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Rohit’s ton breaks KKR’s winning streak
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Kings face downbeat Deccan
IPL final not to be shifted from Chennai: BCCI
Anand draws in World Championship
Hamilton on pole in Barcelona
Mixed luck for women boxers
Curtains for paddlers’ Olympic dream
HI to give grant to state bodies
Junior paddlers win silver
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Rohit’s ton breaks KKR’s winning streak
Kolkata, May 12 The win snapped Knight Riders' six-match winning streak and perched Mumbai Indians to third position in the table with 16 points, one less than second-placed Kolkata.
The duo shared an unconquered 167-run second-wicket partnership to propel Mumbai Indians to 182 for one after winning the toss. The total proved too much for Kolkata, who managed to score 155 for four, built around Jacques Kallis' superb 79 and Yusuf Pathan's unbeaten 40. Sharma's maiden IPL century was the season's fourth century while his partnership with Gibbs was second only to David Warner and Naman Ojha's 189-run stand for Delhi Daredevils against Deccan Chargers. The Knight Riders never really looked comfortable chasing the stiff total with their in-form skipper Gautam Gambhir dismissed in the first over. The left-hander, who got a reprieve in the first delivery he faced, saw his middle stump shattered by a Munaf Patel ball when he tried to make room but missed the line. The hosts soon lost Manvinder Bisla (1) to be reduced to two for three in the second over. Manoj Tiwary (27) and Kallis looked to repair the damage but when their 57-run stand was broken, it dented their chase further. The South African veteran stood tall in the Knight Riders chase and found a fine ally in Yusuf Pathan but it was not enough against the imposing target. Kallis and Pathan creamed Ojha for one six each as they collected 15 runs from the 12th over and another 13 runs in the next over off Dwyane Smith. Just when the Knight Riders looked to take charge, Malinga did a fine job by bowling tight and pushed the required run-rate close to 14. Earlier, Mumbai Indians recovered brilliantly after the early loss of Tendulkar with Sharma in murderous mood while Gibbs played a good support role. Tendulkar had a forgettable outing after being dismissed by Shakib Al Hasan in the very second ball he faced. He was beaten by the spin as he had his back-foot in air to be stumped in the third over of the innings. But the mighty blow hardly affected the Mumbai Indians with Gibbs and Sharma taking charge of the proceedings. In the very next over, Sharma pulled Lee for a six over square leg and followed it up with a boundary with a fine slice through third man. Sharma smacked Shakib for 14 runs with two boundaries and a six over midwicket, something that set the tone for the evening. — PTI SCOREBOARD Mumbai Indians Gibbs not out 66 Tendulkar st Bisla b Shakib 2 Rohit not out 109 Extras (lb-2, wd- 3) 5 Total (1 wkt, 20 ovrs) 182 Fall of wickets: 1-15. Bowling: Shakib 4-0-27-1, Lee 4-0-44-0, Narine 4-0-28-0, Kallis 4-0-40-0, Bhatia 4-0-41-0. Kolkata Knight Riders Bisla c Munaf b Ojha 1 Gambhir b Munaf 0 Kallis c Rohit b Smith 79 Tiwary lbw b Pollard 27 Yusuf not out 40 Das not out 4 Extras (lb-2, w-1, nb-1) 4 Total (4 wkts, 20 ovrs) 155 Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-3, 3-60, 4-151. Bowling: Munaf 4-0-32-1, Ojha 3-0-26-1, Malinga 4-0-27-0, Harbhajan 1-0-7-0, Pollard 4-0-29-1, Smith 4-0-32-1.
