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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Movies help me unwind, says Tendulkar

MUMBAI: While the Mumbai Indians continue their winning streak in IPL 4, the team's captain, Sachin Tendulkar, took a short 'timeout' on Wednesday to sign up for movie membership service 'Club X', which gives its members the privilege of a 'first day, first show' of most Bollywood, regional and foreign releases that hit the Indian marquee.

It's been learnt that Sachin's new home in Bandra is currently being equipped with a 20-seater home theatre that will have the best acoustic system and a life size screen to make movie-watching a spectacular experience. "Movies help me relax," said the master blaster, while revealing that even during the World Cup he had managed to watch portions of a few light-hearted comedies that helped him unwind between the grueling practice sessions and gym workouts.

"I was watching movies because I didn't want to read or watch anything related to the game. I just wanted to keep my mind fresh, so I would switch between Discovery, National Geographic and movies. I also rely heavily on music to help me unwind," he added.

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Hope to touch 160km mark in IPL: Shaun Tait

JAIPUR: Rajasthan Royals' pacer Shaun Tait was at his best on Tuesday against Delhi Daredevils. He hit the 150 kmph consistently, even bowling one to Aaron Finch, which was perhaps the fastest delivery ever recorded in India. Having retired recently from ODIs, Australian Tait is going all out in the fourth edition of the IPL. On Wednesday, he told TOI that it is not beyond him to hit the 160 kmph mark before the tournament ends. Excerpts:

Did you realise that you were bowling at over 150 kmph on Tuesday?

I knew I was bowling quite fast, but didn't know I was going at that speed. In fact, I was bowling well, at least in the first two overs. My body was responding well and it was a nice feeling.

Do you think you can touch the 160 kmph mark during this edition of the IPL?

If conditions suit me, it won't be impossible. It is quite a difficult task to bowl at 160. But I guess the best way is not worry about that but give of your best. That's what I am planning to do. Most wickets here in India are quite flat and you can go all out for pace. Hopefully, I can touch 160.

It's about two weeks after retiring from One-Day Internationals, do you think it was the right decision?

Very much. Now I can concentrate on T20 and I quite enjoy playing in this version of the game. It is not too taxing on my body. I can preserve my fitness and actually prolong my playing career. There are enough T20 matches happening around the world nowadays to keep me busy, so I don't really need to worry.

In T20, you just have to bowl 24 deliveries in a match. Does that help?

Oh yes. You can actually go out and give your 100 % without actually worrying about losing too much energy. Just four overs, that's it. In fact, that's what I did on Tuesday, went all out from the beginning.

In your second over to Aaron Finch on Tuesday, you consistently touched the 150 mark. Did you have a word with him after the game?

It was Aaron to whom I bowled the fastest one, wasn't it? He is a pretty good player. Couldn't have a word with him, but it was nice getting him out.

In the third over, you gave away too many runs...

Ya, David Warner took me for a few runs. He is another good batsman. Maybe I wasn't focusing much, but it was more of Warner getting the runs than me giving them to him.

Talking about 160 kmph, you bowled one last year. Weren't you on the verge of breaking Shoaib Akhtar's record?

I didn't know I was bowling that fast. It was only later that I realised that I had crossed the 160 mark. Was never really thinking about records. I was just bowling the way I am used to.

Would you ever consider compromising speed for control?

The idea is to bowl in the right areas and I have been doing that. Speed is nice to have and we have been training to get the balls just where we would be wanting.

What happened in 2008, when you had to take a break?

There were some physical issues and also mental ones. I wasn't enjoying the game. In fact, at that time I just hated cricket. I wanted to go away. Just wasn't focused and it was a difficult time.

How did you come out of it?

The break helped. Staying away from the game was a great thing at that time. Then T20 came along and I started enjoying them. In fact T20 was just the perfect thing for me. I regained my energy and was back in the game.

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IPL 2011 Schedule – Indian Cricket Match Timetable 2011

IPL 2011 is scheduled to start in first week of april . It should begin a few days after World cup ends. Lalit Modi has been sacked and 2 teams which very removed are back again now after court intervention ( Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab ) . Kochi cricket team has come out of all problems.Now it looks as if 10 teams are going to play. So the number of matches are going to be increased.

