Kohli leads Royal Challengers to win as Daredevils flop again

NEW DELHI: It was clobbering time at the Ferozeshah Kotla on Tuesday, but with a few heart-in-the-mouth twists. The bats flailed and heaved as usual, and an electrifying Virat Kohli (56; 38b, 8x4, 2x6) reminded his city of what they had missed out on by not hiring him. But the grassy side strip which produced a 433-run riot in the last game played a tad slower and there were a few precious moments when the bowlers and fielders did not resemble those nameless villains from superhero flicks who get smashed around for no good reason.


Zaheer Khan and Vettori had been impressive earlier in the afternoon and just when it seemed Kohli and Gayle were running away with the game - a whirlwind 82-run stand off just 43 balls with Royal Challengers Bangalore chasing a seemingly modest 160 - Delhi seemed to engineer the most remarkable T20 turnaround. Three wickets in the space of 11 balls and with Gayle, Kohli and AB de Villiers back in the pavilion, the Devils had their tails up. Could they script their most memorable win of the season?

Morne Morkel got rid of a defiant Saurabh Tiwary to make it 139/6 in the 17th, but in the end the blitz up the order was just enough to see RCB through as Vettori and left-arm spinner Syed Mohammad calmed the nerves. But the drama hadn’t ended yet. Three to defend in the last over, two to get off the last five, and Vettori was dropped by Irfan Pathan at mid-off! Finally the roller-coaster had come to a stop. RCB had sneaked through by 3 wickets and the Devils had lost the spring in their step. They hadn’t done enough with either bat or ball.

It was all going according to the script for RCB until the eighth over when Hopes, who had earlier resurrected Delhi’s innings with a half-century, got Gayle caught at deep square leg. AB de Villiers fell victim to a stunning fielding effort from David Warner in the next over and then Morkel found the inside edge of Kohli’s bat.

But maybe Gayle and Kohli had already done enough by then. With RCB boasting three players from previous season’s Delhi team, it was supposed to be a match-up between the old Devils and the new. Instead, the party was gate-crashed by one of Delhi’s favourite sons who has never represented his city in the IPL - Kohli - and that grim enforcer called Chris Gayle.

Kohli at No. 3 got off the blocks with electrifying style, pure timing soiling Dinda’s figures and Irfan Pathan quickly discovering he wasn’t up to the task, four fours off Kohli’s bat making a mockery of the out-of-sorts bowler’s high billing at the auction. The outcomes of most T20 matches are settled in the first few overs and RCB’s first four with the bat yielded 49, with Gayle pounding Morkel through covers and heaving him over long before taking a liking to Dinda. The first six overs yielded 65 and the early dismissal of Dilshan was forgotten.

It appeared the debate would settle faster than one could argue the demerits of Delhi benching Colin Ingram and playing Matthew Wade. It was only a promoted James Hopes (54 off 43; 7x4) who came up with a resurrection act in a 47-run stand with Venugopal Rao which allowed Delhi to make a match after Warner and Sehwag were puffed out early.

Zaheer got the ball to talk after an indifferent and expensive IPL season so far, keeping Sehwag relatively quiet and beating Warner repeatedly with away-going deliveries before getting one to magically sneak back in. A quick-thinking Mithun ran out Sehwag and Hopes seized the spotlight, a no-ball reprieve from Mithun after the batsman had holed out to point proving handy. But Delhi were 20-30 runs short and Kohli’s brilliance sealed the day for RCB.

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BCCI unlikely to take decision on India coach on April 27

Mumbai, April 22 (PTI): The BCCI is in no hurry to appoint a new cricket coach for the team and is unlikely to decide on the matter in its Working Committee's meeting on April 27 where the agenda would include various sub-committees' reports.

"We are still in the process of doing so (finding a new coach). There's no hurry as the team is leaving for the West Indies only on June 1," BCCI President Shashank Manohar told PTI from Nagpur today.

A lot of names, including England's director of coaching Andy Flower and another Zimbabwean Duncan Fletcher, are doing the rounds as the candidates likely to get the job.

There are talks that an interim coach could be appointed by the BCCI for the Windies tour in case it is unable to find a suitable candidate to replace Gary Kirsten who quit the job after guiding India to the World Cup triumph on April 2.

"The reports of various sub committees would be tabled at the meeting," the BCCI chief said about the agenda for the April 27 meet.

Manohar confirmed that an understanding has been reached by the BCCI with its Sri Lanka counterpart, which allows the players from the island nation to stay on and represent their franchises in the ongoing Indian Premier League till May 18.

"They will be here till the 18th and then directly go to England from Mumbai," said Manohar.

The BCCI Chief, however, could not confirm whether the same understanding will apply to speedster Lasith Malinga who has been excluded from Lanka's Test outfit to tour England as he had cited an injury to stay on and play for Mumbai Indians.

Mumbai Indians beat Chennai Super Kings by 8 runs

MUMBAI: The last time at Wankhede when Mumbai Indians had lost to Kochi Tuskers Kerala, Sachin Tendulkar had pointed out that fielding remained the difference between the two sides who contested fiercely.

On Friday night, fielding once again remained the difference between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings in a fiercely fought contest except this time it was Tendulkar's team that turned out to be better than the opposition.

The Wankhede cheered when Chennai dropped three catches and engaged in some sloppy fieldwork that allowed Mumbai Indians to set a target of 164 runs batting first. Wankhede cheered again when Rohit Sharma, Kieron Pollard, R Sathish and James Franklin, among others, dived and threw themselves at everything to resist a successful chase.

