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Stunning victory for Royals
I have not seen this kind of cricket, says Gambhir
Part salaries of shooting coaches cleared by SAI
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Fire incident: Disaster
management authority's notice to DDCA
Smith leads Chennai’s charge against Daredevils
Dilbag set to lose state honour for dope taint
Oz, England real culprits: Mani
Jwala is tougher now: Ponnappa
‘I often think of quitting, but still have a few aims’
Real title chances hit by home draw
Li Na, Radwanska safely through in Madrid Open
Suarez wins Footballer of the Year award
Holmes completes long road back to top
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Stunning victory for Royals
Ahmedabad, May 5 Chasing a victory target of 171, KKR were sailing along at 121 for no loss with Gautam Gambhir (54) and Robin Uthappa (65) cruising along before losing an incredible six wickets for the addition of just two runs in a space of nine deliveries (eight legal ones). Shane Watson (3/21) and Pravin Tambe (3/26), including a hat-trick, scripted a remarkable collapse which the jam-packed Motera will remember for a long time to come. The Shah Rukh Khan co-owned outfit never recovered from that telling blow as they were restricted to 160 for six in the stipulated 20 overs, losing their fifth game in the tournament. With a defeat like this, it will be very difficult for KKR to make a comeback. Rajasthan with 10 points from seven games stay firmly in contention for a semifinal berth. It was a complete harakiri by the KKR batsmen as they snatched defeat from the jaws of victory with some mindless batting. Watson scripted the turnaround at the start of the 15th over. Gambhir tried to loft him over extra cover but only got a thickish edge which was pouched by Sanju Samson. With the third ball of the over, Uthappa, who was in a belligerent mood, flicked one straight down Rajat Bhatia's throat. After a gap of another delivery Watson bowled a perfect leg-cutter to send Andre Russell’s (0) middle-stump cartwheeling. Suddenly from 121 for no loss, KKR slumped to 122 for three but the drama was far from over. The 43-year-old Tambe then pulled the rabbit out of the hat as he first bowled a wide googly which fooled Manish Pandey (0), who was stumped wide down leg-side. Yusuf Pathan (0), who has forgotten when he last played a good knock, gave a simple return catch to Tambe. The wily old fox completed his hat-trick when his flipper found Ryan ten Doeschate (0) plumb LBW in-front as KKR were now down in the dumps at 123 for six. It was as good as over for them at that point. Watson kept his cool as he bowled a brilliant final over when 17 runs were required giving away only six runs. — PTI Scoreboard Rajasthan Royals Rahane run out (Narine) 30 (22) Nair st Uthappa b Shakib 44 (35) Samson c Pandey b Narine 37 (31) Watson c Yadav b Narine 31 (20) Binny c ten Doeschate b Vinay 11 (9) Smith c Yadav b Vinay 3 (2) Faulkner not out 1 (1) Bhatia not out 6 (1) Extras (LB-3, W-3, NB-1) 7 Total (6 wkts; 20 overs) 170 Fall of wickets: 1-52, 2-105, 3-136, 4-153, 5-163, 6-163 Bowling Vinay 4-0-42-2 Umesh 3-0-31-0 Shakib 4-0-25-1 Narine 4-0-28-2 Russell 3-0-27-0 ten Doeschate 2-0-14-0 Kolkata Knight Riders Uthappa c Bhatia b Watson 65 (52) Gambhir c Samson b Watson 54 (34) Russell b Watson 1 ( 3) Pandey st Samson b Tambe 0 (0) Shakib not out 21 (14) Pathan c & b Tambe 0 (1) ten Doeschate lbw b Tambe 0 (1) Yadav not out 9 (17) Extras (lb 5, w 3, nb 2) 10 Total (6 wkts; 20 ovs) 160 Fall of wickets: 1-121 2-122 3-122 4-123 5-123 6-123 Bowling Watson 4-0-21-3 Southee 3-0-33-0 Tambe 4-0-26-3 Faulkner 4-0-27-0 Bhatia 3-0-30-0 Tewatia 2-0-18-0 MoM: Pravin Tambe
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I have not seen this kind of cricket, says Gambhir
Ahmedabad, May 5 “It's a hard pill to swallow. I have not seen this kind of cricket,” Gambhir said after the match. “We have to move on. We still have eight games left. We still need to work on bowling as apart from Sunil Narine and Shakib Al Hasan, others need to take the responsibility,” he said. Rajasthan captain Shane Watson praised hat-trick man Pravin Tambe for his fine bowling show. “It was a nice way to close out a game. That's what we talk about in our team set up. PT (Tambe) just keeps going and going, getting big batsmen out all the time. He deserves a pay rise and he is making my life easier for sure,” he said. Asked about his three-wicket burst in the same over — 15th — which opened the floodgates for his side, Watson said, "Definitely, few things went my way in that over. Had not had much of an impact with the ball, so it was good to get those wickets.” Man-of-the-Match Tambe, who also took the purple cap for becoming the highest wicket-taker, said, "The confidence the team gives me, I will never forget. This was my first hat-trick. At this level you have to keep the energy throughout.” — PTI Today’s match MI vs RCB Live on Sony Six (8pm)