IPL Winners:

1st IPL ( 2008 ) – Rajasthan Royals ( RR vs CSK )

2nd IPL ( 2009 ) – Deccan Chargers ( DC vs RC )

3rd IPL ( 2010 ) – Chennai Super Kings ( CSK vs MI )

4th IPL ( 2011 ) – ?

IPL 2011 Schedule

Apr 8 8PM . Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders Chennai
Apr 9 4PM . Deccan Chargers vs Rajasthan Royals Hyderabad
Apr 9 8PM . Kochi v Royal Challengers Bangalore Kochi
Apr 10 4PM . Delhi Daredevils vs Mumbai Indians Delhi
Apr 10 8PM . Pune Warriors vs Kings XI Punjab Navi Mumbai
Apr 11 8PM . Kolkata Knight Riders vs Deccan Chargers Kolkata
Apr 12 4PM . Rajasthan Royals vs Delhi Daredevils Jaipur
Apr 12 8PM . Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Mumbai Indians Bangalore
Apr 13 4PM . Pune Warriors vs Kochi Navi Mumbai
Apr 13 8PM . Kings XI Punjab vs Chennai Super Kings Mohali
Apr 14 8PM . Deccan Chargers vs Royal Challengers Bangalore Hyderabad
Apr 15 4PM . Mumbai Indians v Kochi Mumbai
Apr 15 8PM . Delhi Daredevils v Kolkata Knight Riders Delhi
Apr 16 4PM . Chennai Super Kings v Royal Challengers Bangalore Chennai
Apr 16 8PM . Deccan Chargers v Kings XI Punjab Hyderabad
Apr 17 4PM . Rajasthan v Kolkata Knight Riders Jaipur
Apr 17 8PM . Pune Warriors v Delhi Daredevils Navi Mumbai
Apr 18 8PM . Kochi v Chennai Super Kings Kochi
Apr 19 4PM . Delhi Daredevils vs Deccan Chargers Delhi
Apr 19 8PM . Royal Challengers Bangalore v Rajasthan Royals Bangalore
Apr 20 4PM . Mumbai Indians v Pune Warriors Mumbai
Apr 20 8PM . Kolkata Knight Riders v Kochi Kolkata
Apr 21 8PM . Kings XI Punjab v Rajasthan Royals Mohali
Apr 22 8PM . Mumbai Indians v Chennai Super Kings Mumbai
Apr 23 4PM . Kolkata Knight Riders v Royal Challengers Bangalore Kolkata
Apr 23 8PM . Delhi Daredevils v Kings XI Punjab Delhi
Apr 24 4PM . Deccan Chargers v Mumbai Indians Hyderabad
Apr 24 8PM . Rajasthan Royals v Kochi Jaipur
Apr 25 8PM . Chennai Super Kings v Pune Warriors Chennai
Apr 26 8PM . Delhi Daredevils v Royal Challengers Bangalore Delhi
Apr 27 4PM . Pune Warriors v Chennai Super Kings Navi Mumbai
Apr 27 8PM . Kochi v Deccan Chargers Kochi
Apr 28 4PM . Kolkata Knight Riders v Kings XI Punjab Kolkata
Apr 28 8PM . Rajasthan Royals v Mumbai Indians Jaipur
Apr 29 8PM . Royal Challengers Bangalore v Pune Bangalore
Apr 30 4PM . Kochi v Delhi Daredevils Kochi
Apr 30 8PM . Mumbai Indians v Kings XI Punjab Mumbai
May 1 4PM . Rajasthan Royals v Pune Warriors Jaipur
May 1 8PM . Chennai Super Kings v Deccan Chargers Chennai
May 2 8PM . Delhi Daredevils v Kochi Delhi
May 3 8PM . Deccan Chargers v Kolkata Knight Riders Hyderabad
May 4 4PM . Chennai Super Kings v Rajasthan Royals Chennai
May 4 8PM . Pune Warriors v Mumbai Indians Navi Mumbai
May 5 4PM . Kochi v Kolkata Knight Riders Kochi
May 5 8PM . Deccan Chargers v Delhi Daredevils Hyderabad
May 6 8PM . Royal Challengers Bangalore v Kings XI Punjab Bangalore
May 7 4PM . Kolkata Knight Riders v Chennai Super Kings Kolkata
May 7 8PM . Mumbai Indians v Delhi Daredevils Mumbai
May 8 4PM . Royal Challengers Bangalore v Kochi Bangalore
May 8 8PM . Kings XI Punjab v Pune Warriors Mohali
May 9 8PM . Rajasthan Royals v Chennai Super Kings Jaipur
May 10 4PM . Kings XI Punjab v Mumbai Indians Mohali
May 10 8PM . Deccan Chargers v Pune Warriors Hyderabad
May 11 8PM . Rajasthan Royals v Royal Challengers Bangalore Jaipur
May 12 8PM . Chennai Super Kings v Delhi Daredevils Chennai
May 13 8PM . Kochi v Kings XI Punjab Indore
May 14 4PM . Mumbai Indians v Deccan Chargers Mumbai
May 14 8PM . Royal Challengers Bangalore v Kolkata Knight Riders Bangalore
May 15 4PM . Kings XI Punjab v Delhi Daredevils Dharamsala
May 15 8PM . Kochi v Rajasthan Royals Indore
May 16 8PM . Kolkata Knight Riders v Mumbai Indians Kolkata
May 17 8PM . Pune Warriors v Deccan Chargers Pune
May 18 4PM . Kings XI Punjab v Royal Challengers Bangalore Dharamsala
May 18 8PM . Chennai Super Kings v Kochi Chennai
May 19 8PM . Pune Warriors v Kolkata Knight Riders Pune
May 20 8PM . Mumbai Indians v Rajasthan Royals Mumbai
May 21 4PM . Kings XI Punjab v Deccan Chargers Dharamsala
May 21 8PM . Delhi Daredevils v Pune Warriors Delhi
May 22 4PM . Royal Challengers Bangalore v Chennai Super Kings Bangalore
May 22 8PM . Kolkata Knight Riders v Rajasthan Royals Kolkata
May 24 8PM . Qualifier 1 Mumbai
May 25 8PM . Eliminator Mumbai
May 27 8PM . Qualifier 2 Chennai
May 28 8PM . Final Chennai