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Chennai thrash table-toppers Delhi
Opting to bowl on a track where the ball did a fair bit during initial stages, CSK bowlers led by Ben Hilfenhaus restricted Daredevils to a meagre 114 for five. The total was never going to be enough and CSK openers Mike Hussey (38, 32 balls, 5x4, 1x6) and Murali Vijay (48 no, 40 balls, 5x4, 1x6)ensured that there are no hiccups as they put on 75 runs for the opening stand in first 10 overs. The emphatic victory with 28 balls to spare also ensured that CSK with 15 points moved upto fourth spot ahead of Royal Challengers Bangalore. It was Hilfenhaus who set up the convincing win by polishing off the top three batsmen in the opposition line-up in his first spell of three overs thereby ending Daredevils' chances of putting up a sizeable total. He removed skipper Virender Sehwag (4), last match's centurion David Warner (8) and Naman Ojha (3) to reduce Delhi to 24 for three in only first five overs. In another couple of deliveries, it was four down with Mahela Jayawardene (8) also back in the dug-out courtesy Albie Morkel. Hilfenhaus' first spell figures read 3-0-14-3 and he ultimately finished with three for 27 courtesy a few big shots by Yogesh Nagar in the penultimate over. — PTI SCOREBOARD Delhi Daredevils Warner c Ashwin b Hilfenhaus 8 Sehwag b Hilfenhaus 4 Naman c Dhoni b Hilfenhaus 3 Mahela c Mike b Albie 8 Rao c Albie b Ashwin 27 Nagar not out 43 Irfan not out 13 Extras (lb-3, w-5) 8 Total (5 wkts, 20 ovrs) 114 Fall of wickets: 1-5, 2-12, 3-24, 4-24, 5-72. Bowling: Hilfenhaus 4-0-27-3, Morkel 4-0-15-1, Bravo 4-0-22-0, Jakati 3-0-19-0, Jadeja 1-0-11-0, Ashwin 4-0-17-1. Chennai Super Kings Mike c Mahela b Irfan 38 Vijay not out 48 Raina not out 28 Extras (w 1) 1 Total (1 wkt, 15.2 ovrs) 115 Fall of wickets: 1-75. Bowling: Morne 4-0-31-0, Yadav 3-0-24-0, Aaron 3.2-0-28-0, van der Merwe 3-0-17-0, Irfan 2-0-15-1.
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Kings face downbeat Deccan
Mohali, May 12
When asked about the must-win game injured captain-cum-coach of Kings XI, Adam Gilchrist added much to his surprise, “Really, we need to win all games?” adding further, “The team is in good form and hopefully we will win tomorrow’s home encounter. The boys are not taking the rivals lightly and the young guns will again shoot their best performance on-field,” said Gilchrist. When asked about his availability for tomorrow’s encounter, he added, “I will be not playing tomorrow. But yes, I will remain there to boost the morale of the team. The team is playing well under David and Shaun has emerged as the back bone of the team. The boys, however, are in good touch and hopefully, the spectators will again see Mandeep Singh smashing the ball, all over the boundary,” said Gilchrist. But the real worry for the home team must be their performance at the PCA stadium. So far, with just one win here, the Kings will be looking forward to improve on that record and also win essential points. On other hand, visiting captain Kumar Sangakkara said that his team will be gunning for revenge after being beaten in their previous match played in Hyderabad.. “The team is really working hard but, somehow, is not managing to finish off well in the ongoing season. We are getting good totals on the board but throughout we have fallen short in one or another department. But we are completely focused on tomorrow’s match,” said Sangakkara. When asked about the team’s performance so far, he added, “This season, we have undergone many difficulties and learnt lessons, especially in the fielding department and particularly catching. This format of the game needs tremendous focus till the last overs but somehow we failed to attain the balance and momentum” said Sangakkara. Sangakkara, who had also led the Kings a few seasons ago, said he was confident of his boys putting in a good show for tomorrow’s game. “Tomorrow’s encounter is another opportunity for us, to prove our mettle. It’s not only about the last match. The team has played well and hopefully we will settle the scores of our last defeat” said Sangakkara. On team’s hard luck, he added, “Luck is something that the harder you work, the better you do. Sometimes luck can be an excuse but that is not what we are looking at. We are looking forward to take on the Kings XI” said Sangakkara.
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Royals look to make full use of opportunities
Jaipur, May 12 Royals are lying sixth with 12 points from 13 matches and have to win the remaining three to keep their playoff hopes alive.