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Part salaries of shooting coaches cleared by SAI
New Delhi, May 5 An official of the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) confirmed today that the NRAI has got a letter from SAI, in which they have been intimated that the SAI Sonepat centre has been asked to release funds for the salaries of the coaches. The salaries of 21 coaches (three others are paid directly by the SAI) for the months of February, March and April have been released. For the six chief coaches, a sum of Rs 1.5 lakh has been released, at Rs 50,000 per month, as decided when the agreement was signed in October 2012. For the 15 assistant coaches, a sum of Rs 90,000 has been released for three months, at the rate of Rs 30,000 per month. SAI director general Jiji Thomson issued the notification in this regard. An NRAI official told The Tribune that the arrears for the shooters would be released before the Commonwealth Games, which will be held in July-August this year. The contracts were signed in October 2012 and the coaches would be paid arrears from then to January 2014. “We have been asked by the SAI to submit a report to them about the arrears for the coaches and have been assured that they would be cleared before the Commonwealth Games,” the official said. Most of the shooting coaches were prepared to skip the preparatory camp this month because of their unpaid dues. Deepali Deshpande, who represented India at the 2004 Athens Olympics and who is now the junior team's chief rifle coach, had decided to skip the camp and was thinking of quitting the job. The coaches had been paid only a fraction of the salaries agreed to, and mental trainer Sanjay Bhambhani had not been paid anything. Deepali had received a sum of only Rs 1.5 lakh for a period of 15 months, and the same sum was paid to Jaspal Rana, the chief coach of the junior pistol team, too. Deepali and the others will now attend the camp.
A final appearance at the Texas Open last month has pushed top squash player Dipika Pallikal (in pic) back to the top-10 of the world rankings. Pallikal gained two places to be No.10 in the Women’s Squash Association rankings, the spot she has reached for the first time in Dec 2012. “It is obviously a good feeling when you climb up the rankings. I have to be consistent now and try to get into the top five and eventually be the No. 1,” Pallikal said. |
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Fire incident: Disaster
management authority's notice to DDCA
New Delhi, May 5 In the notice, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) has directed Chetan Chauhan, Venue Operations Manager and Vice-President of DDCA to personally appear before it to explain the “reasons” for “lapses” and asked why punitive action would not be taken against the cricket association for non-compliance of an previous order to put in place safety norms during IPL matches. The notice mentioned about a fire incident at the stadium on Saturday evening during the IPL match between Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Daredevils and asked Chauhan to submit an action taken report regarding preparedness of DDCA regarding disaster management. When contacted Chauhan said he has not received any notice from DDMA. He said someone had put a cigarette on a pile of empty cartons which resulted in the fire last evening. “Till evening, I have not got any notice. If there is any notice from them, we will certainly comply with all the safety precaution required. We have decided not to allow accumulation of empty food cartoons left by the spectators,” Chauhan said. The DDMA said it will not compromise on safety of thousands of spectators. The notice, signed by DDMA's Central District CEO Rajnish Singh, said non-compliance of direction will be viewed seriously under Disaster Management Act, 2005 and punitive action will be taken as per provisions. The DDMA said an inspection was carried out on Saturday evening and it was found that DDCA had not complied with the earlier orders to address shortcomings detected during an inspection on May 2 and called it as a case of “clear negligence” on the part of DDCA. The DDMA said specific instructions were issued to DDCA on April 24 and 25 to put in place specific fire safety measures. The DDMA said the fire took place on the backside of Feroz Shah Kotla stadium at 11:25 PM and prima facie it seemed that fire occurred due to lack of management from DDCA side. “It was further noticed that total five drums containing diesel were lying in open near the place where said fire incident took place which made it more vulnerable to fire disaster and it could have increased the extent of disaster if fire would have spread to these diesel drums.” — PTI |
