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B’lore aim to get back to winning ways
Bangalore, May 5 Royal Challengers Bangalore would look to break their losing streak and bring their campaign back on track when they take on bottom-placed Deccan Chargers in their Indian Premier League clash here tomorrow.
Narsingh makes Olympic cut
ONGC retain Sood cricket title
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Kings get a royal beating Mohali, May 5 The chase started on a sour note as Mandeep lost his wicket to Shane Watson. Trying to pull a delivery from outside the off stump, Mandeep only managed to give an easy catch to mid-on. Shaun Marsh was looking solid at the other end but Saini could not handle the pace on a Shaun Tait delivery, and closed the face of the bat too early, sending back an easy catch to the bowler. That brought out stand-in skipper David Hussey, and the team were relying heavily on him and Marsh to make a fist of it. But within a space of six balls, both Hussey and Marsh were taking the long walk back. While Hussey was dismissed by Amit Trivedi, Marsh was squared up by and the stumps wore a messed up look. From there on, it was always going to be an uphill task, and despite a stout effort put up by IPL debutant and Faridkot boy Gurkeerat Singh and Azhar Mahmood, the team were always trailing the game. Mahmood, 24 off 24 balls, hit a few lusty blows, but there was just not enough left in the tank for the Kings to be able to go the distance. Earlier, Rajasthan Royals rode on some brilliant batting by skipper Rahul Dravid, Ashok Menaria, Shane Watson and Brad Hodge as they posted 177 for 6 in their allotted 20 overs. Despite losing Orange Cap holder Ajinkya Rahane early on to Ryan Harris, Rajasthan never really let the momentum drop. Dravid, who has reinvented his batting style during the course of the tournament, batted with flair and aggression in equal measure. The Rajasthan skipper built a solid partnership with Aussie Shane Watson. The two added 69 runs for the second wicket, before Watson was caught by Harris off the bowling of Piyush Chawla. Dravid was then joined by Ashok Menaria and once again, the Royals started building a steady partnership without compromising on the scoring rate. That partnership was finally broken when Harris struck again, this time getting Dravid, who was caught in the deep by Parvinder Awana. Despite getting regular wickets, the Kings were struggling to plug the scoring rate and that trend continued despite Menaria losing his wicket soon after. This brought two new players to the crease – Brad Hodge and Johan Botha. The two foreign recruits of the Royals had all the license to go berserk, and they made the most of it. Hodge, going for all that was thrown at him by Harris, hit a low full toss towards the gap between long and mid-wicket. Shaun Marsh hared from long-on and then just when it looked like the ball would be out of his reach, he leaped full stretch and held on firmly to the ball even as he hit the ground. And to wrap up proceedings, Marsh took another good catch as he made up a lot of ground dived forward to catch Stuart Binny, giving the Kings a bit of a lift to wrap up proceedings. SCOREBOARD Rajasthan Royals Dravid c Awana b Harris 46 Rahane c Saini b Harris 5 S Watson c Harris b Chawla 36 A Menaria c Gurkeerat b Chawla 34 Brad Hodge c Marsh b Harris 36 Johan Botha not out 14 Stuart Binny c Marsh b Harris 0 Extras: (lb-2, w-3, nb-1) 6 Total: (6 wkts; 20 overs) 177 Fall of wickets: 1/7 2/76 3/117 4/133 5/176 6/177 Bowling: Praveen Kumar 4-0-32-0, Harris 4-0-34-4, Awana 4-0-34-0, Mahmood 4-0-37-0, Chawla 4-0-38-2. Kings XI Punjab Shaun Marsh b Botha 34 Mandeep Singh c Trivedi b Watson 7 Nitin Saini c & b Tait 2 David Hussey c Hodge
b Trivedi 8 Azhar Mahmood b Binny 24 Gurkeerat Singh c & b Botha 23 Abhishek Nayar not out 9 Piyush Chawla b Watson 5 Ryan Harris c Botha b Tait 3 Praveen Kumar not out 7 Extras: (lb-5, w-6, nb-1) 12 Total: (8 wkts; 20 overs) 134 Fall of wickets: 1/8 2/29 3/55 4/59 5/95 6/112 7/120 8/123 Bowling: Chavan 3-0-32-0, Watson 4-1-22-2, Tait 4-0-18-2, Botha 4-0-21-2, Trivedi 4-0-28-1, Binny 1-0-8-1.
