Pune, April 7
Kings XI Punjab produced a clinical performance to thrash Pune Warriors by eight wickets and start their Pepsi Indian Premier League campaign in an emphatic fashion.

Angelo Mathews' decision to bat first backfired badly as the home team batsmen produced another inept show posting a meagre 99 for nine in their 20 overs.

The chase was a cakewalk for KXIP as young IPL debutant Manan Vohra sent the Pune bowlers on a leatherhunt, finishing the lopsided contest in only 12.2 overs.

Manan (43 no, 7x4, 1x6) and Mandeep Singh (31) added 58 runs, including 21 in one Ashoke Dinda over, as the Preity Zinta co-owned team finished the match in a jiffy.

The match ended in a dramatic fashion when David Hussey's flick shot was acrobatically caught at short mid-wicket by T Suman off Mitchell Marsh's bowling. But TV replays showed that it was a no-ball and thus KXIP won the match. It was a match in which KXIP outclassed their opponents in every department of the game. The sheer dominance of the KXIP pacers was evident as the highest partnership for Pune was 25 and the top scorer was Abhishek Nayar with 25.

For KXIP, Azhar Mahmood and Praveen Kumar got two wickets apiece, giving away 19 and 31 runs respectively.

The slide started in the very first over as Manish Pandey (0), who has done nothing in the past two seasons to merit a place in the starting XI, failed yet again as he played on off the last delivery of Praveen Kumar's first over. T20 specialist T Suman (6) hit a boundary before holing out at mid-off, with veteran Azhar Mahmood being the bowler.

The Pune batsmen found it difficult to score on a wicket that had spongy bouncy but credit must go to KXIP bowlers as they were consistent in bowling to a particular line. Marlon Samuels (3) was run-out as Piyush Chawla's immaculate throw landed on top of the stumps and skipper Adam Gilchrist whipped off the bails as the diving Jamaican failed to make his ground. The problems only compounded for Pune from there on. If that wasn't enough, Chawla ended Pune's 'Million Dollar' recruit Robin Uthappa's misery as a faster one castled the Karnataka batsman, who scratched around for 23 balls to make only 19.

At 33 for four, a lot depended on skipper Mathews, who started well with a boundary, but got out to the best delivery of the innings from Parvinder Awana. Mathews was forced to edge one that had a bit of extra bounce as the ball moved a shade after landing on the good length spot. At the halfway stage, Warriors were 38 for five with hopes of posting a decent total vanished.

There was another misery in store for Warriors as Ross Taylor found out to his amazement. He slog swept a delivery from Praveen and Gurkeerat Mann, fielding in the deep fine leg, took a magnificent one-handed catch diving to his right. The chase was an easy as Adam Gilchrist welcomed Bhuvneshwar Kumar with a couple of boundaries and a big six to set the ball rolling. Although the former Aussie glovesman holed out for only 15, Manan and Mandeep upped the ante with a flurry of boundaries.

The pitch was a good one and with the ball coming onto the bat nicely, it proved to be a stroll in the park for the Punjab batsmen. The short balls were pulled and the length deliveries were driven with ferocity.

Mandeep was finally bowled by statemate Rahul Sharma for 31 off 26 balls with four boundaries. — PTI

Scoreboard

Pune Warriors India

Uthappa b Chawla 19

Pandey b Kumar 0

Suman c Kumar b Mahmood 6

Samuels run out 3

Taylor c Gurkeerat b Kumar 15

Mathews c Gilchrist b Awana 4

Nayar not out 25

Marsh b Harris 15

Bhuveshnar b Mahmood 8

Rahul run out 1

Extras: 3

Total: (9 wkts in 20 ovs) 99

Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-21, 3-29, 4-33, 5-38, 6-53, 7-78, 8-93, 9-99

