Kolkata, April 14
On a roll after two successive victories, Kolkata Knight Riders would be cautious not to slip at home when they face a resurgent Kings XI Punjab in their IPL V fixture here tomorrow. Knight Riders and Kings XI started their season five campaign in a similar fashion with both the teams suffering two losses in the first two matches before tasting their first success in their respective third game.

While Gautam Gambhir's boys started the turnaround in Bangalore, Adam Gilchrist-led Kings XI did it at home against Pune Warriors India in their last outing. With both teams having found the winning mantra after the jittery start, tomorrow's outcome would be crucial as they will look to outdo each other and avoid another hiccup.

Knight Riders slow bowlers led by Bangladesh's left-arm spinner Shakib Al Hasan will once again look to get the most out of the tailor-made condition. It is the visitors' ability to adapt against Knight Riders slow bowlers Shakib and Sunil Narine on the difficult Eden surface that would determine the outcome of the match.

Against Rajasthan Royals, Shakib was brilliant with his guile as his three wickets in a crucial stage of the match ensured it a low-scoring affair. The Bangladeshi will once again look to sizzle.

Despite two consecutive wins, it would be over-ambitious to say that all is well in the Knight Riders camp as there remains some areas of concern. Their batting, especially the middle-order, is yet to fire. Even against a small chase of 132 last night, the Knight Riders lost five wickets and there was no match-winning partnership.

Gambhir would hope that the star-studded line-up boasting of Jacques Kallis, Yusuf Pathan, Manoj Tiwary and Ryan ten Doeschate put up a power-packed performance tomorrow.

Punjab, on the other hand, tasted their first success in IPL V when they beat Pune at home and skipper Gilchrist would expect his boys to keep doing the good work.

Among their batters, it would be a homecoming of sorts for David Hussey who represented the Knight Riders earlier and the Aussie would look to sizzle in the Punjab camp this time. It's the Aussie trio of Gilchrist, Marsh and Hussey who would form the crux of Kings XI batting as the performance of the domestic talents has been rather lacklustre so far.

Marsh was in sublime form with an unbeaten 64 in their low-scoring chase against Pune. "It is wonderful to see him (Marsh) back in action. He missed the last game because of back strain and now he is back with full fitness.” — PTI

Kolkata, April 14
Kolkata Knight Riders made heavy weather of what should have been a relatively easy chase as they beat Rajasthan Royals in the last over by five wickets, in an IPL match, here yesterday.

Chasing 132 for a win, the Knight Riders lost captain Gambhir early, but the innings was steadied by Jacques Kallis and Manvinder Bisla. The two batted sensibly and ensured that the lower order, despite losing wickets regularly, didn’t have too much to do.

Earlier, Kolkata Knight Riders bowlers led by left-arm spinner Shakib Al Hasan restricted Rajasthan Royals to 131 for five on a difficult Eden Gardens track.

Opting to bat on a slow Eden strip, Royals made a cautious start before the skipper Rahul Dravid broke the shackles along with Ajinkya Rahane. But the KKR slow bowlers with wrecker-in-chief Shakib (3/17) broke the 45-run opening partnership as the Royals found it difficult to break free.

Ashok Menaria (1) and Rahul Dravid (28) were also dismissed in quick succession as Royals were reduced to 49 for three in the ninth over. Owais Shah was the top-scorer for Royals with 31 from 33 balls (3x4) as the former England batsman along with Shreevats Goswami put on 59 for the fourth wicket to repair the top-order damage. There were only two sixes in the visitors innings, something that summed up the nature of the track. In what is seen as his last appearance at the majestic Eden Gardens, Dravid showed flashes of brilliance from his golden days.

He even came down the pitch on more than one occasion and hit Kallis on the rise during his delightful but short innings. The old and young combination of Dravid and Rahane seemed in little trouble after a tentative start as they broke free in Narine's first over, hitting the West Indian off-spinner for 10 runs.

Dravid was at his best against Kallis as Rajasthan Royals raced to 45 for no loss after six overs. — Agencies

SCOREBOARD

Rajasthan Royals

Dravid c Tiwary b Shakib 28

Rahane c Bisla b Shakib 19

Menaria run out 1

Goswami c Balaji b Shakib 24

Shah st Bisla b Narine 31

Hodge not out 12

Botha not out 6

Extras (b-1, w-9) 10

Total (5 wkts; 20 ovrs) 131

Fall of wickets: 1-45, 2-48, 3-49, 4-108, 5-113.

Bowling: Balaji 4-0-27-0, Kallis 3-0-26-0, Narine 4-0-22-1, Shakib 4-0-17-3, Pathan 3-0-19-0, Bhatia 2-0-19-0.

Kolkata Knight Riders

Kallis lbw b Botha 31

Gambhir run out 11

Bisla c Rahane b Menaria 29

Tiwary st Goswami

b Hogg 24

Shakib c Menaria b Amit 16

Yusuf not out 7

Doeschate not out 7

Extras (b 4, lb 2, w 6) 12

Total (5 wkts; 19.2 ovrs) 137

Fall of wickets: 1-22, 2-70, 3-94, 4-108, 5-126.

