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bhatt delivers a blockbuster
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‘Ridiculous to have instructions for pitch’
Azlan Shah Cup
Heat burn Celtics
NADA starts tests on blood doping
Federation Cup hockey from May 12
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bhatt delivers a blockbuster Mohali, May 10 Kings won the match with a lot to spare, but it was an off-day for Mumbai Indians. They hardly played like table-toppers and looked complacent in their approach. Mumbai have already ensured their place in the play-offs and that could be one reason for their casual approach tonight. The champion team from Mumbai folded up in a mere 12.5 overs and that told its own story. MI recorded their lowest total in all IPL matches so far, when they were dismissed for a paltry 87. For Kings, Shaun Marsh was once again amongst the runs and scored 43 from 34 balls. And for MI, Munaf was the most successful bowler claiming five wickets for 21 runs. When Mumbai began their chase, Kings rattled them straightaway with the wickets of Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma and Aiden Blizzard, pushing them on to the backfoot. At that stage, Mumbai were 27 for 3. But the flow of wickets did not stop there and MI batsmen were largely guilty of throwing their wickets away. Kings though were not complaining. After five consecutive losses, they were sorely in need of a win and they got that. When Sachin Tendulkar won the toss for MI and chose to field, there was no inkling of the disaster that was waiting to unfold for the Mumbai outfit. Harbhajan Singh opened the bowling alongwith Lasith Malinga and at one point, Malinga struck Gilchrist on the helmet and broke it. However, these two tested the Kings batsmen, but were unable to break the partnership between Shaun Marsh and Gilchrist, who piled up 70 runs for the second wicket. Dhawal Kulkarni and Rohit Sharma were given a couple of overs each by Sachin and both proved to be expensive - going for 49 runs between them. Kings would have reached a much bigger total had it not been for Keiron Pollard’s brilliance on the field. Pollard pulled off two amazing catches and that pegged the run rate back a little. But Mumbai Indians catapulted in a most bizarre and abject manner tonight and will have to guard against such collapses, if they are to go all the way in this edition of the IPL. They had surrendered in a similar manner to Rajasthan Royals a couple of days ago and had put the blame squarely on the pitch. Tonight, however, the pitch had no role to play in their defeat. It was just a matter of injudicious shots played by their batsmen. Scoreboard Kings XI Punjab Valthaty c Blizzard b Munaf 14 Gilchrist c Rayudu b Malinga 28 Marsh c Pollard b Munaf 43 Karthik c Blizzard b Munaf 31 Hussey c Blizzard b Munaf 0 Mandeep run out 8 Bipul not out 6 Harris c Pollard b Munaf 6 Praveen b Malinga 2 Srivastava not out 3 Extras (b 2, lb 13, w 7) 22 Total: (8 wkts; 20 ovrs) 163 Bowling: Harbhajan 3-0-20-0, Malinga 4-0-24-2, Munaf 4-0-21-5, Kulkarni 2-0-25-0, Rohit 2-0-24-0, Suman 3-0-23-0, Pollard 2-0-11-0. Mumbai Indians Blizzard c Gilchrist b Praveen 15 Sachin c Marsh b Praveen 6 Rohit st Gilchrist b Bipul 5 Symonds run out 8 Rayudu c Bipul
b Srivastava 13 Suman c Praveen b Harris 4 Pollard c Marsh b Bhatt 17 Harbhajan b Bhatt 12 Kulkarni c & b Bhatt 2 Malinga not out 0 Munaf lbw b Bhatt 0 Extras (b 1, w 4) 5 Total: (all out; 12.5 ovrs) 87 Bowling: Praveen 4-1-19-2, Bhatt 2.5-0-22-4, Bipul 2-0-15-1, Harris 2-0-13-1, Srivastava 2-0-17-1.
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Pune Warriors down Deccan Chargers
Hyderabad, May 10 The 38-year-old Ganguly remained unbeaten on 32 off as many balls as Pune, after being asked to bowl first, achieved the target with 10 balls to spare. After Mitchell Marsh helped Warriors restrict the hosts to 136 for eight with impressive figures of four for 25, Manish Pandey was unlucky to miss a well-deserved half century by a run but did enough to pave the way for his team's victory. Equally impressive was Pandey's opening partner Jesse Ryder, who made a hurricane 35 off 20 deliveries. But it was Ganguly who stole the limelight with a fluent unbeaten knock which contained three boundaries and a six. In a match that generated interest as well as anticipation for the former India skipper's return to the highly popular tournament, Ganguly strode to the crease at the fall of opener Ryder's wicket. In the company of Pandey who was just two years old when Ganguly made his international debut way back in the Australian summer of 1991, the experienced left-hander proved a point or two to all those who ignored him during the IPL auction in January. A run-a-ball innings after a long lay-off was par for the course. That he made those runs with the help of three boundaries and a massive six off Mishra over deep square-leg, only goes on to show that he still has it in him to play in the league. Chasing a modest 137 for their fourth victory in the tournament, Pune rode on Ryder's enterprise and Pandey's controlled aggression to race to fifty in just six overs.