Chennai Super Kings won the toss and elected to field in what is fast becoming a norm to follow here at the Wankhede. Strictly by way of record so far at this newly renovated stadium, the team batting second would have a better chance.

Chennai Super Kings almost did, reaching 100 runs in 11.4 overs. But from there on, some fantastic effort by the Mumbai Indians fielders stifled their chase.

Earlier in the evening, Mumbai Indians rode on an impressive 87 by Rohit Sharma to reach 164 in 20 overs.

For the first time in four and half years of playing any kind of professional cricket, Rohit Sharma - an Andhra lad by genes, Nagpur-born, but essentially a Mumbai cricketer - received an overwhelming welcome in his city.

"Rohit, Rohit, Rohit", the crowd began chanting as the 23-year-old raced to a 31-ball 50 and from there to an eventual 87 off 48 balls, giving the Wankhede enough reasons to acknowledge his Mumbai roots.

The batsman walked out in his own leisurely manner after Sachin Tendulkar's wicket fell down - one Mumbaikar eager to make his mark at the Wankhede replacing another Mumbaikar who is a legend. It wasn't immediately that the crowd stood on their feet and applauded his arrival. Sharma would have to stay there, find his feet, play the ball well, and earn it for himself. 48 balls, eight fours and five sixes later he made that happen.

When Sharma eventually walked away, getting caught at long-on trying to hurry up for what could've been a century, the crowd stood on their feet and applauded. The innings turned out to be innovative and destructive both as he bade time for conditions to ease before the walloping began.

A 'Dilscoop' off Doug Bollinger will have to stand out as the shot of the evening but the shots that he played over mid-wicket and square leg, or moving down the leg side to loft the ball over covers were trademark Sharma. Later in the evening, the stupendous catch he took on long on to get rid of MS Dhoni was another stand out.

That he's immensely talented has never been the question but what exactly has he been able to make of it in four years had certainly been nagging him and those expecting better things from him. On Friday, he took his first step in settling that debate.

In weekly wages, Indian Premier League among top 2

NEW DELHI: The world's No. 2 sporting league in terms of average pay - only considering weekly pay - is the Indian Premier League, according to a salaries survey in world sport.

The IPL follows the NBA which remains the richest league in terms of average pay per player. "It (IPL) lasts just six weeks per year but with multi-million dollar short-term contracts for the best players and six-figure deals for many more, it is justifiable for inclusion, not least because many of those involved earn other incomes elsewhere during the rest of the year," says Nick Harris, editor, sportingintelligence.com, who has published the Global Sports Salaries Survey 2011 along with ESPN The Magazine.

Royal Challengers Bangalore is No. 26 in the team list with weekly wages of $86,667 and Kolkata Knight Riders 29th with $85,545. NBA teams occupy 10 of the top 30 places, while MLB baseball teams occupy eight. Kings XI Punjab (40) and Mumbai Indians (44) are the other IPL teams in the Top 50.

Spanish football giants Barcelona and Real Madrid have overtaken baseball's New York Yankees as the world's highest paid teams. The survey said the average annual first-team wage at Barcelona was $7,910 million ($152,130 a week).

Real Madrid were second with their players earning an average $7,356 million a year while the average first-team salary at the Yankees was $6,756 million. NBA teams LA Lakers and Orlando Magic were fourth and fifth respectively followed by the Premiership's Chelsea.

Rank	Team	League	Ave Annual Salary	Ave Weekly Salary
1	Barcelona	La Liga	$7,910,737	$152,130
2	Real Madrid	La Liga	$7,356,632	$141,474
3	NY Yankees	MLB	$6,756,301	$129,929
4	LA Lakers	NBA	$6,540,690	$125,782
5	Orlando Magic	NBA	$6,367,114	$122,445
6	Chelsea	EPL	$6,020,741	$115,783
7	Inter Milan	Serie A	$5,999,643	$115,378
8	Boston Red Sox	MLB	$5,991,203	$115,215
9	Denver Nuggets	NBA	$5,990,174	$115,196
10	Manchester City	EPL	$5,863,585	$112,761
India's Top Three
26	RCB	IPL	$4,506,667	$86,667
29	KKR	IPL	$4,448,333	$85,545
40	Kings XI	IPL	$4,065,833	$78,189
(IPL 2010 season, annual figures pro rata from weekly pay)

The report compares average first team pay in 14 of the world's sports leagues, including the NBA, IPL, MLB, Premier League, NFL, NHL, Bundesliga, Serie A and La Liga. The salaries report features average salary information from 272 teams in 14 leagues in seven sports across 10 countries.

The Premier League remains the richest football league in the world with Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal among the top 30 best paid teams.

Manchester City, owned by Sheikh Mansour of Abu Dhabi, have stormed into the Top 10, with City's average first-team annual pay in the 2009-10 season calculated at $5.9m ($112,761 per week).

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Reverse swing is difficult in 20-over game: Zaheer Khan

KOLKATA: Zaheer Khan's aggression was in full show on Thursday. The RCB pace lynchpin didn't actually bowl at the reporters, but was responding to a query at the match-eve press conference.

Asked whether Royal Challengers Bangalore's IPL 4 campaign is under threat after three straight defeats, India's No. 1 pace bowler shot back: "A few games have not gone our way. But we are up for it. We love a challenge. And we are looking to gain momentum and capitalize on it."

Both Zaheer and coach Ray Jennings admitted that fielding has been RCB's bane. "We have to drastically improve our fielding," Jennings said, adding: "Our batters and bowlers have done well but their good work is getting undone by some atrocious fielding."