Bowling

Praveen 4-0-31-2

Harris 4-0-12-1

Mahmood 4-0-19-2

Awana 4-0-16-1

Chawla 4-0-19-1

Kings XI Punjab

Gily c Samuels b Mathews 15

Mandeep b Sharma 31

Manan not out 43

Hussey not out 8

Extras: 3

Total: (2 wkts in 12.2 ovs) 100

Fall of wickets: 1-5, 2-52, 3-93, 4-99

Bowling

Bhuvneshwar 2-0-16-0

Dinda 2-0-28-0

Mathews 2-0-12-1

Marsh 3.2-0-23-0

Rahul 3-0-20-1

Pune, April 7
Kings XI Punjab had never won their opening match in the IPL before their eight-wicket victory over Pune Warriors on Sunday and captain Adam Gilchrist is relived that his side has got rid of the hoodoo. “Kings XI Punjab have never won their opening match in the IPL earlier. That is the hoodoo we have got rid of. Every team hopes to start a tournament with a win and so we are going towards the right direction,” Gilchrist said after the match.

He said his side did everything right in all departments of the game."It's a great start in the tournament and all the players showed the right intentions whether in batting, bowling and fielding,” said the former Australian captain.

Gilchrist praised Gurkeerat Singh for his brilliant catch to dismiss dangerous Pune Warriors batsman Ross Taylor and also patted IPL debutant Manan Vohra who scored an unbeaten 43 to take KXIP to victory.

“What a catch Gurkeerat had and every player fielded with great intention. Manan played with same intention and scored quickly. We know how important the run rate becomes towards the end of the tournament. The players adjusted to the conditions really well,” he said.Man-of-the-match Manan Vohra said that he was nervous in his debut IPL match but happy that he could contribute for the team's cause.

"I was very nervous before the start, butterflies in my stomach. I felt good as the innings progressed. The wicket got better during the course of the innings. I am really happy that I could contribute to the team's win," Vohra said.

Asked what the senior team-mates told him before the match, Vohra said, "They said just go and enjoy and play your natural game freely just like in a practice game.” A disappointed Pune Warriors captain Angelo Mathews said that his side could not have played worse than Sunday's match.

“It's disappointing, can't get any worse than this. Batting let us down again. We need to sort out our intent and attitude towards the first six overs, that sets up the whole innings," he said.

“The pitch was a bit up and down and slow as well. It was not conducive to play shots," he added.

The Warriors had lost their opening match of the tournament against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Friday. Mathews, however, said that his side would bounce back in the event.

“We can only get better from here. There are 14 more games to go and we have to be positive and put in our efforts together,” he said. — PTI 

Hyderabad, April 7
Sunrisers Hyderad clinched a thriller by beating Royal Challengers Banagalore in the Super Over in the seventh match of IPL-6 at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, on Sunday night. 

Hanuman Vihari celebrates with Kumara Sangakkara on Sunday. — PTI

Hyderabad, April 7
Royal Challengers Bangalore scored 130/8 in 20 overs against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the seventh match of IPL-6 AT Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad, on Sunday night.

Batting first, Bangalore received an early setback when both their openers, Chris Gayle (1) and Tilakaratne Dilshan (5) misfired. Middle order batsmen Virat Kohli (46) and Moises Henriques (44) helped the team reach a decent total.. For Hyderabad, Ishant Sharma bagged three wickets toward the end as Bangalore tried to up the ante on visitors. Sunrisers replaced DB Ravi Teja with Ankit Sharma while RCB brought in Moises Henriques in place of Daniel Christian.

Teams: Sunrisers Hyderabad: Kumar Sangakkara (Capt), Dale Steyn, Akshat Reddy, Ashish Reddy, Ankit Sharma, Parthiv Patel, Cameron White, Hanuma Vihari, Thisara Perera, Amit Mishra and Ishant Sharma.

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli (Capt), Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Moises Henriques, K B Arun Kumar, T Dilshan, Murali Kartik, R Vinay Kumar, Muthiah Muralidharan, Karun Nair and J Unadkat. — TNS

Brief Scores Ist Innings

Royal Challengers Bangalore: 130/8 in 20 overs (V Kohli 46, C Gayle 1, T Dilshan 5, K Nair 9, M Henriques 44, Ishant Sharma 3/27, A Mishra 1/15, T Perera 1/21).

Islamabad, April 7
The Pakistan Cricket Board has accused the West Indies Cricket Board of reneging on an agreement to facilitate a tour of the Caribbean this year. Pakistan were originally scheduled to play two Tests, five ODIs and two Twenty20s in the Caribbean in June and July.

