Rohit revels in Chargers’ win

Rohit Sharma led a well-planned run chase as Deccan Chargers defeated Kings XI Punjab by five wickets to stay in the hunt for a semifinal berth in the DLF IPL III.

The game at the HPCA Stadium here on Friday was a must-win match for the Chargers and it achieved the winning target in 19.1 overs to move up to the fourth position in the table with 14 points in its kitty.

Chargers skipper Adam Gilchrist asked the ‘home' side to bat after winning the toss. Kumar Sangakkara (52), continuing with his good form, scored off bad balls and helped Kings maintain a healthy run rate after Shaun Marsh's early exit.

The Lankan took some calculated risks in his nine hits to the fence and one over it. Soon after reaching his half-century, Sangakkara tried to reverse sweep leg-spinner Rahul Sharma and paid the price. He put on 86 runs for the second wicket with Mahela Jayawardene.

Early in his innings, Jayawardene found it difficult to read the ball off the pitch and also had some close shaves while dealing with the bouncers. The opener struggled against the slower bowlers too and got a ‘life' on 21 when Rahul Sharma, posted at short fine-leg, could not hold on to a difficult chance off Pragyan Ojha. 

Source : http://beta.thehindu.com/sport/cricket/article399429.ece

Every game of ICC World Twenty20 LIVE and exclusive on Fox Sports

The Twenty20 format of the game has captured the imagination of a new generation of cricket lover as well as piquing the interest of even the most jaded cricket tragic.

From May 1 the World Twenty20 kicks off from the Caribbean and we here at Fox Sports will bring you LIVE and exclusive coverage of each and every game.

Australia have had little Twenty20 success on the international scene, they have taken their time to adjust to the shorter format.

But recent performances at home and overseas point to Australia finally getting their head around the game.

And despite being seeded below even Bangladesh for the tournament they should feature heavily.

Sri Lanka, South Africa and India are also tipped to perform well while the 2009 winners, Pakistan are always unpredictable.

So tune into to Fox Sports for every game and then log on to www.foxsports.com.au for all the exclusive video highlights, match reports and scorecards each day. 

Source : http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,26993872-23210,00.html

Patchy top-order continues to worry Delhi

Pre-tournament favourites Delhi Daredevils may have broken their three-match losing streak with the win over Chennai Super Kings to move closer to the semi-finals, but the worries over their vaunted top-order remain. A target of 113 should have been a snap, but the loss of three wickets in the first two overs made it a strenuous trek towards victory.

It started when offspinner R Ashwin continued his trend of providing early breakthroughs, removing Warner in the first over, after the batsman failed to keep the cut along the ground. In the next over, Australian fast bowler Doug Bollinger, who has already won over Chennai hearts with his bustling displays over the past couple of weeks, increased his fan-count by nipping out Virender Sehwag and Tillakaratne Dilshan in the space of four deliveries - Sehwag chasing a wide, full delivery and Dilshan bowled when attempting an extravagant cover drive.

Delhi were 6 for 3, and the deafening cries of 'Bollinger, Bollinger' ringing round the MA Chidambaram Stadium made it hard to believe the home side had scratched their way to one of the lowest totals of the tournament less than half an hour ago. Sensible batting from Gautam Gambhir and Mithun Manhas, who cut out the big hits and dealt mainly in singles initially, took Delhi to a vital win.

However, in a crucial match the feared Delhi hitters at the top had flopped again. Despite the presence of three of the world's most explosive batsmen (Sehwag, Warner, Dilshan) and two of the most consistent run-getters in recent years (Gambhir and AB de Villiers), the Delhi batting hasn't clicked as often as one would expect. 

Source : http://www.cricinfo.com/ipl2010/content/current/story/456255.html

Brett Lee is out with injury

High on confidence after a hattrick of victories, title holders Deccan Chargers would be hoping to continue the winning momentum against party-poopers Kings XI Punjab here Friday to stay in the hunt for a semi-final spot.