"We have done some extra work in this area which will show shortly," chipped in Zaheer.

Chris Gayle is fit and raring to go but Jennings refused to confirm whether the West Indies opener will take the field on Friday against Kolkata Knight Riders. "I'm not too sure (whether he will play)... We haven't decided on the composition yet. Having said that, Gayle is a quality player and is definitely an option."

He confirmed that Tillakaratne Dilshan, who didn't land with the squad but arrived later from Sri Lanka, will open on Friday. "He hasn't fired yet and is due for runs, but tomorrow could be his day," said Jennings.

On being asked whether the Indian players are struggling to maintain their intensity after the World Cup triumph, Zaheer said: "Not at all. IPL is only 20 overs and it isn't hard to keep up the focus. And if anything, the World Cup win has made us more confident that we can do on the field what we do best."

Zaheer, who used the reverse swing so effectively in the World Cup, admitted that he is finding it difficult to use it in the IPL.

"Reverse swing is difficult in a 20-over game because the ball doesn't get scuffed up enough. It remains relatively new and hard and makes it tough to swing it the other way."

Zaheer said KKR's loss against Kochi Tuskers Kerala indicates that it is an open field this year. "This is a very open tournament. Anybody can beat anybody. KKR's loss has worked in our favour and if we can beat them tomorrow, we will be right back in the tournament."

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Sri Lankan board caves in to BCCI pressure

NEW DELHI: Faced with intense pressure from the Board of Control for Cricket in India, the Sri Lankan cricket board (SLC) allowed its players to play in the Indian Premier League till May 18.

Lankan sports minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage announced this after meeting key SLC members and the selectors in Colombo on Thursday.

The minister had earlier given Lankan cricketers a May 5 deadline.

"We had a chat with SLC officials and the selection committee and considered the BCCI's request. It was decided to allow the Lankan cricketers to play their IPL matches till May 18. They will have to report to their national team on May 19 in England to play the second practice match," Aluthgamage told TOI.

TOI had reported on Thursday that BCCI was thinking of blocking the IPL fees of the Lankan cricketers and refusing to pay SLC its share of 10% of the players' earnings. Sources said top Lankan cricketers also expressed their wish to stay on and play their IPL matches before joining their national team for the England series.

But the Lankan sports minister dismissed such threats and even claimed that his country didn't bow to Indian pressure. "It wasn't a government issue. Based on the request of the BCCI, we decided to allow our cricketers to fulfill their IPL commitments. Don't forget, we share a good rapport with both BCCI and the Indian government," he said.

Aluthgamage, however, admitted that monetary assistance from the Indian board to its Lankan counterpart was one of the reasons behind avoiding a showdown. "From time to time, the BCCI has been helping SLC with finances and we have high regard for the BCCI," he said.

Earlier during the day, BCCI vice-president Rajiv Shukla said: "The Lankan players are here to stay till May 21 as they have promised and the franchises are also under the same impression. But they want to go early and it is not appropriate,"

The Lankan series in England starts on May 14 with a practice match against Middlesex, followed by another warm-up game against England Lions on May 19. "We will manage the first match with some of the newcomers in the Lankan team, but the players will have to be in England on May 19 for the second match," Aluthgamage said.

When asked if the decision to give a May 5 deadline was linked to the shabby treatment reportedly dished out to Lankan ministers during the World Cup final between India and Sri Lanka in Mumbai on April 2, Aluthgamage said: "These are two separate issues. It is true that 10 to 15 ministers who had gone to Mumbai for the World Cup final matches were given a Rs 5,000 ticket and those ministers underwent security checks at every point, which was embarrassing. But that is a protocol issue. This is cricket and don't mix the game with protocol issues."

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Kochi Tuskers Kerala beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 6 runs

OLKATA: Kochi Tuskers continued their winning run defeating Kolkata Knight Riders by six runs at the Eden Gardens on Wednesday night.


Their third successive victory helped the Mahela Jayawardene-led side share the top position (with six points) along with the Knights and Mumbai Indians.

Kochi Tuskers successfully defended a modest total of 132 runs after KKR skipper Gautam Gambhir won the toss and asked the visitors to bat first.

Even Jayawardene felt 130-140 runs would be a par score on the same track where the Royals were bowled out for 81 two days ago. Surprisingly, the KKR management who complained about the nature of the track after their victory in the previous match, opted to stick to the same pitch in spite of curator Prabir Mukherjee offering them a separate rectangle which had some grass on it.

The Tuskers played the right card picking up Muttiah Muralitharan in place of Thisara Perera. The legendary spinner did a star turn picking up one wicket giving away only 18 runs.

Except Bengal skipper Manoj Tiwary, who perhaps knows this track best, none of the KKR batsmen could apply themselves on a track where stroke-making was difficult.

Tiwary single-handedly led the charge after the early dismissals of Jacques Kallis (6) and Gautam Gambhir (3). The Knights lost the battle when Tiwary fell for a well-made 46 (51 balls, 2 fours, 2 sixes) in the 17th over.

Yusuf Pathan, who earlier shone with the ball, bagging three for 20, failed to click with the bat leaving the lower order with an impossible job.

Defending a low score of 132, Kochi new ball bowlers RP Singh and R Vinay Kumar gave the team a perfect start removing both the inform batsmen Kallis and Gambhir to put pressure on the hosts straight from the word go.

Although the 34-run fourth wicket stand between Tiwary and Eoin Morgan raised some hopes, the Kochi spinners - Ravindra Jadeja, Ramesh Power and Muralitharan - put the brakes on KKR's run flow and ultimately help script another memorable victory.

