I Am fit for England tour: Yuvraj

Cricketer Yuvraj Singh in Kolkata on Wednesday said that he is all geared up for the ensuing tour of England with the national squad since he has recovered from the chest infection. Yuvi, who was the Man-of-the-Series in the ICC World Cup tournament, was ruled out for the full tour of the West Indies due to a lung infection he developed soon after the mega event. He also rubbished certain reports as rumours that he refused to play under the leadership of co-player Suresh Raina during the Caribbean tour.

Sachin sells car, keeps number plate

Sachin Tendulkar loves numbers. The man who has over 32,000 runs in international cricket, was happy to sell his red Ferrari Modena 360 to a friend in Surat, but not to give up the attached number plate MH 01 AD 9999. Assistant Regional Transport Officer, A.S. Khairulla has revealed that the ace cricketer has retained his “lucky” number plate.
The little master, as widely reported, is an ardent follower of the teachings of Satya Sai Baba. The Baba believed that 9 is the perfect number as no matter how many times you multiply it, it will add up to nine. Called the Brahman number (the Eternal Absolute), 9 is considered all-powerful. Our source said, “It’s no surprise how nine and its multiples are lucky for Sachin since he follows the Baba’s teachings so closely.”
Speaking exclusively to DC, the RT Officer said, “Sachin Tendulkar made a special request and paid the government-notified fee of Rs 50,000 for the VIP number plate and retained his old car number plate.” “Sachin Tendulkar sent his representative with a letter and a demand draft (Kotak Mahindra Bank) of Rs 50,000 for the transfer of his car,” the officer added. The letter says: “This is to inform you that I have sold my Ferrari car to Jayesh Kumar Batukrai Desai, and am requesting you to retain the same number plate for my new car. I am ready to pay Rs 50,000 as RTO fees.”
Sachin Tendulkar had to buy his new car within 30 days. “His fee for the VIP number plate will be valid for 30 days. His new super car, a red Nissan GT-R has not yet been brought to this office for registration,” the official added further. “The buyer of his Ferrari had to submit a ‘No Objection Certificate’ (NOC) for Sachin’s request to retain the old number plate. We gave a new number (MH 02 AV 4722) to the new owner.” Jayesh Desai will get his Ferrari registered with the RTO at Surat and will get a new number.

Gambhir fit for England tour, Sehwag on his way

Indian opener Gautam Gambhir has attained full fitness while his more illustrious teammate Virender Sehwag may just make it in time for selection for the England tour beginning on July 15. The touring party will be announced on July 2 by the BCCI.
"Gambhir is undergoing rehab at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore and is fully fit for the upcoming England tour. He is back to his normal training schedule and is working hard on his fitness. He was in Delhi for three days early this month but during that time he was practicing light," said his coach Sanjay Bhardwaj on Friday.

Sri Lanka opener Tharanga banned 3 months

Sri Lanka opening batsman Upul Tharanga was suspended for three months by the International Cricket Council on Friday for using a banned substance during the World Cup.
After the semifinal win against New Zealand on March 29 at Colombo, Tharanga tested positive for metabolites of two glucocorticosteroids — Prednisone and Prednisolone.
He was banned from May 9 to Aug. 8, and will miss Sri Lanka's entire ongoing tour of Britain and Ireland.
He pleaded guilty on Friday before an independent anti-doping tribunal, comprising of chairman Tim Kerr, Anik Sax and Peter Sever.
"The tribunal accepted that Tharanga had ingested the substances when drinking a herbal remedy given to him to ease discomfort caused by a long-standing shoulder injury," the ICC said in a statement.
"It also found that Tharanga had no intention to enhance his sporting performance or to mask the use of another performance-enhancing substance, but that he had failed to satisfy the high levels of personal responsibility implicit upon him as an international cricketer subject to anti-doping rules."
Tharanga apologized to fans and followers "for inadvertently committing an offence."
"I hope my fellow sportsmen will learn from my experience and be more vigilant when taking medical treatment, so that their careers do not suffer in the way that mine has," he said.
The tribunal also disqualified the rankings points he earned from the World Cup. He scored two centuries during the run to the final.
ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said it realizes Tharanga didn't cheat deliberately, "but the ICC maintains its zero-tolerance approach towards doping for the benefit of all its stakeholders."
Tharanga has 21 days to appeal after receiving the written decision.

Indian captain Dhoni’s Rs 645 Tax cheque bounces

 Indian captain MS Dhoni may be one of the richest sportspersons in the country but it seems he does not have even Rs 645 in his bank account.

Dhoni, who is one of the highest tax payers of Jharkhand, found himself in trouble after his cheque of Rs 645 in favour of the Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) as holding tax was returned by the bank.

