Jaipur, April 8
ODI specialist Manoj Tiwary scored a half-century but that wasn't enough as Rajasthan Royals coasted to a comfortable 22-run win over Kolkata Knight Riders in an Indian Premier League match, here today.

Rajasthan registered their second win of the tournament today after thrashing Kings XI Punjab by 31 runs in their lung opener at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium here.

Tiwary scored 59 off 49 balls with seven fours but could never force the issue as he ran out of partners till Brett Lee smashed a quickfire 25 off 11 balls with two fours and two sixes. Cooper cleaned up Lee but by then the match was as good as over.

With the likes Jacques Kallis (5), Brendon McCullum (2), Gautam Gambhir (0), Yusuf Pathan (15) again failed with the willow as Shah Rukh Khan-owned franchise flattered to deceive as it has been the case in the four previous seasons.

Rajasthan bowlers maintained a disciplined line with Caribbean seamer Kevon Cooper being the pick of the bowlers with three for 28. Medium-pacers Amit Singh, Siddharth Trivedi and Mumbai left-arm spinner Ankit Chavan chipped in with two wickets apiece.

Earlier, Australia's T20 specialist Brad Hodge and local boy Ashok Menaria scored some quick runs to help Rajasthan Royals post a competitive total of 164 for five.

Hodge hit a 29-ball 44 laced with two sixes and three fours while Menaria came up with 30-ball 40 that included one six and four boundaries after KKR skipper Gautam Gambhir elected to field in searing heat.

Owais Shah provided the late burst with a cameo of 11-ball 23, comprising of a six and couple of fours that helped Rajasthan cross the 150-run mark.

Chasing a stiff target, Kolkata got off to a worst start as they lost four quick wickets inside six overs with just 25 runs on the board.

Rajasthan pacer Amit Singh dealt two consecutive blows to KKR in the form of South African veteran Jacques Kallis and skipper Gautam Gambhir in the second over.

Kallis (5) was the first to depart caught by Rajasthan skipper Rahul Dravid at mid-off while trying to clear the region. Gambhir (0) followed suit the very next ball when Amit bowled a beauty that angled away after pitching as KKR skipper poked at it helplessly to glovesman Shreevats Goswami behind the stumps.

Spinner Ankit Chavan further compounded the misery for KKR when he dismissed New Zealander Brendon McCullum leg before for just two runs. Debabrata Das (12) too departed early bowled by West Indian Cooper as Kolkata were left reeling at 25 for four.

Talented Tiwary and explosive Pathan tried to resurrect the innings and forged a 41-run stand for the fifth wicket before the latter was caught by Hodge off Siddharth Trivedi at deep square leg.

Earlier, sent in to bat, Royals' Ajinkya Rahane, who scored 98 in their win over Kings XI Punjab, was run-out by a direct throw from skipper Gambhir stationed at mid-off. Even a dive couldn't save Rahane who was found atleast a yard short.

Rajasthan skipper Rahul Dravid started in right earnest when he hooked Lee for a six and then hit him for a four.

Off-spinner Sunil Narine making his IPL debut was hit over fine leg for a six. Dravid hit 24-ball 26 helped by two sixes and an equal numbers of fours before he became another run out victim.

Goswami, who looked good for his 18-ball 23, could not capitalise on the start as he was cleaned up by Bhatia while trying to drive it through the covers. The loss of two wickets somewhat put brakes on the scoring rate of Rajasthan as both Hodge and Menaria started dealing in singles and doubles to keep scoreboard ticking.

Hodge broke the shackles in the 14th over bowled by Pathan when he hit the bowler for two huge sixes and a four to knock 17 runs from that over and took Rajasthan past the 100-run mark. He then hit Kallis for two consecutive fours in the next over.

Lee, who was called back for his second spell, put an end to Hodge's exploits when the Victorian was caught by wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum while trying to play a pre-determined reverse scoop.

New man in Shah made his intentions clear from the outset as he first hit Kallis for three fours and then clobbered Lee for a six and a four to take Rajasthan past 150-run mark.

