1-0-9-0. Kolkata Knight Riders Morgan b Ashwin 5 Kallis not out 21 Gambhir c Randiv b Ashwin 16 Tiwary not out 15 Extras (lb 1, w 3) 4 Total: (2 wkts; 10 ovrs) 61 Bowling: Morkel 2-0-14-0, Ashwin 3-0-12-2, Bollinger 1-0-6-0, Jakati 2-0-14-0, Randiv 2-0-14-0.
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Rohit, Rayadu take Mumbai Indians to victory
Mumbai, May 7 James Hopes and Venugopal Rao tried to resurrect the innings with an 87-run parnership for the fifth wicket but that was not enough to deny MI. Earlier, Mumbai Indians built on a blazing start provided by Aiden Blizzard to post an imposing 178 for four in their 20 overs. Blizzard blasted 37 off 23 balls with eight fours, after singling out Morne Morkel for a harsh treatment by hitting the South African pacer for five fours in an over. Blizzard and captain Sachin Tendulkar (14) put on 50 runs in 29 balls for the opening stand and the fine beginning was later sustained by Ambati Rayudu (59), his second half century in three innings, and Rohit Sharma (49) who added 87 runs in only 56 balls for the third wicket. Rayudu cracked two sixes and three four in his 39-ball essay while Sharma struck three huge sixes and two fours in his 32-ball blitz after Delhi captain Virender Sehwag won the toss and opted to field in their must-win clash. Mumbai scored 49 runs in the last five overs and 102 in the last 10. Blizzard simply tore apart Morkel after playing three dot balls off the first three balls he faced from the lanky South African fast bowler. — PTI Scoreboard Mumbai Indians Blizzard c Sehwag
b Nadeem 37 Tendulkar b Irfan 14 Rayudu c Sehwag b Hopes 59 Rohit c Rao b Morkel 49 Pollard not out 9 Symonds not out 4 Extras (lb 2, w 4) 6 Total: (4 wkts; 20 ovrs) 178 Bowling: Morkel 4-0-49-1, Irfan 4-1-23-1, Agarkar 4-0-31-0, Nadeem 4-0-28-1, Hopes 4-0-45-1. Delhi Daredevils Sehwag c Rohit b Munaf 2 Warner lbw b Harbhajan 1 Ingram b Malinga 1 Ojha c Rayudu b Munaf 1 Rao b Kulkarni 37 Hopes run out 55 Irfan b Malinga 23 Nagar c Munaf b Harbhajan 0 Agarkar c Munaf b Pollard 7 Morkel c Symonds
b Pollard 10 Nadeem not out 0 Extras (b 1, w 6, nb 2) 9 Total: (all out; 19.5 ovrs) 146 Bowling: Harbhajan 4-0-24-2, Malinga 3.2-1-18-2, Munaf 4-0-29-2, Kulkarni 4-0-27-1, Pollard 2.3-0-24-2, Symonds 2-0-23-0.
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Ganguly will strengthen our team: Yuvi
Chandigarh, May 7 “It is wonderful to come back to PCA stadium after the World Cup semifinal against Pakistan. I hope to do well here in front of all fans. We need to win tomorrow’s match to keep floating in the tournament,” said Yuvi at the Sector 16 cricket stadium here where the Pune team had a net session today. “Ganguly’s addition to the team will bolster our chances of doing well. I know things have not worked out for us in the recent matches, but need to start again from tomorrow’s match.” |
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Gayle threat looms large
Bangalore, May 7 Their bowling might have kept them in good stead in the 17-run victory against Kolkata earlier this week, but Tuskers will be faced with a much-stiffer Gayle challenge. The towering West Indian has been in rollicking form, notching two centuries since joining the RCB ranks. His punishing 49-ball 107 against Kings XI Punjab on Friday wreaked of brutal aggression and disdain. Interestingly, 96 of his runs were conjured from 10 fours and nine sixes, some heaves clearing the pickets by a mile.