However, reports suggest that the tour is unlikely to go ahead after both boards failed to find a new window.

“It's a very tricky situation here as our first priority is to play according to the FTP,” Zaka Ashraf, the PCB chairman was quoted as saying by CMC.

“They actually planned their tri-nation series within our window and left us with a choice to reschedule the series. However, after a lengthy deliberation we failed to find a window to go ahead with it.”

According to the Future Tours Programme, the West Indies were scheduled to host Pakistan from the last week in June to the last week in July, but a tri-series involving India, Sri Lanka and the West Indies has since been planned. To avoid a clash, the WICB is reported to have asked the PCB to reschedule its tour to August but this change would have interfered with Pakistan's own plan to host India and to play out the Zimbabwe series that was postponed last year. Also, the inaugural Caribbean Premier League is scheduled to take place from July 29 to August 26.

“Earlier, there were plans to split the tour but it's not working as we want to play a full series,” the PCB chairman said. “The West Indies is an important cricket team and we have always had cordial relations with them, and hopefully we will find another window next year,” he added.

Pakistan last visited the West Indies in 2011, drawing the Test series 1-1, winning the ODI series 3-2 and losing the only T20I. — Agencies

Jaipur, April 7
High on confidence after tasting victories in their tournament openers, both Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals will look to extend their winning run when the two teams square-off in the IPL 6 match here on Monday.

Sydney, April 7
Talented but currently injured Australian pacer Mitchell Starc has said that his team's defeats in India should not be used to predict performance in the Ashes.

In a report published in the Sydney Morning Herald, the bowler has been quoted as saying that the difference between playing in England and in India 'is like the difference between vindaloo curry (a dish popular mainly in Goa) and cold pork pie.'

India annhilated Australia last month when the visitors surrendered in each of the four Tests played. The 23-year-old however said that conditions in England would be easier for the Australians - especially since the Indian wickets have no grass and are meant to favour spin.

The Ashes series begins from July 10 at Trent Bridge with Starc saying that the pitch will offer a more here to the seamers than the Indian tracks could. — Agencies

New Delhi, April 7
Shiv Kapur had the best performance among Indian golfers as he finished fourth at the Panasonic Open which concluded at the Delhi Golf Club.

There were seven Indians who finished in the Top-15 as Australian Wade Ormsby won his maiden Asian Tour title with a final round of one-under-par 71 to pip Thailand veteran Boonchu Ruangkit by one stroke and get richer by USD 54,000.

Kapur was in contention till three holes from the finish before he ran into trouble on 16th and 18th and dropped shots on both to drop to fourth, while SSP Chowrasia (68) made a valiant bid only to end up fifth alongside defending champion Digvijay Singh, who carded four sub-par rounds.

Shamim Khan, who barely made the cut, continued his great work over the weekend following up his third round 67 with a final round of 69 to be tied eighth, while Rahil Gangjee, with five birdie on the front nine, carded 68 to be tied 10th with local lad Manav Jaini (72) and Siddikur at three-under.

Singapore's Lam Chih Bing, who led briefly during the final round, settled for third place after carding a level par 72 while Kapur's search for a first win on his home course was extended after he bogeyed two of his last three holes to finish three shots behind Ormsby in fourth position.

Ormsby, who held at least a share of the lead from the opening day, birdied the second hole but stumbled badly with a seven at the next hole.

However, the Aussie showed great character by shooting birdies on the fifth, seventh and eighth holes to stay in the title hunt. He bogeyed the 12th and needed an 18-foot birdie conversion on 17 which proved decisive as Boonchu's title challenge faded with a bogey on 16.

"It means so much. I've played tournaments worldwide but to finally get a win in Asia is fantastic. I felt pretty good on the fourth tee but I just put my head down and tried to get down into it and birdied the fifth," said Ormsby. — PTI

Munich, April 7
Double Olympic sprint champion Usain Bolt has passed on his congratulations to Bayern Munich on winning the Bundesliga title in record time.Bolt, who defended his 100m and 200m Olympic titles at London 2012, is occasionally in Munich to see renown sports doctor Hans-Wilhelm Mueller-Wohlfahrt, who also works with the Bayern team and the Germany side. The 26-year-old specifically thanked Dr Mueller-Wohlfahrt after his 100m victory in London having been treated by the German doctor in the build-up to the Olympics and says the pair speak by telephone "from time-to-time".