He rested himself last night but promised to be back for this game despite team owner Subrata Roy's claims that Ganguly would play a mentor's role from next season. Royals, on the other hand, have no such worries and have an 9inspirational leader in Rahul Dravid. They have played good cricket against fancied rivals but have been guilty of frittering away opportunities. They might have the edge against the Pune but a victory here would not be enough as they will have to win all remaining three and pray that the other results also go in their favour. The hosts would like to start afresh from this juncture and make full use of every opportunity. For the past couple of matches, they could find the right team composition and earned two good victories but rain played spoilsport for them in the crucial match against Chennai Super Kings. The recent failure of Ajinkya Rahane has hurt them but Australian all-rounder Shane Watson has looked in top form. Dravid has been in good nick as well but the rest did not play to expectations at least in the last match. — PTI
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IPL final not to be shifted from Chennai: BCCI
Chennai, May 12 "I'm hearing it for the first time from you (the reporters). There is no such discussion," said N Srinivasan. While most of the other venues have attracted capacity crowd, Chennai has been an aberration with as many as 12,000 seats going empty because clearance from the city planning department, for want of building approval, is still awaited. But Srinivasan said that the loss arising from those three stands is not a matter of concern. "See, the whole season is almost over. And I don't think that is an issue. The loss arising from it is not an issue, because as far as Chennai is concerned, today is the last (league) match," said Srinivasan. Meanwhile, when asked if the BCCI would allow its players to participate in the Sri Lanka Premier League, Srinivasan clarified that if they make a proposal, the BCCI would examine it. — PTI |
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Anand draws in World Championship
Moscow, May 12 Anand equalised easily out of the opening springing a surprise as early as on move five by going for a rare move as black. Gelfand spent a lot of time and it was clear that his ammunition had run out at this move itself. The fight for equalising had begun for Anand and he drew level on psychological terms after being pressed as white in the first game of the match. The preparation part took a heavy toll on Gelfand and as the game progressed, Anand once again produced what he is best at -- deep preparation backed by deep analysis. Gelfand could not think of anything better than going for the trade of queens and it was signal enough that Anand had what he was looking for. As it happened in the game, Anand's tenth move was the perfect road to equalising. The center was wide open soon after as Gelfand went on an exchanging spree and it took little time for Anand to come up with the new move which put the Israeli again in deep thought. Middle game never happened and Gelfand might have to look for other methods as Anand seems clearly better prepared with his black pieces. It may be recalled that the Indian ace had also successfully employed the Slav defense to beat Russian Vladimir Kramnik in 2008. There is also speculation that Kramnik might be helping Gelfand for this match. The main reason being that Gelfand and Kramnik have been friends for a long time. It was a level position once the queens were off the board. Also the presence of opposite colour Bishop was not anything that could enthuse either player. — PTI
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Barcelona, May 12 Hamilton's pole was his third of the year but celebrations were short-lived as his team told the Briton to stop the car immediately due to an unspecified problem. "It's a little bit of a worry," said team principal Martin Whitmarsh. Ferrari's Fernando Alonso secured third spot for his home race, and one that has only once in 21 years been won by a driver starting off the front row, with Frenchman Romain Grosjean alongside for Lotus. "I think it's one of the best ones I've ever had," Hamilton, runner-up last year, told reporters of his afternoon's work. "This has always been a great place for me." Maldonado, who had rocketed to the fastest time in the second session, was delighted to shake up the order at the front with Williams first front row start since Nico Hulkenberg's surprise pole in Brazil in 2010. "We have been working so hard trying to understand these tyres and to develop our car around these tyres, we did a very good step forward for this race," he said. Red Bull's double world champion and series leader Sebastian Vettel qualified eighth without setting a lap time in the final session. "Ultimately Sebastian didn't have great one-lap pace this afternoon, maybe it was the wind, but you have to look at it two ways," said team principal Christian Horner. — Reuters