IPL schedule for every match with timing will be updated once the team qualify for Semi-Final &

India to play cricket with Pakistan

NEW DELHI: In a fresh friendly gesture to Pakistan, India has decided to resume the bilateral cricket series which was put on hold in retaliation against the 26/11 terror attack on Mumbai.

The decision was announced by foreign minister S M Krishna here on Wednesday, strengthening the growing estimate, including in the country's security establishment, that Pakistan may have been fully reprieved over 26/11.

The announcement came just after the disclosure that Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a Pakistani expatriate who along with David Coleman Headley did the recce for the mass slaughter in Mumbai, had told a US court that he was acting at the instance of the Pakistani government and ISI.

Krishna said India would take up Rana's statements with Islamabad.

No window before March 2012

There's no way India can play Pakistan before March next year when the Pakistan team is anyway scheduled to visit India. Immediately after IPL ends on May 28, Team India flies to the West Indies for 5 ODIs, 3 Tests and a T20 match. It then flies straight to England (4 Tests, 5 ODIs and one T20). That tour ends on September 16; the Champions League begins some 10 days later. From October to December, India will host England and West Indies. A few days later, it leaves for Australia for a two-and-a-half month tour.

Pune Warriors beat Kochi Tuskers Kerala by 4 wickets

NAVI MUMBAI: Robin Uthappa started his innings with a reverse sweep and ended with a reverse sweep. His less celebrated teammate Mohnish Mishra scored one four and had just one dot ball in the first 17 he faced. But his last four balls were 4, 6, 0, 6 off Muttiah Muralitharan which gave a pulsating end to the match on Wednesday night.


