New Delhi, April 5
In season six of the Indian Premier League (IPL) T20 Championship, Delhi Daredevils and Rajasthan Royals do not figure in the scheme of things of cricket pundits for a place in the challenge round. Even a last four finish for them is considered a difficult task.

Rahul Dravid arrives for practice at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground. Tribune photo by Manas Ranjan Bhui

Yet, both the teams can click, and prove the soothsayers wrong. When they clash at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground here tomorrow at 4 p.m, which will be the fourth match of IPL VI, Delhi Daredevils would be looking to erase the memory of the six-wicket defeat against Kolkata Knight Riders in the opening match at the Eden Gardens on April 3, while Royals would look for a winning start to their campaign.

Rajasthan Royals had lost their first match to Delhi Daredevils at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground in season one of IPL, but under the dynamic captaincy of Shane Warne, they recouped in the subsequent contests to lift the title.

Under retired Indian captain Rahul Dravid, Royals have not fared that well, though this would be his third season with the Rajasthan franchisee, while Mahela Jayawardene, who has replaced Virender Sehwag as the Daredevils captain, would look to script a new chapter in his cricket chronicle.

Dravid, who received the Padma Bhushan award from President Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhawan here today, will be looking ahead for a win, and he sounded confident of achieving the feat on Delhi's home turf.

Daredevils had felt the absence of Virender Sehwag and Morne Morkel from their lineup in the season opener, while young talent Unmukt Chand's first ball duck came as a real shocker. Delhi's batting has been weakened by the absence of the dashing Kevin Pietersen of England, who is injured, and Jesse Ryder of New Zealand, who is getting well after being bashed up outside a bar back home.

However, Pietersen surprised his team-mates at the Kotla ground today when he turned up in the team practice uniform, though he is in the Capital for some business work with Delhi Daredevils' management. His right leg was heavily strapped with a black-coloured buckled knee brace, and seemed to walk with a lot of difficulty, which indicated that he will be out of action for the entire season. Dravid wished him speedy recovery, and he seemed to enjoy the team-huddle with Daredevils.

Dardevils still have the firepower to knock up big runs, provided the top order and the brittle middle order click the way they are expected to. Captain Jayawardene and David Warner of Australia, gave a glimpse of the blazing nature of their willows against KKR, but the failure of the middle order to stand up to the challenge of the KKR bowlers in the crucial overs did them in.

Though Morkel will be missed for the second match too, as he will be joining the team only from their third match, after he completes his assignment for his domestic team in South Africa, Daredevils have enough punch in their pace attack, consisting of Ashish Nehra, Irfan Pathan, Umesh Yadav, Ajit Agarkar and the left-arm Shahbaz Nadeem. Daredevils also boast of a better win-loss record against Royals — six wins and our losses in ten matches-which gives them a psychological high.

Royals would be striving to erase the image of the whipping boys of the IPL with a strong show this time around, which will be a fitting farewell for Dravid, who may sign off from IPL after this season, as a player. The absence of Shane Watson may be felt by Royals, but Ajinkya Rahane will get a chance to redeem his image for making a mess of his Test debut against Australia at the Kotla a few days ago. 

Hyderabad, April 5
Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Pune Warriors by 22 runs in the third match of the IPL-6 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad on Friday night.

Batting first, Hyderabad made 126/6 in 20 overs. In reply, Pune Warriors were bowled out for just 104 runs in 18.5 overs. Dale Steyn (3/11) and Amit Mishra (3/19) bowled brilliantly to help home team win the match comfortably.

Earlier, Sunrisers Hyderabad struggled to a modest total of 126 for six.

After Pune won the toss and elected to field, Akshath Reddy and Parthiv Patel provided a quick start to the Sunrisers innings, putting up 34 in 5.2 overs. Patel fell at that score and captain Kumar Sangakkara, who came in, failed to do much during his short stay at the wicket. 

Sangakkara made 15 off 16 deliveries and when he fell in the 10th overs, the score was only 60. The failure of Sangakkara, the team's stellar batsman, meant that Sunrisers were going to struggle to put up a competitive score on the board.