— PTI |
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‘Forget about CWG final’
Ipoh, May 7 Ahead of their next round-robin league outing tomorrow, chief coach Harendra Singh has told his players to focus on the team's game plan and the structure of their play. Aware that the drubbing in the Commonwealth Games final may be playing on the minds of his players ahead of the Australian game, Harendra said his boys should try and keep that score-line away from their thoughts. "That match is history now. It is something that happened in the past. We must move on and try writing a new chapter here," the coach said asking the youngsters to emulate rookie drag flicker Rupinder Pal Singh's brilliant show against Great Britain. The victory over Great Britain has lifted the sagging spirits in the team after the dejection of squandering a two-goal advantage against South Korea on the opening day. Outright winners of the Azlan Shah Cup in 2009 and joint champions with South Korea in 2010, India defeated Britian 3-1 yesterday after suffering a 2-3 defeat at the hands of a young Korean team in the first outing on Thursday. Britian have brought a near full-strength team to fine-tune the squad for the London Olympic Games, while India are without several leading players and are starting their preparations for the Olympic qualifiers which will be held in New Delhi, in December. Even Australia, who India play next, are without half a dozen members of the line-up that became the first side to win the World Cup, Champions Trophy and Commonwealth Games in the same year. Australia and India share the record of having won the Azlan Shah Cup five times each. Injuries suffered by skipper Jamie Dwyer and ace striker Desmond Abbott have forced coach Ric Charlesworth to field a young squad. Penalty corner specialist Luke Doerner, and key players like Mark Knowles and Eddie Ockenden are among the other Aussies missing as they are currently playing in Dutch League. Testing the reserve strength at the Azlan Shah Cup, the only tournament where Australia failed to emerge on top of the podium last year, Charlesworth's team only managed to put it across hosts Malaysia 2-1 last night through a final-minute goal by the seasoned Jason Wilson. Harendra feels that no one could afford to assess the Australians on basis of their form in the tournament's first outing yesterday. — PTI |
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Indian Grand Prix fails attract top athletes
Patiala, May 7 Suffering from an injury, Krishna Punia had to keep herself away from the track on doctor’s advice while the absence of few athletes could be attributed to their busy schedule in the recent past. Putting up a spectacular show, Junior athlete Arpinder Singh (18), who won a silver medal in last year’s Asian junior championships at Hanoi (Vietnam) and went on to win this year’s National Games at Ranchi continued to excel in triple jump as he took the men’s crown. A modest jump of 15.90m was enough for his victory at NIS, although it was well below his national junior best of 16.62m. Army jumper Bibin Dev raised his personal best to 15.75m while taking the silver. The bronze medal went to U.P. police athlete Saurabh Singh at 15.64m. In men’s 100m, Krishnakumar Rane of Maharashtra continued his golden run by taking the top spot clocking yet another moderate 10.70 secs. There was a fierce battle for the second place between Army sprinters Hemant Kirulkar and Sameer Mon as both returned an identical 10.74 secs. However the former was awarded the silver medal as he had an edge over his compatriot by 6/1000th of a second in photo-finish. The women’s sprint race saw Rebecca Jose, a 19-year-old Karnataka athlete, attained graduation as she clinched the numero uno spot in 12.47 secs. Punjab junior Mandeep Kaur (12.62s) and Delhi star Shalu Chaudhry (12.92s) completed the podium. Rebecca finished third four days ago. Andhra Pradesh’s Mounika Gaddam, who won the first leg in 12.12 secs, was a non-starter. National record holder M.A. Prajusha (13.72m) was back in action in the women’s triple jump. Her simple 13.02m jump fetched the yellow metal as training partner and first leg victor Mayookha Johny preferred to watch from the stands. Mayookha, who just recovered from injury, apparently takes rest to reserve her energy for the upcoming national and continental events. Shraddha Ghule retained the second place as also Shalu Chaudhry in the next rank. |
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Vettel takes Pole in Turkey
His fourth successive pole position from the opening four races of the season was the first time this feat had been achieved since Finnish driver Mika Hakkinen in 1999. The 23-year-old German drove his Red Bull car, dubbed 'Kinky Kylie' with great conviction, despite his damaging experience the previous day, to clock an outstanding lap time of one minute and 25.049 seconds. He clocked his lap on his first run in the top-ten shootout, the third Q3 part of qualifying, and then saved his tyres by not going out again such was his supreme confidence for the 19th pole of his remarkable career. He was also, stunningly, four-tenths of a second ahead of his Red Bull team-mate Australian Mark Webber, who also chose to run only once in Q3, leaving both men with a spare set of tyres for the race. German Nico Rosberg was third fastest for the improved Mercedes team, just pipping McLaren's Lewis Hamilton, the 2008 champion and winner of the last Grand Prix, while two-times champion Spaniard Fernando Alonso of Ferrari was fifth fastest.