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Smith leads Chennai’s charge against Daredevils
New Delhi, May 5 With the spot-fixing controversy looming large, the real challenge faced by CSK was to restore the credibility of the franchise more than just winning the trophy for the third time. So when the 'Yellow Brigade' started their campaign in the ongoing season with a relatively 'new-look squad', they looked like a team on a mission. And that winning attitude reflected in their approach when they took on the Delhi Daredevils at the Feroze Shah Kotla stadium today. The fact that they have got off to a flying start in this edition spells doom for the other franchises. Much of the credit goes to the flying starts provided by their openers Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Smith. So it did not come as a surprise when the two batsmen took the Delhi bowlers to the cleaners. The two displayed their array of strokes to put up an 82-run stand in just 11.2 overs. McCullum scored 32 before he was caught at long-on off Laxmi Ratna Shukla. Scoreboard Delhi Daredevils de Kock run out (Raina/Sharma) 24 (16) Vijay c du Plessis b Jadeja 35 (30) Pietersen b Sharma 0 (1) Karthik c Sharma b Hilfenhaus 51 (36) Shukla c Pandey b Ashwin 0 (2) Duminy not out 28 (17) Jadhav not out 29 (18) Extras (lb 6, w 5) 11 Total (5 wickets; 20 overs) 178 Fall of wickets: 1-36 2-37 3-108 4-119 5-120 Bowling Hilfenhaus 4-0-34-1 Pandey 3-1-26-0 Sharma 4-0-51-1 Jadeja 4-0-23-1 Ashwin 4-0-29-1 Smith 1-0-9-0 Kolkata Knight Riders Smith c Vijay b Parnell 79 (51) McCullum c Vijay b Shukla 32 (35) Raina not out 47 (27) Dhoni not out 12 (5) Extras (b 4, lb 5, w 2) 11 Total (6 wkts; 20 ovs) 160 Fall of wickets: 1-82 2-168 Bowling Shami 4-0-42-0 Parnell 4-0-25-1 Unadkat 3.4-0-47-0 Nadeem 4-0-27-0 Shukla 4-0-31-1 MoM: Dwayne Smith
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Dilbag set to lose state honour for dope taint
New Delhi, May 5 Dilbag, a former Commonwealth Championships gold medallist and a multiple-time national champion, flunked the test after clinching a gold in the 2011 Jharkhand National Games. Dilbag had received Rs 3 lakh from the Haryana government for this medal. The welterweight boxer was presented Haryana’s state honour — the Bhim award — earlier his year, despite being ineligible for the honour due to his dope taint. In reply to an RTI query, the State Public Information Officer and Deputy Director Sports of the Haryana Department of Sports and Youth Affairs, SK Goyal, said the process to take back the award from the boxer has been initiated. “NADA (National Anti-Doping Agency) has informed on 07-02-2014 that a period of one year ineligibility from competing in sports events with effect from 24-02-2011 to 23-02-2012. Matter is under process by the Sports Department for withdrawing his Bhim Award,” Goyal stated in the reply. The inquiry into Dilbag's credentials was launched after reports of him being dope-tainted appeared on the day he was bestowed the award. — PTI
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Oz, England real culprits: Mani
New Delhi, May 5 In an interview to a Pakistan portal, Mani said, “It really does not matter whether it’s Pakistan or any other country that accepts this situation, the whole principle is wrong. My position would have been the same even if Pakistan was part of the initiative in the first place or had been part of ‘Big 4’. Simply speaking, what is being proposed is bad for cricket. “The whole governance structure of ICC has taken a huge step backwards. In the rest of the world and certainly in every developed economy such as the UK or Australia or New Zealand or for that matter even in India or Pakistan, corporate governance demands transparency in decision making processes and in the way moneys are earned and revenues accounted for. What is being proposed by the ‘Big 3’ lacks total transparency and is being mooted by people who have personal vested interests or who have conflict of interests and are a beneficiary of their own proposals. It is very disquieting as far as I am concerned and also for governance of world cricket for this to be pushed through.” He was severly critical on Australia and England terming them as ‘real culprits’. “To me, the two members of the ICC – Australia and England – are the real culprits in this situation. What they have done, because of their own self interest and in order not to upset India, is to impose standards of governance on the ICC which they themselves would not apply to their own organizations. If you were to compare the governance standards that the ICC has in place today with what these boards have, you would find a huge difference. So, it’s clear to me that the ECB and CA bear the most responsibility as to where cricket will find itself today,” he added. Mani sees hypocrisy in BCCI’s decision to hold IPL in UAE. “It shows the hypocrisy of the BCCI, who for years said that they would not play in the UAE. They came up with all sorts of reasons such as corruption for not playing Pakistan whilst blaming their government for not allowing their team to travel to Pakistan.” — Agencies