Bowling: Botha 4-0-22-1, Amit 4-0-29-1, Chavan 3.2-0-32-0, Hogg 4-0-20-1, Trivedi 3-0-25-0, Menaria 1-0-3-1.

Bangalore, April 14
Reeling after successive defeats, both Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals will look to bring their campaign back on track when they lock horns in an Indian Premier League match here tomorrow. After a win over Delhi Daredevils in their opening tie, the defeats against two-time champions Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders in the last two matches must have been an eye-opener for the Royal Challengers and it should spur them to produce an improved show tomorrow.

Rajasthan, on the other hand, were off to a good start winning first two matches against Kings XI Punjab and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on their home turf, but the loss in next two against Mumbai Indians and the Knight Riders have put them on the back foot and they would be keen to turn the tables.

RCB skipper Daniel Vettori, in the last two games, has come under attack from cricket experts for poorly marshalling his bowlers in crunch situation, especially for the penultimate over that he gave to Virat Kohli against Chennai, and Albie Morkel hit three sixes and two fours to snatch the game away from the Bangalorians.

Cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar said that the RCB should think hard about changing their captain and bring in Chris Gayle or Kohli to lead the side as they were in supreme form. Hence, much is at stake for Vettori and he would want to silence his critics when his team takes on Rajasthan, whose performance on away turfs have been dismal so far.

The former New Zealand captain is also yet to contribute to the team with his bowling and it would be important for him to spin magic and inspire the rest. The Kiwi has taken just two wickets in the first three matches. — PTI 

New Delhi, April 14
The Indian boxers, who qualified for the London Olympics, were felicitated by the Indian Amateur Boxing Association (IABF) and team sponsors Monnet Ispat and Energy, here today. The pugilists, who were given cash awards, were upbeat about their achievements, as the biggest-ever squad of seven boxers will compete in the Olympics Games. Those who have made the cut are bronze medallist in Bejing 2008 Vijender Singh, Jai Bhagwan, Manoj Kumar, Shiva Thapa, Sumit Sangwan, Devendro Singh and Vikas Krishnan, in various weight categories.

India pin much hope on the boxers to hit the sweep stake, after their commendable performance in the 2010 Commonwealth Games, which indeed opened up a new vista of opportunity for boxers.

Twenty six-year-old Vijender, who will be competing in his third Olympics - the first Indian pugilist to achieve this feat - said he was thrilled to be part of “this elite group of boxers and it makes me feel proud to be honoured like this”.

But he said he was realistic about India’s prospects in the Olympics, as he expects around two medals, though he felt that the Olympic platform will be a great learning experience for some of the young boxers. Vijender made the cut in the recently-concluded Asian Qualifiers in Kazakhastan, though he had to be content with a bronze medal in the championship.

“The burden is off me. The confidence is back”, said the strapping six-footer at a media interaction here today. Vijender will not only aim for another Olympic medal in the 75kg - he already has one Olympic and one World Championship bronze in his bag - but will also play the role of a mentor for some of the young, but highly-talented boxers like Shiva Thapa and Devendro Singh.

Eighteen-year-old Shiva Thapa (56kg) not only qualified for the Olympics in the Asian Qualifiers, but also lifted the gold there. Nineteen-year-old Devendro Singh (49kg) is another young boxer on the block, who holds out much promise, after qualifying for the Olympics in the World Championship last year. Jai Bhagwan (60kg), Manoj Kumar (64kg) and Vikas Krishnan (69kg) will also gun for Olympic medals, though national coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu did not commit himself about the number of boxing medals India were expected to win in London.

Vijender said his going down before entering the final in the Asian Qualifiers was no reflection of his commitment, and motivation. “I gave 100 per cent in all my bouts. I have beaten the guy who was the eventual gold medallist. But it wasn’t my day, so I lost the bout”, he said about bowing out early, after qualifying for the quarter-finals, which ensured him an Olympic berth.

Shanghai, April 14
Nico Rosberg of Mercedes stormed to a career-first pole position for tomorrow's Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai, edging out McLaren's Lewis Hamilton and the fellow Mercedes of Michael Schumacher. It was Rosberg's first pole in 110 attempts of Formula One racing, with a time of one minute 35.121sec. Hamilton clocked 1:35.626, but will be back in seventh on the grid after earning a penalty for changing his gearbox.

It means the two Germans and two Mercedes of Rosberg and Schumacher, the seven-times world champion, will line up on the front grid together. There was a major shock, however, with Sebastian Vettel, the two-time reigning world champion, failing to make the third qualifying stage with his surprisingly lacklustre time of 1:36.031.

"It went really well and it's a very special feeling," said Rosberg, 26, who has never been on pole and never won a race. — AFP