Reddy (27 off 30) and Cameron White (10 off 18) could not accelerate and it was only when Thisara Perera came in that the scoring picked up a bit. Perera made 30 off 18 balls with three fours and one six. 

Brief scores
Sunrisers Hyderabad 126/6 in 20 overs (Perera 30, Reddy 27; Dinda 2/29); 

Pune Warriors
104 all out in 18.5 overs (Robin Uthappa 24,Ross Taylor 19, A Nayar 19, A Mishra 3/19, D Steyn 3/11). — TNS

Patiala, April 5
The two-day national trials to select the Indian boxing contingent for the forthcoming invitations tournaments to be held at Cuba and Russia ahead of the Asian Championship and World Championship began at NIS, Patiala, today sans star boxer Vijender Singh, who has been busy with police interrogations in the multi-crore drug haul in Punjab recently and giving dope samples to the National Anti Doping Agency (NADA) since past few days.

Vijender Singh

Though Vijender, who had been on leave from the camp till April 3, has applied for extension of his leave till April 8 with the Director General of SAI few days back, the Indian Boxing Federation has not yet received any written communiqué in this regard following which Vijender has decided to stay away from the trials.

Speaking to The Tribune, Indian Boxing Federation president Abhishek Matoria said we have not yet received any confirmation of his leave and now even if they confirm us on Monday, Vijender has already missed the trials.

Moreover, we are awaiting the results of Vijender's dope samples. So, it was more important for Vijender to sort all these problems for once and all before heading for any tournament, added Matoria.

“He is a very hardworking player and missing a couple of tournaments doesn't matter much to him. In fact, it is good that he as of now was cooperating with the police and once he is clear, he can go ahead with his training. With so much experience by his side, he will soon make up for the loss of practice,” said the IBF president.

Director General of NADA Mukul Chatterjee when contacted regarding Vijender's dope sample said as per WADA report, the results of the dope samples are to be kept confidential and we will not be able to say anything about it. He maintained that they were not making any exceptions in Vijender's case also whatever the case may be and are treating his sample like any other samples they collect for testing.

Meanwhile, the two-day trials began on a very high note with most of the top Indian players taking part in the trials.

Around 45 pugilists, including Dinesh Kumar, Shiva Thapa, Nanao Singh, Manoj Kumar and L Devendro, competed for all 10 weight categories. The trials were on till the filing of the report and would conclude tomorrow. 

New Delhi, April 5
India's SSP Chowrasia was lying at third position after he shot a second straight 69 to be six-under at the end of the second day at Panasonic Open India here today.

Australian Wade Ormsby, seeking his first professional title, added a second straight 67 to move to 10-under 134, while Lam Chih-bing had a bogey-bogey finish to drop from 10-under to eight-under to be at second place at the Delhi Golf Club, which is playing uncharacteristically tough with swirling winds making the scoring conditions difficult.

Chowrasia, India's two-time winner on Asian and European Tours, is now four behind the leader. Placed along with the Indian is seasoned 56-year-old Thai Boonchu Ruangkit, who added a four-under 68 to his first round 70.

The cut fell at five-over, one of the highest in recent memory, and 68 players including 32 Indians made the weekend rounds. The second best Indian Shiv Kapur (71-68) may well have been higher than his fifth place, but for a double bogey on the sixth, his 15th hole, while the steady Digvijay Singh (71-71) was tied seventh alongside five others, including youngsters S Chikkrangappa, who shot a flawless 70, and Amardip Sinh Malik (71-71).

One shot behind them were three more Indians, Anirban Lahiri (71-72), local man Chiragh Kumar (70-73) and the seasoned Gulfam (71-72).

Prominent Indians who missed the cut were Gaganjeet Bhullar (76-75) and Himmat Rai (75-76).

Also missing the cut was Oliver Wilson (78-82).

Chowrasia, not getting ahead of himself, said, "I played fairly well in the conditions and two successive three-under rounds is quite alright in these conditions, which are more difficult that normal. I had four birdies, all from short distances and one bogey on the 12th, where my 5-Iron got stuck in the bank of the bunker. I had to chip out and took a bogey.

