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Delhi Daredevils have edge over Mumbai Indians
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Yuvi meets Pune Warriors
team mates at IPL match
Sachin,
the greatest ever: Pietersen
With 14 boys in national
teams, Punjab back on hockey pedestal
Medal hope Ravi finishes 6th at Asian weightlifting meet
It’s difficult to get sponsors for racing, says Narain
Sperry Trophy: Big win for Shastri club
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Delhi Daredevils have edge over Mumbai Indians
Daredevils were stunned in their last home match by Pune Warriors India, but it was more due to the astute captaincy and all-round performance of Sourav Ganguly, which was quickly avenged by Daredevils at the Warriors’ home ground in Pune two days later. Daredevils now top the table with 10 points from seven matches and they are unlikely to suffer convulsions against Mumbai Indians at the Kotla tomorrow. Though Mumbai Indians tasted an unexpected victory against Kings XI Punjab at Mohali - after suffering two back-to-back defeats - to record their fourth victory in seven matches, they are still struggling at the sixth position on eight points. They have not inspired much confidence this season despite the return of Sachin Tendulkar after sitting out for four matches due to a finger injury. Even the victory against Kings XI came about due to the costly penultimate over bowled by spinner Piyush Chawla, who conceded 27 runs, to gift the match on a platter to
Mumbai. Daredevils, however, cannot relax on their oars as their bowling against Warriors at Kotla was not as penetrative and
tidy unlike in the previous matches. The punishment meted out to pacer Morne Morkel by Jesse Ryder shocked even the searing South African quickie as his four overs cost 50 runs though he claimed all the three Warriors’ wickets. The usually economical left-arm spinner Shabaz Nadeem also went for a toss as he conceded 44 runs in four overs. In comparison, Irfan Pathan and Umesh Yadav were mean, though Pathan is yet to come up with a big knock after his match-winning effort against Kolkata Knight Riders. Though the vaunted Daredevils batting has delivered on occasions, the big guns have not been consistent, and it is time opener Mahela Jayawardene comes up with a substantial score. Virender Sehwag has scored half centuries in the last two matches. His unbeaten 87 was the cause for Daredevils victory against Warriors at Pune. But his exit after scoring 57 was the turning point for Warriors’ victory at Kotla, caught and bowled by spinner Murali Karthik when Daredevils were on road to a possible win. After Sehwag’s fall, the other batsmen failed to match the scoring rate and eventually fell short by 20 runs. In the last three home matches, Daredevils have chased the rival targets and they proved pretty good, except against Warriors. Daredevils have depth in batting to hoist a 200-plus score, provided Jayawardene, Sehwag, Kevin Pietersen, Irfan Pathan and Ross Taylor all fire the way they are capable of. Daredevils also hold the psychological advantage of beating Mumbai Indians on their home turf and they will spare no effort to tether the visitors at the Kotla too. Harbhajan Singh and company have not really lived up to expectation in season V of IPL. Harbhajan himself has been a big flop with the ball, as he has yielded plenty of runs just for a single wicket. He has also not scored a big knock. The likes of Rohit Sharma, Robin Petersen, Ambati Rayudu, James Franklin, Dinesh Karthik and Pollard et al have not scored big either, while pacer Munaf Patel, though among wickets, has created more news for other reasons. The 41 runs he conceded against Kings XI will be sweet music for butchers of bowling like Sehwag and Pietersen. Mumbai may be keen to reverse the recent setbacks they suffered, but it
will take the kind of ingenuity and innovation shown by Sourav Gangly to tame Daredevils in their own backyard. All the Delhi matches have witnessed overflowing stands at the Ferozeshah Kotla and the presence of Sachin Tendulkar in the MI ranks will surely swell the stands tomorrow night too. |
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White fires, Deccan pull off maiden win Pune, April 26 White smashed a strokeful 78 off just 46 balls and together with JP Duminy (26 not out) added crucial 75 runs for the fifth wicket to power Deccan to 177 for four after electing to bat. And then Deccan bowlers rose to the occasion for the first time in IPL season five as Pune lost wickets at regular intervals to be retstricted to 159 for seven at the Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium. Debutant Ashish Reddy (2/32) and Rusty Theron (2/37) starred with the ball for Deccan, picking up two wickets apiece. The victory is Deccan first win in this year's IPL after five straight loses and a wash out game. Pune's run chase started on an awry note as they lost both their openers -- Jesse Ryder and Manish Pandey -- inside the 50-run mark. While dangerous Ryder fell early with the scoreboard reading just 15, young Pandey showed some sparks in his 21-run knock before being bowled by Theron in his opening over at the team score of 43. Pune captain Sourav Ganguly (23), who was dropped by Duminy at point in the first delivery of the 10th over by Manpreet Gony, failed to capitalise on the chance as fell three balls later, caught brilliantly by substitude fielder Daniel Harris at short cover. Reddy then struck twice in the 14th over to derail Pune's chase. Reddy first bowled Robin Uthappa as he went for a cheeky shot and then four balls later accounted for a struggling Marlon Samuels, caught by Deccan skipper Kumar Sangakkara. Steven Smith, however, was in no mood to give up without a fight and stuck a few lusty shots before perishing in the 17th over, caught by Duminy off Theron. Mithun Manhas played a 22-run cameo towards the end but it proved to be too little too late. Earlier, opting to bat, openers Parthiv Patel (24) and Shikhar Dhawan (16) ensured a quick start to Deccan innings, smashing Ashish Nehra for three fours to pick up 16 runs off the first over. They duo stitched 39 runs off four overs for the opening stand before losing Dhawan. Deccan received another blow 11 runs later when Patel was caught by Mithun Manhas at deep square-leg off Kumar.