He is also friends with some of Bayern's players. Bayern won the Bundesliga title for the 22nd time in the competition's 50 year history on Saturday with a 1-0 win at Eintracht Frankfurt, thanks to Bastian Schweinsteiger's second-half goal, and Bolt offered his congratulations.

"It's impressive what Bayern have done this season," Bolt told German daily Bild on Sunday after Bayern won the title with six games left, a new Bundesliga record.

"To be champions with such a lead and so early in such a strong league, is extraordinary."First of all, I want to congratulate Basti (Schweinsteiger) and the team, who, just like the coach (Jupp Heynckes), have done a great job. “I know how hard the boys have worked for this behind the scenes.”

Bolt has said he wants to play football when he retires from athletics. — Agencies

New Delhi, April 7
After two medal-winning efforts, Indian shooters had a disappointing outing at the ISSF World Cup in Changwon, Korea today, with Heena Sidhu missing out on a podium finish after finishing eighth in her event.

Competing in the women’s 10-metre air pistol event, Heena qualified for the finals with an impressive second-place finish. But she failed to replicate that in the medal round, finishing at the bottom among the top eight shooters.

After totalling 388 with the help of 9x in the qualifying round, Heena could not manage more than 75.7 in the finals. Annu Raj Singh and Ruchita Vinerkar could not even qualify for the finals after finishing dismal 14th and 27th respectively.

In the women’s 50-metre rifle 3 position, Tejaswini Sawant, Lajja Gauswamy and Meena Kumari failed to make the cut as they finished 18th, 24th and 33rd respectively in the qualifying round.

London Olympics silver medallist Vijay Kumar, Pemba Tamang and Harpreet Singh will be competing in the qualification stage 2 of the men’s 25-metre rapid fire pistol event tomorrow. — PTI

Bangalore, April 7
Somdev Devvarman and Yuki Bhambri posted straight-set wins in their respective reverse singles as India completed a 5-0 whitewash of Indonesia in the Asia-Oceania Group I Davis Cup relegation play-off tie, here today.

Somdev outplayed David Agung Susant 6-3 6-1 in little over an hour while Yuki Bhambari registered a thumping 6-0 6-1 victory over Wisnu Adi Nugroho here.

Non-playing captain SP Misra wanted Sanam Singh to play in place of Somdev but the Chandigarh youngster developed some wrist problem, forcing India to field Somdev in the fourth rubber.

Misra had the satisfaction of going on a high as he did the job for one last time as AITA would find his replacement before the next year’s campaign.

India now stay in Group I and will strive to qualify for the World Group in 2014.

Somdev took some time to get into the groove but gradually overpowered his opponent with his trademark punching shots and baseline shots.

On the other hand, Yuki did not have do much as Wisnu made the job of the Indian much easy with umpteen number of unforced errors.

In the first match, watched by a motley crowd, the opening set went with serve until the sixth game when David dumped a forehand long outside the baseline to trail 2-4.

Though the Indonesian saved his eighth game negating Somdev to pull off the set, he lost the set in the ninth game when he blasted a forehand smash wide as he greedily eyed a winner down the line.

Both the players held serve until the third game of second set when David, running in hard across the ball, smashed the ball outside the sideline to give India 2-1 lead.

However, the Indonesian did not give in easily in the fourth game, forcing the Indian to earn points.

Then Somdev broke the Indonesian for the second time in the fifth game after David smashed the backhand shot wide over the sideline.

Joy among the spectators mounted as Somdev broke for the final time in the seventh game. The Indian coming back from 15-30 down served hard before he sealed victory on his match point when David pushed a forehand smash wide.

In the second and final match, Yuki put on an impressive show, playing aggressively. Yuki kept it simple and never let the Indonesian settle.

He went through the first set without much resistance and smashed his way through in the second to seal the tie for India. — PTI

Bangalore, April 7
Somdev Devvarman, who led the players’ revolt against AITA, today said veterans Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupahti have provided useful ideas for the betterment of Indian tennis but only time will tell if those ideas will work.