Asked about the conditions, he said, "It was quite windy and with the directions and speed changing, so it became challenging at tough at times. I am happy with my position and taking things as they come." Chowrasia said, “The good thing was I got birdies on three of the four par-fives. On the 14th, the 18th and the eighth. My other birdie came on par-3 fifth.” — PTI

Bangalore, April 5
Somdev Devvarman and Yuki Bhambri gave India a rollicking start as they posted straight-set wins in their respective matches to put the hosts 2-0 ahead in the Asia-Oceanic Davis Cup Group I first-round relegation play-off tie against Indonesia.

Somdev defeated Wisnu Adi Nugroho of Indonesia 6-1 6-2 6-2 while Yuki saw off Christopher Rungkat 6-3 6-2 6-3 at the Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association Stadium.

Somdev Devvarman beat Wisnu Adi Nugroho 6-1 6-2 6-2 on Friday. — PTI

Somdev did not have to face much of a competition from Wisnu, but Yuki had to earn his points against Indonesia's number one player.

Yuki broke Rungkat twice each in all the three sets, which helped him in overcoming his competent opponent. In the first singles match, Somdev defeated Wisnu, allowing India to grab a 1-0 lead.

It was a satisfying display by India's number one player as he easily demolished his rival in 90 minutes. Indonesian captain Hendri Susilo Pramono's decision to field Wisnu proved disastrous as the 19-year-old failed to make any impact against the India number one.

Somdev said since he was playing Wisnu for the first time, he studied his movements on the field and adjusted to the game accordingly.

Wisnu showed signs of aggression but could not live up to it and in the process, lost to the Indian 6-1 in the first set, which lasted 30 min. “

Wisnu approached the net but nothing materialised as I prevailed over him with winners on either side of the court," Somdev said. Somdev smashed his way through in the second and third sets. Somdev utilised his rival's unforced errors to his advantage and pocketed the match after he served an ace on set point to end Wisnu's misery. In the second match, Yuki played his rallies to perfection and never looked to miss the ball. He overwhelmed Rungkat in a battle which lasted for nearly two hours.

After winning the first set 6-3, Yuki appeared ominous, making Rungkat stretch for the returns on either side of the court. The sheer timing and pace in the shots shook the Indonesian's concentration and he won the second set 6-2.

The first-set win boosted Yuki's confidence and he began playing aggressive tennis. As a result, Rungkat gifted away the points through many unforced errors.

Yuki broke twice in the third set pouring water onto Rungkat's hopes of a win.

Bhupathi’s firm to manage Murray

Andy Murray signed on as the first client of a new partnership between his management company and Indian doubles star Mahesh Bhupathi's GloboSport. The venture is aimed at helping Murray develop his off-court interests in Asia and Middle East. There had been speculation the 25-year-old Scot may switch to a rival to help him further his business interests. “I believe Simon Fuller's experience and Mahesh's understanding will create perfect team.” — Agencies

Singapore, April 5
Three Lebanese referees charged with corruption for allegedly accepting sexual favours to fix a football match in Singapore were remanded in custody on Friday until their bail petition is heard.

Referee Ali Sabbagh, 34, and assistants Ali Eid, 33, and Abdallah Taleb, 37, were brought to court one day after being arrested by Singapore anti-corruption agents on charges that could land them in jail for up to five years. The trio had been due to officiate in Singapore-based Tampines Rovers' AFC Cup fixture with Indian club East Bengal on Wednesday when they were abruptly dropped and questioned by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB).

They face a maximum prison term of five years or a fine not exceeding Sg$100,000 ($81,000) or both, under the Prevention of Corruption Act, after being charged with the offence on Thursday. Ali Eid fell ill before he could appear before the judge and was brought to a hospital for observation. The two others were remanded to Changi prison, where the stricken Lebanese will also be brought after he recovers. A representative from Lebanon's consulate attended the hearing. Sabbagh and Taleb will appear in court again on Wednesday when bail and their pleas are expected to be discussed, while the third referee was ordered to be in court on Monday.

