Pune, May 11
The turnaround for Royal Challengers Bangalore continued as they registered a 35-run victory against Pune Warriors in their rain-affected Indian Premier League match, here tonight.

Setting Pune 174 to win, the RCB bowlers were on the money as they never allowed Pune to build partnerships throughout the game. Experienced campaigner Zaheer Khan made early inroads and got rid of opener Monish Mishra and the dangerous Manish Pandey. While Robin Uthappa tried to add a little steel to the chase, he was foxed by a Muralithran delivery and was stumped after scoring a strokeful 38.

The Pune tail didn’t wag for too long either and ultimately the match and the two points were sealed for Royal Challengers Bangalore in thumping fashion. The win sees RCB shoot upto third position in the League table, giving their chances of landing a play-offs berth a big boost.

The match also saw Chris Gayle extend his lead as the Orange Cap holder. The West Indian now has 572 runs in the current edition.

Earlier, half-centuries from Chris Gayle (57) and Tillakaratne Dilshan (53) helped Royal Challengers to a challenging 173 for three.

Regular Pune skipper Sourav Ganguly 'rested' himself in the match and new skipper Steven Smith invited Bangalore to bat at the swanky Sahara Subrata Roy Sahara stadium.

However, Gayle and Dilshan laid a very strong platform for a big score and their good start was capitalised later on by Saurabh Tiwary (36 not out off 30).

Pune though would be happy with the target since at one stage they were staring a 200-plus score when Gayle was in full flow.

Sri Lankan paceman Angelo Mathews was the most economical and successful bowler as he gave away just 14 runs in his three overs also dismissed destructive Gayle.

The visitors had a fiery start, yet again thanks to Gayle's pyrotechnics with the bat. Gayle and Dilshan put on 80 runs for the first wicket in just 51 balls.

Gayle was his usual attacking self as he smashed six sixes, four in one over of Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, to score the fastest fifty of the season in just 24 balls.

By the first six overs, RCB had reached 66 for no loss and Gayle's contribution was 50. Gayle had hit Pune's spinner Rahul Sharma for five sixes and today he took out Bhuvaneshwar for some severe punishment.

Mathews brought relief for the hosts when he had Gayle caught at long-on, where Manish Pandey took a simple catch.

Bangalore still maintained a good run-rate and were 88 for one at half-way stage.

Rahul Sharma then dismissed rival skipper Virat Kohli, who miscued one off the spinner and the leading edge flew to his counterpart Steven Smith at mid-off.

Run-rate suffered due to quick wickets and the next big over came only when Rahul was hit for 16 runs in the 14th over through a six and two fours by Dilshan and Saurabh Tiwary.

Dilshan, who faced 44 balls, kept the scoreboard ticking and in company of Tiwary put on 43 for the third wicket. A run out ended Dilshan's stay at the crease. — Agencies

SCOREBOARD
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Gayle c Pandey b Mathews 57
Dilshan run out 53
Kohli c Smith b Rahul 9
Tiwary not out 36
de Villiers not out 9
Extras (lb-4, w-4, nb-1) 9
Total (3 wkts, 20 ovrs) 173
Fall of wickets: 1-80, 2-95, 3-138.
Bowling: Upadhyay 4-0-33-0, Thomas 4-0-46-0, Bhuvneshwar 4-0-40-0, Mathews 3-0-14-1, Rahul 4-0-31-1, Clarke 1-0-5-0.

Pune Warriors
Mishra lbw b Zaheer 4
Clarke c Tiwary b Vinay 13
Pandey b Zaheer 0
Uthappa st de Villiers b Murali 38
Majumdar c Zaheer b Harshal 31
Mathews st de Villiers 
b Appanna 4
Smith not out 24
Bhuvneshwar b Murali 2
Thomas b Vinay 7
Rahul b Vinay 0
Upadhyay not out 11
Extras (lb 3, w 1) 4
Total (9 wkts, 20 ovrs) 138
Fall of wickets 1-4, 2-4, 3-22, 4-72, 5-84, 6-102, 7-108, 8-118, 9-122.
Bowling: Zaheer 4-0-21-2, Vinay 4-0-32-3, Harshal 4-0-36-1, Appanna 4-0-30-1, Murali 4-0-16-2.

Jaipur, May 11
Chennai Super Kings might have kept alive their IPL campaign with a narrow four-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals here yesterday, but skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni isn't too impressed with the performance of his batsmen and asked them to lift their game ahead of the remaining matches.

"Leaving it too late is not something we do intentionally, our top six need to perform. As the tournament progresses, we need to get going, the batsmen are coming under pressure early and they need to bat freely," Dhoni said at the post-match presentation at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium. The CSK skipper was full of praise for young Srikkanth Anirudha who played a six-ball 18-run unbeaten cameo towards the end to see the defending champions home.

"Srikkanth is an exciting youngster, you got to grab your opportunities, and that is what he has done. We have tried to bat him up the order but at times we need to continue allocating the same roles that we have done earlier," Dhoni said.

