Bangalore, October 7
Anything David Warner can do, Chris Gayle can do better. That’s the message the burly hitter from Jamaica sent across strongly as he and Virat Kohli chased down a big score with ease to take Royal Challengers Bangalore into the final of the Champions League at The M Chinnaswamy Stadium here today.

Gayle slammed 92 (41 balls, 8 fours & 8 sixers) and Kohli remained unbeaten with 84 (49 balls, 10 fours and three sixers) as Royal Challengers thrashed New South Wales Blues by six wickets. Set to score 203 in 20 overs, RCB achieved the target with nine balls remaining.

Earlier, powered by a brilliant unbeaten century by David Warner New South Wales notched up a mammoth 203 for 2. Opener Warner, who had slammed a century in NSW’s last game as well, carried on the brutal form as he carted the RCB bolwers for 11 sixers and six boundaries in his stunning knock that came off just 68 balls.

NSW lost Daniel Smith (62) after he added a record 146-run stand with David Warner.

Pacer Sreenath Aravind dismissed Smith in the eighteenth over to halt the NSW charge temporarily. Smith hit three sixes and seven boundaries in his 42-ball rapid knock.

Smith raced to his maiden T20 fifty in just 33 balls whereas Warner scored a steady 40-ball fifty and hit three sixes and four fours.

NSW raced to 100 in 11.4 overs after losing Shane Watson early. NSW lost Watson (3) in the third over when part-time spinner Tillakaratne Dilshan, who started the bowling for the hosts, struck early to get rid of the Aussie opener as NSW are reduced to 17/1 in 2.4 overs.

Royal Challengers skipper Daniel Vettori won the toss and decided to field against New South Wales Blues.

Left-arm spinner Syed Mohammad missed the game because of an injury and RCB included additional batsman in Mohammad Kaif for this crucial match. NSW Blues fielded an unchanged side.

The Royal Challengers came into this match on a high after sensational back-to-back victories. They showed how competitive they can be to distance themselves from their rivals.

Having languished at the bottom of the table till the fag end of the league, Daniel Vettori's men transformed themselves from a beleaguered outfit to fierce fighters, posting tournament high totals in successive matches.

They set Somerset a highest target of 206 and then rewrote their own record on Wednesday, chasing a tournament-high 215 against the Redbacks. — Agencies

Chennai, October 7
Decimated by injuries but spirited nonetheless, Mumbai Indians will bank on their familiarity with the conditions to fight through another tough challenge when they take on England's Somerset in the semifinal of the Champions League Twenty20 at the M A Chidambaram stadium, here tomorrow. Despite being an injury-ravaged side, the chances of Mumbai Indians -- without eight key players such as skipper Sachin Tendulkar, pacers Zaheer Khan Munaf Patel and batsman Rohit Sharma -- are brighter than Somerset who reached the Champions League group stage through Qualification. Mumbai faced some anxious moments when Kieron Pollard hurt himself during the nets but the team management indicated that the West Indian all-rounder will take part in the semi-final. Both these teams were written off before the tournament, but both have defied skeptics to gatecrash their way into the semifinals. However, Mumbai have a slight edge since they are better equipped to handle the conditions having played two of their matches on the slow pitch here. On the other hand, Somerset will face a stiff test as the conditions are quite unfamiliar for them. — PTI

Patiala, October 7
Indian Challenge at the 2011 AIBA World Championships came to an end with Asian Games gold medallist Vikas Krishan (69kg) suffering a defeat in the semi-finals of the tournament. The 19-year-old equalled Beijing Olympics bronze medallist Vijender Singh’s feat of bagging a bronze at the Milan World Championships in 2009.

It has been a stunning performance by the teenage prodigy who made it all the way to the semi-finals in his very first senior world championship and also qualified for the London Olympics in the process.

Vikas, making his welter weight debut defeated Vasili Belous of Moldova in a hard-fought contest to seal a place in the last four of his weight category. In the semis he was up against Taras Shelestyuk of Ukraine. Taras beat world number 3 and 2009 world championship silver medallist Andrey Zamkovoy of Russia in the quarters to set up the clash.

Both boxers started cautiously, waiting for the other to make the move. The Ukrainian boxer, who seemed to have studied Vikas’s well, brought in all his experience to the fore and did not let the young Indian play his usual game. With some powerful hitting he took a 4:2 lead in the first round. Vikas tried hard to get back in the game but could not break the strong defence of Shelestyuk.

Pune, October 7
Barely 6,000 fans saw struggling Blackburn Rovers carve out an easy win over a local side in an exhibition match Friday that marked the first appearance by an English Premier League side in India.

But a growing fans' campaign to get Steve Kean fired followed the beleaguered manager to India as a poster saying "Kean Out" sprang up in the stands in the first-half, but was hurriedly removed by the organisers.

Indian-owned Rovers, who are languishing second-last in the Premier League after losing five of their opening seven matches, beat 10-man Pune FC 3-0 to avoid any more unwanted attention for the under-pressure Kean.

Jason Roberts scored once in each half and Spaniard Ruben Rochina netted the other, in a match played in persistent rain at the 14,000-capacity Balewadi Sports Complex in Pune.

Rovers, who are owned by Pune-based poultry firm Venky's, were without nine regulars including Martin Olsson and Radosav Petrovic, who are on international duties this week.

Pune FC, a five-year-old club which finished third on its debut in India's I-League in 2009, defended gallantly to deny the technically superior Rovers a bigger victory. The hosts were reduced to 10 men by the 15th minute as Anas Edathodika was sent off after two yellow cards for tackles on Hoilett and Rochina. — AFP

Chandigarh, October 7
The practice session of MRF Super Cross National Championship 2011 got underway here today when national champions from across the country stepped on to the track with their dirt bikes to prepare for Round Three of the tournament.

