Dharamsala, May 20
Still in with an outside chance of making the play-offs, Kings XI Punjab will look for nothing less than a victory when they take on an out-of-reckoning Deccan Chargers in their crucial IPL match here tomorrow.

Punjab are currently placed fifth in the team standings with 14 points from 13 games. But to qualify for the playoffs, the Adam Gilchrist-led side will have to first win their last league game and hope that some other results go in their favour.

Going into tomorrow's encounter at the picturesque HPCA stadium, Punjab will be high on confidence having achieved four wins on the trot, against Mumbai Indians, Kochi Tuskers Kerala, Delhi Daredevils and Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Punjab would be looking to force a three-way battle with Mumbai Indians (16 points) and Kolkata Knight Riders (16 points) for the two available spots after Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore went through. The results of other matches will have a lot of bearing on the Preity Zinta-owned side's fortunes.

Punjab have battled their way up the table after losing five games on the trot, before winning against Mumbai Indians on May 10. But they still have to beat Deccan in their final game to have any chance of making the last four.

Mumbai Indians will play Rajasthan Royals today and Kolkata will lock horns with Mumbai Indians on May 22 and the onus will be on Punjab to play party-poppers for these two teams by winning against Deccan and fancy their play-offs' chances.

Punjab would hope that Knight Riders lose their last league match against Mumbai Indians to force law of averages (run-rate). In all, Kings have a mathematical chance of just sneaking in. Punjab can take heart from the fact that they had defeated the Hyderabad-based outfit comfortably by eight wickets on their home turf in their previous IPL outing.

Opener Paul Valthaty has been the find of the tournament, while Gilchrist is also hitting form at the right time. In the bowling department, pacer Praveen Kumar and leg-spinner Piyush Chawla are combining well to shoulder the burden of batsmen.

On the other hand, out of contention for the play-offs, second edition's champions Deccan would aim to sign off on a positive note, but that looks easier said than done as they face an unbeaten-at-home Punjab. With captain Kumar Sangakkara off to join his Sri Lankan teammates on their ongoing tour of England, Cameron White will most likely take over as captain, while Michael Lumb also has a chance of getting a game.

With the pressure off, Deccan have nothing to play for, but one fact, which would be worrying Gilchrist as the visitors are coming into this game with back-to-back victories over Mumbai and IPL debutants Pune Warriors.

Punjab are clear favourites to win their fifth game in a row after the way they demolished Royal Challengers Bangalore last time out. There were 19 sixes struck here last time and it could be interesting to see what one of the most beautiful grounds in the world would offer with its miniscule boundaries. — PTI 

New Delhi, May 20
Delhi Daredevils are down in the dumps, and so are Pune Warriors. Both the teams have lost out on entering the play-off stage of the fourth edition of the Indian Premier League. Win or lose, neither team’s fate will alter when they clash in their last league match at the Ferozshah Kotla ground here tomorrow night.

Daredevils and Warriors have played 13 matches each, won four and lost nine apiece, to be on eight points. Daredevils have hit the bottom to be placed 10th, while Warriors are one notch above, on the strength of a better run-rate.

Semi-finalists in the first three editions, Daredevils suffered the ultimate humiliation of losing five of the six home matches, which had never happened before. Their lone victory at the Kotla came against Kings XI Punjab, when openers David Warner and Virender Sehwag indulged in breath-taking batting pyrotechnics to score 77 runs each.

That victory had come as a whiff of fresh air after two successive defeats at home against Mumbai Indians and Deccan Chargers. The dashing Daredevils’ pair could not replicate the feat later and they failed to record another victory at the Kotla.

Along the way, captain Sehwag also pulled out of the team with a shoulder injury and Daredevils are now like a rudderless ship, as stand-in captain James Hopes has not inspired much to regain the winning touch.

In IPL IV, Daredevils could post a victory only if Sehwag fired big. Sadly, he got little support from the other players, though Venugopal Rao has been consistent with his batting, chipping in with useful runs, but mostly in lost causes.