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Pune slump to fifth consecutive loss
Kolkata, May 5 Dubbed as the 'Battle Royale' of this edition of IPL, Gautam Gambhir and his boys held their nerves as Pune batting again faltered at the death to slump to their fifth consecutive defeat. The loss means Pune has put paid to any hopes whatsoever of making it to the play offs, while KKR have consolidated their second position in the standings with 15 points from 11 outings. Chasing 151 for win, KKR restricted Pune to 143 for eight with Ganguly emerging as the top-scorer with 36 off 35 balls during which he hit four boundaries and a lone six. Angelo Mathews (35) gave Ganguly good support from the other end as the duo stitched 73 runs for the sixth wicket to keep Pune in the hunt. Earlier, KKR frittered away a rollicking start as Pune Warriors hit back in the last 10 overs to restrict the hosts to 150 for five at a jam-packed Eden Gardens. Opting to bat, KKR skipper Gautam Gambhir (55 off 36 balls) played yet another captain's knock with his third consecutive half-century and together with Brendon McCullum (42 off 43 balls) added 113 runs, their highest opening stand of the season. The match lived up to its hype as fortunes kept on fluctuating till the last over when the asking rate got too high with 18 runs required off six deliveries. KKR had the Warriors reeling at 55 for five at one stage before Ganguly and Mathews' 73-run sixth wicket partnership which came off just 56 balls turned the match in the visitors favour. Mathews hit Yusuf Pathan for three consecutive sixes to score 19 runs off the 15th over and put Pune in sight of a victory as the equation was reduced to 42 from 30 balls. But Ganguly's dismissal soon after he hit a six over long on off Rajat Bhatia in the 18th over swung the match in Pune's favour. With 12 needed from last three balls, Mathews perished in search of a big one, brilliantly caught by Manoj Tiwary at long on to virtually pocket the match for KKR. Defending 150 for five, Marchant De Lange (3/34), who replaced an injured Brett Lee, gave KKR a perfect start with two wickets -- Michael Clarke (1) and Robin Uthappa (16) -- from his first two overs. Reduced to 45/2 in the power play, Pune found themselves in desperate need of a partnership when Iqbal Abdulla and Jacques Kallis ensured further slide for Ganguly's men as Pune recorded yet another top-order failure. Talented Steven Smith looked in fine nick during his 16-ball 14-run knock before a dubious lbw decision by Shavir Tarapore brought an end to his stay at the crease. The dismissal ended the spectators anxious wait to witness Ganguly bat as the city's heartthrob made a dramatic entry at number seven position with his team tottering at 55 for five in 8.2 overs. Narine troubled Ganguly with his mysterious off-spin in the wicket maiden over but the former India skipper broke the shackles in the next over with two consecutive boundaries of Kallis. Ganguly kept the momentum going, unsettling Narine in the next over forcing KKR to take the West Indies spinner out of the attack. KKR were going steady till Mathews exploded in the 15th over, smashing Pathan for 19 runs. But it was not to be Pune's day as they fell eventually short of the target. Earlier, KKR would be disappointed as their star-studded middle-order flopped yet again. They scored just 29 runs in the last five overs and lost three wickets.
— PTI SCOREBOARD Kolkata Knight Riders Gambhir c Manhas b Kartik 56 B McCullum lbw Mathews 42 Y Pathan c Smith b Kumar 11 J Kallis b Mathews 1 D Das not out 15 L Shukla c Ganguly b Kumar 0 M Tiwary not out 6 Extras (b-1, lb-5, w-12, nb-1) 19 Total (5 wkts; 20 overs) 150 Fall of wickets: 1-113, 2-115, 3-122, 4-134, 5-141. Bowling: M Kartik 4-0-22-1, A Dinda 2-0-28-0, B Kumar 4-0-26-2, W Parnell 4-0-37-0, M Clarke 2-0-14-0, A Mathews 4-0-17-2. Pune Warriors Uthappa c Shukla b de Lange 17 Michael Clarke b de Lange 1 M Pandey c Das b Abdulla 17 Steven Smith lbw Narine 14 M Manhas c Abdulla b Kallis 1 Angelo Mathews c Shukla b de Lange 35 Ganguly c Abdulla b Bhatia 36 Wayne Parnell run out 1 Bhuvneswar Kumar not out 11 Murali Kartik not out 0 Extras: (lb-4, w-5, nb-1) 10 Total: (8 wkts; 20 overs) 143 Fall of wickets: 1-10, 2-28, 3-49, 4-53, 5-55, 6-128, 7-131, 8-139 Bowling: Abdulla 4-0-26-1, de Lange 4-0-34-3, Kallis 2-0-16-1, Narine 4-1-13-1, Bhatia 4-0-27-1, Pathan 2-0-23-0.
