|
|
|
|
|
Team Dhoni look to tame Ganguly’s Warriors
|
|
|
Litmus test awaits Chargers
Gayle visits hospital to meet his sixer ‘victim’
Saina advances on mixed day for India
Lyon’s 5-wkt haul gives Australia advantage
Final countdown begins to London Games
Foreign experts at NIS to coach b’ball coaches
|
|
Team Dhoni look to tame Ganguly’s Warriors
Chennai, April 18
In 2010, they were on the brink of elimination before they bounced back and won the competition, similarly in the last edition too, they came from behind to emerge victorious. Pune, who have six points and better net run-rate than Chennai, would though start as favourites tomorrow. Given the trend in this edition of the IPL, it requires a dash of recklessness to predict the outcome, but the Super Kings have been in this situation before and the experience should see them past the Warriors. The Super Kings would be looking towards their skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni to provide some spark, like he did in the previous seasons, which had turned their fortunes around. The hosts would be happy to be playing in front of their home crowd and hope to repeat their performance of the last game here when they snatched a sensational five-wicket victory in the very last ball against Royal Challengers Bangalore. Chennai will also take heart from the fact that the three defeats that they have suffered this season were close matches and the reverses were mainly due to their inability to fire as a unit. While Murali Vijay hasn't really done anything of note till now, his opening partner Faf du Plessis has proved his worth. Dhoni also has shown some spark after a quiet start to the tournament. Allrounder Ravindra Jadeja has also done a decent job. In contrast to the virtually settled combination of the Super Kings as a team, for the Warriors it has to be about getting together as a unit. Skipper Sourav Ganguly has his work cut out, having lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore last night in a thriller at Bangalore. And the onus is on him to regroup his forces and renew their assault that they have displayed in this season. Pune would depend heavily on their opening pair of Jesse Ryder and Robin Uthappa, to give them a solid start, besides banking on Steven Smith down the order. Ganguly is yet to play to his potential and the Warriors would hope him to fire against the defending champions. West Indian allrounder Marlon Samuels has been a key player for the Warriors, who has contributed with both bat and the ball, though he has been held up for "questionable action". Ashok Dinda and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar have come good with the ball and would look to stick to their job. As for the Warriors, their performance has not exactly matched their potential, both in batting and bowling, and yet, in patches, they have shown the sort of explosiveness that can take apart any opponent. Tomorrow's battle appears to be between equals with the pressure more on the hosts. — PTI
|
|
Kings humbled at home Mohali, April 18 KKR started their chase in promising fashion and had raced to 53 in just 5.3 overs, before Brendon McCullum mistimed a short delivery from Piyush Chawla to be caught at short fine leg. Captain Gambhir was then joined by Manvinder Bisla and the two looked like cantering home before Bisla too was undone by a Chawla delivery. From there on, Gambhir, who remained unbeaten on 66 and Jacques Kallis went about the chase with absolute ease and Kallis stamped KKR's authority all over the game as he finished off the game with a four and a massive six off the bowling of Bhargav Bhatt. Earlier, Kings XI Punjab could manage only 124 for 7 in their allotted 20 overs. The Kings XI batsman could not find their feet and Paul Valthaty disappeared in a rather meek fashion slashing outside the off-stump to a Brett Lee delivery, only to edge it for Bisla to take a simple catch. The misery for Kings was further compounded as Adam Gilchrist had to walk off with a hamstring injury. Mandeep didn't last too long either and soon the Australian duo of Shaun Marsh and David Hussey came together. The two went about gathering runs, but there approach looked more sluggish than steady. Boundaries were hard to come by and it didn't look like that the Kings were aiming to set a big target. This was when controversy struck the game as Shaun Marsh was adjudged caught behind, when there was enough doubt about the decision as the ball seemed to have hit the ground on way to Bisla's gloves. But Marsh had left the field of play, and the umpire's decision stood despite protests from the KingsXI dug out. That decision, as is often the case with controversial ones, proved to be a real turning point. David Hussey went soon after due to a misunderstanding with Paras Dogra, and Dogra himself followed as he went off-balance trying to hit one over deep mid-wicket. Piyush Chawla and Adam Gilchrist, who shrugged off his hamstring strain to come back on, tried hard at upping the run-rate, but it was a case of too little too late. Such was the dismal state of Kings' batting that it was Gilchrist who hit the first and the only six of their innings in the 20th over. SCOREBOARD Kings XI Punjab Gilchrist not out 40 Valthaty c Bisla b Lee 8 Marsh c Bisla b Lee 33 Mandeep c Bhatia b Balaji 6 Hussey run out 10 Dogra c Kallis b Narine 6 Mascarenhas c Tiwary b Bhatia 9 Chawla b Narine 9 Extras (lb-1, w-2) 3 Total (7 wkts, 20 overs) 124 Fall of wickets: 1-24, 1-44, 2-62, 3-86, 4-87, 5-101, 6-103, 7-124. Bowling: Lee 4-0-26-2, Kallis 3-0-23-0, Narine 4-0-24-2, Balaji 4-0-20-1, Pathan 1-0-7-0, Bhatia 4-0-23-1. Kolkata Knight Riders McCullum c Mascarenhas b Chawla 15 Gambhir not out 66 Bisla b Chawla 11 Kallis not out 30 Extras (lb-4, w-1) 5 Total (2 wkts, 16.3 overs) 127 Fall of wickets: 1-53, 2-74. Bowling: P Kumar 3-1-23-0, Mascarenhas 4-0-23-0, Harmeet 2-0-26-0, Chawla 4-0-19-2, Bhatt 3.3-0-32-0.