Paes, who was the only top player to not side with the rebel players, surprisingly joined the newly-formed Indian Tennis Players Association as one of the vice presidents.

Somdev said all players including Paes are on the same page on the issues, raised by IPTA.

“I had a good chat with Lee (Paes). He has already planned new things which is encouraging. I even talked to Hesh (Mahesh Bhupathi) and he has already got six ideas. I am trying to be a part of them. Will this work out or not, time alone will tell,” Somdev said after leading India to a 5-0 whitewash of Indonesia in the Davis Cup tie.

About his role in ITPA, Somdev said he plans to improve things for all tennis players including those who have hung their boots.

“I have been fortunate enough that the game has given me some respect. Therefore I have the responsibility to do things the right way. Why not try. Honestly, I am going to put my efforts in and also do whatever I can to give back,” he said.

Somdev said he was working hard to get back to the top-100 bracket even though the job was not easy.

“I want to be among top 100 players, but it would be tough because there are a lot of good players at the international level. However, I am happy to be among 200 because I had started of lower in the rankings.” Somdev said he has chalked up a plan along with his coach to gain 1,000 points in a year to get into the top 100.

In my first quarter, I have gained 250 points. It will obviously be tough to get another 250 points in the second quarter. There are lot of good players and it will never going to be easy. Even 300-ranked players come up with some quality games,” he said. — PTI

Madrid, April 7
If Saturday’s La Liga match at home to Real Mallorca was a test to see if Barcelona could cope without Lionel Messi, they passed it with flying colours. The World Player of the Year was ruled out with a damaged hamstring, the first league game he has missed through injury since the 2010-11 season, but Barca made light of his absence with a crushing 5-0 victory that maintained their 13-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid with eight games left.

The performance was all the more impressive given that coach Tito Vilanova rested several key players, including midfielder Sergio Busquets, ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final, second leg at home to Paris St Germain. Mallorca, who are bottom of the table, are battling to maintain their top-flight status but were swept aside by a masterly Barca performance with Cesc Fabregas, Alexis Sanchez and Andres Iniesta in inspired form.

Fabregas, operating in Messi’s roving forward role, scored his first hat-trick since returning to his boyhood club from Arsenal in 2011 and Alexis netted twice and set up two goals. Alex Song, who has struggled to settle since joining from Arsenal, was solid in Busquets’s holding midfield position, while centre back Marc Bartra played well enough to suggest he might be an effective replacement for the injured Carles Puyol and Javier Mascherano alongside Gerard Pique.

“When you don’t have a player like Messi available there’s no doubt that you have a problem,” assistant coach Jordi Roura told a post-match news conference.

“The squad once again showed their enormous quality,” he added. “Everyone performed at a high level.”

It is not clear whether Messi, who has scored 43 goals in La Liga and eight in the Champions League this season, will be back for Wednesday’s game against PSG, when the teams will resume locked at 2-2.

If he fails to make it, Fabregas, who came through the club’s youth ranks with Messi and has regularly played in the “false nine” position for Spain in recent years, looks to be a fine replacement.

“Cesc adapts perfectly to this ‘false nine’ position and he played an extraordinary match,” Roura said.

“It’s one more option that we have,” he added. “But I would also like to single out Song’s performance. In fact, in general everyone played very well.”

With fierce competition for places, Fabregas has not been an automatic starter this season. He said he did not think Saturday’s performance was his best but noted that in football goals were all-important.

“I feel very comfortable playing as a false striker but the best player in the world plays there,” he told reporters.

“I am still a midfielder,” the 25-year-old added.

“We scored early, we were able to see some nice play and the fans had a good time. It’s easy to play with Alexis, he’s a player with a lot of qualities.”

Barca pointed out before the Mallorca game that they had won 13 and drawn one of the La Liga, King’s Cup and Champions League games Messi has not featured in over the past three seasons.

“There is life beyond Messi,” they wrote on their website. “Maybe it’s not as beautiful, but it exists.” — Reuters

London, April 7
West Ham United boosted their chances of avoiding a relegation battle by holding Liverpool to a 0-0 draw at Anfield on Sunday.