Menaria was bowled by Lee in the 19th over when he tried to go high over the cover region but missed the hit. — PTI

Scoreboard

Rajasthan Royals

Dravid run out 26

Rahane run out 0

Goswami b Bhatia 23

Menaria b Lee 40

Hodge c McCullum b Lee 44

Shah not out 23

Cooper not out 5

Extras: (NB-1, W-2) 3

Total: (5 wkts, 20 overs) 164

Fall of wkts: 1-1, 2- 44, 3-61, 4-125 , 5- 152.

Bowling: Brett Lee 4-0-29-2, J Kallis 4-0-35-0, Sunil Narine 4-0-29-0, Iqbal Abdullah 2-0-16-0, Rajat Bhatia 4-0-27-1, Yusuf Pathan 2-0-28-0.

Kolkata Knight Riders

Kallis c Dravid b Amit 5

McCullum lbw b Chavan 2

Gambhir c Goswami b Amit 0

Tiwary b Botha 59

Das b Cooper 12

Pathan c Hodge b Trivedi 15

Bhatia c&b Trivedi 8

Shukla c Shah b Chavan 8

Lee b Cooper 25

Narine b Cooper 0

Abdulla not out 1

Extras: (B-1, LB-1, W-5) 7

Total: (all out, 20 overs) 142

Fall of wickets: 1-8, 2-8, 3-8, 4-25, 5-66, 6-77, 7-94, 8-132, 9-132.

Bowling: Ankeet Chavan 4-0-23-2, Amit Singh 4-0-30-2, Kevon Cooper 4-0-28-3, Siddharth Trivedi 4-1-25-2, Johan Botha 4-0-34-1. 

Visakhapatnam, April 8
After suffering reverses in their respective previous encounters, both Mumbai Indians and Deccan Chargers would look to get their campaign on track when they meet in an Indian Premier League match here tomorrow.

Despite missing Sachin Tendulkar to injury, Mumbai Indians still look the stronger side, on paper at least, but the visitors must be aware of the fact that the Chargers' would be playing in front of their home crowd.

While the Chargers lost to defending champions Chennai Super Kings to start their campaign on a sour note yesterday, Mumbai were done in by Ashok Dinda's four-wicket haul when they clashed with Pune Warriors in their last match. The last edition's runner-up though beat Chennai in the tournament opener on April 4.

However, in the absence of Tendulkar, there was little of note in the Mumbai innings against Pune, barring Dinesh Karthik's 32 off as many balls and an identical effort from James Franklin.

While the bowlers did a creditable job in both their matches so far with Lasith Malinga, Munaf Patel, Pragyan Ojha and skipper Harbhajan Singh being the wreckers-in-chief, a much-improved performance from the batsmen is what the Mumbai oufit would be hoping for at the Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium.

Richard Levi, the much sought-after South African, blazed his way to a half-century against Chennai, but the likes of Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav and Keiron Pollard are yet to fire.

The batting looks formidable but Mumbai will bank heavily on Levi to get them off to a flyer tomorrow.

While it would be a challenge to face countryman Dale Steyn, Levi would surely fancy his chances against the likes of Manpreet Goni, Ankit Sharma, Dan Christian and TP Sudhindra. As far as the Chargers are concerned, true they were outclassed by Chennai in their campaign opener yesterday, but ruling a team out in this form of the game would be a folly. — PTI 

Pune Warriors

Ryder run out 8

Ganguly c Valthaty

b Mascarenhas 20

Samuels b Harmeet 46

Uthappa b Harmeet 40

Ferguson c&b Harmeet 3

Smith b Faulkner 25

Pandey not out 12

Sharma not out 0

Extras: (LB-7 W-3 NB-2) 12

Total (6 wkts, 20 overs) 166

Fall of wickets: 1-28, 2-32, 3-113, 4-121, 5-132, 6-166.

Bowling: Praveen Kumar 4-0-27-0, Faulkner 4-0-31-1, Mascarenhas 4- 0-23-1, Bipul Sharma 2.4-0-40-0, Piyush Chawla 2-0-14-0, Harmeet Singh 3.2-0-24-3.