Though Delhi’s costliest acquisition, Irfan Pathan, shaped up well after his initial poor run, he has not yet displayed a truly match-winning performance. Overall, Daredevils’ display has been rather dismal and no wonder, they are plumbing the depths on the points table.

Pune Warriors, led by the dashing Yuvraj Singh, too have been inconsistent with their performances as mostly their game revolved around the captain. When Yuvraj failed, Warriors ended up on the losing side.

When former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly came on as a late replacement for the injured Ashish Nehra, the Warriors exulted, hoping that they could turn their luck round. After losing to Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians, Warriors saw a glimmer of hope when they tamed Kings XI and Deccan Chargers at their own dens in Mohali and Hyderabad, respectively.

But subsequent defeats at the hands of Decccan Chargers, Kings XI and Kolkata Knight Riders in their home matches at Navi Mumbai put paid to their hopes of making further headway.

When Daredevils and Warriors clash at the Kotla, spectator interest would be to see some blazing knocks from Yuvraj and Ganguly, who have a committed fan following here. Yuvraj has entertained the Delhi crowd with many knocks and Ganguly had always hit the proverbial pot of gold, whether as captain of India or as a player, to endear himself to the cricket lovers of the capital.

With the exit of Sehwag, there is no star name in Delhi, barring Warner, who can thrill with explosive batting, though for stand-in captain Hopes, it will be a golden chance to shine with the bat and ball to take Daredevils out of the bottom pit.

Despite Daredevils’ sorry run, the spectators had filled the stands in each of the matches and tomorrow’s game too, is expected to draw a good crowd, as IPL has become a habit with the spectators. 

London, May 20
Spanish football giants Real Madrid are ready to stun the football world by putting star striker Cristiano Ronaldo up for sale for a staggering 150-million-pounds. The Daily Mail reports that news of the possible transfer has emerged after Ronaldo had a training ground row with Madrid manager Jose Mourinho.

Club president Florentino Perez is reluctantly willing to listen to offers. Madrid paid a world-record fee of 80 million pounds to Manchester United in 2009 and Perez has said he would want to make a significant profit to appease the supporters for the sale of their best player.

Ronaldo, after all, was seen as Madrid's answer to the dominance of Barcelona. While there would be numerous suitors for his signature, even top clubs will balk at the astronomical fee and the player's wages.

At Madrid, he commands a salary of 20 m euros a year, leaving him with 12 m euros net — more than 200,000 pounds a week. The two Portuguese are said to have clashed over tactics used in the Champions League semi-final. — ANI 

1 Cristiano Ronaldo (Man U to R Madrid) £80m

2 Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Inter to Barcelona) 60.7

3 Kaka (Milan to R Madrid) 56

4 Zinedine Zidane (Juventus to R Madrid) 45.6

5 Luis Figo (Barcelona to R Madrid) 37

6 Hernan Crespo (Parma to Lazio) 35.5

7 David Villa (Valencia to Barcelona) 34.2

8 Gianluiggi Buffon (Parma to Juventus) 32.6

9 Robinho (R Madrid to Man City) 32.5

10 C Vieri (Lazio to Inter) 32

Patiala, May 20
Former India cricket captain Mohammad Azharuddin, who was at the NIS here to give away diplomas on the graduation ceremony, was all praise for the Indian cricket team, who he said were performing well under MS Dhoni and a lot of young talent has been identified in recent years.

“India winning the World Cup was everyone’s dream, including mine and I am happy that our team left no stone unturned to conquer the Cup. It was a spectacular show. The experienced players played their role and the young brigade held their nerves and in the end, it was a well deserved win.”

Talking about the overdose of cricket in India, he said, “Why not? India has grown into a top cricketing nation and the IPL had helped in identifying young talent. Now if foreign players and coaches talk about overdose of cricket, it is not a good thing. They earn more in India rather than their own country. So why complain?” he said.