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B’lore aim to get back to winning ways
The race to seal one of the places in the play-offs has started and every win or loss would a count a lot from here. Bangalore are placed sixth with nine points, two points adrift of fourth-placed Chennai Super Kings. In their previous two outings, the hosts were hammered by Kolkata Knight Riders by 47 runs and then Kings XI Punjab won a tight match against them by four wickets. Actually, Punjab were going great guns in their chase and only three
freak run-outs had brought Bangalore back in the match. A win tomorrow would serve them well as they face formidable teams ahead - table toppers Delhi Daredevils once and Mumbai Indians twice in a week's time. Team Bangalore's bowling has been a concern as their skipper Daniel Vettori has not made much of an impact while India seamers Zaheer Khan and Vinay Kumar have also been patchy. Batting too has struggled as apart from big-hitting Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli, Sourabh Tiwary and Mayank Agarwal have not pulled their weight. They may think of accommodating Muttaiah Muralitharan but since Vettori can only pick four overseas players, it remains to be seen who they drop, if at all they recall the wily Sri
Lankan. — PTI |
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MI, CSK to square off in keen contest
The Super Kings, the title holders for the last two years, and last year's Champions League winners Mumbai have endured mixed fortunes leading up to the return leg and significantly have dusted off their losing run ahead of the match. The Super Kings would be thirsting for revenge not only for the comprehensive loss suffered in the first leg match which kicked off IPL-V just over a month ago in their backyard but also to end MI's three-match winning streak against them beginning with the IPL encounter here on April 22, 2011, that the hosts won by eight runs. In between the two IPL encounters that the two contested over the last two seasons came the CLT20 League clash on September 24 in Chennai which also went in favour of MI by a margin of three wickets. Overall, MI have the edge with a 5-4 record in IPL. These two teams, with the two-best winning percentage among all teams in IPL, would thus square off in battle-hardened fashion with MI eager to stamp their superiority for the second time after their eight-wicket thrashing of the defending champions on April 4. Both the teams are confronted with a wobbly batting order, their perceived strengths over the last few seasons. While MI have struggled to put up a decent score on occasions, having been restricted to scores of 92, 101 and 120, the Super Kings have also not really set things on fire with a batting line-up boasting of the likes of Suresh Raina and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Both sides need to get their act together in batting to make it a rip-roaring contest rather than a struggle for runs. While MI's batting has let it down at times, the bowlers have done their bit for the most part with Lasith Malinga leading from the front - his 17 wickets at an economy rate of just under 5.50 giving proof of his effectiveness. Malinga had missed a few games through injuries - similar to two other very crucial players Sachin Tendulkar and Kieron Pollard - which has hurt MI's plans significantly. Tendulkar is back to lend solidity to the top-order that he showed so effectively in the low-scoring victory two days ago against Pune Warriors when he made 35 off 34 balls and also put on 50 runs for the first wicket with James Franklin, but MI are missing Pollard in more ways than one. The giant West Indian fell on his right shoulder while fielding in the away game against the Delhi Daredevils and missed the subsequent two games - against Deccan Chargers at home two days later and against the Warriors in Pune - and is not expected to take the field in tomorrow's game too.
— PTI |
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This cricket fan’s passion will blow you away!
At 24, Babu works for a hospital in Mohali and, more importantly, loves watching cricket matches. He loves Team India, but is also an equally big Kings XI Punjab fan. “I have been following the Kings from the first season. I have been a huge fan always and I admire all their players. They are a local team and I have always felt like I should back them with all my heart,” says Babu with a big enough smile. He agrees that people don’t always understand his craving to go to the stadium and scream and shout, painted in his team’s colours, but he is not ready to reason. “Many people, including my family tell me all the time that this is plain stupidity. But this is what I do, and this is what I am. I love Kings XI. I love watching them play. And I have made up my mind not to let anyone reason with me when it comes to my passion,” he adds. But earning just over Rs 6,000 a month, Babu, who is originally from Moradabad, but is settled in Mohali, finds it a little difficult to buy a ticket every time the Kings are in action. “It does get difficult. I have to borrow money at times,” he adds getting a tad teary eyed. “But I can’t explain this to people who don’t love the game the way I do. I cannot expect them to understand that watching my team...players like Gilchrist and Marsh walk out for a Punjab team...it gives me a real sense of pride and joy. The extreme nature of these emotions is still too difficult for me to understand and it is equally difficult to comprehend. There have been times when I have not eaten to save money and buy a ticket.” He saw his first game in a stadium in 1997 in Hyderabad. A relative who stayed there had taken him along. It was to be the start of a very long and, at times, an arduous love affair. “I hope someone at Kings XI realises my love for them. Someone can see what pleasure does it give me to see them in action. I want to be with the team - all the time. I don’t want to miss any of the games that they play. Within my means, it is just not possible. Maybe, they can hire me as an official fan. I don’t really know if there is something like that. But maybe!” His voice flickers between hope, despair and passion as he talks about his team and the game. The coloured face, the red dash of the Kings is all over his mind and body. But he doesn’t want to be only seen as the odd fanatic in the crowd. He wants someone to see beyond the paint, beyond the team jersey…there is a man who loves the gentleman’s game more than anything in his life!