The money was to be paid for Dhoni`s house number 141 at Kunwar Singh Colony under Doranda circle of the RMC on Airport Road. The tax has to be deposited annually to the civic body as holding tax of the property.
"Dhoni had issued a cheque (number 550703) of the State Bank of India, Doranda branch, from his savings account  <愔ţ>            <愔ţ>  01190108959  01190108959          01190108959 amounting to Rs 645 on March 15," RN Jha, the tax collector of Wad 52, told a newspaper when inquired about the incident. The cheque, which was deposited by the RMC on March 16, was duly signed by Dhoni. It was, however, rejected by the SBI, Doranda branch, citing ‘insufficient funds’.

Under Section 35 of the Negotiable Instrument Act, an FIR can be lodged against a depositor if his/her cheque bounces but the state government is not keen on taking legal action against the Indian captain as, they believe, it is nothing more than a human error. The tax officials said that it is for the first time Dhoni’s cheque has bounced.

Styris retires from international cricket

New Zealand all-rounder Scott Styris has announced his retirement from international cricket after serving the Black Caps for more than a decade.

Styris had earlier retired from Tests in 2008, but continued playing one-day and Twenty20 internationals for New Zealand. He was also a part of the New Zealand team that reached the semi-final of the 2011 World Cup.

The all-rounder, who will turn 36 next month, is the sixth-highest run-getter in ODIs for Black Caps, scoring 4483 runs from 188 matches.

He scored four ODI centuries and took 137 wickets in his 12-year long playing career, apart from representing his nation in 29 Tests.

The 35-year-old’s retirement comes at a time when New Zealand has just appointed a new captain in Ross Taylor.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed representing my country in the international cricketing environment. It has been an honour and a pleasure to play for the Black Caps alongside so many quality players over the years and to have been a part of many key moments during that time” the all-rounder said.

“Not being on the international circuit means more time at home and I’m really looking forward to spending more time with my family,” the cricketer insisted.

Styris, who represented Chennai Super Kings in the fourth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) just after the World Cup, said he intended to continue playing Twenty20 cricket in domestic competitions.

“I really enjoy the T20 format of the game and see it as a way to stay involved in cricket for another year or two if I can,” the cricketer was quoted as saying by ‘New Zealand Herald’.

Though New Zealand has had a disappointing run in the recent past, Styris has been part of some important triumphs.

The right-hander noted winning the Champions Trophy in 2000, and scoring a hundred on Test debut in a series that turned out to be New Zealand’s first victory in the West Indies, as the highlights of his career.

“Winning the Champions Trophy in Kenya was awesome given it was also the first time New Zealand won an ICC event.

It was also memorable to score a hundred and take wickets on my Test debut, knowing it contributed to a historic series win.”

New Zealand Cricket CEO Justin Vaughan said he was aware Styris’ departure was imminent for some time, and that the team would miss his consistency.

“Scott has been one of our most consistent performers and a real go-to man in big games,” Vaughan said.

“He was someone who always seemed to play his best under pressure. His competitive attitude and the leadership he demonstrated while in the New Zealand team will be missed.

Sachin Tendulkar plays for money not for country - Bal Thackeray

Talking to Times Now Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray once again targeted Sachin Tendulkar, and this time with a more serious allegation which no Sachin fan or even any cricket fan will agree at. In an interview Thackeray is still not able to digest Sachin’s statement that Mumbai belonged to the country. He quoted - “I will not tolerate, whoever he may be, I will not tolerate that nonsense,” he said, noting the cricketer wasn’t even born when he fought for Mumbai on the sons of the soil plank.

When told that Sachin can’t be accused of playing only for money, he retorted: “Don’t give so much of guarantee. If you need money for something, he will give you a bat. Then it gets auctioned and the money is deposited.”

I really felt bad after reading these statements in newspapers, not for Sachin but for Bal Thackeray! The old man must have got cursed from millions of Sachin Tendulkar's fans! Get well soon Mr. Thackeray!!

Here is the video of same interview where Bal Thackeray accuses Sachin Tendulkar for playing for money and not for country!

Chris Gayle scored 37 runs in 1 over in IPL 4

Chris Gayle scored 37 runs in one over, highest in the IPL, to power Royal Challengers Bangalore to a nine-wicket win over Kochi. rest noball did the difference.

The bowler in question was Prashant Parameshwaran, who got Man of the match award on his IPL debut.

The game was all but over as Bangalore reached 50 in two and a half overs.

Chris Gayle hits fastest century in IPL-4

Chris Gayle struck the fastest century in IPL-4 against Kings XI Punjab at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore. The West Indian rampage ended on 107 runs, but he crossed the hundred mark in 46 balls. It was an innings of brutal violence as Gayle went on a rampage even as the Punjab bowlers could only just look on and admire his class.

Royal Challengers Bangalore batsman Chris Gayle celebrates his century (100 runs) during the IPL Twenty20 cricket match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kings XI Punjab at The M.Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore.