— PTI SCOREBOARD Deccan Chargers Parthiv c Pandey b Kumar 23 Shikhar Dhawan run out 16 Cameron White c Thomas b Samuels 78 Sangakkara b Sharma 12 JP Duminy not out 26 Ishank Jaggi not out 10 Extras: (b-4, lb-6, w-2) 12 Total: (4 wkts; 20 overs) 177 Fall of wickets: 1-39 2-50 3-83 4-158 Bowling: Nehra 4-0-29-0, Thomas 4-0-27-0, Samuels 4-0-39-1, Kumar 4-0-33-1, Sharma 4-0-39-1 Pune Warriors Manish Pandey b Theron 21 Ryder c sub (Harris) b Ankit 7 Ganguly c sub (J Harris)
b Gony 23 Uthappa b Ashish Reddy 29 M Samuels c Sangakkara b Ashish Reddy 3 Steven Smith c Duminy
b Theron 26 Mithun Manhas not out 22 Alfonso Thomas run out 12 Bhuvneshwar not out 7 Extras: (lb-3, w-5, nb-1) 9 Total: (7 wkts; 20 overs) 159 Fall of wickets: 1-15, 2-43, 3-73, 4-88, 5-91, 6-123, 7-152. Bowling: Sharma 2-0-11-1, Duminy 3-0-24-0, Gony 4-0-27-1, Theron 4-0-37-2, Mishra 3-0-25-0, Ashish Reddy 4-0-32-2.
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Yuvi meets Pune Warriors team mates at IPL match
Pune, April 26 Yuvraj, who returned to the country earlier this month after treatment in the United States for more than two months, was seen waving to the crowd at the Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium and talking to his teammates. He hugged Robin Uthappa and Murali Kartik before having a chat with team owner Subrata Roy's son Seemanto Roy. Yuvraj said he was feeling better and aiming to return to cricket in two or three months time. "I'm starting to feel better, eating a lot of organic food. Doesn't taste good but I have to eat it. I'm starting to walk more. I can't say a time (when he'll come back). Maybe two or three months. Depends on my body. Hopefully I'll come back fast," Yuvraj said just before the match. "I wanted to go and take guard today but I was happy to hit a few balls and see my team-mates. I am happy to see my friends and of course the crowd. It's nice to be back among my team-mates and friends. It's special today," he said. Yuvraj, who captained Pune Warriors last season, thanked the fans, friends and well wishers for supporting him in his hour of crisis. "It was hard for me to digest when I was diagnosed. But that's the way life is. I've fought a tough battle, it's been gruelling for me and my family. I've had a lot of support, a lot of love. If you have your family's support it helps. I had support from the nation," an emotional Yuvraj said. "At the moment I'm fine, hopefully I can return soon. Chemotherapy is tough on the body, but I was positive. I want to thank the fans, friends and the BCCI for their support," he added.
