Kolkata, May 28
Kolkata Knight Riders stormed into the final of the Indian Premier League Season-7 on the back of a convincing 28-run win over Kings XI Punjab, with pacer Umesh Yadav hogging the limelight with a fine display of fast bowling.

Defending 164 on a slow surface that remained under the covers for three days, KKR speedsters Yadav (3/13) and Morne Morkel (2/23) shared five wickets between them, while Piyush Chawla also bowled smartly to restrict Kings XI Punjab to 135/8 in 20 overs and hand KKR a record eighth victory on the trot.

Sent into bat, KKR had posted 163 for eight, riding on in-form opener Robin Uthappa's 30-ball 42. In pursuit of a second title, 2012 champions KKR will take on the winners of second qualifier in the summit clash on June 1. Orange Cap holder Uthappa once again laid the foundation with the help of four boundaries and two sixes in his 10th consecutive 40-plus score, to push KKR's total in a rain-interrupted match.

With KXIP at 17/1 in 3.2 overs, it began to drizzle and they were well behind the Duckworth-Lewis equation of 37 required from five overs. The umpires, though, decided to continue with the proceedings. Manan Vohra smacked Shakib Al Hasan for two consecutive sixes in the next over to make the equation in KXIP's favour with the scoreboard reading 39/1 from five overs. But KKR bounced back to dismiss Vohra when Morkel had the opener in the next over to once again make the equation in the home team's favour. Dangerman Glenn Maxwell (6) did not last long and was trapped by Yadav and KXIP were 55 for three in 7.5 overs, 11 runs behind the par score. It was Wriddhiman Saha, who looked steady in the middle, kept KXIP in the hunt with some stunning strokes, but Morkel ensured that the wicketkeeper-batsman did not prolong his innings.

David Miller was dropped on an individual score of one but could not make it count and was castled by Piyush Chawla, while Yadav claimed his third victim in skipper George Bailey. — PTI

Mumbai, May 28
Suresh Raina underlined his tremendous utility as a T20 specialist, David Hussey showed his amazing shot-making skills in the slog overs, and Pragyan Ojha came on to bowl at a perfect juncture. Raina (54 not out) and Hussey (40 not out) added 89 runs in just 54 balls for the fourth wicket as the two-time winners Chennai Super Kings knocked the defending champions Mumbai Indians out of the Indian Premier League with a convincing seven-wicket win in the Eliminator at the Brabourne Stadium on Wednesday.

Chennai successfully chased down a daunting target of 174 runs in 18.4 overs with a flurry of fours and sixes from Raina and Hussey towards the end after Mumbai's Lendl Simmons treated the 25,000-odd spectators to some breath-taking stroke-play with his 44-ball 67.

The script was unfolding in favour of Mumbai Indians until the 15th over when skipper Rohit Sharma decided to bring left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha for his second spell. With 42 required from 30 balls and Mumbai players displaying acrobatics skills in the field, Raina and Hussey decided to take the aerial route to seal the issue once and for all in favour of Chennai Super Kings.

Hussey hit Ojha for two sixes over long-on, before Raina too made good use of the long handle with a maximum over wide-long-on to put the game all but out of the reach of Mumbai. Both then played sensible cricket without taking too much risk to book their Qualifier 2 date with Kings XI Punjab at the Wankhede Stadium on May 30. Starting the run chase, Chennai openers, Dwayne Smith and Faf du Plessis, were slow to get off the blocks. Smith survived a close LBW appeal off Praveen Kumar in the third over, but could not make the most of the reprieve and was caught at long-on by Kieron Pollard off Harbhajan Singh for 24.

Du Plessis also failed to cash in on a dropped chance and was dismissed by Harbhajan for 35 in the same over that saw the quiet exit of Smith.

The stage was set for the New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum to celebrate the birth of his second child with yet another scintillating innings, but the Kiwi batsman returned to the pavilion without troubling the scorers much.

It was then left to Raina and Hussey to take their side home which they did in a commanding fashion.

Earlier, Mumbai rode on Simmons' blitzkreig to post a competitive total. Simmons cut, drove and pull to send the Chennai bowlers on a leather-hunt, especially the sixth over bowled by Mohit Sharma resulted in three fours and a six over midwicket as Mumbai raced to 50 for no loss in just six overs.