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Jwala is tougher now: Ponnappa
New Delhi, May 5 India’s ace doubles shuttler Jwala Gutta went through a torrid time when the disciplinary committee of the Badminton Association of India recommended a life ban on her for delaying a match in the Indian Badminton League (IBL) more than six months ago. She was not considered for selection by the BAI for any national or international tournament inside or outside the country after the episode. But after Jwala and BAI decided to bury the hatchet and reached a truce in December last, the 30-year-old feisty Hyderabadi shuttler rose like a phoenix to prove her critics wrong. The indomitable duo of Jwala and Ashwini Ponnappa won the women’s doubles bronze in the Asian Badminton Championship in Korea last month, another historic high for Jwala after her World Championship bronze in 2011. Ponnappa, who reunited with Jwala after a sabbatical at the Demark Open last year and one who saw her playing partner break down in tears many times due to the indifferent attitude of BAI, still couldn’t believe how badly the national federation treated her senior pro. “No matter how strong a person is, going through something like that is very difficult. I believe whatever happened to her was something which would never get erased from her memory. It was a life ban,” Ponnappa said. “It would always be there, in the back of her mind. I know Jwala, she is a very strong person, but no matter how strong you are, something like that is really bad and I don’t think any sportsperson should go through such a phase. When we went into the Asian Championship, she seemed very confident and strong. She focused on giving her best and the result is in front of you, we won the bronze medal,” added Ponnappa. The successful pair separated after Jwala decided to take a sabbatical following the London Olympics in 2012. Ponnappa played with Pradnya Gadre for close to a year before joining hands with Jwala once again. Boost for CWG
Ponnappa said the Asian Championship bronze came at the right time for the duo as it will act as a great confidence booster ahead of the Uber Cup Finals and Commonwealth Games. “It was an important win. There are lots of important tournaments lined up this year like CWG and Asian Games. We have Uber Cup Finals in India starting this month. So, this win will act as a confidence booster for us,” she said. “We have started playing together again and we would look to repeat our gold medal winning performance from the 2010 CWG at Glasgow this year,” she added. Talking about the chances of the women’s team in the Uber Cup, Ponnappa said, “We have a very good chance, but at the same time, it’s really important that on the match day, we gel together as a team and give our best. Reaching the quarters is a realistic target. We are capitalizing on the fact that it’s happening in Delhi, so the home advantage would be there,” she said. Indian women have managed to qualify for the tournament proper for only the second time in over four decades and reaching the quarters would be in the realm of possibility given the fact that India now boast of two singles players — Saina Nehwal and P V Sindhu — who are among the top-10. |
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‘I often think of quitting, but still have a few aims’