When questioned about Indian team not making their appearance during the Asian Games, he said it was really sad. “They had a chance to represent their country and they should have done it but you never know the exact reason behind this. But the board should consider such competitions even if the players have a tight schedule. Cricketers are always busy but playing for one’s nation during Asian Games would have been an experience in itself,” he added.

Talking about the sports infrastructure at NIS, he said the facilities were good but could be improved. “The Sports Ministry should increase the fund for sports and ensure that players are given proper facilities, food etc. for better results. Also proper maintenance of sports infrastructure is the need of the hour,” he said.

Mumbai, May 20
The Mumbai Indians paid heavily for a below par batting performance, and an equally toothless bowling outing as they lost by 10 wickets against Rajasthan Royals in their penultimate round-robin match at the Wankhede Stadium here tonight.

Royals openers Shane Watson and Rahul Dravid made light work of the Mumbai bowling, and although futile in the outcome of their run in the League, gave Shane Warne a victorious farewell from the sport.

Watson, who had come into the tournament riding on some sensational performances against Bangladesh, finally found his feet and flow with a 47-ball 89, which had six sixes and 9 fours in it.

Earlier, Rohit Sharma cracked his third fifty in IPL-IV to lift Mumbai Indians from a dawdling start to 133 for five. Sharma, who came to the crease when the home team had slumped to 17 for 2 after 4 overs, slammed five fours and a six in his 47-ball 58-run innings before being dismissed by Australian spin legend Shane Warne, who is playing his swansong match today.

Sharma was involved in two fruitful stands –- 48 runs with captain Sachin Tendulkar who made an unimpressive 31 in 35 balls and 53 runs in 39 balls for the fourth wicket with Kieron Pollard (20) - that upped the scoring rate.

Shane Watson emerged as the pick of the bowlers for the Royals, who are already out of contention for a berth in the play-offs, with a haul of three for 19. Left arm spinner Ankit Chavan bowled very well and was not fortunate to gain the wicket of Tendulkar in his four overs.

Mumbai's performance was an improvement over their pathetic 94 for 8 at Jaipur in their first leg clash last month which they had lost, but the total was still well below their own expectations.

The home team struggled to get going after opting to bat first. Royals opened with left arm spinner Chavan and Watson and kept the duo on right through the power play overs at the end of which the hosts were a poor 26 for two. — PTI

Scoreboard

Mumbai Indians
Suman c Menaria
b Watson 5
Tendulkar c Watson b Amit 31
Rayudu c Taylor b Watson 2
Rohit st Shah b Warne 58
Pollard b Watson 20
Franklin not out 11
Harbhajan not out 1
Extras (lb 2, w 3) 5
Total: (5 wkts; 20 ovrs) 133
Bowling: Chavan 4-0-17-0, Watson 4-0-19-3, Trivedi 1-0-9-0, Warne 4-0-30-1, Botha 4-0-24-0, Singh 2-0-20-1, Menaria 1-0-12-0.
Rajasthan Royals
Watson not out 89
Dravid not out 43
Extras (w 2) 2
Total: (0 wkts; 13.1 ovrs) 134
Bowling: Munaf 3-0-23-0, Harbhajan 2-0-27-0, Malinga 4-0-42-0, Kulkarni 2-0-19-0, Pollard 2-0-19-0, Franklin 0.1-0-4-0.

New Delhi, May 20
The big time bungle by the sports ministry may find ace shooter Jaspal Rana failing to make it to the Indian squad for the London Olympics. Rana had requested the Sports Ministry through National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) to clear his name at the earliest so that he could take part in the ongoing ISSF World Cup at Fort Benning in USA but the Ministry failed to do so in time.

Rana, whose name was finally cleared in the last batch on May 16, is now unwilling to travel across the globe at such short notice, as his event — rapid fire pistol — has been scheduled for May 20.