Lankans' likely exit: The sum of all losses

NEW DELHI: Mahela Jayawardene and several other Sri Lankan players are likely to miss the business end of IPL 4 after their sports minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage on Wednesday reiterated that they would be required to report for a preparatory camp by May 5 for their upcoming tour of England.

Captained by Tillakaratne Dilshan, the Lankans play their first game against Middlesex from June 14-16.

Playing XI regulars such as Jayawardene, Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara may each miss out on at least five crucial league matches. If their team enters the semifinals, the number goes up further. In a league where currently only four points separate the top team from those in the basement, the new Lankan twist could radically impact the final outcome.

HERE'S a look at how the exit of Lankan players might affect the tightest IPL ever:

Kochi Tuskers Kerala:

Without skipper Jayawardene's motivating presence, Kochi Tuskers might well be doomed. Jayawardene's classy 56 off 36 balls played a key role in the newbies' improbable triumph over Mumbai Indians. The Tuskers, who are short on quality, will also miss paceman Thisara Perera. Thankfully, they will continue to enjoy the services of Muttiah Muralitharan, who has retired from international cricket.

Mumbai Indians:

The team must be happy that paceman Malinga is not in the Test squad for the England tour. Which means he will be playing throughout for Mukesh Ambani's team. Few have been able to negotiate Slinga's high-speed, swinging yorkers. However, the Mumbai team will miss paceman Dilhara Fernando who has been called for national duty.

Chennai Super Kings:

The defending champions have a problem defending totals this season. Skipper MS Dhoni and company must take blame for letting the peerless off spinner Murali go. But perhaps they were hoping to make long-term profit with newcomer Suraj Randiv who plies similar trade. The Lankan Board's decision now means their plans have gone awry. CSK are extremely lucky that medium-pacer Nuwan Kulasekara is not part of the Lankan Test squad. Kulasekara, who gets the ball to move both ways, could have been unplayable in English conditions.

Deccan Chargers:

Skipper Kumar Sangakkara's smashing 49 off 35 balls helped the IPL 2 winners carve out a stiff win against Delhi Daredevils. Without his leadership, the team could meander like a rudderless ship.

Royal Challengers Bangalore:

He may not be in the best of form but Dilshan can walk into any T20 side anytime. His absence would mean another blow to the struggling Vijay Mallya side. There's a flip side to every story. Kings XI Punjab, Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Daredevils do not have a single Lankan player in the squad. They will gain by the weakening of their opponents. Pune Warriors India had all-rounder Angelo Mathews in their ranks but lost him to injury before a ball was bowled in IPL 4.

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I don't have temperament to play Test cricket: Afridi

KARACHI: Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi has defended his decision to quit Test cricket, saying he does not have the temperament to play the traditional format of the game.

Afridi though feels that he should not have ended his Test career without completing the series against Australia in England last year.

"My decision was absolutely the right one. I don't think I am a Test-temperament player, hence it's best that instead of me, players more suited to Test cricket are selected," Afridi said.

Afridi had quit the five-day format after Pakistan lost to Australia at Lord's, last year.

Afridi said he did not become the Pakistan Test captain by choice and he was pressurised to take up the job in the interest of the team.

"I didn't want to accept, but I was under pressure to accept it. I was advised that the unit that I had built [in ODIs] should be continued in Tests too. I didn't want to back out or let the team down. The team was going through a difficult phase and we were trying to re-build the team (hence I accepted)," he said.

"However, I had made it clear that if I didn't enjoy it, I would leave. I should not have quit after that first Test, but I realised that Test cricket is not for me," he said.

Afridi said the ODI side need to learn to utilise the batting powerplay well.

"Quite a few teams have faced problems with regards to the batting powerplay. For us, when we take the batting powerplay, we start losing wickets, so then we thought it's probably best to delay the powerplay and take it right at the end to avoid losing wickets earlier.

"I do realise we have this problem. The coach and I have discussed this in detail and hopefully we will see some better results on this in the upcoming series in the West Indies."

Afridi said he was happy to play the role of a floater batsman and was focusing more on his bowling which had paid rich dividends in the World Cup in which he took 21 wickets.

"For the past three or four years, I am a bowling all-rounder. I have focused a lot on my bowling in this period and Alhamdolillah it has worked well."

"I should use my batting according to the situation. There should be no set position for me," he said.

The all-rounder also remained unfazed by criticism about his batting performances.

"Definitely, there is criticism and I always take the criticism positively. The West Indies tour and the Zimbabwe tour are good series for me to regain my batting form. I acknowledge that recently I may not have worked as hard on my batting as I should have, but I have addressed that."

Afridi said he enjoyed playing under Wasim Akram and also regarded Moin Khan and Inzamam-ul-Haq as good captains.

"I enjoyed my cricket a lot under the captaincy of Wasim bhai. And my performance was good too. Moin bhai was also a tough cricketer and a fighting captain. Inzi bhai was good too. So these would be my top-three, the three captains under whom I enjoyed my cricket a lot," he stated.

When it came to naming the coach who inspired him the most, Afridi could not look past the late Bob Woolmer.

Describing Woolmer as the 'best coach' he had played under, Afridi in particular was full of praise of the Englishman's ability to motivate the players.

"Bob Woolmer has to be the best coach. His coaching style was great, so when a player wasn't performing, Bob Woolmer would sit with the player, chat with him informally, all this to ensure one's spirits didn't fall and the player wouldn't get demoralised. That was a great quality in him, as players do need that," he said.