Chennai Super Kings beat Royal Challengers Bangalore to win IPL 4

The Super Kings are the emperors of India. In the battlefield called Chepauk, Dhoni's army ambushed the Royal Challengers to defend the citadel they had clinched in Mumbai last year. The Chennai mean machine started working from Ball One with M Vijay (95 off 52 balls) and Mike Hussey (63 off 45 balls) taking over and there was no looking back.

Vijay never looked good throughout the tournament, but Dhoni stuck with him. And what a day the Chennai boy chose to come good! The right-hander, in an outstanding opening partnership of 159 runs off 14.5 overs with Mike Hussey (63), did the groundwork and built some towers on it for good measure as CSK raced away to 205.

One man who could make a match out of it was Chris Gayle. But the shrewd Dhoni brought R Ashwin in the first over and the offie got the first two balls to turn away from the left-hander. Then came the killer ball which spun in and Gayle, on the back-foot, edged it to Dhoni.

After that, it was just a matter of keeping it tight as Royal Challengers kept losing wickets at regular intervals to go down by 58 runs.

But this final will be remembered by one and all for the way Vijay batted. He is highly rated and on Super Saturday he showed why. Shots were flowing from his bat like a stream as RCB skipper Daniel Vettori simply ran out of options. The crucial phase was when Vettori brought himself on, but Vijay showed excellent temperament. Vijay has the gift of timing and it was all so flawless on Saturday evening that a champion performer like Zaheer Khan looked helpless. And while Vijay was giving the fans all the reasons to cheer about, Hussey played the role of the guiding light to perfection.

In the humidity of Chennai, it's not easy to keep it going, but the two kept pushing each other. Even the strategic time-out, which is generally taken after the 16th over, was brilliantly timed. Hussey and Vijay took it after the 13th to get their breath back and carried on with the onslaught.

As the runs flowed, the shoulders drooped in the RCB ranks with misfields and overthrows creeping in. It all added to the Royal woes and finally, when Hussey got out trying to clear the long-on boundary, the game was all but over. One would have loved to see Vijay completing his second IPL century, but that was not to be. He got out in the 17th over, trying to clear the fence, but that didn't stop CSK from easing past the 200-run mark.

Bangalore beat Mumbai by 43 runs,

If one thought law of averages would eventually catch up with Chris Gayle, Friday wasn’t the day. Mumbai Indians found it the hard way. The West Indian giant was at his lethal best, smacking the Mumbai bowlers all round the park on his way to a 47-ball 89 to help Royal Challengers Bangalore post a comfortable win over Sachin Tendulkar’s team at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.

In the second qualifier, Gayle blasted nine fours and five sixes in his 47-ball innings and shared a 113-run opening partnership with Mayank Agarwal (41) in 10.4 overs to set the foundation for a big score for Bangalore. They made 185 for four. Mumbai were never in the match and ended up at 142 for eight losing by 43 runs.

Tendulkar was the highest scorer for Mumbai, having made 40 off 24 balls but he did not have enough support from the other end. Mumbai also did not have good partnerships which were the hallmark of the Bangalore innings.

Tendulkar’s decision to bowl first backfired as Gayle took the Mumbai attack by the scruff of its neck and helped RCB amass 111 in first 10 overs. Mumbai came back strong in the second half and dismissed four of their batsmen in quick succession and did well to restrict the Royals inside the 200-mark.

Gayle gave Bangalore a blistering start, accumulating 27 runs in the first over off Abu Nechim, studded with three fours and a six, besidesfour wides. Taking a cue from Gayle, young Agarwal also clobbered Harbhajan Singh for a couple of boundaries through short third man in the second over.

Tendulkar then turned to Lasith Malinga but there was no respite for Mumbai as Gayle smashed his first ball through covers and then flicked one across the fine leg boundary.

Mayank brought up teams 50 in 3.2 overs with a huge six over long on off Harbhajan and followed it up with a nice-looking four through point as Royal Challengers reached 57 in four overs.
Munaf Patel also rolled his arms but there was no difference in the result as Gayle clobbered him for a boundary between mid-on and mid-wicket and managed to pick up another four across short fine leg.

Mumbai Indians beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 4 wickets

Harbhajan Singh hit thewinning six for Mumbai Indians, roared, and all but thrust his boot towards theKnight Riders’ dugout. It was his way of telling everybody the kind offrustration his team has endured so far and how they have come out fighting.

Mumbai Indiansshould have won the contest easily. They however made it tougher for themselves,barely managing to reach the modest target of 148 only in the last over at theWankhede on Wednesday.

The IPL Eliminator went all the way down tothe wire even though, at one stage, MI were cruising at 81 for no loss in 7.5overs. After losing the hard-hitting Aiden Blizzard for 51 (30 balls, 7x4, 2x6),they lost three quick wickets to land in a familiar position.

Royal Challenger Banglore beat Chennai Super Kings by 8 wickets

Royal Challengers Bangalore crushed Chennai Super Kings by eight wickets in an IPL game here today, courtesy an unbeaten 75 off 50 balls by Chris Gayle.