|
|
New Delhi, April 18
Form and team balance apart, the fact that the Daredevils are playing in front of the home crowd, is likely to make the task even more arduous for the Chargers. Up against a side that has notched three wins from four matches, the numbers are heavily stacked against the Chargers who are yet to open their account. The Chargers came close to winning their first game in the fifth season of the IPL, against Rajasthan Royals, but Brad Hodge's pyrotechnics spoilt their plans yesterday. Kumar Sangakkara's men, though, can take heart from the fact that they fought till the end against the Royals. It will, however, take a little more than that for the Chargers to make a match out of it, when they take the field against Virender Sehwag's men who have, literally, lived up to their reputation so far in the tournament. If there is a certain Sehwag at the top of the order to provide the team blistering starts, the middle-order is packed with proven, world class stroke-makers like Kevin Pietersen and Mahela Jayawardene, and the addition of New Zealander Ross Taylor, as expected, has only bolstered the line-up. Prior to the start of the tournament, their bowling, especially the spin department, was thought to be a weaklink, but young Shabaaz Nadeem has unfailingly delivered the goods for the Daredevils. The 22-year-old left-arm spinner is coming off a solid performance against a power-packed Mumbai line-up, and the confidence that his skipper has on him, is expected to make him a better bowler in the coming matches. The Daredevils' strength can be gauged from the fact that they have a hard-hitter like Aaron Finch on the bench, and be rest assured, the Australian is surely waiting for an opportunity. Given the unpredictability factor associated with this form of the game, more so in the case of IPL, it would be a folly to rule out any team, but, in the current scenario, the Chargers are in some spot of bother and it would surely take a great effort from them to disturb the hosts' momentum. — PTI
|
|
Gayle visits hospital to meet his sixer ‘victim’
Bangalore, April 18 The Royal Challengers Banaglore batsman along with team owner Sidhartha Mallya met the 11-year-old Tia undergoing treatment for nasal bone fracture at a private hospital. A butcher of bowlers, one saw the 'Gentle Giant' really touched about his short conversation with the kid where she told him not to be sad and keep hitting them in the stands. "It was a touching moment ... I pray for her speedy recovery," Gayle said. Nisha, an eyewitness to the incident, said: "It was an accident. Once my friends saw her nose bleeding profusely and they rushed her to the hospital immediately." The doctors at the Mallya Hospital informed that Tia is well and truly on her way to recovery. "Tia has come out of the surgery beautifully. She is absolutely alright," Mallya Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Kanchan Sanyal said. — PTI
|
|
Saina advances on mixed day for India
New Delhi, April 18 World No. five Saina thrashed China's Kaori Imabeppu 21-9, 21-12 in just 33 minutes in the women's singles competition. The Indian will next take on China's Xiao Jia Chen tomorrow. World No. 16 Indian pair of V Diju and Jwala Gutta notched up a 21-16, 21-18 win over the Indonesian combo of Riky Widianto and Puspita Richi Dili in the mixed doubles competition. Women's doubles pair of Pradnya Gadre and Prajakta Sawant also reached the second round with a 21-13, 14-21, 21-16 victory over Kai Hsin Chiang and Pei-Ling Tsai of Chinese Taipei. However, it was the end of the road for the rest of the Indian shuttlers. On the threshold of qualifying for the London Olympics, 15th seed Ajay Jayaram put up a fight before going down 22-24, 21-11, 15-21 to Hong Kong's Nan Wei. World No. 20 Indian pair of Jwala and Ashwini Ponnappa also found the going tough against the Indonesian pair of Vita Marissa and Nadya Melati and became first-round casualty when they lost 21-18, 17-21, 7-21 in a 48-minute battle of the women's doubles competition.— PTI
|
|
Lyon’s 5-wkt haul gives Australia advantage
Port-of-Spain, April 18 Chanderpaul fashioned a brilliant 94 while Deonarine scored 55 as the West Indies finished the rain-hit third day Tuesday at Queen's Park Oval on 252 for nine, still 59 runs short of Australia's first innings 311. Overtaking that target seemed a reality, when the two Guyanese left-handers combined in a stand of 130 runs, a record against the Aussies at the ground. Chanderpaul faced 217 balls and hit 10 fours and a six while Deonarine lasted 139 balls and struck seven fours and a six. Once both departed in the space of 17 balls in the last session, the innings collapsed under off-spinner Nathan Lyon's five-wicket haul, to leave the Windies chasing the game again. At the close, wicketkeeper/batsman Carlton Baugh was unbeaten on 17 and was accompanied by Fidel Edwards, who is yet to score. Resuming at a precarious 49 for three, the Windies lost just one wicket in the first session when stylish left-hander Darren Bravo was palpably lbw to part-time seamer Mike Hussey for 38. — IANS SCOREBOARD Australia (1st innings) 311 West Indies (1st innings) Barath lbw Beer 7 Brathwaite lbw Hilfenhaus 0 Powell lbw Pattinson 19 Bravo lbw Hussey 38 Chanderpaul lbw Lyon 94 Deonarine st Wade b Lyon 55 Baugh not out 17 Sammy c Hussey b Lyon 1 Shillingford c Cowan b Lyon 4 Roach c Wade b Lyon 0 Edwards not out 0 Extras (LB-8, W-1, NB-8) 17 Total (9 wkts, 104 overs) 252 Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-26, 3-38, 4-100, 5-230, 6-231, 7-237, 8-241, 9-249. Bowling: Beer 25-9-52-1, Hilfenhaus 16-4-39-1, Lyon 29-9-68-5, Pattinson 11-2-40-1, Hussey 6-1-19-1, Watson 12-5-14-0, Warner 3-1-9-0, Clarke 2-0-3-0.