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Mumbai Indians beat Pune Warriors by seven wickets

NEW DELHI: Mumbai Indians pulled off a thrilling seven-wicket victory over Pune Warriors in their IPL clash at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday.


It was one of the rare games where a side chasing is in full control despite the match going into the final over and the final ball.

Scorecard

A walk in the park for Mumbai and they have bounced back in style after the loss to Kochi.

Sachin played the sheet-anchor once again and though he fell, the others took them home. Mumbai played at their own pace and the game dawdled along after Rayudu fell. Pune needed to take wickets early on, once they failed to do so, the game was all over.

After the early loss of James Franklin, Sachin Tendulkar and Ambati Rayudu steadied the Mumbai Indian innings.

Mumbai Indians lost their first wicket early in pursuit of 119 runs to win against the Warriors.

James Franklin (6) got forward and just chipped the leg stump full ball down mid on as Mithun Manhas took a simple catch.

Robin Uthappa smashed a quick-fire 45 but top-order of Pune Warriors India put up a pathetic display and were shot out for 118 in 17.2 overs against Mumbai.

Uthappa cracked a six and six fours in his 27-ball knock to help Pune rally from a sorry-looking 17 for four and get past the 100-run mark which may not be enough on the good batting track.

The initial damage was done by Assam seamer Abu Nechim Ahmed, who replaced an injured Harbhajan Singh in the playing XI today.

He took two wickets in three balls in the fourth over before Munaf Patel also grabbed a couple in three balls to leave Pune on the ropes at 17 for four.

Uthappa's cameo ended, courtesy an outstanding catch in the deep by West Indian Kieron Pollard.

Although there weren't any big partnerships but Uthappa was involved two such efforts which yielded 35 each. First one was for the fifth wicket with Mohnish Mishra (12) and the next for the sixth wicket with Murali Kartik (11).

Munaf Patel was easily the pick of the bowlers for Mumbai, ending up with three for 8 in 14 deliveries.

Abu Nechim grabbed two for 13 while Ali Murtaza made ample amends for his costly 19th over during the defeat against Kochi Tuskers Kerala last week by opening the bowling and returning with figures of two for 18.

Warriors, who are eager to get back to winning ways after losing to Delhi Daredevils three days back, made a reasonable start after opting to bat when openers Jesse Ryder and Tim Paine put on 16 with the former being the aggressor.

But things went horribly wrong in the fourth and fifth overs when they lost four wickets in the space of just 7 balls, including that of in-form opener Ryder for 12.

Former India U-19 pacer Abu Nechim, came on to bowl the third over was the unlikely hero.

Ryder mistimed a pull-shot as Nechim fed him with short stuff and Tendulkar took a smart overhead catch running backwards.

If that wasn't enough, Mithun Manhas (0) followed suit when he edged one to Ambati Rayudu who kept today instead of Davy Jacobs.

From 17 for two, it suddenly became 17 for four with Tim Paine (2) and skipper Yuvraj Singh (0) were sent back by Munaf. While Paine got one that climbed pretty fast clipping the off-stump as he tried to pull, Yuvraj had minimal footwoork as he nicked it to give Rayudu his second catch.

Uthappa, who came in at the fall of the second wicket then started a repair job with Mohnish Mishra.

Uthappa hit a four and six off Pollard to provide some momentum to the team's total however Mishra who hit two boundaries was holed out in the deep off Ali Murtaza's bowling with Warriors tottering at 52 for five.

Then it was Kartik who joined Uthappa as they added another 35 runs to take the total to 87 before Kartik chipped a fuller delivery from Malinga to Andrew Symonds at mid-on.

Uthappa who looked good enough and deserved a half century was finally gone when he tried to hit Murtaza but Pollard's acrobatic effort cut short his innings.

At 98 for seven, it was difficult for the Warriors to put up a respectable T20 score. Leggie Rahul Sharma (13, 9 balls) hit a six and four off James Franklin to take the score past 100 but Munaf got his third wicket as he was caught bu Murtaza at deep point.

The worst part about Pune's batting was they failed to utilise 16 deliveries in the end which could have meant another 25 runs if they had wickets in hand.

Teams (from):

Pune Warriors: Jesse Ryder, Tim Paine(wk), Mithun Manhas, Robin Uthappa, Yuvraj Singh(c), Mohnish Mishra, Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, Murali Kartik, Rahul Sharma, Shrikant Wagh, Alfonso Thomas

Mumbai Indians: Sachin Tendulkar (c), Ambati Rayudu (wk), Abu Nechim, Rohit Sharma, James Franklin, Andrew Symonds, Kieron Pollard, Rajagopal Sathish, Lasith Malinga, Ali Murtaza, Munaf Patel

Sri Lanka rejects BCCI request on IPL players

COLOMBO: In what could strain the relations between the BCCI and Sri Lanka Cricket, the Lankan government and SLC have decided to stick to their decision of calling back national cricketers, playing in the IPL, by May 5.

Early this month they had ordered the players to return to the country to prepare for the upcoming England tour.

Though no meeting took place between the BCCI and SLC but Indian officials did speak to their Lankan counterparts on the matter and requested them to let their players play in the Twenty20 event at-least till May 15.

But sports minister Mahindanada Aluthgamage and the Cricket Board (SLC) have decided to ignore the Indian request.

A Sri Lankan Cricket source said on Wednesday that Aluthgamage, Sri Lanka Cricket and the national selection committee had lengthy deliberations on Tuesday on the matter.

Accordingly some 11 Sri Lankans including the star players Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and the newly appointed Sri Lankan captain Tillakaratne Dilshan would have to abide by the Sri Lankan decision.

