Hyderabad, may 14
Kings XI Punjab once again showed their batting might as the table-toppers chased down another 200-plus run target to comfortably beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by six wickets in an IPL match in Hyderabad on Wednesday.

Chasing 206 for victory, the Punjab top-order pulled off another run feast — their second 200-pus run chase in this IPL — to canter to their target in 18.4 overs at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.

Punjab batsmen struck from the word go, even after losing Virender Sehwag (4) on the second ball of the innings. Wriddhiman Saha (54 off 26 balls) and Manan Vohra (47) managed a 91-run second-wicket partnership to provide a solid platform for the big chase.

Saha led the assault with the duo getting 20 runs from the sixth over and taking their side to 86 after the powerplays. Saha though ran out of steam when Karn Sharma got him stumped but the leg-spinner's joy was short-lived as Glenn Maxwell came to the crease. The current orange-cap holder belted Karn for three sixes to continue with the momentum.

Vohra was unlucky to be run out while backing off at the non-striker's end but Maxwell got a lucky reprieve when he survived a catch with Amit Mishra bowling a no ball.

In blistering form, Maxwell continued to hit fours and sixes as Punjab reached 150 in double quick time — 156/3 in 12 overs. Mishra finally got his revenge when Maxwell (43 off 22 balls) tried to come down the crease and hit the leggie over long-off only to find Dale Steyn's safe pair of hands.

George Bailey also got a lucky escape when David Warner's stunning catch was not called legitimate by the third umpire. The Punjab skipper probably wanted that bit of luck as the Aussie hit two sixes and two fours in the final Dale Steyn over to make the mountain climb look easy.

Punjab finally won the game with eight balls to spare with Bailey fittingly hitting the winning six off Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

Bailey (35 not out) and Miller 24 (not out) managed an unbeaten 52-run stand to disappoint the home crowd.

Earlier wicketkeeper-batsman Naman Ojha bludgeoned his way to an unbeaten 36-ball 79 as Hyderabad posted 205 for five in 20 overs.

Put into bat on a sunny afternoon, openers Shikhar Dhawan and Aaron Finch started on a cautious note but soon gained momentum at the end of the powerplays.

After a slow but steady start, Dhawan let it rip against Sandeep Sharma in the fifth over, hitting the medium-pacer for 26 runs with four fours and a six.

Off-spinner Shivam Sharma provided the first breakthrough by cleaning up Finch for 20, which ended a 65-run opening stand.

The Aussie opener tried to cut a flattish round-the-wicket delivery from the Delhi youngster that rattled his middle stump.

While new man Naman found form, walloping Shivam for a six over long-on, Shikhar (45) was denied his fifty by Rishi Dhawan.

The southpaw got a sliding delivery on the leg-side, which he tried to whip off his hips only to gift a catch to Shivam at short-fine leg.

Joined in by David Warner, keeper-batsman Naman continued to increase his boundary count by hitting sixes and fours in every over. The hard-hitting Warner too joined in and soon Hyderabad had 200 plus on board. — PTI

Scoreboard

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Finch b Shivam 20 (23)

Dhawan c Shivam b Dhawan 45 (37)

Ojha not out 79 (36)

Warner run out 44 (23)

Henriques c Miller b Sandeep 0 (1)

Pathan c Miller b Dhawan 1 (2)

Sharma not out 1 (1)

Extras (lb 1, w 11, nb 3) 15

Total (5 wickets; 20 overs) 205

Fall of wickets: 1-65, 2-88, 3-169, 4-183, 5-196

Bowling

Sandeep 4-0-65-1

Johnson 4-0-26-0

Shivam 4-0-31-1

Patel 4-0-40-0

Dhawan 4-0-42-2

Kings XI Punjab

Sehwag c & b Kumar 4

Vohra run out 47 (20)

Saha st Ojha b Sharma 54 (26)

Maxwell c Steyn b Mishra 43 (22)

Miller not out 23 (23)

Bailey not out 35 (19)

Extras (lb 3, nb 1) 4

Total (4 wickets; 18.4 overs) 211

Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-95, 3-125, 4-159

Bowling

Kumar 3.4-0-38-1

Steyn 4-0-51-0

Henriques 2-0-36-0

Sharma 4-0-46-1

Mishra 4-0-32-1

Pathan 1-0-5-0

Today’s match

DD vs Rajasthan (8pm)

Live on Sony Six 

Cuttack, May 14
Robin Uthappa was elegance personified during his 52-ball 80 as he powered Kolkata Knight Riders to a convincing six-wicket win over Mumbai Indians in their Indian Premier League match here on Wednesday.

The Knight Riders were off to a brisk start, especially with Uthappa looking in good nick, and he hit a flurry of boundaries to take his side past the 50-run mark in the seventh over.