RCB thus emerged at the top of the 10-team table with 19 points from 14 games.

Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni smashed an unbeaten 70 off only 40 deliveries to help Chennai Super Kings reach 128 for eight against Royal Challengers Bangalore in an IPL match here today.

Dhoni hit three fours and six sixes in his knock as he hardly got any support from other batsmen save Wriddhiman Saha (22, 30 balls, 1×4, 1×6).

Earlier, Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Daniel Vettori won the toss and elected to bowl against Chennai Super Kings in their Indian Premier League match here today.

Royal Challengers Bangalore beat Kings XI Punjab by 85 runs

Chris Gayle hammered a century and grabbed three wickets to power Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)to score an emphatic 85-run win over Kings XI Punjab in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium here last night.
Put in to bat first, RCB, piled up 205 for six from their 20 overs, the highest total in the current edition of the T20 tournament, thanks a superb 107 by Gayle.


In response, Punjab could make only 120 for nine from their quota of 20 overs, with Gayle taking the wickts of Paul Valthaty (21), Dinesh Karthik and Piyush Chawla. The West Indian deservedly got the Man of the Match award for his all-round display.


Ryal McLaren topscored for Kings XI Punjab with 28. Karnataka left-arm pacer Srinath Arvind was the most successful bowler for the hosts with 4 for 14 from his four overs.


The win took RCB to the fourth position in the 10-team league and in line for a spot in the semi-final play-off. They now have five wins and three losses, apart from a no-result.
Punjab, on the other hand, have only three wins from eight games and are in the last but one spot in the league.


The target of 206 was daunting by any standard, and Punjab made it even more difficult for themselves when they lost skipper Adam Gilchrist to the first ball of the innings, a blow from which they never recovered.
Gayle's century included ten boundaries and nine sixes. He added 111 runs off just 59 balls for the second wicket with Virat Kohli (27). AB de Villiers also made an unbeaten 27. Gayle has now become the only batsman to score two centuries in the same edition of IPL.

Delhi Daredevils beat Deccan Chargers by four wickets

Virender Sehwag smashed 119 as Delhi Daredevils beat Deccan Chargers by four wickets in the Indian Premier League here Thursday.

Chasing 176 for victory, Daredevils reached the target in 19 overs.

Earlier, Jean-Paul Duminy slammed 55 off 31 balls while captain Kumar Sangakkara contributed 44.

Dale Steyn and Ishant bowled for the Chargers well but the target was set up easily by the Daredevils captain for the batsmen to follow. 

Delhi Daredevils play their next match against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede on May 7.

Kochi Tuskers Kerala beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 17 runs

Opener Eoin Morgan's halfcentury went in-vain as Kochi Tuskers Kerala produced a clinical bowling displayto beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 17 runs in an Indian Premier League match onThursday.

KKR paid theprice for a poor final over bowled by Brett Lee that cost them 22 runs withman-of-the-match Brad Hodge (35 not out, 3x4, 2x6) hitting a couple of sixes andboundaries.
Chasing 157 for victory, Morgan and Jacques Kallis (45,41 balls) got 69 in the first 10 overs but Raiphi Gomez dismissed Kallis andrival skipper Gautam Gambhir (0) off successive deliveries to bring the hometeam right back in the match.
It was Gomez's spell of two for 14that became the turning point. He was brilliantly backed up by India discard RVinay Kumar (2/28) and some tidy work by the fielders.
Morganfinally came good with the bat as he smashed eight fours and two sixes in his51-ball knock to provide solidity to Kolkata's run chase at the Nehru stadium.
It was the middle overs where Kolkata frittered as KTK bowlers kepta tight leash on them. The boundaries were difficult to come by adding to thepressure.
Having watched Morgan hit two boundaries off pacer RPSingh in the first over, Kallis got into the act, hitting the same bowler forcouple of more boundaries.
Gomez who bowled wicket to wicketbreached Kallis's defence when he played inside the line to get bowled. Gambhirtried to make room in order to hit over extra-cover but was holed out by hiscounterpart Mahela Jayawardene.
But the loss of two crucial wicketsdid not stop Morgan from taking chances as he clobbered RP Singh for a four andsix in the 12th over and then picked Vinay Kumar for special treatment, hittinghim for two fours. However he failed to up the ante after that.
In-form Manoj Tiwary (1) too departed as he was caught by BrendonMcCullum at midwicket off pacer Vinay Kumar.
Morgan somewhat triedto break the shackles in the 17th over, clobbering Sreesanth for a four and sixto accumulate 13 runs of the over.
With 31 required of last twoovers, Morgan and Yusuf Pathan (17) tried to accelerate the innings but onlyended up in a terrible mix-up resulting in Morgan's run out. Pathan followed thesuit with Mahela taking a brilliant catch as KKR's hopes were completely dashed.
Earlier, put into bat, skipper Jayawardene led from the front, ashis gutsy half-century helped KTK post a challenging 156 for five.