— PTI Scoreboard Deccan Chargers Dhawan c Ryder b Yuvraj 24 Ravi b Mitch 30 S’kara lbw b Rahul 12 Duminy c Rahul b Mitch 30 Christian lbw b Yuvraj 10 Chipli not out 18 Sohal c Uthappa b Mitch 0 Mishra c Kumar b Mitch 0 Steyn c Ferguson b Parnell 11 Ishant not out 0 Extras (w 1) 1 Total: (8 wkts; 20 ovrs) 136 Bowling: Kumar 3-0-24-0, Wagh 1-0-8-0, Parnell 4-0-38-1, Sharma 4-0-24-1, Yuvraj 4-0-17-2, Marsh 4-0-25-4. Pune Warriors Ryder b Ojha 35 Pandey lbw b Amit 49 Ganguly not out 32 Uthappa c S’kara b Christian 1 Yuvraj b Christian 2 Ferguson not out 15 Extras (w 2, nb 1) 3 Total: (4 wkts; 18.2 ovrs) 137 Bowling: Steyn 4-0-30-0, Ishant 3-0-25-0, Ojha 3-0-13-1, Duminy 2-0-22-0, Christian 3-0-21-2, Mishra 3.2-0-26-1.
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Royals face Gayle force
Jaipur, May 10 Both the teams have consistently been in the reckoning for the play-offs, but the scale of task is now enormous for
Rajasthan, which lost to Chennai Super Kings last night. Bangalore on the hand, are on a roll, having registered five wins on the trot with Caribbean batsman Gayle playing a significant role in their success. Gayle destroys the rival bowling attack with utter disdain and leaves the opponents in disbelief with his
power-hitting. Rajasthan are already struggling and sorting out Gayle is the biggest challenge they face tomorrow. Their bowlers conceded close to 200 runs on Monday against Chennai on the new pitch and the contempt with which Gayle is treating the bowlers this season, the host bowlers are in for another litmus test. Skipper Shane
Warne, who has earned plaudits for his on-field acumen, needs to take it on himself to stop Gayle from blowing them away, because if the West Indies marauder manages to stay at the crease for about 10
overs, the contest could be reduced to a lop-sided affair. Gayle tilted the last match against Kochi Tuskers Kerala in the favour of his side by smashing 37 runs in just one over and the predator would be looking to hunt badly bruised Ashok
Menaria, Amit Singh and Siddharth Trivedi, who all bled runs against
Chennai. Not only Gayle but the other Bangalore batsmen such as Virat
Kohli, AB de Villiers and Saurabh Tiwary are in good touch and are capable match-winners on their own. It will be interesting to see who replaces Tillakaratane
Dilshan, who has left IPL to be with the Sri Lankan national team, in the opening slot. Batting is another headache for Rajasthan as they have not put enough runs on the board of late. They badly need Shane Watson to fire and Ajinkya Rahane to continue the good work, since their middle-order, aside from Kiwi Ross Taylor, hardly boasts any big-hitter who can take on the rival attack.
— PTI |
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It’s probably the toughest day of my career: Ganguly
Hyderabad, May 10 The former India captain was the cynosure of all eyes today as he scored a gutsy run-a-ball 32 not out laced with a six and three boundaries to help Warriors beat Chargers by six wickets at Rajiv Gandhi stadium at Uppal here. "I said it's probably the toughest day of my career. I have not picked a cricket bat for five months. I came into this game with zero-confidence," said Ganguly after the match. Ganguly carried forward the good work done by the openers Jesse Ryder (35) and Manish Pandey (49) as the veteran left-hander helped the Warriors chase down the modest target of 137 runs with 10 balls to spare by holding one end as three wickets fell on the other side. "It feels good (to score some runs). I haven't played for a long time and needed some hits in the middle. It's about anticipating which I haven't done for a while," he added. The 38-year-old experienced campaigner proved a point or two to those who ignored him during IPL auction in January in the match that generated interests among cricket fans in anticipation of his comeback in the lucrative Twenty20 league. Ganguly said he was not ready for the game against Mumbai Indians on May 4 after Warriors roped him in as a replacement for injured Ashish Nehra. "I wasn't ready for the game on May 4th against Mumbai. I missed the game against Mohali also as I wanted to be ready."
— PTI |
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Good to be in reckoning for play-offs: Dhoni
Jaipur, May 10 About the track Dhoni said it looked like a like a 180-190 wicket. "We had one extra batsman in the playing XI today, which allowed us to go harder. It was between Albie Morkel and me. I pushed myself up, and I am glad that I scored some runs. I didn't score in the last match. The batting was poor in the last game, but the platform was good this time from (Michael) Hussey and (Murali) Vijay, and Raina capitalised," Dhoni said. Rajasthan skipper Shane Warne was gracious in defeat, but did mention the small boundary. "One of those things today, due to the small boundary. But all credit to Chennai, they played well and Dhoni in the end. It had nothing to do with the wicket, we were chasing 20 too many and it got difficult," Warne, who is playing in his final IPL, said in the post-match ceremony.