Michael Hussey played the role of second fiddle to perfection as he played a fine knock of 39 runs to give the defending champions a flying start. Simmons was finally dismissed in the 17th over by Ravindra Jadeja, but not before the West Indian had struck a brilliant half-century with the help of five fours and four huge sixes.

Mumbai, May 28
Out-of-favour Gautam Gambhir celebrated his return to the Indian team after 18 months by guiding Kolkata Knight Riders to the final of the IPL as the national selectors named an 18-member squad for the five-Test series against England, which starts on June 26.

However, the biggest casualty was Zaheer Khan, who failed to find a place in the squad after missing almost the entire leg of the IPL due to a back injury. Rajasthan pace bowler Pankaj Singh, rewarded for his impressive domestic performance in the Ranji Trophy, made the cut.

The tour of England, which concludes on September 7, includes five Tests, an equal number of ODIs and one T20I.

Gambhir, who last played a Test for India in December 2012, caught the attention of the national selectors after delivering an inspiring performance for KKR, both with his captaincy and batting. Gambhir has been included as the third opener in the squad.

Wriddhiman Saha has also found a place in the touring party as reserve wicket-keeper, while Umesh Yadav and Ambati Rayudu, who were part of the New Zealand tour, have been dropped.

The selectors also named a 15-member squad for the three-ODI series against Bangladesh, which precedes the tour of England. Suresh Raina, who was dropped from the Asia Cup squad, will lead India in the absence of Dhoni and Virat Kohli, among others. Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami have also been rested.

Robin Uthappa returned to the national side after a hiatus of two years. Uthappa, the top run-scorer in IPL-7 with 655 runs from 15 games, celebrated his call-up with another impressive innings for KKR in his team's win today. Saha won the race for the wicket-keeping job with 206 runs in the IPL, ahead of the more experienced Dinesh Karthik.

Test squad for England: MS Dhoni (c), Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Gautam Gambhir, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Ishwar Pandey, Ishant Sharma, Stuart Binny, Varun Aaron, Wriddhiman Saha and Pankaj Singh.

Squad for Bangladesh: Suresh Raina (c), Robin Uthappa, Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ambati Rayudu, Manoj Tiwary, Kedar Jadhav, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Parvez Rasool, Akshar Patel, R Vinay Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Stuart Binny, Mohit Sharma, Amit Mishra.

Chandigarh, May 28
It is probably the first time in Indian hockey’s history that the chief coach of the national team has been so frank about his team’s chances at the World Cup. Where previous coaches had only talked about winning medals in the premier competitions such as the Olympic Games and the World Cup, current coach Terry Walsh has regularly said during the build-up that a top-eight finish would be a great result for Indian hockey. “Anything higher than that will be a big bonus,” he has said.

His statement has been criticised – former captain Ajit Pal Singh had said, “If your mindset is such that you are going there as mere participants, then sorry, nothing can be achieved.”

But there are those who feel that it’s time the Indian coaches as well as the fans started being realistic.

“A medal would an unrealistic target. India are ranked 10th in the world,” said Baljit Singh Saini, former India player and junior men’s team’s coach. “We can’t just think about medals. Our goal should be a steady climb in world hockey. And it should last. If we finish in the top-six in the World Cup and then again slip to a 10th or lower finish in the next tournament, then what is good in that temporary climb?”

Saini added that a practical target would also help in easing the pressure on the players. “False talk won’t get us medals. ‘We will bring back the gold’ kind of attitude doesn’t get medals but it puts pressure on the players,” he added. Shivendra Singh, the former India forward, said that Walsh’s comments shouldn’t demoralise players but ease the pressure. “The players know that it’s a new coach and a fairly new team so Walsh’s comments will help the team play with a free mind,” he said.

However, former captain Rajpal Singh feels that the coach should not have talked about the final position in the World Cup. “It might lead to players calculating how many matches they need to win to finish eighth,” he said. “In the 2010 World Cup we won only one match and finished eighth. So it could play on the minds of the younger players.”

But he added that the senior players in the team would be thinking about getting a medal. “Seniors such as Sardar Singh, Gurbaj Singh and PR Sreejesh, who could well be playing their last World Cup, would be hungry for a medal.”