New Delhi, May 5 Ahead of the trials for the Commonwealth Games, the mother of three from Manipur, who was christened ‘Magnificent Mary’ by the International Boxing Association (AIBA), spoke about her career and the future. “I do think of quitting and one day I have to retire. But I have still not fulfilled some of my aims,” Kom said. “I always wanted a gold in the Olympics and I want to achieve that. But I do think that it would boil down to my performance. If it slips than I will not continue. I am setting short term goals. Only if I feel I am up to it, I would go,” said the 31-year-old. She is back in the ring after a one-year sabbatical following the birth of her third child and the Manipuri has no hesitation in admitting that it is difficult to stage comebacks. “I have been training for one month. It was tough to pull myself up but I have always motivated myself to toughen up.” Mary Kom last took a sabbatical in 2008 after winning her third world title and came back brilliantly to clinch her fourth gold medal at the mega-event. “It hurts when people question my ability after every break. If I feel I am not good enough, I will quit. I don’t need to be told. This hurts,” she said. But sceptics would point out that she faces competition from much younger athletes. “In a way it is motivating and I feel it becomes a challenge. I just give my best. If I don’t have the passion than it would be difficult.” “I hope they (the competition) are stronger than me. But I have experience. If I get the time to train well then even now no one can match up to me. This is my confidence,” she added. — PTI
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Real title chances hit by home draw
Madrid, May 5 A Real win would have put them level on 85 points with second-placed Barca, who drew 2-2 at Getafe on Saturday, with a game in hand but they stayed third on 83 points with three games left. Atletico, who like Barca have two matches remaining including the meeting between the teams at the Nou Camp on the final day of the season, are top on 88 points after they lost 2-0 at Levante earlier on Sunday. “I am proud of the team, we tried every way we could and their best player was their goalkeeper,” Atletico captain Gabi said. “We can’t make a drama out of it because we are still in the privileged position of having our destiny in our own hands. “If we win our two remaining games we are champions.” Valencia took a surprise lead in the 44th minute at the Bernabeu when Jeremy Mathieu nodded in a Dani Parejo corner before Sergio Ramos levelled with another header in the 59th. Parejo, a former Real player, smashed in a loose ball to restore the visitors’ lead six minutes later as Valencia looked to become the first team to win at both Real and Barca in the same season since Real Mallorca in 2002-03. But Ronaldo produced a brilliant piece of skill to volley in Angel Di Maria’s centre in the second minute of added time and salvage a point for the home side. “I already said that this league would be decided in the last few matches and that’s how’s it going to be,” he told a news conference. “It was a tough weekend for the leaders and now it’s more open than ever,” added the Italian, in his first season in charge after taking over from Jose Mourinho. — Reuters
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Li Na, Radwanska safely through in Madrid Open
Madrid, May 5 The world No. 2 raced through the opening set, but was forced to save two set points in the second before closing out the match in a tie-break. “I knew it would never be an easy match and even when I won the first set, she was really fighting a lot in the second,” said the Chinese star. Next up for Li is a meeting with compatriot Jie Zheng in round two. “We are from the same country, we know each other well so I’m sure it will be tough,” she added. Number three seed Agnieszka Radwanska also sealed her place in the last 32 with a 7-6(3) 6-2 win over Australian Open semifinalist Eugenie Bouchard. The Canadian put up a strong fight in a tightly contested opening set, but Radwanska’s variety of shot-making allowed her to comfortably take the tie-break. “Of course I think the tiebreak was the biggest key in that match,” admitted Radwanska. “I made a couple good shots in the tiebreak and managed to win that. I think that gave me more confidence in the second set and it was a little bit easier.” The Pole took complete control in the second with an early double break and served the match out to set up a second round clash with Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova. Australian Open finalist Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia became the first seed to fall on Monday, as she was comprehensively beaten 6-3 6-0 by 2011 US Open champion Sam Stosur of Australia. It was smooth sailing for the seeds on the men’s side as Kei Nishikori, John Isner and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga all secured their passage into round two. Japan’s Nishikori kept his recent fine form going after winning the Barcelona Open last week with a 6-4 6-4 win over Croatian Ivan Dodig to set up a meeting with Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in the second round. Ninth seed Isner was characteristically solid on serve as the American wasn’t broken in his 7-6(8) 6-4 win over Russia’s Teymuraz Gabashvili. Tsonga faced a stiffer test against fellow Frenchman Edouard Roger-Vasselin, but also came through in three sets 6-3 4-6 6-3. Murray ponders hiring McEnroe as coach