But just after Uthappa and Gautam Gambhir (14) recorded their fourth consecutive half-century partnership, the KKR skipper inside-edged a Harbhajan Singh onto his stumps.

Thanks to the enterprise displayed by Uthappa —who lofted Pragyan Ojha over long on for a six besides finding the fence three times on either side of the fifth over — the Knight Riders were very much in the game. The Kolkata opener kept the side on track with his fine 80, leaving only formalities for subsequent batsmen.— PTI

Scoreboard

Mumbai Indians

Simmons b Shakib Al Hasan 12(10)

Gautam c Yadav b Morkel 8 (9)

Rayudu c Yadav b Chawla 33(27)

Rohit b Narine 51 (45)

Anderson c Chawla b Morkel 18 (12)

Pollard not out 10(11)

Tare not out 2 (3)

Extras (lb 1, w 5, nb 1) 7

Total (5 wickets; 20 overs) 141

Fall of wickets: 1-12, 2-35, 3-70, 4-115, 5-138

Bowling

Morkel 4-0-35-2

Yadav 3-0-24-0

Shakib 4-0-21-1

Narine 4-0-18-1

Chawla 4-0 -32-1

Pathan 1-0-10-0

Kings XI Punjab

Uthappa b Simmons 80(52)

Gambhir b Harbhajan 14(18)

Pandey b Harbhajan 14 (21)

Pathan not out 20 (13)

Shakib c Rayudu b Malinga 9 (8)

Doeschate not out 0 (0)

Extras (lb 1, w 4) 5

Total (4 wickets; 18.4 overs) 142

Fall of wickets: 1-50, 2-96, 3-116, 4-138

Bowling

Malinga 3.4-0-30-1

Bumrah 3-0-23-0

Harbhajan 4-0-22-2

Ojha 4-0-25-0

Simmons 3-0-34-1

Pollard 1-0-7-0

Ranchi, May 14
The unrecognised Cricket Association of Bihar chief Aditya Verma today asked the BCCI's interim president Sunil Gavaskar to clarify whether N Srinivasan attended an IPL Governing Council meeting despite a Supreme Court order restraining him from participating in any Board activity.

Citing the Supreme Court order, which forced Srinivasan to step aside as BCCI president pending an inquiry into the Indian Premier League spot-fixing and betting scandal, Verma alleged that the Chennai-strongman conducted a secret meeting of the IPL Governing Council in Ranchi.

"Being a petitioner in this matter, I want your clarification regarding Srinivasan staying in Ranchi during the Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals match," Verma said.

"He also arranged a secret meeting with the GC of IPL and management of CSK in Ranchi with the help of the president of Jharkhand State Cricket Association who is a member of the GC of IPL. This is a serious issue and I want to know whether you aware of that meeting?" he asked.

"If you don’t know then you have to take action against the involved persons," he added. — PTI 

New Delhi, May 14
Saina Nehwal, named captain of the Indian team for the Uber Cup, says that she is ready to take up the leadership responsibility in the tournament, which starts on Sunday.

Saina believes that this is the strongest team India has ever fielded in the history of the tournament, adding that she is excited by the prospect of leading it, even though she doesn’t play team events too often.

“We hardly play together as a unit. But while watching others play, if I see them making any mistake, I can always point out and tell that player. I will definitely be tense,” Saina said.

“One also has to concentrate on winning one’s own match. My work is to win my first singles match to set the momentum for the team. As far as the other matches are concerned, it will be interesting to watch how they are playing and cheer them up,” Saina added.

The Indian women will have to contend with Thailand, Canada and Hong Kong in their group.

Saina said that Thailand would be the toughest opponent in the group. The India No. 1 would face world champion Ratchanok Intanon in the first singles against Thailand. “Thailand has a very good team and winning the three singles is not going to be easy. But it will be a fresh day and I hope we can pull that match off,” said Saina.

In the men’s team event, Thomas Cup, India No. 1 Parupalli Kashyap has been named captain. The Indian men have been clubbed with Malaysia, South Korea and Germany. The presence of Malaysia and South Korea makes the task of the Indian men very difficult indeed. India must do well against at least one of these two opponents, according to Kashyap.

“We would have preferred to play Germany initially and then Malaysia and Korea,” Kashyap said. “Nevertheless, we will have to play Malaysia and Korea first. Those two ties are really important. If we can get a good result in one of those ties then we have a chance to go through.”

Kashyap, the winner of a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games, said that he is looking forward to leading the team.

“I will be captaining for the first time. I am happy to be responsible,” he said. “Just to get the energy going, I have spoken to team members a couple of times. We have to be in good spirit from the start.”