The Hague: India will definitely miss the services of Ramandeep Singh and Nikkin Thimmaiah in the World Cup but injuries to the two key strikers have made the team more determined, said goalkeeper PR Sreejesh. “While we will be missing both Nikkin Thimmaiah and Ramandeep Singh, it has not dampened our spirits. Rather we are more determined to win. We will play to win for them as their hopes are pinned on us," Sreejesh said. For any team the first game of a tournament is always crucial and Sreejesh too aired the same feeling. “The first game is critical for both India as well as the Belgians. The Belgium side is one of the most experienced team with 10 players having surpassed the 100 international appearances mark but I feel that our team, which is a combination of young and experienced players, will give them a tough challenge,” he said. “Our opening match will be a war between Jeremy Gucassoff and Vincent Vanasch -- the goalkeepers of Belgium on one side and Harjot Singh and me on the other side," Sreejesh added. — PTI

Venus Williams returns to Slovakia’s Anna Schmiedlova during their French tennis Open second round match in Paris on Wednesday

Paris, May 28
Holder and world No.1 Serena Williams was shocked 6-2 6-2 by Spain’s Garbine Muguruza in the French Open second round on Wednesday, an hour after her elder sister Venus was ousted at the second grand slam of the year.

On a chilly day in Paris, Serena never looked the force that has won 17 major titles. Her 20-year-old opponent broke the American’s serve twice early in the first set and made the most of a series of unforced errors by a leaden-footed Williams.

The Spaniard, ranked 35 in the world, did not release the pressure and the match became a repeat of the nightmare of 2012, when Williams lost in the first round, not the glory of 2013 when she beat Maria Sharapova in the final here. A netted return from Williams sent the Spaniard into ecstasy and even Williams’s mother, Oracene, smiled as Muguruza leapt about the court. “Of course, it’s amazing,” Muguruza said. “I had to be really aggressive and focused. Today is a great day. I’m so happy,” the Spaniard shouted.

Serena was philosophical, saying: “I don’t think anything worked for me today. It was just one of those days, you can’t be on (your game) every day.”

After the defeat of China’s Li Na in the first round on Tuesday, it is the first time since tennis turned professional in 1968 that the top two women’s seeds have failed to reach the third round at a grand slam.

It is also the third time, after 2004 and 2008, that both Williams sisters have lost on the same day at the French Open.

The big names on the men’s side of the draw suffered no problems in reaching the third round.

Novak Djokovic, the second seed, despatched Jeremy Chardy of France 6-1 6-4 6-2 while Roger Federer, seeded fourth, won 6-3 6-4 6-4 against Diego Sebastian Schwartzman of Argentina, a player he had never seen before.

Czech Tomas Berdych, the sixth seed, started slowly before beating Aleksandr Nedovyesov of Kazakhstan 6-7(4) 6-4 7-5 6-3. Eighth seed Milos Raonic got past Jiri Vesely of the Czech Republic 7-6(4) 6-4 6-1.

The Williams sisters had been due to meet in the third round but that was knocked off the agenda when Venus became the first seed to lose in the second round, falling 2-6 6-3 6-4 to Anna Schmiedlova of Slovakia.

Flavia Pennetta of Italy, seeded 12th, joined the Williams sisters in heading for the exit after going down 5-7 6-4 6-2 to Sweden’s Johanna Larsson. — Reuters

Jalandhar, May 28
The Punjab government has halved the diet money budget for day-scholar sportspersons in the state from Rs 40 lakh to Rs 20 lakh. Confirming this, Tajinder Singh Dhaliwal, Director Sports, Punjab, said that due to such a huge reduction in the budget, the Sports Department would not be able to pay diet money to all the day-scholars this year.

However he maintained that the diet money for day-scholars has not been abolished and the department is finding ways to continue it. However, he did not have an answer as to why the department has failed to disburse the diet money to all the day-scholars after 2012.

This paper had reported in February this year that the state government was mulling abolishing the diet money for day-scholars from this year. After amending the sports policy in 2012, the government had decided to deposit the diet money of Rs 100 per day directly into the bank accounts of the student sportspersons. Although the trials for the current year were finished in March, the amount for the year 2013 is yet to be credited into to the accounts of the sportspersons.

Though some money was reported to have been released to various districts, a majority of the sportspersons have still not received their share as instead of depositing the amount directly into their bank accounts, the money had been deposited into the accounts of their District Sports Officers.

“The money could not be deposited into the players’ accounts as most of the account numbers given by the players were found to be incorrect,” informed Rakesh Kaushal, District Sports Officer, Jalandhar.

Sources in the Sports Department have confirmed that the government has taken the decision to abolish the diet money as it feels that the nutritional requirements of the day-scholars are being taken care of by their families.