Aluthgamage has said that interests of Sri Lankan cricket was his priority and Sri Lankans would be sending a polite explanation on the decision to the Indians.

Sri Lanka summoned all IPL players to return in order to prepare for the tour of England which starts on May 10.

Former captain Sangakkara, now leading Deccan Chargers, said the players will have to abide by the Sri Lanka Cricket decision but expressed hope that two boards would sort out the issue.

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Sourav Ganguly's IPL dream may not be over yet

KOLKATA: Sourav Ganguly's Indian Premier League (IPL) dream may not be over yet as the former India captain on Wednesday said that he is still hopeful of a comeback in the fourth edition of the ongoing Twenty20 extravaganza.

Asked whether he could be seen playing in the ongoing IPL, Ganguly told a television channel, "...Dekhte paabe (you will see). I am keeping my fingers crossed."

There may be a latest window of opportunity for the 38-year-old, as it is believed that Sri Lankan batsman Mahela Jayawardene who is the skipper of Kochi Tuskers Kerala will leave for Sri Lanka in the first week of May for the upcoming tour of England.

Ganguly is tipped to lead the debutants Kochi outfit once Jayawardene leaves for the national duty.

The Lankan cricketers have been asked to return home early to prepare for the national team's tour of England, getting underway on May 14.

This gives a fresh lease of hope to the former Knight Riders skipper, who did not find any takers during in the IPL auction in January, after his former franchise Kolkata Knight Riders did not retain him.

It is learnt that the Kochi team management had tried to rope in Ganguly in place of injured Australian recruit Steve Smith.

However, the IPL rules did not permit this as the Australian's base price ($200,000) was lower than that of Ganguly ($400,000).

Kochi had previously sought permission from the BCCI to recruit Dada outside the auction but IPL's Governing Council had rejected the move.

Meanwhile, asked to pick four sides to make it to the semifinals of the IPL, Ganguly said, "It's difficult. But Kolkata Knight Riders are doing well, apart from Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians and Kochi Tuskers.

"Knight Riders were in a similar position even last year. So it's all about maintaining the momentum," said Ganguly.

He also said that Knight Riders should include wicketkeeper-batsman Shreevats Goswami ahead of Manvinder Bisla, who has been opening the batting and keeping the wickets.

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Time to rework D/L method: Mahela Jayawardene

KOCHI: Interrupted matches in cricket will invariably lead to a discussion on how the target scores are reset and ultimately the efficiency of the Duckworth-Lewis method, which is the accepted practice in all official matches.

On Monday night, Chennai Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming felt his team had lost the plot midway through the innings after the rain interruption and could not run up a total that they would have liked. And he was not convinced that the revised score - four runs for three overs reduced - did any justice to his team.

"At one point, we were almost 70 for two and getting into a good position," Fleming said. "When we came back we could not keep the momentum going and we were at least 20 runs short," he lamented.

Kochi captain Mahela Jayawardene agreed with Fleming to an extent but the Sri Lankan looked at the situation not just from the CSK match. "Over the years, captains and teams have been complaining that the system (D-L target scores) has not been fair," he said. Especially, in T20 the method needs to incorporate practical solutions to teams defending the score. "The system that was put in place for 50-50 may not be effective for T20 as it works backwards for the least productive overs," he explained. "It is time to review the system."

Fleming's grouse stemmed mainly from the fact that he had been done in by the conditions and not by the performance on the field. "We were not tired (after playing two matches in three days) and our fielding never wilted," he insisted.

The Chennai coach had a few other reasons that spoiled his party. The toss, the lively pitch that offered assistance to fast bowlers early on amidst overcast conditions and finally the rain that dealt his team a body blow. Obviously, Mahela Jayawardene had won half the match in the first minute when they went out for the toss.

The toss was crucial as chasing in those conditions was a better option and McCullum's knock at the top was equally helpful," said the Kochi captain. But the interesting part is that while the captains and teams have been hitting out at D/L method, an Indian may be smiling because he has waited long enough to convince the authorities and so far met with only partial success.

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DD vs DC: Deccan Chargers beat Delhi Daredevils by 16 runs

NEW DELHI: Hands on his hips and head bowed down, Morne Morkel's pose was an apt summary of Delhi Daredevils' woes this season. The South African pacer had been smashed straight back over his head by Deccan Chargers' Sunny Sohal – a player very few people would have heard of beyond the state of Punjab.

The Daredevils were once again beaten at home, this time by the Chargers, as they lost by 16 runs on Tuesday. Delhi are now at the bottom of the table after their third loss in four games.

Chasing 169, David Warner (51; 48b, 5x4, 1x6) tried his best to keep the Daredevils in the hunt with in-form Venugopal Rao (21; 23b, 3x4) for company. Former Daredevils tweaker Amit Mishra prized out Rao before Warner holed out to part-time off-spinner Shikhar Dhawan. For the Chargers, medium-pacer Harmeet Singh was the pick of the bowlers, claiming 2/27 including the prize scalps of Virender Sehwag and Aaron Finch.

Earlier, Morkel, who is supposed to be the leader of the Daredevils attack this season, was treated with contempt. It was not all South African paceman's fault as the Ferozeshah Kotla track negated all his strengths as a pacer.

Sohal clobbered an efficient 62 (41b; 8x4, 1x6) and in the company of his skipper Kumar Sangakkara (49; 35b, 8x4, 1x6) set up Chargers' tally of 168/4 after they elected to bat first. Morkel's figures on the other hand stood at 0/31 in four overs and the 26-year-old would have liked to be anywhere else but here.