The Kings XI were dealt a blow when speedster Brett Lee fractured the thumb of his right hand Thursday. He will miss the remaining matches. The Australian pacer suffered the injury during practice.

The Chargers made a remarkable comeback in the tournament with three consecutive victories after they were down and out at one stage with a string of defeats. They beat the Royal Challengers Bangalore twice apart from defeating the Chennai Super Kings in their last three outings to be back in reckoning, and now they have to win both their remaining matches to seal their last-four place.

Kings XI, on the other hand, have nothing to lose as they are already out of reckoning. With back-to-back wins against the Mumbai Indians and the Delhi DareDevils, the Mohali-based side have already spoilt the parties of a few teams.

With the likes of captain Adam Gilchrist, Herschelle Gibbs, Andrew Symonds, Rohit Sharma and Tirumalasetti Suman in their ranks, the Chargers’ strength lies in their batting. But the inconsistency of the batting line up, especially of the top-order, remains a matter of concern.

Source : http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100416/jsp/sports/story_12345109.jsp

Karan Johar, Shah Rukh Khan to host IPL Awards

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan and his close friend filmmaker Karan Johar will be hosting the Indian Premiere League (IPL) Awards night to honour best players and performances of the T20 tournament at the Grand Hyatt in Mumbai on April 23.

The evening, to be telecast on Colors in May, will be a fusion of cricket and entertainment - to be called Cricketainment - with some of India's biggest entertainers - including Oscar winner A.R. Rahman, Shilpa Shetty, Katrina Kaif, Priyanka Chopra and Hrithik Roshan - set to perform.

"This star-studded award ceremony will see the superstars of Bollywood and cricket get together to make it the Oscars of the cricketing world. Celebrating sportsmanship, the viewers will be in for colourful treat as IPL champions get felicitated for their performance through the series," Ashvini Yardi, programming head, Colors, said.

 "It will be one of its kind and fitting celebration with lots of exciting performances and brilliant surprises to conclude this year's IPL action," Yardi said in a press release.

Source : http://www.hindustantimes.com/Karan-Johar-Shah-Rukh-Khan-to-host-IPL-Awards/H1-Article1-531406.aspx

DLF IPL 2010: Cricket and Bollywood will dance together on 23rd April

IPL CEO Lalit Modi is a real genius. First he tried to copy the English Premier League and ‘club culture’ from the Soccer world. He changed soccer with cricket and gave us IPL which has turned out to be one of the biggest and most successful sporting events in the world history. Now he is trying to put another feather in his cap by adding another charisma to the IPL. He has decided to organize an ‘Oscar Award’ type award ceremony where the IPL players will be felicitated in different categories.

Coming 23 April, we will see the biggest Awards night, which will be hosted by none other than SRK himself along with his best friend Karan Johar. This will be hosted in Grand Hyatt Mumbai just before two days before the IPL final match.

Though this event, famously named as Cricketainment, will be telecasted in May on Colours, but the good thing is it will see India’s almost all the big stars performing on the same stage. It includes Oscar winner A.R. Rahman, Shilpa Shetty, Katrina Kaif, Priyanka Chopra and Hrithik Roshan. So it is gonna be worth the wait.

Source  : http://www.entertainmentandshowbiz.com/dlf-ipl-2010-cricket-and-bollywood-will-dance-together-on-23rd-april-2010041546400

Shah Rukh Khan takes blame for KKR's early exit

Kolkata Knight Riders team owner Shah Rukh Khan has taken the blame upon himself for his team's horror show in IPL 3.

Chennai trounce Kolkata by 9 wickets | Scorecard | Match in Pics

Kolkata were dumped out of the race for the semifinals after losing to the Chennai Super Kings by 9 wickets on Tuesday. SRK apologised to the team's fans saying he was sorry that his team could not perform to their expectations.

SRK said he does not guarantee his side will perform any better in the next edition.