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Mixed luck for women boxers
Patiala, May 12 Another Olympic hopeful Pooja Rani (75 kg) lost her opening bout and made a surprise exit from the championship. With this defeat, Indian hopes of competing in all three Olympic weight categories have come to an end. Pooja Rani lost to her American opponent by a huge margin of 10-27. On the contrary, Sarita Devi opened her bout very sensibly but after a close 4-3 round, she picked up her aggressive style and rendered fearless punches not giving her rival Ayzanat Hajiyeva from Azerbaijan any opportunity to make a comeback. She thumped Hajiyeva 27-11. Meanwhile, Indian pugilist Mandakini Chanu in the 57 kgs weight class brought cheer to the Indian Camp by comprehensively defeating Serbian Boxer Bojana Ranic in the opening bout of the 7th AIBA World Women Boxing Championships at Qinhuangdao, China. Right from the moment the gong was sounded; Mandakini went on the relentless attacking mode against the Serbian boxer who was physically taller and heftier. At the end of Round 1 the score was 10-3 in favour of India. During the second round, Mandakini stunned Bojana Ranic twice whereby the Referee had to administer the standing count of eight on both occasions. Finally the Referee stopped the contest in Round 3 in favour of Mandakini. Mandakini will now play against World No.1 Seed Tiara Brown of USA on 14 May 2012. In the 60 kg, Neetu Chahal defeated Hungary’s European Union Champion Bianka Nagy on points 22:6. At the end of round 1, Neetu was leading by 4:1 pts.
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Curtains for paddlers’ Olympic dream
Patiala, May 12 Despite displaying spectacular skills to make it to the main draw, all three paddlers- A Sharath Kamal, A Amal Raj and Poulomi Ghatak failed to impress as they suffered convincing defeat at the hands of their opponents. The day started on a bad note with A Amal Raj losing badly to Burgis of Lativa in straight games. Burgis won 11-4, 11-7, 11-8, 11-6. The Indians had not even gotten over the shock when 45 minutes later, India's hot favourite for this tournament, A Sharath Kamal, bowed before the defensive tactics of Slovalia's Yang Wang who defeated Sharath 12-10, 11-7, 10-12, 11-5, 11-7. Meanwhile, in the women category, Poulomi Ghatak lost to Taipei’s Chia-Hui Lin 2-4 (9-11, 8-11, 12-10, 11-6, 8-11, 4-11) to be pushed out of top ladder. Now, they all will fight for places between 17 and 20.
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HI to give grant to state bodies
New Delhi, May 12 This is the first time that the State associations would be getting grants from the parent body. — TNS
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Patiala: India’s A team girls had to settle for silver at the Spanish Junior and Cadet Open Table Tennis championships at Girona (Spain) after losing to Japan 0-3 while the boys failed to progress beyond the quarter-finals. India A team, comprising Manika Batra, Reeth Tennison and Karnam Spoorthy, did exceedingly well in earlier rounds until they met Japan in the final where it turned out to be a one-sided affair despite the Indian girls putting up a brave show. Manika lost to Shiho Matsudaira 17-15, 11-7, 11-5 and Reeth lost to Yuki Shoji 3-11, 2-11, 7-11. In doubles both Manika and Reeth lost 7-11, 7-11, 6-11. — TNS
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Rohit Sharma cracked a strokeful unbeaten century to power Mumbai Indians to a convincing 27-run victory over Kolkata Knight Riders in their Indian Premier League
clash.
Mohali, May 12
Lewis Hamilton grabbed McLaren's 150th Formula One pole on Saturday in a Spanish Grand Prix qualifying that left him well-placed to become the fifth different winner in five races.
Sharma entertained the packed Eden crowd with his 60-ball 109-run knock, studded with 17 boundaries including five sixes, while Gibbs made his Mumbai Indians debut in style with an unbeaten 66.
Kings XI Punjab need to win all their remaining matches and so far Deccan Chargers, currently last in the points table, are the easiest of all targets left due to their ongoing performance. In their next two encounters, Kings are scheduled to play Delhi Daredevils twice, and Chennai Super Kings as well.
On the other hand, Pune are at the eighth position with only eight points in kitty from 14 matches, close defeats against Delhi Daredevils and Chennai Super kings hurting them the most. Add to this the leadership crisis that the team is facing due to an off-colour skipper Sourav Ganguly.