It was no brutal assault by the Chargers batsmen but a clinical dissection as they powered on to more than a par score for this track. The second-wicket stand of 92 runs between Sohal and Sangakkara took full toll of wayward stuff dished out by Ashok Dinda (1/33), Irfan Pathan (1/28) and James Hopes (1/36).

Persistent rain washes out Royal Challengers Bangalore-Rajasthan Royals match

BANGALORE: The fourth edition of the Indian Premier League witnessed its first washout on Tuesday with the match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals at the Chinnaswamy Stadium being called off without a ball being bowled because of incessant rain.

The washout means both Rajasthan and RCB will share a point each from the encounter.

For RCB, the washout came as a frustrating result as the one point did very little to help their cause. The Daniel Vettori-led side is now languishing at the second last position in the team standings with only three points from five matches.

However, the one point took Rajasthan's tally to five from as many matches and they now rose to the second position in the standings behind Kolkata Knight Riders.

The match was originally scheduled to start at 8.00 pm, but was delayed due to steady downpour.

The on-field umpires, Rudi Koertzen and Billy Doctrove conducted two inspections - first at 9.45 pm and then an hour later - before finally calling off the match.

However, after the first inspection the umpires were hopeful of a 12-overs-a-side game following a slight lull in the drizzle.

But no sooner expectations rose among fans about a possible rain-curtailed thriller, the drizzle came back to haunt, forcing the grounds men to bring on the covers.

With the drizzle showing no signs of relenting the umpires finally decided to call off the match after their second inspection at around 10.45 pm.

Rajasthan will now face Kings XI Punjab in Mohali on Thursday while RCB will be up against table toppers Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

Pakistan keen for a short ODI series against India

KARACHI: Desperate to revive the Indo-Pak bilateral cricket ties, the PCB is trying hard to convince the BCCI for a short one-day series this year in Pakistan or at a neutral venue.

The Pakistan Cricket Board's Chief Operating Officer Subhan Ahmed said that modalities of the short series would hopefully be worked out in a meeting with BCCI officials in June.

Subhan, however, admitted that due to the tight international schedule of the Indian team, it would be quite a task to squeeze out a week or a 10-day period for the series.

"It is not possible to play a full Test series this year that is obvious to us. But we are definitely keen on at least having a three match or five match series sometime this year in Pakistan or at a neutral venue to kick off the revival process," he said.

Immediately after the ongoing IPL, India is scheduled to tour the West Indies for four Tests and five ODIs, followed by a long tour of England in July-August.

England will then come to India for a one-day series in November and West Indies will follow for a three-Test and five ODI series. The Indians then travel to Australia for a high-profile series in December-January.

Pakistan is due to tour India in March-April 2012 for a full Test series under the ICC's Future Tours Program but the PCB is keen to have the bilateral series before that.

Cricket experts, however, were skeptical if the Indian players would be willing to take the risk of touring Pakistan. No international team has travelled to strife-torn Pakistan after the attack on Sri Lankan players at Lahore in March 2009.

India suspended all direct cricket ties with Pakistan after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

Subhan said Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani has given clearance to the PCB to start the process of reviving bilateral cricket with India.

Asked about the statements emanating from BCCI officials about the Indian government not having informed them about trying to revive bilateral cricket with Pakistan, Subhan said this was made very clear by the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at Mohali.

He recalled that during the World Cup semifinal match, when the Indian Premier met with the officials of the two Boards, Singh had stated that both countries should resume cricket ties.

"What we realise is that the Indian Board is tied up with the Indian Premier League and only after that is over would they would also be able to focus on the issue of reviving bilateral cricket ties with Pakistan," Subhan said.

"Our first priority is to convince the Indians to come to Pakistan for the short series but if that is not working out we have not ruled out the option of neutral venues," he said.

Subhan said security situation in Pakistan remained a major issue even for the PCB.

"We know that foreign teams are not willing to visit Pakistan and we can expect reservations from the Indians as well. But for that we will soon start work on a comprehensive security plan with the guidance and approval of the government to convince the Indians," he said.

"We will formalise the comprehensive security plan also in consultation with the International Cricket Council task force on Pakistan and their security experts. The idea is to prepare a airtight security plan that should satisfy not only the Indian Board and players but also other foreign teams," Subhan added.

Reminded that under the FTP, India still owed PCB a full Test series on Pakistan soil in lieu of the cancelled 2009 tour, the PCB official said everything would depend on the outcome of the talks in June.

"Our idea is that if the Indian Board agrees to the short series this year and than agrees to play the Tests of that 2009 tour at some other time then the 2012 tour would be viewed as a new series," he said.

"We have no issues undertaking that tour on schedule but obviously we are looking at hosting India before that tour to compensate for the 2009 cancelled tour and also to take the first practical step towards reviving regular bilateral ties," he said.

Subhan also said it was a wrong impression that Sri Lanka had refused to tour Pakistan later in the year for their full series.

"The factual position is that we have sent them a proposal to play some matches in Pakistan and we are awaiting their response," he added.

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Sourav Ganguly third-time unlucky

KOLKATA: Frozen out at the players' auction, stymied by objections raised by three franchises, Sourav Ganguly is set to be third-time unlucky in his bid to play in the Indian Premier League's fourth edition.

They had ample chances to pick him up at the auction, but Kochi Tuskers management stood firm with other franchises and refused to touch him with a barge pole. With VVS Laxman, the only Indian batsman of repute in their side, the Kochi management soon realised their folly and were back knocking on BCCI's door, requesting permission to sign up the former captain, who was the only Indian player to remain unsold at the two-day auction in Bangalore on Jan 8 and 9.

