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Faulkner, Watto sink Sunrisers
Shane Watson congratulates teammate after 8-wkt win over Sunrisers Hyderabad on Saturday. PTI
IPL play-offs shifted to Delhi
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Dwayne Smith hits a shot in Mumbai on Saturday.
— PTI
India Open bereft of Indians in the final
leg
Sania and Bethanie Mattek-Sands enter Stuttgart WTA semis
Man City dethroned but not
disheartened
Sindhu seeded top in Malaysia Grand Prix
Bangladesh in full control
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Faulkner, Watto sink Sunrisers
JAIPUR, APRIL 27 Chasing a modest 145-run target, the hosts romped home with 2.1 overs to spare as Watson scored a 53-ball 98, laced with 13 fours and four sixes. Hyderabad had overcome a disastrous start to post 144 for nine after Caribbean batsman Darren Sammy played a heroic 60-run knock and shared a crucial 58-run stand with Amit Mishra (21) for the seventh wicket.Rajasthan left-arm paceman James Faulkner (5/20) stood out with a five-for after Hyderabad elected to bat. The hosts lost Ajinkya Rahane (1) and were cautious till the half-way mark as they reached 53 for one in 10 overs. However, Watson opened his arms to good effects after that and sent Hyderabad bowlers to a leather hunt. It all started in the 11th over when both Watson and skipper Rahul Dravid hit spinner Amit Mishra for a six each, collecting 17 runs from the 11th over. Dravid however, could not last long as he holed out to deep mid-wicket while attempting to send a Thisra Perera delivery out of the park. Dravid scored a 35-ball 36. Rajasthan needed 64 runs after Dravid's dismissal and Watson scored 56 of them. The burly Australian hammered paceman Ishant Sharma for three fours and then closed the 15th over with a massive six over long-on, collecting 20 runs for his side. The onslaught continued and the next victim of Watson's fury was Perera, who was hit for three boundaries, including a six. These two overs turned the tide in the favour of the hosts as Hyderabad seemed to have made a fight out of it. Earlier, a fine 41-ball 60 from Darren Sammy rescued Hyderabad from a batting disaster. The Sunrisers were looking down the barrel as they were reduced to 29 for six in the seventh over with Faulkner and Ajit Chandila (2/13) ripping through the visiting top-order. We had no answer to Watson's onslaught: Sammy
Darren Sammy refused suggestions that Surisers Hyderabad were outplayed by Rajasthan Royals but admitted that they had no answer to the onslaught by Shane Watson. "I think we did a good job by reaching 144 and had chances but Shane Watson batted beautifully and his 98 run unbeaten weighed on us. He is a class player in any form of cricket. He smashed the ball to all parts of ground. We had no answer to his onslaught," Sammy said. “But I think that our bowlers could have bowled better to him by not providing him the width and length to hit." However, he said his side did well to wriggle out of tough situation and post a fighting total. “We did a wonderful job by reaching 144 after being reduced to 29/6. We were in the match till Watson took it away from us.”
— PTI Scoreboard
Sunrisers Hyderabad Reddy c Watson b Chandila 2 Dhawan c Rahane b Faulkner 0 Sanga c Watson b Faulkner 4 Vihari c Yagnik b Cooper 4 Sharma c Hodge b Faulkner 6 Perera c Cooper b Chandila 4 Sammy lbw b Faulkner 60 Mishra c Cooper b Faulkner 21 Reddy c Rahane b Binny 14 Steyn not out 18 Ishant not out 0 Extras:
11 Total: (9 wkts in 20 ovs) 144 Fall of wickets:
1-2, 2-6, 3-7, 4-15, 5-19, 6-29, 7-87, 8-114, 9-127 Bowling Chandila 3-0-13-2 Faulkner 4-0-20-5 Watson 2-0-16-0 Cooper 4-0-42-1 Trivedi 3-0-26-0 Binny 4-0-25-1 Rajasthan Royals Dravid c Vihari b Perera 36 Rahane c Sanga b Steyn 1 Watson not out 98 Binny not out 9 Extras:
2 Total (2 wkts in 17.5 ovs) 146 Fall of wickets:
1-7, 2-81 Bowling Steyn 4-1-15-1 Ishant 3-0-35-0 Perera 4-0-34-1 Sammy 3-0-17-0 Mishra 2-0-20-0 Sharma 1.5-0-24-0 |
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IPL play-offs shifted to Delhi
Kolkata, APRIL 27 The first Qualifier was originally scheduled at the Chepauk on May 21 and the Eliminator on the following day. The matches will now be held on the same dates at Kotla. According to sources, Bangalore and Pune were also in the reckoning but the Governing Council opted for Delhi as the venue for the two matches. The Governing Council had felt that the state government's views on whether they would re-consider their stand on Sri Lankan players should be taken into account before taking a final decision. The IPL had written to the state government for their views on whether they would allow the Sri Lankans to take part in these two matches.