— PTI |
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Sachin, the greatest ever: Pietersen
Later in an interaction with the students, Pietersen was asked about his team's strategy against Tendulkar when they take on Mumbai Indians in their next Indian Premier League match tomorrow. "Sachin is a magnificent player. He is the greatest player ever played. In Twenty20, anything can happen. It's hard to predict the result and we will try to win two points,” the South African-born English cricketer told a packed auditorium. Pietersen was also asked about his inspiration in cricket. To which he said, "I don't follow anybody. I grew up in South Africa and loved watcing Jonty Rhodes, Hansie Cronje. “Other than that I liked Mark Waugh. There are a few whom I enjoy watching them play but I can't be somebody else." Pietersen, who plays for Delhi Daredevils in IPL, was also asked to compare playing at Lord’s and Ferozeshah Kotla. He said, “Lord's is traditional, English. There are knowledgeable people. At Kotla, it is intense, loud. I have lot of respect for the crowd here. It's loudest than any other (venue)." Pietersen feels India were lucky to have two great batsmen in Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag playing at the same time. KP, as he is popularly known, played with Dravid when he was with Royal Challengers Bangalore and is now playing alongside Sehwag. "Rahul is a magnificent player. It is a privilege to have played with these players. India is lucky to have these great men. It's great to play in Bangalore and Delhi," he signed off. Australia's Finch was asked by a girl student if he knew some words in Hindi. The Victoria player said he knew, "Theek hai, chalo chalo and some bad Hindi words," which obviously he did not say in front of the students.
— PTI |
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With 14 boys in national teams, Punjab back on hockey pedestal
Chandigarh, April 26 While India juniors will be defending their Asia Cup title in Melaka in Malaysia starting from May 3, the seniors will be competing in a four-nation pre-Olympic tournament in London from May 4. It is rare that so many Punjab boys have got into national senior and junior teams at the same time. India juniors will have not only nine players from Punjab, but also the captain of the team - centre forward Akashdeep Singh - is also the product of the Hockey Initiative controlled and supervised by former international player and national coach Sukhvir Singh Grewal. With the backing of the then Secretary Sports Paramjit Singh Aujla and Director of Sports Pargat Singh, Sukhvir Singh Grewal not only supervised every selection trial but also made sure that each player selected at the formative age of 12 to 14 years is given proper scientific training with a focus not only on developing his hockey skills but also honing his speed, strength, explosive power and agility. After nearly five years of sustained hard work, Punjab trainees now swarm Indian camps for junior and senior players. As of today, 24 Punjab players, all below the age of 19 years, are attending these camps in preparation for the London Olympics as well as the Junior World Cup. Besides skipper Akashdeep Singh, fullback Sukhmanjit Singh, midfielders Harjit Singh, Gurmail Singh, Prabhdeep Singh and Satbir Singh and forwards Mandeep Singh, Malak Singh and Sukhdev Singh are members of the Melaka-bound Indian junior team. Manpreet Singh, Sarwanjit Singh, GS Chandi, Gurbaj Singh and Dharamveer Singh are in the team to play the pre-Olympic tournament in London. “Punjab has talent. When we started in 2005-06, we had four residential academies. The number has gone up to six now. Besides, we have 50 day-boarding training centres,” says Sukhvir Singh Grewal maintaining that merit was the sole criteria for selection in these centres. Each trainee was given a fair opportunity to exhibit his talent. Total strictness was maintained while determining the correct age of the trainees as no over-age player was considered. Efforts were also made that trainees get adequate attention to pursue their studies. That is why at the time of selection trials, each one of them had to clear a written test. For those entrusted with training of these youngsters, regular clinics were organised where besides international experts like Shiv Jagday - an FIH-certified coach who had successfully trained both Canadian and the US teams - national experts like Olympian Ramandeep Singh and international Jagdeep Singh Gill conducted special camps for coaches. Sukhvir Singh Grewal and his team of coaches developed special training modules. Coaches included Olympian Didar Singh (Namdharis), Gurdev Singh, Avtar Singh, Sukhwinder Singh and Yadwinder Singh besides plysical trainers Jaspreet Singh Jassi and Sanjeev Kumar. The future of this initiative, however, does not appear to be that rosy. If the recent developments are any indication, the Sports Department may find it hard to sustain it because of a big slash in its budget. The number of hockey wings has already been reduced from 75 to 50. In some centres, the number of trainees, too, has been reduced. While hockey continues to be patronized by children from the middle or lower middle class, financial support from the government is necessary not only for meeting parts of the expenses on training, diet and fitness of the trainees but also for the maintenance of infrastructure, including synthetic surfaces, gyms and sports medicine centres. |