Kings XI Punjab

Gilchrist run out 6

Valthaty run out 1

Mandeep c Uthappa b Ryder 24

Nayar c Ganguly b Nehra 24

Hussey b R Sharma 18

Chawla c Pandey b Sharma 16

Mascarenhas c Ryder

b Samuels 5

Bipul Sharma not out 35

Faulnker c Ganguly b Dinda 3

Praveen not out 1

Total (8 wkts, 20 overs) 144

Fall of wickets: 1-7, 2-9, 3-50, 4-75, 5-84, 6-99, 7-106, 8-131.

Visakhapatnam, April 8
Defending champions Chennai Super Kings bounced back from a defeat in the first match with a massive 74-run win against Deccan Chargers in their Indian Premier League match, here yesterday.

Chasing a mammoth 194 for a win, the Deccan Chargers batting could not get their act together as they were all out for 119 in the 18th over.

Earlier, Ravindra Jadeja hit 29-ball 48 while Dwayne Bravo provided the late burst with some lusty shots as defending champions Chennai Super Kings scored an imposing 193 for six.

After Jadeja's show, West Indian Bravo played a special unbeaten knock of 43 from 18 balls towards the end to provide the late surge for the visitors, who piled up 40 runs in the last two overs. Bravo struck five sixes which included three off Manpreet Gony's last over.

Sent into bat, Chennai Super Kings were in for an early shock as left-arm spinner Ankit Sharma cleaned up Murali Vijay (2) with a peach of delivery in only the fifth ball of the innings.

New man Suresh Raina showed glimpses of his class with a 12-ball 16 with the help of three boundaries before persishing, caught by Daniel Christian of his own bowling. Opener Fau du Plesis scored a quickfire 39 off 25 balls before being caught by Christian at long on off debutant TP Sudhindra's opening over. Du Plesis struck four sixes and one lone boundary during his stay.

Badrinath (25)) and Jadeja then forged a 31-run fourth wicket stand which came off 25 balls to give some momentum to Chennai innings before the former was caught by Bharat Chipli at backward point off Christian. — PTI 

Scoreboard

Chennai Super Kings

Vijay b Ankit 2

Plessis c Christian

b Sudhindra 39

Raina c & b Christian 16

Badrinath c Chipli b Christian 25

Jadeja hit wicket b Steyn 48

Dhoni c Harris b Steyn 7

Dwayne not out 43

Albie not out 2

Extras (b 1, lb 2, w 7, nb 1) 11

Total (6 wkts, 20 ovrs) 193

Fall of wickets: 1-2, 2-42, 3-63, 4-94, 5-120, 6-147.

Bowling: Ankit 3-0-28-1, Steyn 4-0-25-2, Gony 4-0-54-0, Christian 4-0-26-2, Harris 1-0-11-0, Sudhindra 4-0-46-1.

Deccan Chargers

Harris c Dhoni b Bollinger 15

Dhawan c Bravo b Raina 21

parthiv b Jadeja 20

White c Raina b Jakati 23

Chipli b Jadeja 10

Christian c Bravo b Jakati 2

Gony c Raina b Jadeja 4

Teja st Dhoni b Jadeja 0

Ankit c Albie b Bollinger 15

Steyn lbw b Jadeja 5

Sudhindra not out 0

Extras (lb 1, w 3) 4

Total (all out; 17.1 ovrs) 119

Fall of wickets: 1-32, 2-45, 3-77, 4-85, 5-94, 6-98, 7-99, 8-99, 9-119.

Bowling: Ashwin 3-0-12-0, Albie 2-0-20-0, Bollinger 2.1-0-20-2, Raina 2-0-10-1, Bravo 1-0-10-0, Jadeja 4-0-16-5, Jakati 2-0-14-2, du Plessis 1-0-16-0.

New Delhi, April 8
Vijender Singh (75kg) became the first Indian boxer to qualify for the Olympic Games for a third successive time after reaching the semifinals of the Asian Olympic Qualifiers in Astana, Kazakhstan, today.