“Me, K Srikanth and the first doubles — we will have to get the team going,” he added. “I am sure all of us are doing really well and Srikanth, who will be playing the first singles, will give us a good start all the time.” 

New Delhi, May 14
A fit-again Gurbaj Singh returned to the national team after almost two years while the talented midfielder Jasjeet Singh will be making his international debut with Hockey India (HI) announcing an 18-member squad for the FIH World Cup to be held at the Hague, in the Netherlands, from May 31 to June 15. The squad will be led by mid-fielder Sardar Singh, while fullback Rupinder Pal Singh has been named his deputy.

A total of 33 players, who were selected as the probables for the World Cup two months ago, underwent rigorous training at the preparatory camp held in the Capital. The selection committee comprising B P Govinda, R P Singh, Arjun Halappa, High Performance Director Roelant Oltmans and chief coach Terry Walsh, selected the 18-member squad with seven standbys.

The talented Punjab midfielder Gurbaj Singh played for India last in the London Olympics. The team’s bottom-place finish at the Games resulted in a complete overhaul of the side, with the midfielder being one of the casualties. After spending almost two years in wilderness, the right-half fought his way back into the side with an impressive performance at this year’s Hockey India League for Delhi Daredevils, who won the title this year.

“It’s been tough for me to stay out of the team for almost two years. I kept myself motivated and practised daily to stay in shape. My good performance in the HIL helped me win back my place. I am happy with my selection and would love to see the team do well in the World Cup. We are going with a positive mindset and will look to beat some of the big teams,” Gurbaj told The Tribune after his selection.

Jalandhar-born Jasjit Singh, who is making his India debut, said playing for Uttar Pradesh Wizards in the second edition of the HIL was the “turning point of my life”. “It’s a big breakthrough for me. (Roelant) Oltmans saw the talent in me during his stint as UP Wizards coach. I am looking forward to giving my best at the World Cup. It’s a dream come true for me,” said Jasjit.

Jasjit has a connection with the legendary Sansarpur village, which produced 14 Olympians. All of them came from the same street of the village and bore “Kular” as surname. “My surname is Kular too. My grandfather used to play hockey for the Indian Army. I got hooked to hockey during my school days, but I started pursuing it as a profession in college. I played for Northern Railways in the Senior Nationals for two years. I also received the best player award in 2010 when Khalsa College won the Nehru Cup Hockey tournament. HIL provided me the right kind of exposure. I owe my success to the HIL,” added Jasjit.

The team will leave for the Hague on May 21. India are placed in Pool “A” along with Australia, Belgium, England, Spain and Malaysia.

New Delhi, May 14
The past, present and future of Indian hockey came together for a grand celebration here today. The occasion was to give a send-off to the World Cup-bound Indian team and thank the team that brought glory to the country by winning the World Cup in 1975 in Kuala Lumpur.

Hockey India felicitated the 13 living legends and the families of the three deceased players with a gift of Rs 1.75 lakh each. The wives of late Surjit Singh and Shivaji Pawar and the brother of Mohinder Singh were honoured.

The event also served as the send-off ceremony for the 18-member Indian squad, led by Sardar Singh, for the May 31-June 15 World Cup.

HI started the initiative of felicitating players in 2012, when all the living Olympic gold medallists were presented Rs 2 lakh each.

Today’s function provided a common platform for the 13 living legends to share their experiences with both the senior and junior team players. Some were of the views that honour came too late for them, though they were happy that it did come.

The 13 included captain Ajit Pal Singh and Ashok Kumar, who scored the winning goal against Pakistan in the final. The other team members present were Aslam Sher Khan, Brig. Harcharan Singh, Leslie Fernandez, Varinder Singh, Ashok Diwan, Michael Kindo, B P Govinda, Brig. HJS Chimni, VJ Phillips, Onkar Singh and Kaliah P.E.

HI forgot to honour the deceased coach Gurcharan Singh Bodhi and Balbir Singh Sr, three-time Olympic champion, who was the chief coach and manager of the team. “Of course I am happy today that my boys are being honoured and felicitated, but if I was there and among them, it would have made me more happier,” Balbir Singh said in Chandigarh.

HI Secretary General Narinder Batra said that they would organise another ceremony to honour the coaches and support staff of the 1975 team.

Aslam Sher Khan urged the current team members to play with self-belief and self-confidence in the World Cup.

“I believe the Indian team can finish among top-4 nations. The team has no weakness, it’s just the lack of self-belief. When we used to play, we always aimed for gold medal and bring home the Cup. If you go with that belief at the World Cup, you can even finish on the podium,” said Khan.

Ajit Pal Singh said, “Winning and losing are part of the game. But if you play with the motivation and dedication like the 1975 team, I’m confident you’ll achieve greater results,” he said.