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India Open New Delhi, April 26 World number five Saina was not in her elements today as she suffered a 19-21, 10-21 defeat to Korean Youn Joo Bae, ranked 12th in the world, in a 39-minute women's singles match at the Siri Fort Complex here. However, young prodigy Sindhu, ranked 27th in the world, stunned world number 11 and eighth seed Korean Ji Hyun Sung 21-17, 22-20 to cruise into the quarterfinal. In men's singles, Kashyap kept his Olympic hopes alive by notching up a thrilling come-from-behind 15-21, 21-14, 22-20 win over Thailand's Boonsak Ponsana to reach the quarterfinals. The Commonwealth Games bronze medallist will have to win his quarterfinal battle against Chen Jin to qualify for the Olympics. At the adjacent court, Jayaram played his heart out but could not avoid a 16-21, 21-15, 5-21 defeat to world number one Lee Chong Wei and crashed out of the tournament. Commonwealth Games gold medallist pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa, meanwhile, avenged their loss at the ABC to Indonesian pair of Vita Marissa and Nadya Melati by seeing them off 16-21, 21-15, 21-17 in a 50-minute women's doubles match. Among other Indians, top Indian pair of Rupesh Kumar and Sanave Thomas, who got a bye in the first round, also notched up a 21-18, 18-21, 21-19 victory over Korean pair of Ki Jung Kim and Sa Rang Kim in the men's doubles competition. It was heartbreak for the home supporters at the Siri Fort as Saina went down to her less heralded opponent. The Korean traded blows equally with Saina all through the opening game and went into the break leading 11-9. Saina rubbed off the early deficit and took 14-11 lead. But Youn Joo drew parity at 14-14 with the help of some sharp drops and half smashes. The Korean was involved in long rallies and caught Saina at the fore court to move ahead. Saina also gave away a few points at the nets to allow Youn Joo win the first game. Long rallies, followed by heavy cross-court smashes and deft net work, helped the Korean to once again open up a 5-1 lead in the second game. Saina tried to take control but she seemed clueless as most of her strokes were going to the nets and were inaccurate. The Korean eventually sealed the issue quite comfortably. In other matches, world number four Jin Chen beat Muhammad Hafiz Hashim 21-18, 21-15, second seed Peter Hoeg Gade of Denmark defeated Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk 21-19, 22-20, while seventh seed Taufik Hidayat saw off Zhengming Wang 16-21, 21-16, 21-11 in the men's singles. In women's singles, top two seeds Shixian Wang and Li Xuerui cruised into to the quarterfinals, while two-time All England Champion Tine Baun crashed out after losing to Xiao Jia
Chen. — PTI |
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Medal hope Ravi finishes 6th at Asian weightlifting meet
New Delhi, April 26 Ravi Kumar, who won gold in the Delhi Commonwealth Games, was well below his best as he could only have a total lift of 311 kg (141kg in snatch and 170kg in clean and jerk). Ravi Kumar's personal best stands at 321kg (147+175), which he recorded in the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Shi Zhiyong of China won gold with a total lift of 324kg (144+180). Liu Weihuang, also of China, won the silver with an effort of 324kg (144+180) while Behrouzi of Iran bagged the bronze with a total lift of 323kg (148+175). In men's 77kg category, Sivalingam Sathish Kumar of India finished eighth with a total lift of 304kg (139+165). India have so far won a bronze medal with N Soniya Chanu finishing third in women's 48kg category on the opening day on April 24. India are being represented by 15 weightlifters, including seven women in the championship, which is a London Olympic qualification event.
— PTI |
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It’s difficult to get sponsors for racing, says Narain
Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 26 Narain was in the city to explore the possibilities of conducting F1 demonstration drives on the roads of the state capital. "If authorities permit, I would like to give Kerala capital a demo drive. We are scouting possibilities of conducting demo drives during Onam (festival) days, the peak tourism season. As a huge tourist destination, Kerala can benefit from F1 as it woos tourists largely," he said. "Similar demo drives have already been conducted in cities like Delhi and Mumbai. The proposed drives in Kerala will be the first of its kind in the south," he said. To garner support for his mission, he met state Tourism Minister A P Anil Kumar and visited the state's premier IT hub Technopark here. After assessing the suitability of the major roads in the city, the 35-year-old motorist said roads here are relatively in good shape and not as congested as those of Chennai or Bangalore. At least 600-800 metre roads were needed to conduct racing drives, he said.
— PTI |
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Sperry Trophy: Big win for Shastri club
New Delhi, April 26 Brief scores: State Bank of Patiala: 101 in 32.4 overs (Gurpreet Singh 28, Aman Gurnani 5/28, Sandeep Raj Kaushik 2/5, Nitish Rana 2/14). LB Shastri: 102 for 3 in 21.2 overs (Sandeep Raj Kaushik 43). Man of the Match: Aman Gurnani. Friday's fixture: Air India vs Indian Air Force.
— TNS |
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New Delhi, April 26
But Daredevils will be a different kettle of fish as the Harbhajan Singh-led Mumbai Indians have too many chinks in their armour. Their bowling has been weakened by the absence of sling bowler Lasith Malinga as the Sri Lankan is reportedly nursing a back spasm.
Noida, April 26