The first Indian to win an Olympic and World Championships medal, bronze in both events, Vijender outpunched Chuluuntumur Tumurkhuyag of Mongolia 27-17 to not just assure himself of an Olympic berth but also a medal at the ongoing tournament.

"I am back," were Vijender's first words while speaking to PTI from Astana after winning the crucial bout, a loss in which would have ended his hopes of making to the London Games.

The 26-year-old had failed in his first attempt to book a ticket for London in last year's World Championships.

"I have answered all my critics, who said that I was finished (after losing in the first round of World Championships)," said the former world number one, who was gasping for breath after a draining encounter.

Before the 2008 Beijing Games, Vijender had won gold at the Asian Qualifiers at that time, which incidentally were also held in Kazakhstan.

"I will now give it my all in the Olympics and prove that I am the best. It's such a relief to have got qualified. The fact that I am the first Indian boxer to have qualified for a third successive Olympics makes it all the more special," he said.

Vijender, a former World Championships bronze-medallist, had defeated Syria's Ishak Waez in his pre-quarterfinal bout after getting an opening-round bye.

"His fitness and endurance were a revelation in today's bout. He took me by surprise with the intensity with which he fought," said national coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu.

"I don't have words to describe how well he fought. It was a fantastic display by a proven talent," he added.

Vijender had lost in the preliminaries of 2004 Athens Games but went on to clinch a bronze in the Beijing edition.

With his qualification for London, Vijender became the fifth Indian boxer to book a berth for the mega event.

India already have four Olympic berths through L Devendro Singh (49kg), Jai Bhagwan (60kg), Manoj Kumar (64kg) and Vikas Krishan (69kg) who grabbed their slots after reaching the quarterfinals of the World Championships last year. Of these, Vikas went on to clinch a bronze in the biennial event, only the second boxer after Vijender to achieve the feat. — PTI

New Delhi, April 8
On a high after her Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold triumph, Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal has been seeded third in the second Yonex Sunrise India Open, part of the Osim BWF World Superseries, that will be held at the Siri Fort Auditorium from April 24 to 29.

The world number 5, who is considered to be India's best bet in the London Olympics later this year, is flanked by the all-conquering Chinese contingent comprising world number three Shixian Wang (Seeded 1st), Li Xuerui (Seeded 2nd) and Yanjiao Wang (Seeded 4th) in the USD 200,000 tournament, the organisers said in a release.

Saina had thrashed Shixian in the final of the Swiss Open a few weeks ago. Two-time All England champion Tine Baun of Denmark completes the top five in the last tournament of the London Olympics qualification period.

In the men's section, world number one and defending champion Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia has been given the top billing with Denmark's Peter Gade and former world champion Jin Chen of China seeded second and third respectively.

With the men's singles field being one of the best in the world, last edition's quarterfinalist Sourabh Verma will have to qualify for the event and has been seeded second in the draw.

Former national champion RMV Guru Sai Dutt, ranked 41 in the world, will be leading the pack of qualifiers. — PTI

Bridgetown, April 8
A slow Kensington Oval pitch and a number of dropped catches helped the West Indies build a solid start against Australia on the opening day of the first Test.

When rain curtailed the action, the home side were 179 for 3 yesterday with the backbone of the score being a century second wicket partnership between Kraigg Brathwaite and Kirk Edwards.

Having won the toss, the West Indies' openers made a steady start and the initial breakthrough for Australia didn't come until the 18th over.

For his second spell, Ryan Harris had replaced Nathan Lyon at the Malcolm Marshall end and came around the wicket to Adrian Barath.

His third ball was a bouncer outside off stump that Barath, who had made 22, hit high in the air for Peter Siddle to get under at fine-leg.

Edwards joined Brathwaite and he started slowly but the score was steadily building with Brathwaite being fortunate to survive two tough chances that he offered. His first slice of luck came during the morning session.

In his third over, Siddle had him playing too early and, as his hand came off the bat, the ball looped back to the bowler who, despite getting his left hand down to the dropping ball, couldn't hold on to the chance.

Brathwaite moved on to 44 when Shane Watson induced an edge that went wide to Ricky Ponting's right at second slip. He did well to reach the ball but he couldn't grasp it as the ball died on him. It was Watson, himself, who then gave Edwards a life.