|
|
Final countdown begins to London Games
London, April 18 Any initial trepidation about Britain's ability to stage a major global event has long vanished and last month the London organising committee received a glowing endorsement from International Olympic Committee commission chairman Denis Oswald who proclaimed: "London is ready to welcome the world." "We can feel that London is feeling the fever of the Games," Oswald said. "We are in no doubt that this summer will be a summer like no other in Britain." Ensuring a unforgettable Olympics for London and the thousands of athletes and visitors who will pour into Britain for the Games opening on July 27 is the ultimate responsibility of organising committee chairman Sebastian Coe. A reminder of the disturbing ease with which big sporting events can be disrupted came this month when an intruder in the Thames disrupted the annual university boat race between Oxford and Cambridge. The torch relay beginning in a month's time, as the pro-Tibet protesters demonstrated during the 2008 Beijing Olympics relay, is similarly vulnerable as are the street races such as the marathons and walks. In an interview with Reuters to mark the 100 days' landmark, Coe said there was a need to get a balance between the safety of the competitors while ensuring spectators were not subjected to oppressive security measures. "Competitors are doing something at the highest level, they have devoted over half their young lives to be there," he said. "It is our responsibility to make sure they have a secure environment in which to compete but you do not want people coming to London feeling they have come to a siege town. We will get that balance right, we have to get that balance right. I am not being remotely cavalier or particularly sanguine about the nature of what we have to do but we will get this right." Coe was also upbeat about London's problematic transport system. "At Games time things will be different," he said. "This is the first time a Games will have been on these shores for 64 years and there's nobody in this room, there's probably nobody sitting out there now that is going to is going to witness them again in their lifetime so it is a celebration. The city will look different, it will be different, getting about it will be different." Asked about criticisms of the high cost of a sports event in grim economic times, Coe said there would be some validity to the argument if the Olympics was just a sporting festival. "But of course it isn't," he said. "We have regenerated in the process a large part of east London, we've transformed the lives of many young people living in east London. — Reuters
|
|
|
Foreign experts at NIS to coach b’ball coaches
Patiala, April 18 Throwing light on their visit, executive director of the NIS, Dr LS Ranawat, said under a three-year contract with the BFI, these experts have been working with the Indian squad for almost 10 months now. The federation with a view to promote basketball in India and globalise the game, decided to utilise their services to train the Indian coaches who are currently serving in various parts of the country. So, they began this programme and thus all three are here to interact with the diploma coaches and share their experience. |
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | E-mail | |
New Delhi, April 18
Star batsman Chris Gayle today showed his softer side when he dropped in at a city hospital to meet the little girl Tia
Bhatia, who was injured after one Jamaican opener's sixes hit her while watching the match from Chinnaswamy Stadium stands.
Kew Gardens on an English spring morning hosted the first in a series of celebrations on Wednesday to commemorate the 100 days' countdown to the London Olympics.
An oak tree was planted to mark Britain's role in the birth of the modern Olympic movement and giant Olympic rings made up of 25,000 flowers were on display.
With three defeats from five games so far, including the one against Pune Warriors, the Super Kings have just four points. But they are in a familiar situation as in the previous two editions of the tournament.
The Daredevils are in red-hot form having beaten heavyweights, Mumbai Indians, comprehensively at the latter's backyard, and they would look to continue the momentum and extend the winning run here at the Feroz Shah Kotla.