— PTI |
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Mumbai Indians throttle Gayle and Co; win at home
MUMBAI, APRIL 27 Gayle, opening with Tillakaratne Dilshan, began well, striking the fourth ball he faced, from Mitchell Johnson, for six over midwicket. But he slowed down, or was made to slow down by Lasith Malinga, who hit the big West Indian on the shoulder with a quick bouncer in the fourth over. Gayle did hit Johnson for two fours in the next over, but the fall of Dilshan, caught by Johnson at third man off Dhawal Kulkarni, forced Gayle to become more cautious. When Harbhajan Singh was introduced into the attack in the seventh over, Gayle was defensive and tried to take only singles. But off the fifth ball, Gayle could not resist attempting a big hit but could not time it well. The ball went high towards wide long-on and Ambati Rayudu, back-pedalling dangerously towards the boundary as he tried to position himself under the ball, managed to take the catch cleanly. Gayle down for 18 off 20 balls, and after seven overs RCB were 38/2, the required run rate already over 12 an over. Possible to achieve, but it would have stretched the powers of the two men at crease, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. Both of them were consumed by Kulkarni in the next over, and it was all over for RCB. It was now 43/4 and only a miracle could have taken RCB to a victory. But wickets fell in quick succession after that too, and RCB managed to reach 136 only due to the efforts of Saurabh Tiwary (21), Ravi Rampaul (22) and Vinay Kumar (26) Kulkarni finished with three for 19. Earlier, after batting first, Mumbai were propelled by fine knocks from opener Dwayne Smith (50 off 36 balls, 5x4, 3x6), Karthik (42 off 33b, 3x4, 1x6) and a fiery 34 by Kieron Pollard.
Scoreboard Mumbai Indians Smith b S Mohammad 50 Tendulkar lbw b Singh 23 Karthik run out 42 Sharma run out 10 Pollard c Rampaul b V Kumar 34 Rayudu run out 0 Harbhajan c Tiwary b Rampaul 16 Johnson not out 9 Malinga not out 0 Extras: 10 Total: (7 wkts;20 ovs) 194 Fall of wickets: 1-29, 2-97, 3-118, 4-169, 5-169, 6-169, 7-187 Bowling Rampaul 4-0-35-1 RP Singh 4-0-39-1 Unadkat 4-0-32-0 Vinay Kumar 4-0-38-1 Syed Mohammad 4-0-43-1 RC Bangalore Gayle c Rayudu b Harbhajan 18 Dilshan c Johnson b Kulkarni 13 Kohli c Karthik b Kulkarni 1 de Villiers c Karthik b Kulkarni 2 Tiwary c Harbhajan b Smith 21 Arun st Karthik b Harbhajan 12 Mohammad c Johnson b Smith 9 Rampaul not out 23 Vinay not out 26 Extras: 11 Total (7 wickets; 20 overs) 136 Fall of wickets: 1-35,2-37, 3-39, 4-43, 5-67, 6-83,7-85 Bowling Johnson 4-0-27-0 Malinga 4-0-25-0 Kulkarni 4-0-19-3 Harbhajan 4-0-21-2 Smith 2-0-20-2 Pollard 2-0-19-0
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India Open bereft of Indians in the final
leg
In the title matches tomorrow, Ratchanok will meet second Juliane Schnek of Germany while Kenichi Tago will clash against top seed Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia. Schnek disposed of Aprilla Yuswandari of Indonesia 21-18,21-18 while Wei got the better of Boonsak Ponsana 21-11,18-21,21-8. There was a vast gulf in the talent between Sindhu and Ratchanok, as the latter, despite being handicapped in height, possessed a whiplash smash and deceptive net games to unsettle the Indian. Sindhu’s brief moment of glory was when she led 3-2, 6-3 and 9-6 in the first game. From then on, the Thai girl started getting her smashes right to catch up with Sindhu at 9-all, and then moved ahead with some quick points to lead 17-11, before Sindhu got her last point of the game. Ratchanok then added four points in a row to wrest the game, Sindhu just could not read the trajectory of the bird in flight, when it was released by the Thai in an high-velocity action. In the second game, Sindhu was reduced to a glorified spectator as after 1-1 and 2-4, she got her third point only after Ratchanok ran up five points in one go. The Thai fumbled a bit after she ran up a 16-3 lead, when she slammed wide and into the net to allow Sidhu take three more points. After that, she tightened the noose on Sidhu by garnering the final five points on trot to seal the game and the match. “I did not play well today. I gave away too many easy points in the first game, and in the second, the gulf in the lead was too big”, Sindhu said. Anand Pawar need not be slighted by the defeat as he lost to a better-ranked, better-skilled player, though he had his share of highs too. For, in both the games, he enjoyed early leads when he led 5-3 and 8-6 in the first game and 2-0 in the second. But Tago had a better all-court game, as his smashes, back hand flips and net drops had the winning touch. And he also had a compact defence which prevented Pawar from cashing in on his flat smashes, though that was also the down side of his game. He mostly relied on his powerful flat hits as his net game had grey areas. He was foxed at the net quite often, and he fumbled too, to give away a few soft points. Yet, the balding youngster kept the goodly crowd enthused with his energetic game as he maintained the tempo till the end, even when he knew that the match was slipping beyond his reach. In the first game, Pawar led 2-0, 5-3 and 8-6 but his own error allowed Tago to tie the score 8-all, who then he forged ahead to lead 18-12. Though Pawar fought back to narrow the lead 16-19, Tago reeled off three points in a row to lift the game. In the second game, after locking 3-3, Tago unleashed a powerful, angular smash to move up, and never looked back, winning points with a series of smashes. Pawar’s resistance wilted when the Japanese stepped up the pressure and it was all over bar shouting for the Indian when he hit a net block to gift the match point. Pawar said he should have done better home work while playing against an intelligent shuttler like Tago, who used the slow bird to his advantage.