Riders from Bangalore, Kerala, Goa, Jaipur, Delhi and a few local lads, packed in their complete set of safety gear, first took a stroll on the freshly-prepared and watered dirt track at the Exhibition Grounds of Sector 34 here.

Next was a tiny radio control car to enter the track, driven by one of the marshals of the race, and experience the drive and do a little recce. This little show helped drivers know what speed they needed to move on at every turn, as the radio control car displayed its action on the track.

The practice session, which began in the evening, saw bikes flying high above the track. With no competition during the day, the drivers showcased thrilling stunts and some dangerous moves, practicing for nearly two hours to get familiar with every crest and trough of the 110-meter long track.

This partnership race of man and machine, as motor sports officials say, will see 40 contestants from five different teams vying for podium finish in two categories tomorrow — Foreign and Indian Experts.

Round One of 2011 Championship took place in Bangalore, where HK Pradeep of TVS Racing team was honored as the best overall rider. Round Two was held in Coimbatore and Arvind KP (TVS Racing team) took the lead as the best overall rider.

Even in Round Three, TVS Racing team stands as one of the main competitors. Ravi, Team Manager of TVS Racing, said, “Our all best riders have come here to showcase their speed and talent, and we have brought our brand new bikes here. So we hope to win in this round too.

But sadly, there are very few entries from Chandigarh this season. We would have loved to compete with them.”

The event is approved by FMSCI, National Sports Federation and is assisted by Chandigarh Motor Sports Association.

Panchkula, October 7
Sri Lankan Mithun Perera continued his impressive show at the Panchkula Golf Club as he opened up a massive nine-stroke lead with his total moving to 18-under 198. Perera shot a scintillating eight-under 64 to wrest the initiative in round three of the Haryana Open 2011 here today. Ashok Kumar, who shot a 68 in the third round, is placed a distant second at nine-under 207.

Mithun Perera (68-66-64) played a blazing round with nine birdies and a bogey on the penultimate day of the tournament. The stocky 24-year-old from Colombo built on his overnight two-stroke lead with the help of some booming drives and fabulous approach shots. Perera, playing his first season as a professional, accumulated four birdies on the front nine (first, third, fifth and eighth). He landed his chip within a few inches of the hole for birdie on the eighth.

Mithun carried on the good work on the back nine as he birdied the 11th and 12th to go six-under for the day. A bogey on the 13th did not deter him since he came back strongly with a hat-trick of birdies on the 15th, 16th and 17th. Perera produced a great second shot from 100 yards out on the 16th where his ball ended up just three feet from the pin. He converted his longest putt of the day, a 20-footer for birdie, on the 17th. Mithun thus ended up with his lowest score on the Aircel PGTI and the lowest score of the tournament so far, an eight under 64.

“I am high on confidence this week since I’ve been driving well and hitting it well with wedges. I used the pitching wedge to great effect today as I hit some fantastic approach shots. I also made a few good chip-putts from the edge,” said Perera.

New Delhi, October 7
Sharmila Nicollet marked up her first title of the season, outrunning Nalini Singh Siwach by one stroke in the sixth leg of the Hero Women’s Professional Golf Tour at Gurgaon today.

Nalini messed up the 17th with a triple bogey and ended up second at 219, one shot behind the winner. Amateur Vani Kapoor (223) finished third.

Nicollet parred the final round to total 218, while Nalini ended with a 74 and 219. Vani shot 76, though the third-placed cheque went to Chandigarh’s Saaniya Sharma (76) at 228, one ahead of Neha Tripathi, whose 74 took her to 229 for fourth place. Smriti Mehra was the only player to go under-par at 71 for a total of 230 in fifth place, and Bengaluru’s Rani Sonti (75) was sixth at 232.

A see-saw battle saw Nicollet at even par with one birdie and a bogey, while Nalini had two bogeys.

Nalini came back with a birdie on 11th as Nicollet bogeyed the 10th. Nalini bogeyed the 12th and Nicollet the 13th, so the lead stayed with Nalini.

Nalini then blasted an eagle on the par-5 14th while Nicollet, despite a birdie, fell two shots behind. The next two holes were parred and with two to go, Nalini had a two-shot lead. But she gave it all away with a triple-bogey. Nicollet kept her nose ahead as birdied the 18th.

It was Nicollet’s first title of the new season and fetched her the winner's cheque of Rs. 75,000.

New Delhi, October 7
The 17th edition of the Fenesta Open National Tennis Championship will be held at the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association (DLTA) courts from October 10 to 22. Earlier known as the DSCL Open, the Nationals will be held under the aegis of the All-India Tennis Association.

This year, the field will be dominated by many promising players, as the National Championship had always provided an apt platform for the talented young players, trying to make their mark in the big league.

Vishnu Vardhan of Andhra Pradesh and Prerna Bhambri of Delhi will head the men’s and women’s rankings while Arjun Khade and Rutuja Bhosale, both from Maharashtra, will head the boys’ and girls’ seedings.

A decent hike in the prize money will be the main feature of this year’s championship. The men’s winner will pocket Rs 1.5 lakh while the runner-up will be richer by Rs 1 lakh. The women’s title winner will earn Rs 1 lakh and the runner-up will get Rs 65,000. The boys and girls sections will also have incentive prize money. — TNS

Dubai, October 7
The ICC today let off Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) with a warning for the poor quality pitch at Galle which hosted the Island nation's first Test of a three-match series against Australia in August.

The move follows a report submitted by Match Referee Chris Broad to the ICC expressing his concerns over the quality of the pitch prepared for the match which Australia won by 125 runs.

The ICC has power to impose a sanction ranging from a warning and/or fine to a suspension of international status of the venue. — PTI