The point was more useful to the London side, who are now seven points clear of the drop zone in 12th place, than to Liverpool who had been hoping to keep in touch with the group chasing Champions League berths.

Unmukt reprimanded for dress code violation
New Delhi: Delhi Daredevils opener Unmukt Chand has been reprimanded for violation of dress code rules during his side's five-run loss in their IPL match against Rajasthan Royals. "He violated article 2.1.1 of the Code of Conduct for a breach of paragraph 4.2 of the IPL Clothing Regulations, during his teams Pepsi IPL match against the Rajasthan Royals at the Ferozeshah Kotla Ground, in Delhi," the IPL said in a release. Unmukt scored 23 from 19 balls with the help of two fours and one six in Daredevils' second match of IPL VI last night.

Malinga joins Mumbai Indians team
Mumbai: Sri Lankan fast bowler Lasith Malinga has joined the Mumbai Indians (MI) squad after missing the first two games and is likely to be fit for the team's clash against Delhi Daredevils on April 9.

He was ruled out for the opening match in Bangalore due to a sore back, which he had sustained during Sri Lanka's recent limited overs series against Bangladesh. "He is likely to be fit for the first home match on Tuesday but the final call will be taken by the team management tomorrow," team sources said. The leading wicket-taker in IPL with 83 wickets, Malinga, could not join the team earlier as the second match was in Chennai and the IPL governing council had decided against playing Sri Lankans there due to political reasons.

Fleming criticises CSK batting performance
Chennai: Chennai Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming has blamed the batsmen for his team's nine-run defeat against Mumbai Indians in their Pepsi IPL opener and said the way some of them got out was "not acceptable".

“The pitch was fine. The score was achievable playing in the second innings and at half time we were pretty comfortable. I must say the batting was below standards, considering the experience," said Fleming on Saturday. — Agencies

BRIEFLY

Chhetri denied visa to travel to Singapore
New Delhi: Indian football captain Sunil Chhetri and his Churchill Brothers team-mate Balal Arezou from Afghanistan have been denied visas to travel to Singapore to play against that county's club Warriors FC in an AFC Cup match.

A team official said that Chhetri, Arezou and club chairman Churchill Alemao have been denied visas by the Singapore Consulate in Mumbai for the Goan side's AFC Cup match in Singapore scheduled for April 10. "On Friday the club got a letter from Singapore Consulate in Mumbai that Chhetri, Arezou and Alemao will not be granted visas to travel to Singapore. The consulate gave no reason for the rejection. The players and Alemao will re-apply again," the official said.

Balotelli fined for smoking in train toilet
Milan: AC Milan’s maverick forward Mario Balotelli was caught smoking in the toilet on the train during the team’s journey to Florence and will be fined, chief executive Adriano Galliani said on Sunday. Balotelli was ticked off by the train guard who told Galliani: “You need to pull his ears. He was smoking in the bathroom,” Gazzetta dello Sport reported. Smoking is banned on Italian trains. “I want to say that we’re going to fine him,” Galliani told the newspaper.

Balotelli has scored seven goals in eight appearances and has managed to stay out of trouble since joining the club in January from Manchester City.

Some upsets favourites to win Paris marathon
Paris: Peter Some recorded a surprise victory in the Paris marathon on Sunday, the Kenyan clocking two hours, five minutes and 38 seconds to beat Ethiopian favourite Tadese Tola and compatriot Eric Ndiema by almost a minute in chilly conditions. There was joy for Ethiopia in the women’s race, however, when Boru Tadese set a new course record of 2:21:05.

Odafe hatrick ends Sporting's unbeaten run
Mapusa (Goa): Odafe Okolie scored a hatrick as Mohun Bagan thrashed Sporting Clube de Goa 5-1 to end their unbeaten run, in the 23rd round of the I-League played at the Duler Stadium here today. After a barren first half, Bagan, who enjoyed numerical advantage in the second half after Sporting's striker Dawson Fernandes was sent off for his second bookable offence, scored through Odafe (52nd, 82nd, 90th) and Tolgay Ozbey (73rd, 80th). Kalu Ogba scored for Sporting in the 76th minute. Bagan now have to 21 points from 19 matches. — Agencies