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Archer Deepika wins first World Cup title
Patiala/Kolkata, May 5 According to information received here, teenager Deepika won 27-30, 29-27, 27-26, 27-29 and 28-27. Deepika, who has already qualified for London Olympics, is the current junior world champion and a gold medallist at the Delhi Commonwealth Games. She had also won the Cadet World Title in 2009. The Indian men’s recurve team won a thriller defeating Korea by one point
during the semifinal of the second stage. The fifth-ranked Indian team of Rahul Banerjee, Jayanta Talukdar and Tarundeep Rai played confidently against their Korean opponents who were ranked first. They will now compete against Great Britain tomorrow for the gold medal. However, the women recurve team comprising Deepika Kumari, Chekrovolu Swuro and Laishram Bombayla Devi bowed out of the tournament in the second round losing to Chinese Taipei by 13 points. They scored 210 against 223 of Chinese Taipei. In the compound round, Indian men - Rajat Chauhan, Jignas Chittibomma and Abhishek Verma - after winning the first match against Russia lost to USA in the second round. The women’s team of Gagandeep Kaur, Parveena and P Lily Chanu also lost in the second match to Italy. |
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Narsingh makes Olympic cut
Patiala, May 5 Though Narsingh had booked his ticket to the London Olympics after he reached the final defeating Turkey's Batuhan Demircin 7-2 in the semifinal, his gold medal today is a reward of his hard work. Despite the fact that Narsingh, who had won a gold medal during the 2010 Commonwealth Games and Asian Championship, was one of India's best bet during the first world qualifying tournament at China, he was unable to make the Olympic cut there. Sushil Kumar was the sole wrestler who could reserve a berth there. Now with Narsingh's victory, the total count of wrestlers who will represent India at London has reached five. Yogeshwar Dutt, Amit Kumar, Geeta and Sushil had already qualified for the 2012 Games. Former chief coach of Indian wrestling PR Sondhi said it was a well-deserved win. Meanwhile, the bouts for women grapplers will begin tomorrow. With Geeta already qualifying in the 55 kg weight category, only three Indian wrestlers are representing India at Helsinki. They include Neha Rathi (48 kg), Geetika Jakhar (63 kg) and Gursharan Preet Kaur (72 kg). |
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Asian Squash
New Delhi, May 5 Starting off the day on a positive note, the Indian girls overwhelmed their Korean counterparts 2-0 in the semifinal. Anaka Alankmony set the ball rolling for India as she overcame Yang Yeon Soo 11-8, 8-11, 11-9, 11-2 before country's ace Dipika Pallikal crushed Song Sun Mi in straight sets. The 19-year-old from Chennai won 11-7 11-8 11-2. In the men's category, Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu started the Indian campaign in style and eased past Kuwait's Salem Fayez Mohammed 12-10, 11-9, 11-7. Both players displayed superb retrieving abilities but Harinder kept his nerve to finish the match with a straight set victory. India's number one Saurav Ghosal then beat Abdullah Al Muzayen 12-10, 12-14, 11-9, 11-7 in a gruelling four-setter to help his country enter the finals. India's best performance in the men's team championship was a silver medal in the inaugural edition of the tournament held in 1981 in Karachi. The best result for the women, meanwhile, was
a silver medal performance at the last championship held in 2010 at Chennai.
— PTI |
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ONGC retain Sood cricket title
New Delhi, May 5 Man of the match and tournament: Suhail Sharma. Best batsman: Radhey Shyam Gupta. Best Bowler: Shadab Nazar (IAF). Brief scores: Indian Air Force: 205 (Soumik Chatterjee 74, Mumtaz Qadir 34, Suhail Sharma 5/38, Sumit Narwal 2/26, and Sarandeep Singh 2/42). ONGC: 206 for 3 (Radhey Shyam Gupta 100, Suhail Sharma 36, Mayank Tehlan 33). |
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