His counterpart Rahul Dravid said that Rajasthan are still alive in the tournament despite today's defeat, but accepted that they need to play some extraordinary cricket to qualify for the play-offs. "You play a good game and sometimes a batsman comes out and plays an excellent innings, you got to accept that. The track was doing a bit, stopping and seaming around, they bowled well, credit to them. We are alive, just by our fingernails, we need to get going and try and win all the remaining games," he said. — PTI 

Jaipur, May 11
Ajinkya Rahane has managed to surprise even himself with his smashing form in the IPL so far and the young Rajasthan Royals batsman says the entire experience has been like living a dream.

The smashing right-hander has tapered off in the last three games with scores of 17, 0 and 5 but he remains second only to Chris Gayle among the batting heavyweights with 480 runs at 43.63 in the competition. Nobody has hit more fours (63) than him and only two others, besides him, have hit centuries.

In an interview with PTI, the 24-year-old Mumbaikar weighed his recent success and the reasons behind it, as well as the opportunities which would follow in its wake. "Well, it has come as a surprise. I have only done my part and the rest has been destiny. To top the charts in a competition like IPL is really a proud achievement for me. But I would have really loved to see my team to be in a better position than it is," he said.

Rahane played for Mumbai Indians as well which at the time was a team full of stars – Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh, Lasith Malinga — before moving to Rajasthan Royals, a team not with many big names. — PTI

Chennai, May 11
They might be upbeat after a narrow win but defending champions Chennai Super Kings' chances of making the playoffs are still far from good as they take on tournament-leaders Delhi Daredevils in a crucial IPL match here tomorrow.

The four-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals last night came as a massive boost for the two-time defending champions, who are placed fourth in the table with 13 points with six wins and an equal number of losses from their 13 matches so far.

Even a win would not be enough for Chennai to make the next grade as five teams – Delhi Daredevils, Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kings XI Punjab — have four more matches to go.

The Daredevils and Knight Riders enjoy the top two positions with 18 and 17 points, respectively from 12 matches each and these two would have lesser problems in making the semifinal.

Delhi had emerged victorious the last time CSK clashed with them but given that tomorrow's match is a home game for Chennai, the result could be different.

Delhi are ruling the roost thanks to consistence performances by captain Virender Sehwag with Australian import David Warner adding to their firepower.

Even though Sri Lankan Mahela Jayawardane and New Zealand's Ross Taylor have not been among the runs. Home conditions and fans support will go in favour of Chennai, who boast of a better batting line up on paper and their bowlers have provided the required oxygen for winning matches.

Chennai seem to be better chasers and have played to their potential after bowlers succeeded in restricting the rival batsmen.

But if Sehwag, Jayawardane, Taylor and Warner fire in unison and post a solid total, Delhi's bowlers Irfan Pathan, Nadeem Ahmed and Morne Morkel would hold the edge. — PTI

Kolkata, May 11
Yet to seal their last-four berth, heavyweights Mumbai Indians would look to stop the Kolkata Knight Riders' six-match winning streak in what promises to be an exciting Indian Premier League contest here tomorrow.

Sachin Tendulkar during a practice session on Friday. — PTI

Thanks to the scheduling, both the teams face each other for the first time this season despite the tournament already into its business-end.

It has been a contrasting journey for both teams as the Kolkata Knight Riders find themselves comfortably placed at number two with eight wins from 12 outings and virtually assured of a place in the play-offs.

They have lost just once in their last 10 appearances as consistency has been the middle-name of the Knight Riders, a team mired in controversies in its forgettable first three seasons.

On the other hand, the Champions League Twenty20 winners and pre-tournament favourites Mumbai Indians are yet to find consistency and have been slightly lucky with seven wins out of 12.

Mumbai Indians batting has looked ordinary with some domination in patches while their bowling — superbly led by Sri Lankan sling bowler Lasith Malinga — has been quite potent.

The Knight Riders too have been outstanding with their slow bowlers but it's Gambhir's aggressive captaincy and the way he has led from the front that has brought results. With five half centuries — that included three man-of-the-match performances — Gambhir has not only led by example but has motivated the side.

The way he handed over his MoM award to youngster Debabrata Das (11 from 4 balls) for playing the finisher's role in their spectacular five-wicket win in Chennai, speaks highly of the left-handed skipper.

At a time, the team's star-studded batting line up of Brendon McCullum, Jacques Kallis, Yusuf Pathan and Manoj Tiwary was going through poor form, Gambhir showed faith in his teammates and backed his batsmen to the core.

In their last outing, Gambhir once again set the tone with a 21-ball 36 but it was Brendon McCullum who anchored the 154-run chase with a 44-ball 56, his first half-century this season.

The Knight Riders would be high on confidence after their win in Delhi and the much-needed four days' break in between would have recharged their batteries, with four matches remaining in the league stage. An interesting battle would be on the cards when West Indies tweaker Sunil Narine would look to spin a web around Sachin Tendulkar.