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Sania and Bethanie Mattek-Sands enter Stuttgart WTA semis
Stuttgart, APRIL 27 Bethanie is also enjoying a great run in the singles event where she faces Li Na of China in the semifinals. The American defeated local hope Sabine Lisicki 6-4, 6-2 in the quarterfinals. "I played Sabine last year at the French Open and she's been playing well again this year," Mattek-Sands was quoted as saying by WTA website. "She's had some good results and has a lot of confidence. I knew I had to play well. "I had some good support out there from the crowd, even though I was playing a German girl - and I'm looking forward to the same tomorrow. To be in the semis after coming back from match point down in the qualifying is a pretty good feeling, and obviously beating Sara yesterday was a great win for me. "This has definitely been one of the best weeks of my career." Nadal does double duty to reach Barcelona Open semis
Rafael Nadal continued to re-establish his impeccable clay credentials as the seven-time champion scored two victories Friday to reach the semi-finals of the Barcelona Open. Due to rain on Thursday which wiped out much of the programme, the second seed did double duty in both the third round and quarter-finals, defeating Frenchman Benoit Paire 7-6 (7/2), 6-2 in the morning and following up with a more substantial victory over Spanish compatriot Albert Ramos 6-3, 6-0 in late afternoon. Ramos had booked his place against Nadal by putting out Japanese sixth seed Kei Nishikori 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) in a delayed third-round match. Nadal will play a Saturday semi-final against Canadian fifth seed Milos Raonic, who beat Ernests Gulbis 6-2, 7-6 (8/6) and followed up by winning a hard-fought battle with Spanish veteran Tommy Robredo 6-7 (5/7), 6-3, 7-6 (7/2) in almost two and a half hours. Nadal has won seven of the last eight editions at the Real Club de Tennis. The Spaniard appeared to be well on the road to recovery after his loss in Monte Carlo.
— PTI |
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Man City dethroned but not disheartened
London, April 27 A well-worked passing move led to Sergio Aguero's first-half opener and Yaya Toure sent an unstoppable shot into the corner of the net from just outside the box late on. Second-placed City, who lost their title to Manchester United on Monday, took a large step to securing an automatic Champions League berth with four games remaining. City sit nine points ahead of fourth-placed Chelsea, who occupy the Champions League playoff spot and have five games left starting with Sunday's home match against Swansea City. Roberto Mancini's side, which is gearing up for the FA Cup final against Wigan on May 11, dominated the early stages and Aguero hit a post with a scuffed shot before making the 28th-min breakthrough. The goal meant City equalled an 83-year-old club record of scoring in a 48th consecutive home league game. — Reuters
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Sindhu seeded top in Malaysia Grand Prix
PV Sindhu has been given the top billing in the women's singles event at the Malaysia Grand Prix Gold 2013 starting in Kuala Lumpur from April 30. Sindhu, ranked 15th in the world, faces Chen Jiayuan of Singapore in the first round of the tournament to played at the Supka Indoor Stadium from April 30 to May 4.Other Indians in the women's main draw are P C Thulasi, Arundhati Pantawane and Tanvi Lad. Mudra Dhainje, Rituparna Das and G Ruthvika Shivani will feature in the qualifying
round. Meanwhile, R M V Gurusaidutt, who lost in quarterfinals of the Indian Open, has been seeded eleventh in the men's singles of the USD 120,000 competition. He takes on Chao Huang of Singapore in the opening round. H S Prannoy runs into fifth seed Tomy Sugiarto of Indonesia in the opening round. Other Indians are Sameer Verma, Abhimanyu Singh, Oscar Bansal and K Srikanth.
— PTI |
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Australian all-rounder Shane Watson missed out on his second hundred by two runs but his blazing unbeaten half-century powered Rajasthan Royals to a thumping eight-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in their domestic T20 league match.
Chasing a modest 145-run target, the hosts romped home with 2.1 overs to spare as Watson scored a 53-ball 98, laced with 13 fours and four sixes.
NEW DELHI, APRIL 27