State prosecutors opposed bail, saying the three belonged to a syndicate, but district court judge Kamala Ponnampalam ruled the offence was bailable. The CPIB said in a statement on Thursday that it had acted on "prior information of match fixing" involving the three referees. "Subsequent investigations revealed that the trio corruptly received gratification... in the form of free sexual service from three females," CPIB said.

Singapore has a long record of match-fixing scandals and criminals from the tiny but wealthy Southeast Asian country have been blamed by Europol for orchestrating a network responsible for rigging hundreds of games worldwide. In February, Singapore came under pressure to act against the cartels, whose activities fuel illegal gambling estimated to be worth billions of dollars, when the head of Interpol called for the arrest of an alleged ringleader. Singapore police said the suspect, Tan Seet Eng or Dan Tan, was assisting investigations, but he was not arrested or charged with any crime. — AFP

New Delhi, April 5
Clean Sports India, a movement for corruption-free sports in the country, today wrote to the International Olympic Committee, accusing acting Indian Olympic Association president VK Malhotra of protecting corrupt and inefficient system under the garb of “autonomy”.

In a letter to IOC president Jacques Rogge, CSI convenor BVP Rao and president Ashwini Nachappa questioned Malhotra’s plea to the IOC that the “Government of India is hell bent on destroying the autonomy of IOA and National Sports Federations”.

“The autonomy of Indian sports federations and IOA which Mr. Malhotra is talking about has produced only one individual gold medal in the Olympic Games from a country of over one billion people,” the letter to Rogge read.

CSI’s letter to the IOC also highlighted how the corrupt and inefficient system has produced several tainted officials like Suresh Kalmadi, Lalit Bhanot and Chautala brothers — Abhay Singh Chautala and Ajay Singh Chautala.

CSI has also requested the IOC to send a high level delegations to India to study the ground situation by meeting all stake holders.

“We request you to send a high level IOC Mission to India for a week to study the ground situation,” the letter said. CSI accused Malhotra of deliberately delaying the process of getting India’s ban from the Olympics lifted by the IOC for his “vested interest”.

The joint meeting between the representatives of the suspended IOA, the Sports Ministry and the IOC, to find a way to resolve the issue that led to India’s ban from the Olympics, had been postponed because of the continuing standoff.

The meeting, scheduled to be held at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland on April 15-16, has now become uncertain as the representatives of the IOC-recognised IOA, Malhotra and Randhir Singh, and the Sports Ministry have not made headway over differences in age and tenure restrictions. — PTI

Sehwag to miss Daredevils' 2nd match also
New Delhi: Senior opener Virender Sehwag will miss Delhi Daredevils' second IPL match also, against Rajasthan Royals here tomorrow, as he is yet to recover from a bout of back spasm which had ruled him out of his side's opening game against Kolkata Knight Riders. Sehwag's unavailability for tomorrow's game was today confirmed by his opening partner David Warner. "He (Sehwag) is not playing tomorrow as he has not fully recovered. He is a lot better than what was before although his movement has been a bit sluggish," Warner told reporters on the eve of Daredevils' first home match tomorrow. Sehwag, who did not travel with the team to Kolkata, today dropped in at the Feroze Shah Kotla apparently to dispel rumours about he being miffed on some internal team issues.

Happy to be giving something back to the game: VVS
Hyderabad: Retired Indian cricketer VVS Laxman says mentoring Indian Premier League cricket team Sunrisers Hyderabad and doing commentary is his way of giving something back to the game of cricket which gave him "everything". "I am experiencing various things. It is great to be contributing back to the game... because cricket gave me everything. With the wealth of experience I have got, I want to share with the concerned people,” Laxman said.