Mumbai Indians beat Pune by 21 runs

Chasing the Mumbai Indians' score of 160 runs for the loss of seven wickets, the Pune batsmen managed 139 for the loss of seven wickets.

Pune received a massive jolt to the run-chase as they lost the wicket of stylish Kiwi opener JD Ryder (0) in the first ball of the innings.

M Pandey gave Pune some amount of momentum with his 59 runs from 47 balls.
But the rest of the batting lie up failed to maintain the momentum.

R. Uthappa (34) remained the second-highest scorer for the Pune outfit as they could manage 139 runs for the loss of seven wickets in their quopta of 20 overs.

Earlier, Mumbai posed 160 runs on the board with most of their batsmen doing well with the willow.
Suman remained the highest scorer for the side with his 36 runs.

 

Ganguly joins Pune Warriors

Sourav Ganguly, the former India captain, has been signed by Pune Warriors as a replacement for Ashish Nehra, who was ruled out for the remainder of the 2011 season with a finger injury. Ganguly's contract is for a period of one year and is an IPL lifeline to the batsman after he went unsold at the player auction in January, where his base price was $400,000.

Ganguly will be vice-captain to Yuvraj Singh and is likely to join the Pune squad ahead of their match against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on May 4.

"We were waiting for Ashish Nehra's fitness report and ultimately the report came yesterday," Abhijit Sarkar, Pune's team director, told PTI. "I was already in talks with Ganguly and we decided that the amount of experience that Sourav has in cricket will no doubt help the team. So we finalised Ganguly last night.

"He is playing in IPL not for money but to prove a point. Our team think-tank felt that Sourav Ganguly is the best possible option available so we went for him. He has been a fighter and a master of comebacks. We are very much confident that he will prove his worth."

Ganguly played for Kolkata Knight Riders in the first three seasons of the IPL and led the team in two of them, while Brendon McCullum was captain for the other. Kolkata fared poorly in those years and are the only franchise not to make the semi-finals. Kolkata did not bid for Ganguly in January despite his name coming up for sale twice, as they revamped their squad entirely, and the batsman later refused a mentoring role with the franchise.

Pune Warriors are bottom of the ten-team league at present, having lost six consecutive matches after winning their first two. Ganguly has an average IPL record - 1031 runs at an average of 28 and strike-rate of 110 - and could strengthen an under-performing and short batting order.

Kochi Tuskars beat Delhi Daredevils by 7 wickets

Tuskers Kerala registered a massive seven-wicket wicket over Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League (IPL) here on Monday.Kochi Tuskers easily achieved the target of 141 runs with five balls to spare after Brendan McCullum and Parthiv Patel scored 37s each at the Feroze Shah Kotla.

It was a clinical performance by the visitors, who took sweet revenge of their loss at home against the Delhi side on Saturday. Kochi are now sixth in the league with eight points from nine matches while Daredevils are eight with six points from as same number of matches.

Kochi Tuskers captain Mahela Jayawardene was spot on with his decision making right from the toss, when he decided to put in the Daredevils.

A disciplined performance by the Kochi Tuskers bowlers restricted the Daredevils to 140 for six. Y.Venugopal Rao was the top scorer with 40 while Travis Birt made 27.

The Daredevils top order, David Warner (13), Virender Sehwag (15), Naman Ojha (13) and Yogesh Nagar (18), all got starts but couldn't convert them into a big score.

Rudra Pratap Singh and the temperamental Sreesanth picked up a wicket each and were economical as well. Prasanth Parameswaran and R. Vinay Kumar picked up two wickets each.
In contrast, the Daredevils bowlers were wayward and had to suffer the fury of McCullum, who scored a 19-ball 37.

A wayward Irfan Pathan bowled a nine-ball first over that gave 13 runs and they couldn't contain the Kochi batsmen, specially McCullum.
The Kiwi batsmen whipped Morne Morkel for three fours in the second over, that again saw 13 runs coming off from it.

Pacer Umesh Yadav had the worst in store form him as McCullum again smashed him for two sixes and two fours as 23 runs came off the fourth over.

Michael Klinger (18), though he found the odd boundaries, was struggling to match McCullum's scoring rate.

Morkel struck in the sixth over to get rid of Mccullum and Roelf van der Merwe dismissed Klinger in the eighth.
Jayawardene (7) didn't last long and was run out in the 10th over.From then on, Patel and Brad Hodge, who scored 13-ball 24, then added an unbeaten fourth-wicket stand of 52 runs to take the team home safely.

Mumbai Indians beat Kings XI Punjab by 23 runs

Paul Valthaty had just slapped Andrew Symonds for a straight six and was threatening to cut loose after a sedate start. Symonds bowled a similar delivery again and the opener repeated the stroke only to discover that long on fielder Kieron Pollard had moved a few steps to his left and was in a perfect position to take the catch.