“The government thinks that most of the day-scholars will not use the money for their nutritional needs and spend it elsewhere. So it has decided to abolish the diet money from this year,” the source said.

Oklahoma City, May 28
Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook combined for 71 points (the second highest in this season's playoffs) as Oklahoma City Thunder leveled the Western Conference finals 2-2 with a 105-92 win over San Antonio Spurs.

It was the ninth straight victory for the Thunder over the Spurs in Oklahoma City and their 12th win overall against the Spurs in their last 14 games.

Westbrook had a game-high 40 points on 12-for-24 shooting (14-for-14 at the free throw line) plus 10 assists, five steals and five rebounds. Durant added 31 on 11-for-22 shooting. He also pulled down five rebounds and added five assists.

The pair was the only Thunder players in double figures.

Serge Ibaka came close with nine points and eight rebounds. He also blocked three shots.

The Spurs had four players getting into double digits.

Tony Parker scored 14 points but handed out just four assists while turning the ball over four times. Boris Diaw came off the bench to also put in 14, while grabbing 10 rebounds. Tim Duncan had nine points on 3-for-8 shooting and Manu Ginobili, who had 23 points in Game 3, managed just five on 2-for-8 shooting.

The Spurs, however, did turn a 27-point blowout in the third quarter into a 12-point nailbiter in the fourth thanks to the work of their second unit. But the Spurs' starters remained on the bench instead of being sent back in and the Thunder were able to stabilise things in the last minutes. — PTI

Amsterdam, May 28
Experienced Netherlands midfielder Rafael van der Vaart will miss the World Cup finals through injury, the Dutch football federation said on Wednesday. Capped 109 times for his country, the 31-year-old Hamburg midfielder suffered the injury at a training camp for the Brazil tournament on Tuesday.

Patiala, May 28
As many as 1,639 players from all over the country showed up for the sports wing selection trials of Punjabi University, Patiala, at Raja Bhalendra Singh Sports Complex of the university.

Director Sports Dr. Raj Kumar Sharma informed that a large number of players had represented the country in World Cups, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games.

Many players who came for the trails said since Punjabi University had established itself as the best sports university of the country, they were looking forward to further improving themselves with the help of facilities offered.

New Delhi, May 28
The proposal to consider a new scoring system might have come under a lot of criticism from players and coaches across the world, but Badminton World Federation (BWF) today clarified that it is only in the discussion stage and nothing concrete has come up. The BWF at its Annual General meeting discussed whether an alternative options to the current scoring system is needed to benefit television coverage and make contests more attractive for viewers.

"We are just in a process of discussing the new scoring system. We are taking inputs from the players world over and are trying to engage a whole lot of fans also," said BWF president Poul-Erik Hoyer Larsen.— PTI

BRIEFLY

Italy meet will help me identify grey areas: Sushil
New Delhi: Double Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar said the Senior International wrestling tournament in Italy will help him identify the areas he would need to work on ahead of the Commonwealth Games in July. Sushil moved up to 74kg after world body FILA decided to drop his weight category in December last year, while tweaking 19 other weight divisions. "I am sure I will gain a lot of experience in this tournament. This competition will help me assess where I stand at the moment and I will be in a better position to know which areas will I would need to work on in my new weight category," Sushil said.

Boxing India using money to get power: Narinder Batra
New Delhi: Launching a scathing attack on the newly-approved ‘Boxing India’, secretary general of Hockey India, Narinder Batra, today accused the ad-hoc association of using money to get power which will have an adverse effect on Indian sport. The chairman of long-time Indian boxing sponsor Monnet Ispat Limited, Sandeep Jajodia, and owner of India`s World Series of Boxing franchise, Udit Sheth are part of the consortium which has got the AIBA’s nod for provisional representation and is most likely to get formal approval as well. “It is rumoured and trust me there is no smoke without fire, that a big amount has been given to the international federation to formally approve BI as a registered boxing association. I have grave concern because it will directly have a bearing on all the sports bodies in the future," Batra said.

Pak cricketers want bilateral series with India
Karachi: Some of Pakistan's top cricketers including Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Akhtar have supported the restoration of bilateral cricket ties with India and hoped the issue was discussed by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on his flying visit to India.Speedster Shoaib Akhtar said, "I am happy that our Prime Minister is in India and I hope cricket ties are discussed in these big meetings. Because it is necessary to have bilateral cricket ties between the two countries."

— Agencies