Pune Warriors India won their second match in a row, this time against fellow dubutants Kochi Tuskers (who have lost both their games now) by four wickets with seven balls to spare. Kochi's 148-8 proved insufficient on a track which had something for the bowlers.

Uthappa's first reverse saw him hit Muralitharan for four and the last one proved to be his downfall. In between, he led Pune Warriors' mini massacre of Kochi bowling. Pune needed 34 off 33 balls with six wickets in hand when Uthappa attempted that stroke. The ball hit the top of off stump from behind his back.

At that point, it seemed Pune would lose the plot. But 27-year-old Mishra had other ideas. The Bhopal lad, earlier with Deccan Chargers, made it tragic for Kochi.

Uthappa's first had come after a team's boundaryless patch of 22 balls in which the 'hosts' lost two wickets. Graeme Smith (24 off 24), who had a collision with Rahul Sharma while fielding and had to bat with a runner, again got out against the run of play hitting a full toss to deep mid-wicket while Mithun Manhas holed out to long-on.

Pune seemed to be struggling when field restrictions were a bit lenient after six overs. They were 44-1 after six but could add only 17 runs in the next four. Captain Yuvraj didn't look comfortable and his attempted cut was plucked by Parthiv Patel behind the wickets.

Earlier, Aussie Brad Hodge (39 off 36) and Ravindra Jadeja (47 off 33, 3x4s, 3x6s) added 88 runs for the fifth wicket in 10.3 overs to give Kochi a fighting chance after being 24-4.

Pune Warriors again had a dream start to the match after losing the toss, led by Wayne Parnell who took three wickets in two overs. He had VVS Laxman play on for a blob, had captain Mahela Jayawardene (2) caught behind and got Parthiv Patel (21 off 19) caught at first slip.

However, Hodge and Jadeja took the score to 112 by the 16th over before Kartik took a brilliant low catch at long-off to send back Hodge and then Jadeja played a careless shot (high at extra cover) to hand back the momentum as Jesse Ryder's (2-0-8-1) neither-spin-nor-pace did the trick.

Left-arm spinners Murali Kartik, Yuvraj Singh and leggie Rahul Sharma went for 60 runs in combined nine overs and Parnell went for 20 runs in his last two overs after being 2-0-5-3 in his first spell.

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Shaun Tait hurls fastest ball in India

JAIPUR: Rajasthan Royals skipper Shane Warne had told Shaun Tait to bowl as fast as he could. The Australian pacer obliged, with a delivery of 157.7 kmph, easily the fastest ever seen in India. "It's always good to have a bowler like him in the team," Warne said after the Royals beat Delhi Daredevils by six wickets here on Tuesday.

"After the Delhi team had faced Malinga, we thought we should give them a taste of Tait," Warne added. That's like rubbing salt to injury and Tait responded by dismissing Virender Sehwag in the first over. Tait did flounder towards the end with David Warner going after him, but Warne would just term that as unlucky.

Tait wasn't the only one Warne reserved his praise for. Rahul Dravid'sinnings met with the skipper's approval as much as the wicket at the

Sawai Mansingh Stadium and Ashok Menaria's short but aggressive innings. "We have been working on Dravid," Warne said. "We have been telling him that his job is not just to block and run. He is one of the greatest players and he showed that today. He showed his class. He is a very nice guy and it's great to have him around." Warne added that Rajasthan Royals' psychological trainer Jeremy Snape too has been talking to Dravid.

The skipper is quite impressed with young Menaria and sees a bright future for him. "He has proved his worth at the under-19 level, but we had to get him to play in front of a crowd. The stage was just right for him to come in at number four." Warne compared him him Ravindra Jadeja of 2008 and finds the Rajasthan player much better. "He is a better batsman and excellent on the field. He is going to be a very good player." Menaria can be useful with his left-arm spin too.

Warne also found the wicket perfect for a T20 game. "All credit to Taposh," he said, referring to Taposh Chatterjee, the curator.

Even Daredevils skipper Sehwag praised the wicket, but expressed disappointment at the top-order failure. "If we lose wickets in the first powerplay, things get difficult," he said. He was willing to share the blame for yet another batting failure. "I need to give the team better starts."

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