That was nothing spectacular but Mumbai Indians hardly needed any out of the box performance to beat Kings XI Punjab by 23 runs and regain the top spot in the league standings at the Wankhede stadium on Monday.
Sachin, Rayudu shine
With the afternoon sun beating down, the wicket was never conducive for big hitting and it was clear the outcome of the match would depend on how the teams exploited the new ball.
Sachin Tendulkar (51 in 45 balls) and Ambati Rayudu (51 in 37 balls) ensured the bowlers would have enough runs to defend after KXIP skipper Adam Gilchrist put the hosts into bat.
The last year’s finalists lost Davy Jacobs in the third over but Rayudu again took the pressure off his skipper by quickly getting off the blocks and Tendulkar responded with a few innovative shots of his own.
But it was the 12th over from Praveen Kumar that allowed the Mumbai Indians to break free when Rayudu hit the medium pacer for a six and two boundaries off consecutive deliveries.
The rest of the Mumbai Indians innings was devoid of any spark. Even Kieron Pollard, promoted up the order, flattered to deceive. He managed to hit two sixes in his 11-ball knock but never looked like dominating the bowling.

Chennai Super Kings beat Deccan Chargers by 19 runs

Fielding made the difference between Deccan Chargers and Chennai Super Kings on Sunday. While the Chargers had to pay for dropping a few genuine chances from the bats of Mike Hussey and Suresh Raina, CSK were brilliant in the field, refused to give up and made it difficult for the Hyderabad players to chase down a formidable target of 166.

The Chargers, who had beaten CSK twice here before, failed to carry on after a rock-solid start and lost by 19 runs at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Sunday.

Though the Chargers' hard-hitting opener Sunny Sohal (56; 30b 4x6, 6x4) showed tremendous intent, DC's star-studded middle-order failed to rise to the task.

Bharat Chipli (17), Kumar Sangakkara (15), Cameron White (13) and JP Duminy (17) all got starts but failed to get going. Albie Morkel (3-38) was the most successful bowler for CSK, who scripted the most amazing comeback in the second half of the game.

Earlier, the Chargers' Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara took a cue from Dhoni when he opted to open the Chargers' bowling with part-time spinner Duminy. Though the move took the Chepauk crowd by surprise, Duminy did not disappoint and helped restrict CSK in the initial stages.

Shrugging off the initial hiccup, CSK came back to score165 for five in their stipulated 20 overs. Raina (59; 35b, 4x6, 2x6), Hussey (46; 41b, 4x5) and Morkel (19; 6b, 3x6) made full use of their opponents' fielding lapses and guided CSK to a massive score.

Sangakkara used his bowling resources accurately as Ishant, Daniel Christian, Harmeet Singh, Ojha and Amit Mishra maintained a tight line. But they conceded extra runs at the death which proved crucial.

Kolkata Knight Riders beat Kings XI Punjab by 8 wkts

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) won their second consecutive match in a row as they defeated Kings XI Punjab by eight wickets and 16 balls to spare at a league level match of the Indian Premiere League (IPL) at the iconic Eden Gardens stadium here on Saturday night.

Chasing the visitors score of 119 runs for the loss of six wickets, KKR reached the winning score of 120 runs for the loss of only two wickets in just 17.2 overs.

After receiving some initial blows from the Punjab bowlers as young left arm spinner BA Bhatt picked up the crucial wicket of J. Kallis in the first ball of the very second over of the match.

But the tension period normalised to a greater extent as EJG Morgan (28) and Gambhir continued to bat freely in the match.

Morgan kept on hitting boundaries, keeping the Punjab bowlers under pressure in the match.

He hit six boundaries in the match before losing his wicket to Bhatt.

Australian Ryan Harris dived to take a superb catch near the boundary and make Eoin Morgan return back to the pavilion.

Audience at Eden Gardens and celebrities like Priyanka Chopra, Sanjay Kapoor and team owner Shah Rukh Khan might have felt some nerve-cracking moments at that point of the match with KKR needing 85 more runs to win the match.

But it was cool and composed Gautam Gambhir and the in-form local lad Manoj Tiwary who batted sensibly to take their side to the winning score of 120 runs.

Manoj continued his good form as he scored a much needed 34 runs from 41 deliveries.He hit three boundaries and a huge sixer in the match, driving the match away from the Punjab players.

Skipper Gambhir scored a captains knock of 45 runs from 44 deliveries as he guided his side to their consecutive victory in this middle stage of the tournament.

Earlier, the Kings XI Punjab players could only score 119 runs on a spinner friendly Eden track where the little rain before the match was helping the spinners well.

KD Karthik who scored 42 from 42 deliveries remained the highest scorer of the match.

However, things were not looking so easy for the KKR men as opener Gilchrist was timing the ball quite well, hitting the KKR bowlers all around the park.

Gilchrist hit three boundaries and an over boundary in his 26 runs innings from 27 deliveries before losing his wicket to I.Abdulla.