— PTI |
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‘Ridiculous to have instructions for pitch’
Jaipur, May 10 "In the past four years we have never been told to play on any particular wicket. It is ridiculous to have instructions for pitch," a fuming Warne said after his side suffered a 63-defeat to Chennai Super Kings. Asked if these instructions meant losing the home advantage to some extent, Warne retorted, "I have no idea from where the instructions came. But never before there have been such things going on. It is right of every team to extract best out of home conditions. "The wickets for earlier matches were fantastic. If you had been watching earlier matches here you can make out easily that today’s wicket was different. It has come as a shock and surprise that we were being instructed to play on certain kind of wicket." Though he did not blame anybody in particular, Warne was indirectly referring to the unofficial complaint that was lodged by Mumbai Indians after they were restricted to 94 for eight on a slow track. The matter prompted pitch inspector Venkat Sundaram to rush to Jaipur and allegedly order new strips for the remaining matches here. "I don't want that there are headings tomorrow that Shane Warne blames the pitch because it was same for both teams and I concede that we were outplayed. We were up against a side which was pumped and eager to win.” Warne felt Chennai skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's quickfire cameo swung the game in the visitors' favour. "We were hurt by Dhoni's innings but still I feel 190 odd was gettable on this pitch. We lost (Rahul) Dravid, Shane Watson and (Ross) Taylor early and despite Anjikya Rahane's fifty we could not get there.”
— PTI |
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Azlan Shah Cup
Ipoh, May 10 India, who won the Azlan Shah Cup outright in 2009 and were joint champions with South Korea in 2010, go into Wednesday's match with victories in the last four encounters against Pakistan. After the reversal against South Korea, India have defeated top-placed Britain and hosts Malaysia, while the match against World champions Australia ended in a 1-1 draw. Pakistan's hopes have suffered a jolt despite twin victories, as they lost to both Britain and Australia. "We hope to put up a good show, our team has improved with every outing as the youngsters have gained in confidence," says chief coach Harendra Singh. "These young players have done a wonderful job and their learning process has got a big boost through the experience here," he said. He said the Indian team was focusing on executing its own strategy, and are not unduly concerned about the opposition.
— PTI |
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Heat burn Celtics
Boston, May 10 Game Five is Wednesday in Miami where the Heat will attempt to finish off the Celtics. "What we're going to face will be our greatest challenge of this season," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters. "To put away a champion will be the toughest thing we've had to do to this point." Meanwhile, the Oklahoma City Thunder prevailed in a marathon triple-overtime 133-123 win over the Memphis Grizzlies to even their series 2-2. Russell Westbrook scored 40 points and Kevin Durant added 35 and 13 rebounds as the Thunder overcame an early 18-point deficit and now head home for Game Five on Wednesday in Oklahoma City. "This was a fun game. I was blessed to be a part of it," said Durant. "Playing games like this, it's what you live for, this was exciting." In last season's playoffs, Boston eliminated the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Heat on their way to the NBA Finals. This year, the Celtics are finding themselves overpowered by Miami's new partnership.
— Reuters |
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NADA starts tests on blood doping
New Delhi, May 10 NADA collected urine samples of 46 athletes and 14 wrestlers. The samples of the grapplers were collected at Sonepat while those of the athletes were collected during the Grand Prix Meet held at Patiala recently. Bhatnagar said with the expertise and trained staff available with NADA and the testing facilities at the National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL) at the Nehru Stadium complex being world class, blood samples will be collected by NADA on a regular basis, and in large numbers. Elaborating further, Bhatnagar said, "blood doping is the misuse of certain techniques and/or substance to increase a sportsperson’s red blood cell mass, which allows the body to transport more oxygen to muscles and therefore increase the stamina and performance of the concerned athlete. |
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Federation Cup hockey from May 12
Jalandhar, May 10 The tournament would see the men’s matches being played at the newly laid astro-turf at the Punjab Armed Police (PAP) ground, here on May 12, while the women’s matches would be held at the Olympian Surjit Hockey Stadium from the same day. Addressing a press briefing here, chairman of the organizing committee, Surinder Singh Sodhi, said that this would be the first time that the Federation Cup would witness men’s and women’s matches together. “A total of 16 teams (eight men’s and eight women’s) will participate.” — TNS |
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Kings were the benefactors of a big dose of largesse from Mumbai Indians in the form of 22 extras, for some strange reason Sachin Tendulkar did not give Harbhajan his full quota of four overs and instead persisted with harmless part-timers like Rohit Sharma and Dhawal Kulkarni and in a way, allowed Kings to post a good score of 163.