"This was my practically my last chance to qualify for the Olympics next year. It was long ago that I had sent my request to the Sports Ministry through NRAI to participate in the ongoing ISSR World Cup in the US. But I got clearance only on May 16 and my event is scheduled for May 20," said Rana.

When asked the reason for such a delay, the shooter said, "I think the Sports Ministry officials will be able to answer this better. I was told that since I wasn't a part of shooting's core group, the ministry have declined to give me the clearance to travel. I got the nod from the Federation but government delayed the whole process," he added.

The shooters will get a last chance to qualify for the London Olympics during the Munich World Cup, which is to be held from June 16 to 23 but for that the Indian team would be chosen only on the basis of their performance in the ongoing competition in the US. — PTI

New Delhi, May 20
Coach of Goan I-League club Dempo, Armando Colaco, has been appointed ‘interim coach’ of the Indian football team for four months, to fill the vacancy created by the exit of British coach Bob Houghton. Colaco’s appointment was announced by All-India Football Federation (AIFF) president Praful Patel after the Executive Committee meeting was held at Football House here, this morning. The meeting was also attended by AIFF general-secretary Kushal Das and vice-presidents Subrata Dutta, Ankur Dutta and Joaquim Alemao among others.

Patel said Colaco will be in charge of the national team for the World Cup qualifiers and also for the two international friendlies. He also said the return match of the pre-World Cup qualifier against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will be held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi on July 28, after the away match on July 23 in the UAE.

He said the meeting also ratified the decision to stick to 3 plus 1 format in the case of foreign recruits in the I-League (each team will be allowed to recruit four foreign players, but a team can field only three players at any given time).

Other important decisions taken at the meeting were: The executive committee gave its consent to the Indian team to play friendly matches against Pakistan, subject to clearance from the Ministry of Home Affairs; appointment of a Technical Director at the earliest to assist in the development programme and appointment of coaches; Shillong Lajong and Sporting Clube de Goa have qualified for the I- League next season, subject to the teams fulfilling the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) criteria (like having certain kind of facilities for effective functioning at their home centres); the AFC will conduct a workshop for I-League representatives in August and organise educational trips, if necessary.

Indian team medio N.P. Pradeep was asked to publish an advertisement in a national daily (at his own cost) making a ‘disclaimer’ that he has not posted any derogatory comments on any social networking website and also apologise for any disregard caused to the AIFF and its officials. (Pradeep had reportedly criticised the AIFF move to dispense with the services of Bob Houghton).

Patiala, May 20
National Anti Doping Agency (NADA) has now set its eyes on teams that would be soon going abroad to take part in various competitions. After conducting sampling of athletes during the Indian Grand Prix, NADA has now chalked out a plan for sampling of Indian pugilists.

Sources informed that the urine samples of these boxers have already been taken and sent to Delhi for analysis. It is pertinent to mention here that these pugilists are going to Hawana, Cuba and Jordan next month, for training sessions and Asian Championship and the NADA officials would soon be here for the second phase of sampling that might include blood sampling as well.

NADA has already written a letter to NIS regarding issuance of 20 medical kits to their officials for conducting samples. Sampling is not the only reason NADA team is visiting NIS this time. They will also be organising awareness seminars, not only for the Olympic probables, but for diploma students as well.

Talking to The Tribune, Director General of NADA, Rahul Bhatnagar, informed that special lectures would be organised for the core probables in order to apprise them about everything related to prohibited substances.

In this series, a seminar was organised yesterday at NIS for boxing campers and diploma students, in which the officials taught students about increasing the strength and endurance without taking prohibited medicines. They also gave detailed knowledge as to which were the banned substances and what substances could be used in case of illness.

BRIEFLY

Wrestler Rahul bags Bronze
New Delhi: India's Rahul Balasaheb Aware has won a bronze medal in the 55kg freestyle category at the 2011 Senior Asian Wrestling Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. — PTI