Abdulla bowled the ball of his life as Gilchrist missed the ball completely and it went between his legs to bowl him out.

Abdulla picked up two wicket in the match and remained the  key bowler for the Knights.

Despite a victory and Bollywood actor Priyanka Chopra cheering for the home side, the much-talked about moment of the night was of course the presence of Indian cricketing icon and local hero Sourav Ganguly in the stadium.

The entire Eden gained momentum and cheered aloud 'dada' as they felt his presence at the stadium.

The electronic scoreboard at the Eden Gardens also flashed 'Welcome Dada' as the 'Mexican waves' gained more heights and life in the significant 37th IPL encounter on Saturday night which ended with KKR's victory and accession to the first position in the points table once again.

Pertinently, Sourav was replaced by Gautam Gambhir as captain of KKR this year.

Chennai Super Kings beat Pune Warriors by 8 wickets

Chennai Super Kings beat Pune Warriors by eight wickets getting their second consecutive win over Yuvraj’s men, who have lost four matches in a row.

Subramaniam Badrinath (63*) was the mainstay of Chennai batting and he was supported well by Murali Vijay (31) and Suresh Raina (34*).

In the first half of the game, riding on a gritty half-century by captain Yuvraj Singh, Pune Warriors India posted 141/6 against Chennai Super Kings at the DY Patil stadium.

A vital partnership between Yuvraj and Robin Uthappa got the team to a respectqable total after a slew of wickets made it difficult for the visitors to blast off with an array of fours and sixes.

Yuvraj mended the mistakes of the last game and clicked at the right time, managing to stay till the end of the stipulated overs for his team.

Yuvraj Singh had won the toss and elected to bat against Chennai Super Kings.

Chennai made two changes to their side, bringing in Tim Southee and Nuwan Kulasekara in place of injured Albie Morkel and Suraj Randiv. Both of them were on cue, taking a wicket at crucial times.

For Pune, Mitchell Marsh came in place of Nathan McCullum.
Teams: Pune Warriors: Yuvraj Singh (C), Jesse Ryder, Manish Pandey, Mithun Manhas, Robin Uthappa, Mohnish Mishra, Murali Kartik, Rahul Sharma, Jerome Taylor, Alfonso Thomas and Mitchell Marsh.
Chennai Super Kings: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (C), Murali Vijay, Mike Hussey, Suresh Raina, S Badrinath, Srikkanth Anirudha, R Ashwin, Nuwan Kulasekara, Doug Bollinger, Shadab Jakati and Tim Southee.

Royal Challengers beat Delhi Daredevils by 3 wickets

The Royal Challengers Bangalore moved to the second spot at the IPL 4 points table with a three-wicket victory over the Delhi Daredevils in a crucial match in Delhi tonight.

Earlier, Royal Challengers Bangalore won the toss and elected to field first. The Daredevils posted 160/6 in 20 overs, thanks to Sehwag (25), James Hopes (54) and Venugopal Rao (24). For RCB, Abhimanyu Mithun took two wickets.

Chasing a victory target of 161, The Royal Challengers fought hard and reached 161/7 in 19.3 overs to win the match by three wickets. Virat Kohli was the top scorer with 56, while Gayle made 26. Skipper Daniel Vettori remained unbeaten on 18.

For Delhi Daredevils, Morne Morkel took three wickets. Virat Kohli was declared 'Man of the Match.

Chennai Super Kings beat Pune Warriors by 25 runs

An out of sorts Yuvraj Singh found difficulty in middling the ball as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) were successful in defending a mediocre score of 142 defeating Pune Warriors India by 25 runs, in an IPL match, on Monday.
The CSK bowlers used the conditions to good effect and their fielders saved at least 20 runs as the Warriors could manage only 117 for nine in 20 overs. CSK now have six points from an equal number of matches and moved upto the sixth place while Pune Warriors with their third loss are now on eighth position.
Touch seemed to have completely deserted India’s World Cup hero as he scratched around for his 34 (43 balls, 2x4) before an inspirational catch by Shadab Jakati at extra cover ended his agony. During his stay, Singh failed to clear the fielders and at times he even failed to connect.
Having lost first four wickets for 40 runs, the team depended a lot on the captain but sapping Chennai heat seemed to have taken its toll.
Ravichandran Ashwin who is now India’s premier T20 bowler did his reputation no harm as he castled the dangerous Jesse Ryder (11). This was after Albie Morkel started the slide getting Mohnish Mishra to drag one back onto the stumps.
Manish Pandey (12, 2x4) coming back after serving four-match ban was also out in an identical fashion as he played on to a Morkel delivery trying to guide it to the third man region.
With the ball not coming onto the bat, Robin Uthappa’s (0) pre-meditated sweep shot off Ashwin saw his stumps go for a walk. The ball pitched outside left-stump and turned enough to beat Uthappa’s bat.
Precariously placed at 40 for four, things were looking downhill for Pune Warriors when Mithun Manhas (20) joined skipper Singh. The duo added 38 runs before Manhas was done in by extra bounce as he edged one off Doug Bollinger to Mahendra Singh Dhoni behind stumps.
Earlier, put into bat on a tricky pitch, Chennai openers Mike Hussey (61, 48 balls, 5x4, 1x6) and Murali Vijay (31, 29 balls, 2x4, 1x6) added 64 runs for the opening wicket. After scoring 63 off the first nine overs without losing a wicket, the CSK managed only 79 off the back 11 losing six wickets in the process.
West Indian speedster Jerome Taylor was the most successful bowler grabbing three for 30 while Alfonso Thomas chipped in with a couple of wickets.
Put into bat, CSK openers Vijay and Hussey started off in a confident note. Although they didn’t start hitting the bowlers from the outset, the duo found the gaps and the hittable deliveries were dispatched to the boundary.
Hussey was the first one who opened his shoulders giving Nathan McCullum the charge hitting the offie over mid-off for a six. The Australian batsman got a couple of streaky boundaries off Murali Karthik.