However, with three franchises objecting to Kochi's move, the Prince of Kolkata could not become the King of Kochi. The new franchises were left rueing their missed chance at the auction, and Sourav, desperate for an opportunity, was left hoping to step in if any top player pulled up injured.

As luck would have it, Kochi's Australian all-rounder Steven Smith, who played in the ODIs against Bangladesh, has now pulled out of IPL to undergo surgery on his injured ankle and the new franchise is keen to sign up the former KKR icon, but the tournament rules bar them from doing so.

As per IPL rules, a team can replace an injured player if he is out for an entire season, but can only opt for someone with the same base price or lower. As Kochi bought Smith at his base price of $200,000, they are obliged to pick any player from the auction pool with the same base price or lower even though they have plenty of money left in their kitty to afford Sourav's $400,000 price tag.

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CSK vs RCB: Randiv scalps Tiwary, Royal Challengers Bangalore five down

NEW DELHI: Royal Challengers Bangalore lost their fifth wicket when Suraj Randiv had Saurabh Tiwary (14) caught behind by captain MS Dhoni in their IPL match at MA Chidambaram stadium in Chennai on Saturday.

Click here to watch Chennai Super Kings vs Royal Challengers Bangalore match from MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

RCB lost their fourth wicket when Shadab Jakati had Virat Kohli caught by Srikkanth Anirudha at long-on.


Kohli hit a six and 4 fours in his 28-ball 35 before falling to Jakati.

R Ashwin had Mayank Agarwal caught by Albie Morkel as Royal Challengers Bangalore lost their third wicket.

RCB got off to a poor start in pursuit of 184 as they lost Tillakaratne Dilshan and Asad Pathan in the first two overs.

Albie Morkel had Dilshan caught by Srikkanth Anirudha at short mid-wicket on the second ball of the RCB run chase and in the next over Tim Southee clean bowled pinch-hitter Pathan to place RCB at 17/2.

Earlier, Michael Hussey hit a 56-ball 83 to power Chennai Super Kings to 183/5.

Hussey, who reached his fifty off 42 balls, smashed a six and 11 fours in his unbeaten knock.

CSK captain MS Dhoni hit a six and a four in his 16-ball 22 before Zaheer Khan had him caught behind by AB de Villiers.

Ryan Ninan took his second wicket when he had Suresh Raina caught by Mayank Agarwal in the covers.

Raina smashed a six and 3 fours in his 16-ball 29 before falling to Ninan.

Ninan gave Royal Challengers a crucial breakthrough as he scalped Murali Vijay, who hit 31 off 21 balls with the help of 2 sixes and 3 fours.

CSK skipper MS Dhoni won the toss and decided to bat.

Chennai have made one change, brought Mike Hussey in for Scott Styris. For RCB, Asad Pathan has replaced S Aravind.

Teams:

Chennai Super Kings: M S Dhoni (c), M Vijay, S Anirudha, S Badrinath, S Raina, M Hussey, J Morkel, R Ashwin, S Jakati, T Southee, S Randiv

Royal Challengers Bangalore: D Vettori (c), M Agarwal, T Dilshan, V Kohli, AB de Villiers+, J van der Wath, S Tiwary, C Pujara, R Ninan, Z Khan, A Pathan.

Lee joins as KKR elect to field against RR

Jaipur, Apr 15 (PTI) Kolkata Knight Riders have elected to field after winning the toss in their Indian Premier League match against Rajasthan Royals here today.

Brett Lee and Shakib Al Hasan have joined the KKR in the XI as Ryan ten Doeschate misses out, while Shane Watson returns for Rajasthan.

Teams:

KKR: Jacques Kallis, Manvinder Bisla?, Gautam Gambhir*, Manoj Tiwary, Yusuf Pathan, Eoin Morgan, Shakib Al Hasan, Iqbal Abdulla, Rajat Bhatia, Brett Lee, Lakshimipathy Balaji.

RR: Shane Watson, Rahul Dravid, Johan Botha, Ashok Menaria, Ross Taylor, Amit Paunikar?, Abhishek Raut, Shane Warne*, Amit Singh, Siddharth Trivedi, Nayan Doshi.

Umpires: Aleem Dar and SS Hazare

TV umpire: RB Tiffin

Match referee: AJ Pycroft

Reserve umpire: R Subramanian.

India to pocket $175,000 for ending year as Test No. 1

DUBAI: India will be handed $175,000 for finishing as the number-one Test side while also pocketing another $75,000 for finishing as second-ranked ODI team this season, the ICC said on Thursday.

India (128 points) has been sitting on top of the Test Championship table since December 2009. South Africa (117 points) will pocket $75,000 for ending in second position in the Test Championship table at the cut-off date of April 1.

Australia earns $175,000 for finishing on top of the ODI table with 128 points at the cut-off date. It has been occupying the number-one position on the ODI Championship table since leapfrogging South Africa and India in September 2009.

In the latest ODI rankings issued on Thursday, Australia has 129 points, eight points more then India's (121 points).

Among batsmen, Virat Kohli lost two places to slip to eighth while captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar lost one spot each to be at ninth and 10th respectively.

South African Hashim Amla maintained his top spot in the batting charts while New Zealand's Daniel Vettori continued at the top of bowling list.

No Indian is in the top 10 in bowling chart with Zaheer Khan at 14th.

Australia's Shane Watson became the top-ranked ODI all-rounder and also achieved a career-best ranking in batting, jumping nine places to fourth after his record innings against Bangladesh.

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