It will be exciting to see Tendulkar unravel the mystery of Narine who has been constantly troubling the batsmen in the shortest format of the game. His contest against Knight Riders speedster Brett Lee would also give the sellout crowd a full worth of their money. Mumbai Indians' loss to Bangalore at their home turf in their last outing has meant that the battle for the last two spots has become more competitive as the Harbhajan Singh-led side would be keen on the upsetting the Knight Riders applecart. — PTI 

New Delhi, May 11
Mandeep Singh has been touted as one of the most talented batsmen among the younger crop and after a string of good performances in IPL, he found his non-selection in the India 'A' squad a bit hard to digest.

"I'm disappointed but you can hardly do anything about it. I was hopeful of getting a call-up for the West Indies tour but it happened otherwise. But my job will be to keep up the good work in this IPL and hopefully I will make it to the A team when the next tour is announced," Mandeep told PTI.

Mandeep has been a prolific scorer for Punjab having garnered 458 runs in the last Ranji season with an average of 76 plus apart from 359 runs in 12 IPL games in this edition.

"I was performing well for the last two years in the domestic circuit and was hopeful of selection but it's not in my hands. I am not reading too much into it and just concentrating on performing well in the ongoing edition," he said.

Talking about their away game against table-toppers Delhi Daredevils on May 15 at the Feroze Shah Kotla stadium here, Mandeep conceded that it's a tough match for them given Daredevils' formidable line-up. — PTI

New Delhi, May 11
India's five-time world champion M C Mary Kom today got the seventh seeding and a first-round bye in the draw for the World Women's Boxing Championships in Qinhuangdao, China -- the first and only qualifying event for the sport ahead of its historic Olympic debut in London.

Women boxers will be competing at the Olympic Games in three weight categories — 51kg, 60kg and 75kg — and 24 quota places (eight in each weight categories) are up for grabs at the event where action kicks off from tomorrow.

The 29-year-old Mary Kom (51kg), who clinched the Asian crown last month, will open her campaign on Sunday against winner of the preliminary bout between Asian bronze-medallist Ayako Minowa of Japan and Athina Malefaki of Greece.

A total of 55 boxers are competing in Mary Kom's flyweight division in which Asia can grab just two Olympic slots.

In the 60kg category, where 58 boxers are in the competition, Asian champion L Sarita Devi will square off against Ayzanat Hajiyeva of Azerbaijan on Saturday. On the same day, Pooja Rani (75kg) will fight it out against Claressa Shields of USA.

In other preliminary bouts featuring India, K Mandakini (57kg) will be up against against Bo Jana Ranic of Serbia and Neetu Chahal (69kg) will be up against Bianka Nagy of Hungary.

A total of 305 boxers representing 70 countries are participating in the mega-event. — PTI 

Solan, May 11
Hopetown Girls School, Dehradun, hosts Pinegrove and Welham Girls School, Dehradun continued their winning spree in the league matches on the second day of the All India Junior Major Jagpal Memorial Basket Ball Tournament being hosted at Pinegrove School, Subathu.

The match saw fortunes turn with every basket with Pinegrove eves overpowering YPS, Patiala girls. Yachika once again proved her worth and scored 10 points for the host team.

In a very exciting match, which went down to the wire, Welham girls won a cliff-hanger against Sri Ram School, Gurgaon 13-11 in the last few seconds of the match. Faika scored 6 crucial points for the winners.

Hopetown Girls School, Dehardun also emerged stronger and defeated YPS, Patiala by 21-10. Akankasha was the highest scorer with 10 points for Hopetown. In the Boys Pool in a one sided contest, Vivek High School, Chandigarh outplayed The Asian School, Dehradun convincingly by 35-14 with Virain being the star performer scoring 12 points. Hosts Pinegrove School, and YPS, Mohali, kept on their winning streak on the second day as well. The Pinegrove boys overwhelmed Vivek High School, Chandigarh while YPS, Mohali proved better than YPS, Patiala 12-5. Deepak Jindal contributed 16 points enabling the hosts to win the match.

In some other league matches of the day, Welham Girls defeated St. Mary’s Convent School, Kasauli with ease by a margin of 21-2. Sunidhi and Rincham scored 6 points each for the winners and clearly dominated the proceedings.

Mumbai, May 11
India will put up a "reasonably successful" bid for hosting the Under-17 World Cup in 2017 at the FIFA Congress in Budapest later this month, All India Football Federation president Praful Patel today said.

"We are aspiring to host the Under-17 World Cup in 2017. We will bid for it at the FIFA Congress in Budapest. We are quite well-placed to put up a reasonably successful bid," said Patel at the official launch function of the federation's first regional academy, housed in Father Agnel's School in Navi Mumbai, near here.

The FIFA Congress is scheduled for May 24 and 25. The Union Minister saw no hitch in the country developing a good-enough infrastructure in time. — PTI