India captain Sardar Singh said he was honoured to lead the team in his second World Cup. “We will give our best to deliver better results in the matches. Each member of the team is confident of performing well and live up to the expectations of everyone,” he said.

Meanwhile, Indian Olympic Association vice-president said that HI should have acknowleged the efforts of then Punjab Chief Minister Giani Zail Singh, due to whose efforts the 1975 team was able to train in Chandigarh. “For your information it was due to the vision and efforts of Giani Zail Singh ji that India could win the World Cup,” he wrote in a letter to Batra. “The entire expense was borne by him. He personally supervised the training and did not allow any outside pressure in the selection of the team.”

“I expect that when you hold the function we should also honor the memory of Giani Zail Singh,” he wrote. 

New Delhi, May 14
The honour today came too late for the late centre forward Shivaji Pawar, his wife said today.

Sheela Pawar, who received a cheque of Rs 1.75 lakh from Hockey India today, said her husband should have got the recognition when he was alive. “What can I say now? It hurts a lot that he has received the cash award when he is no more. Nothing was done to recognise his achievement when he was alive,” Sheela Pawar told The Tribune. “HI is honouring him when he is no more. It would have been great had he been honoured when he was alive. But, finally it has happened.”

Pawar, a leading centre forward of his time, hailed from Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh. He worked for Gwalior Municipal Committee before his untimely death.

Incidentally, HI invited families of the deceased trio after first ignoring their names for the ceremony.

“This is the first time that such a function has been organised,” she added. “My brother, who lives in Mumbai, told me that HI is honouring 13 members of the 1975 Indian team. We got no invites from HI. We got in touch with the officials of HI and then they extended us the invitation. They told — ‘You should also come’. I don’t know whether my husband’s name was there in the first list or not.”

Pawar’s son Naveen informed that they did not receive any financial help from the Madhya Pradesh government too.

“Our state government did not honour him. We received no pension from the government. I got the job in Railways because my father was an employee,” he said.

Buenos Aires, May 14
Striker Carlos Tevez was left out of Argentina’s preliminary 30-man squad for the World Cup.

Despite having just led Juventus to the Italian league title as the team’s top scorer, Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella ignored pleas from Tevez’ passionate fan base in Argentina.

Sabella has never called up the hard-working striker since taking charge of the national team in 2011. Instead he’s put his faith in Ezequiel Lavezzi and Rodrigo Palacio as substitutes for star attackers Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain and Sergio Aguero.

All were included in Sabella’s initial 30-player squad, which will be reduced to a final 23 by a FIFA deadline of June 2.

The 30-year-old Tevez has scored 19 goals in the Italian Serie A this season. “I am sorry I had to leave out good players,” Sabella said, without mentioning names.

He also excluded veteran midfielder Esteban Cambiasso of Inter Milan but included Manchester City’s Martin Demichelis, who hasn’t played for the national team for two years.

While Argentina’s attack is among the world’s strongest, the team looks weaker at the back.

Sergio Romero remains Sabella’s first-choice goalkeeper even though he’s not a regular starter for French club Monaco.

BRIEFLY

SAI backs IOA on plan to bid for 2019 Asian Games
New Delhi: The Sports Authority of India backed the IOA on its plan to bid for the 2019 Asian Games, saying that the country has the infrastructure to stage the multi-sporting event which is now without a host venue after Vietnam capital Hanoi's withdrawal. SAI DG Jiji Thomson said that India should also bid for Olympic Games in the near future. "It's a good idea (IOA's desire to host 2019 Asian Games.) We have the infrastructure to host such Games. We read that the IOA is waiting for the new government to take over. Whenever this bid for 2019 Asian Games comes up, we will support it," Thomson said. "Why should we shy away from hosting these big Games only because there was corruption scandals in 2010 Commonwealth Games. I am not denying that there was corruption but we should not remain stuck because of that and not host other big Games," he said.

Pistorius to get  psychiatrist test: Judge
Pretoria: The judge overseeing the murder trial of Oscar Pistorius on Wednesday ordered the double-amputee athlete to undergo psychiatric tests, meaning that the trial proceedings will be delayed. The decision by Judge Thokozile Masipa followed a request for a psychiatric evaluation by the chief prosecutor, Gerrie Nel. The prosecutor had said he had no option but to ask for it after an expert witness for the defence testified that Mr. Pistorius had an anxiety disorder that may have influenced his judgment when he fatally shot his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.

Advani pockets CCI billiards title
Mumbai: Eight-time world champion Pankaj Advani stamped his authority yet again by pocketing the billiards crown in the Cricket Club of India (CCI) Classic Billiards and Snooker tournament here today. The Bangalore-based cueist defeated Dhruv Sitwala in the final without breaking sweat. — Agencies