Wimbledon champion Andy Murray would consider hiring seven-times grand slam winner John McEnroe as his coach, saying the controversial American would have plenty to offer his game. World No. 8 Murray, playing this week at the Madrid Masters, has been without a coach since he split from Ivan Lendl in March. “Every player would consider someone with his credentials,” the 26-year-old Scot said. — Agencies |
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Suarez wins Footballer of the Year award
London, May 5 The prestigious honour completes an award double after he was named the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) player of the year last month. The 27-year-old Uruguayan finished ahead of team mate Steven Gerrard and Yaya Toure of Manchester City in the poll of England’s football writers and the honour follows an astonishing turnaround for Suarez who began this season serving the remainder of a 10-match ban imposed for biting Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic last April. Although he missed the first five games of the season, the controversial striker is the Premier League’s top scorer this season with 30 goals with two matches remaining. Suarez polled 52 per cent of the vote of around 300 members. Last year he polled two votes. — Reuters
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Holmes completes long road back to top
Charlotte (N. Carolina), May 5 Holmes broke clear with three birdies in four holes around the turn, before limping home with two late bogeys to clinch a one-stroke victory over fellow American Jim Furyk at Quail Hollow. “This is a big win for me. It’s been a long road,” an emotional Holmes said after sinking a three-foot bogey putt at the last to shoot 71 and finish at 14-under 274. Furyk fired a 65 for second place, while Martin Flores (72) bogeyed the last to finish two strokes behind. Five-time major winner Phil Mickelson, who surged into contention with a third round 63, was not a factor with a 76 to tie for 11th. Holmes collected $1.242 million for his third PGA Tour victory. His two previous wins came in the Arizona desert at the Phoenix Open, in 2006 and 2008. “Since then I’ve had two brain surgeries, broke my ankle, had arm surgery, the list goes on,” said Holmes, 32, who displayed a prized mix of raw power and a deft short game. “I’ve had some ups and downs. To win at a venue like this, with such a good field, I’m ecstatic.” Holmes arrived in Charlotte in good recent form that belied his lowly world ranking of 242 and despite taking the lead into the final round, he tried to downplay the importance of winning, saying that there were more important things in life. At the same time he clearly was moved by his accomplishment after missing the last nine months of 2013 due to ankle and arm problems. Before that, Holmes had brain surgery in 2011 after being diagnosed with Chiari malformation. “It was causing me to be dizzy, really bad headaches,” he said. “I had complications (from the surgery), so they went back in and stitched it up, removed a piece of my skull so the spinal cord can flow through it.” His victory on Sunday was aided by the self-destruction of some of his rivals. Jason Bohn (70) was in the hunt until he pulled a four-iron into the water hazard for a double bogey at the par-three 17th, eventually finishing fourth on 11-under. Englishman Justin Rose (71) pulled his drive into the creek for a double-bogey at the last to finish at 10-under. Mickelson was not a factor after missing a three-foot par putt at the eighth hole, much to the disappointment of a huge gallery that followed him. “I had two great putting days and two horrific ones,” Mickelson said. Holmes, meanwhile, seemed to be cruising when he birdied the par-five 15th to open a three-shot cushion, but a bogey at the difficult 16th was the first chink in his armor. He sank a clutch 10-footer to salvage par at the 17th, only to make a thorough mess of the 18th. Holmes sliced his drive into trouble and then came up 40 yards short of the hole with his recovery. A poor pitch left him 45 feet away, but he managed to two-putt for victory. — Reuters
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Ahmedabad, May
5
Chennai Super Kings' off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin had recently said that like the happenings in the Indian Parliament "don't affect people", the off-field happenings have not impacted the southern franchise.
Australian Open champion Li Na avoided a repeat of her shock first round exit at the Madrid Open last year with a 6-1 7-6(7) win over Belgian Kirsten Flipkens on Monday.
Pallikal back in Top 10