— Agencies |
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Nadal sets up semis clash with Federer
Madrid, May 7 The heavyweight pair were joined in the last four by unseeded Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci, who caused another upset, following Thursday's third-round victory over fourth seed Andy Murray when he knocked out Czech Tomas Berdych 7-6, 6-3. Bellucci, a stylish left-hander whose previous best at a Masters event was a fourth-round berth in Miami in 2010, will play second seed Novak Djokovic or sixth-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer for a place in Sunday's final. Nadal and great rival Federer have met in the last two finals in the Spanish capital, with the Swiss winning in 2009 and Nadal gaining revenge last year. Former number one Federer went through to the last four when he saw off fifth seed Robin Soderling 7-6, 6-4 in breezy conditions in the Magic Box arena, his 16th win in 17 matches against the Swede. "The conditions were tough today. I didn't know you could get so much wind inside an enclosed space," Federer said in a television interview. Looking ahead to Saturday's match against Nadal, who has won 15 of 23 meetings between the pair, he added, "He seems like he is playing amazing tennis right now, but I'll give it my best shot and see how I get on."
— Reuters |
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Rose leads Bulls to win
Chicago, May 7 The Mavericks rallied from a seven point deficit in the final five minutes to defeat the Lakers 98-92 and grab a commanding 3-0 lead in their Western Conference semi-final in front of a record crowd at the American Airlines Center. In Chicago, the Bulls led from start to finish and had the better of the Hawks in virtually every department to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semi-final series. Chicago got off to a quick start and nursed a six-point advantage through the first quarter and their bench pushed the lead to 13 before the starters returned. "Derrick was in attack mode, obviously. He was attacking from the start. When he's attacking, and not dancing with the ball, he's impossible to stop," said Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau.
— Reuters |
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Saina enters final
Kuala Lumpur, May 7 Saina, who had made a shock first round exit at the Indian Open Super Series last week, recorded a comfortable 21-14, 21-13 win over her rival in just 35 minutes. Saina will take on second seed Xin Wang of China in the summit clash tomorrow. Wang beat fourth seed Korean Youn Joo Bae 21-6, 21-19 in the other semifinal today. Saina played aggressively and put up a dominating show as she scored 11 points through smashes to two of Sung. Of all the 69 points, Saina emerged winner on 42 occasions. The Indian led the first game all through after being tied 3-3. Her Korean opponent closed in at 11-16, but Saina won four straight points to take a 20-11 lead before taking the game easily. In the second game, Saina played even better as she was ahead from the very beginning. She took a 4-0 lead and then surged to 13-3 before Sung made a fightback. The Korean closed the gap at 13-16, but Saina stopped her right in her tracks by winning five straight points without reply to take the second game and wrap up the match.
— PTI |
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Make-or-break for Chelsea, United
Manchester, May 7 Chelsea are energised by an incredible turnaround in their fortunes in recent weeks when they have moved within three points of the leaders having trailed by 15, while United are on a high after reaching the Champions League final this week. The pair face each other at Old Trafford in a mouth-watering match, where victory for United would mean that the title is all but sewn up, while a win for Chelsea would put the champions top on goal difference with two matches to play. "If we win, I think we should win the league," Ferguson, whose side would need only one point from their final games against strugglers Blackburn Rovers and Blackpool to guarantee a record 19th title, said on Friday. For Ancelotti, it is not quite so straight-forward, but the mere fact that his side are back in the hunt is surprising to some, when two months ago, pundits were wondering whether they would even manage a top-four finish for a Champions League spot. "Nobody thought that we were able to fight," the Italian told a news conference. "A lot of time we spoke about the position for the Champions League and nobody said that we could come back to fight for the title." Ferguson called it a "big game" and Ancelotti dubbed it a "final", while neutral fans can sit back and enjoy what is a title decider with United on 73 points to Chelsea's 70 and both teams having the same goal difference.
— Reuters |
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Santosh to lead Delhi
New Delhi, May 7 Team: Goalkeepers: Vikrant Sharma, Rajat Guha and Sandeep Bisht; Defenders: Vikas Rawat, Pushpender Kundu, Deepak Kumar Singh, Nitin Choudhary, Bijender Bhardwaj and Anil Bara; Mid-fielders: Ashish Pandey, Monu Choudhary, Bhuwan Chandra Golmei Akhonmei, Nirmal Deep and Ashu Nathani; Forwards: Prahlad Rawat, Mohinder Kumar, Kamal Rawat, Parveen Rawat and P.K.Thingling. Last year's quarter-finalists Delhi have been clubbed with Nagaland, Orissa and Himachal Pradesh in Cluster VI. The other groupings are: Cluster I: Assam, Pondicherry and Rajasthan; Cluster II: Chattisgarh, Daman and Diu, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh; Cluster III: Manipur, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Andaman and Nicobar; Cluster IV: Kerala, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand and Chandigarh; Cluster V: Karnataka, Uttrakhand, Services and Arunachal Pradesh. |
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