Sehwag is the most dangerous batsman: Narine
New Delhi: Kolkata Knight Riders off-spinner Sunil Narine rates dashing Delhi Daredevils opener Virender Sehwag as the most dangerous batsman he has bowled to. "Sehwag by far is the most dangerous batsman I have bowled to. No matter what the situation is, he will always go after the bowling, which makes him the most dangerous batsman in the world," Narine said on Friday. The West Indian finished with enviable figures of 4/13 in the Indian Premier League opener against Delhi to guide Kolkata to a six-wicket win at the Eden Gardens. Narine, who took 24 wickets in the last edition of the IPL to help KKR win its maiden crown, said skipper Gautam Gambhir has handled him the best. "Other captains have handled me well but Gambhir has a very good idea of the game and handles me really well," said the right-arm spinner. The Trinidadian described his trademark 'mohawk' haircut as a lucky charm. "It is not a style statement. Rather, ever since I kept it I have been doing well in cricket, so I hope to keep it going."

Dravid backs Rahane, says he failed on a bad Kotla
New Delhi: Ajinkya Rahane might have had a forgettable Test debut last month, but his captain in the Rajasthan Royals team Rahul Dravid backed the youngster, saying he failed on a "bad" Kotla wicket and deserve more opportunities to showcase his talent. Rahane's long-awaited Test debut in the final match of the series against Australia ended in a damp squib as he could only manage 7 and 1 in the two innings of the game that ended in three days. "Rahane failed against Australia on a bad wicket. His performance in that Test should not be taken seriously. The youngster deserves more opportunities," Dravid said."Rahane got an opportunity to play in the Indian team because he had scored lot of runs in the domestic cricket. I am sure he will get more chances to represent the side,"  Dravid said.

Virat, Gayle and others croon and dance
Bangalore: If the win in their opening fixture of IPL was not enough, Royal Challengers Bangalore's Virat Kohli and Chris Gayle, among others, celebrated it by grooving and crooning to Kingfisher's jingle during the making of its television commercial. Also displaying their singing and dancing ability were Daniel Vettori, Muttiah Muralitharan and Zaheer Khan who brought alive the 'Oo la la la le o' moments. — Agencies

BRIEFLY

Rahi wins World Cup gold in 25m pistol
New Delhi: Rahi Sarnobat won the first gold for India in the ISSF World Cup in Changwon, Korea, beating Kyeongae Kim 8-6 in 25m pistol final. Rahi, thus, became the first Indian pistol shooter to win a World Cup Gold. Rahi had made it to the final in fourth place with a score of 584/600. The new ISSF rules helped her — all the knockout qualifiers began the medal round with scores set to 0. In the semifinals Rahi won a shoot-off to enter the gold medal match against Korea's Kyeongae Kim. It was a race to seven points in the final. In a thrilling contest for gold, Rani won 8-6 to earn the biggest medal of her career.

Ricky Ponting checks Sachin’s spikes during the net session. — PTI

Alok, Rupesh advance to Asian Billiards semis
Indore: Former champion Alok Kumar confirmed a medal for India by entering the semifinals of the Asian Billiards championship today. In the quarterfinals, Alok beat sixth seed B Bhaskar 4-2. Bhaskar won two of the first three games to lead 2-1, but Alok produced three consecutive breaks of 96, 74 and 88 points in next three games. In the semifinal, Alok will play against Thailand's Praput Chaithanasukan. The other semifinal will be played between world champion Rupesh Shah of India and Thawat Sujaritthurakarn of Thailand. Despite leading 3-2 Rupesh was under threat of losing the match against Asian Games silver medallist Nay Thway Oo.

After winning the sixth game, Nay Thway Oo led 87-20 in decider. One error from him gave Rupesh a chance, and he scored a break of 80 to knock out Nay Thway Oo.

Nachappa writes to AFI on elections
Mumbai: In a missive to the Athletics Federation of India, former sprint champion Ashwini Nachappa has demanded that no representatives of states, whose elections are due, be allowed to take part in the AFI's upcoming elections later this month. Attaching a copy of the letter addressed to the Karnataka Athletics Association, Nachappa, who heads the Bangalore Urban District Athletic Association, has questioned how president G Parameshwara and secretary Satyanarayana could represent the state body in the AFI's AGM and elections, scheduled on April 13 and 14, as their terms had expired. — Agencies