Siddle found the edge when the batsman had made 56 and the ball flew high above Watson's head at fourth slip and, despite getting both hands to the ball, he couldn't hang on.

It came at a time when Edwards had upped the tempo as he hit several boundaries and smashed Lyon over long-on for six. As Michael Clarke looked for options he turned to part-time leg-break bowler David Warner.

When Edwards had reached 61 he smashed a return catch back at Warner who took it smartly.

It was his first international wicket and he was clearly delighted to have made a contribution with the ball breaking the 104-run second wicket partnership.

Siddle was probably the pick of a pace attack that had kept things tight all day and he was rewarded when Brathwaite played one loose shot too many.

He played at a ball slightly wide of the off stump and was caught behind for 57, an innings that had lasted over four hours and 199 balls. It gave wicket-keeper Matthew Wade special cause for celebration as he had been presented with his baggy green before play by Ponting and it was his first Test dismissal.

Steady rain arrived with 17 overs left in the day and with the light getting worse the umpires called an early end.

There had been plenty of discussion about the newly-found resilience of the West Indies team following good performances in Tests in India and in the recent shorter forms of the match against Australia.

Now it was seen in a home Test for the first time in many years with the West Indies off to a good start as they aim for their first Test win against Australia for nine years and for their first series win over the visitors in 19 years. — AFP

Scoreboard

West Indies (1st innings)

Barath c Siddle b Harris 22

Brathwaite c Wade b Siddle 57

Edwards c&b Warner 61

Darren Bravo not out 20

Chanderpaul not out 8

Extras (b4, lb2, w4, nb1) 11

Total (3 wkts; 73 overs) 179

Fall of wickets: 1-38, 2-142, 3-167.

Bowling: Harris 15-4-29-1, Hilfenhaus 16-4-32-0, Siddle 17-8-36-1, Lyon 12-5-31-0, Clarke 2-0-4-0, Watson 6-2-18-0, Warner 5-0-23-1.

Lahore, April 8
Former leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed's name has cropped up as one of the leading candidates to be the bowling coach of the national team before the tour to Sri Lanka.

According to details, Mushtaq who until this week was working with the England team in Sri Lanka as their bowling consultant has already held two meetings with the PCB Chairman Zaka Ashraf.

"Mushtaq has met with the Board Chairman and discussed the possibility of taking over as bowling coach and working with head coach, Dav Whatmore," one source said.

Mushtaq who was a member of Pakistan's 1992 World Cup winning squad, has spent the last few years obtaining coaching credentials and working as a professional coach in England.

"Many officials in the Board and some senior members of the Pakistan team are impressed with the experience Mushtaq has obtained while working in England and also as a bowling consultant with the England team in the last two three years," the source said.

Mushtaq worked as a bowling coach for a short while with the Pakistan team three years back but left to take up a more lucrative offer with the ECB.

The source said it was not confirmed whether Mushtaq had also applied for the bowling coach position to the PCB coaching committee which had advertised the post recently and given a March 23 deadline for interested candidates to send in their CVs. "What I know is that three former Pakistan bowlers, Mohammad Akram, Shahid Mahboob and Jalaluddin have also applied to the coaching committee which is headed by Intikhab Alam," the source said.

He pointed out that both Akram and Mahboob were based in England.

The coaching committee that also includes former Test captain Zaheer Abbas held its first meeting to assess the applications they had received in Lahore on Saturday after which Alam told reporters that the bowling coach would be picked before the Sri Lankan tour, starting late May.

It was the first meeting of the committee in which 11 candidates, including some foreigners, submitted their profiles, but the committee will take a decision on merit after examining potential of each and every candidate," he said.

"In the first phase, the committee will shortlist the coaches and then pick up the best one, hopefully before the team's departure to Sri Lanka," he added.

The former Test captain and coach said six applications were filed by local candidates while the rest were foreigners but refused to disclose the name of the foreigners. Alam also said that if the Board wanted it could appoint a candidate outside the list received by the coaching committee as bowling coach. — PTI