Team India's new coach : Duncan Fletcher

Former England coach and Zimbabwe captain Duncan Fletcherwas on Wednesday selected as coach of the Indian cricket team.

Fletcher's name was finalised during a meeting of the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) working committee. Stephen Fleming and Andy Flower were the other contenders for the job.

Former India coach Gary Kirsten after winning the World Cup.

Fletcher replaces South African Gary Kirsten, who led India to the World Cup victory. "The contract with Fletcher is for two years. He may not join the team in the West Indies (tour) as he has some prior commitments," BCCI Secretary N. Srinivasan said.

Eric Simons will continue as the bowling coach of the Indian team.

Fletcher, 62, captained Zimbabwe during the 1983 World Cup and played just six one-dayers during the African nation's pre-Test days.

As coach for England, the high points of his career was England's Ashes triumph over Australia in the home series of 2005, England's first series win in West Indies in 36 years and taking England to the third spot in Test rankings. He also guided England to eight straight Test wins.

Fletcher has a tough job ahead of him as he replaces Kirsten, who set a high benchmark for the Indian team and completed his stint with the memorable World Cup triumph earlier this month.

Indian Cricket Sreesanth’s New Girl Shazahn Padamsee?

After Riya Sen and Shriya Saran, Indian bowler Sreesanth has been painting the town red with Shazahn Padamsee.
Indian bowler who loves to dance in award functions, Sreesanth has recently been spotted getting a bit too close to Sharon Prabhakar and Alyque Padamsee’s daughter Shazahn.
The girl who made her big Bollywood debut in YRF’s Rocket Singh was seen painting the town red with the young cricketer.
On Friday, April 22, an eyewitness tipped off Mumbai Mirror, “Shazahn and Sreesanth have gone for a drive in South Mumbai. They are sitting pretty close.”
One must note that Sreesath who last played for Kochi against the Mumbai Indians at Wankhede, this IPL on April 15 has fallen in love with the city since then. He has been spotted in Mumbai on and off since the last match.
Shazahn too, has smartly kept away from the ongoing matches. Though the girl did meet up with her new friend afterwards. When contacted, the actress did not even deny it. She confirmed that the two had been driving around the city after the matches.
But when asked whether there was anything romantic, the girl promptly replied, “Oh, Sreesanth and I are just good friends. I am busy with my career. I am very much single. Can I call you back?”
Call back she did. And we asked her whether she found Sreesanth handsome. “Well, I can’t comment on that,” she quipped and quickly added, “He is sweet.”
When asked how she got to know the cricketer, Shazahn shot back, “I can’t tell you that.”
Earlier, Shazahn was dating TV actor Aakashdeep Seagal (of Kyunkii Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi fame). Not so long ago, she was also linked up with her co-actor Dhruv Bhandari from her second Bollywood movie, Madhur Bhandarkar’s Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji.
On the other hand, Sreesanth has been linked up in the past with TV actress Surveen Chawla and Bollywood actors Riya Sen and Shriya Saran.

Sachin deserve for Bharat Ratna :Bhutia

Indian football captain Baichung Bhutia on Monday supported the growing demand to confer the Bharat Ratna to champion batsman Sachin Tendulkar, but did not favour any campaign for it.

"I definitely think he deserves it. But people should not campaign for it. Even Sachin would not like people to campaign. A campaign would not justify the award," Bhutia said.

"Everyone knows what he has done for the country. His records and achievements speak for itself. So Sachin deserves the greatest of the greatest award," Bhutia added.

Sachin has contributed to the game of cricket what Maradona had done to football, Bhutia said.

"Unfortunately cricket is not played around the world, else he would have been as popular as Beckham or Ronaldo. By individual talent and contribution to the game, Sachin has contributed as much to cricket as Maradona had to football," Bhutia said.