The superstar thanked the players for trying their best but said that sometimes his side's best was not enough.

And, finally he took all the blame for the loss and for his side not putting on a good show. 

Source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/iplarticleshow/5799291.cms

Royal Challengers gifts Chargers a win

Royal Challengers Bangalore lost to Deccan Chargers by 13 runs after being in a position of strength at the VCA Ground here on Monday night.

Following a wonderful exhibition of fast bowling by Dale Steyn that restricted Deccan Chargers to 151, RCB appeared all set to score a commanding victory with Jacques Kallis and Rahul Dravid in full control.

But in a matter of minutes RCB's fortunes nosedived after Dravid left the scene putting on 74 for the second wicket. Kallis and Dravid had carried out the repair work after Manish Pandey fell off the first ball.

Chargers bounced back with Kallis, Virat Kohli and Cameron White challenging the deep fielders in B. Sumanth and Andrew Symonds. R.P. Singh captured Ross Taylor's wicket and Harmeet Singh's fastish leg-break castled Robin Uthappa, who had raised hopes of an RCB victory after taking 21 runs off Ryan Harris in the 18th over.

“They could have played better shots. This game was in our hand. Rahul Dravid was the man who was chiefly instrumental in putting us on course after Manish's dismissal.

Source : http://beta.thehindu.com/sport/article395735.ece?homepage=true

Sangakkara stars in Kings XI's win over Mumbai Indians

A scintillating 56 by skipper Kumara Sangakkara helped Kings XI Punjab beat table toppers Mumbai Indians by six wickets in the Indian Premier League (IPL) here Friday.

Opting to bat first, Mumbai Indians were restricted to 154 for nine in 20 overs after Irfan Pathan and Piyush Chawla picked up three wickets each at the floodlit Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) Stadium.

Riding on Sangakkara's half-century, Kings XI Punjab made 158 in 19.2 overs with six wickets in hand.

Despite the win, Kings XI remained at the bottom of the table with six points from 11 matches while Mumbai Indian stayed on top of the league with 14 from 10 games.

Source : http://sify.com/sports/sangakkara-stars-in-kings-xi-s-win-over-mumbai-indians-news-cricket-keka0veeicg.html

Australia keen to have Tiger Woods back

Australia is willing to pay golf superstar Tiger Woods top dollar to return to Melbourne to play in this year's Australian Masters, officials said.

Woods received an appearance fee of almost US $3 million dollars to play the Masters in November. It was the last tournament he took part in before a sex scandal forced him to quit the greens and seek medical help for his serial womanizing.

The world number one is making a comeback at this week's US Masters in Augusta, Georgia. 

Source : http://sify.com/news/australia-keen-to-have-tiger-woods-back-news-international-kejwEdjeife.html

Taunting airplane messages unseen by Tiger

Tiger Woods said he never noticed the airplane taunts at him flown above Augusta National Golf Club on Thursday during his return from a five-month absence in the wake of a sex scandal.

World number one Woods admitted cheating on wife Elin and more than a dozen women have claimed sexual affairs with the golf superstar, who took a hiatus to deal with the matter before returning during the first round of the Masters.

Woods was on the first green on his way to an opening par when a plane flew above the famed course with a banner pulled behind it reading, "Tiger, Did You Mean Booty-ism?"

The play on words referred to Woods saying he was going to return to his Buddhism roots to try and find an inner peace and balance he said he lost to a sense of entitlement during his secret sex life romps, "booty" being a slang term used regarding sex and sexual attraction. 

Source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/golf/top-stories/Taunting-airplane-messages-unseen-by-Tiger/articleshow/5776678.cms

Responsible Suman steps up for Deccan

The IPL's cap of four foreign players for each team has been of much benefit for those Indian players short of exposure at the international level, particularly in this edition. Deccan Chargers, however, had been let down in that regard, until T Suman stepped up against Bangalore. His unbeaten 78 was a refreshing change for a side that has relied excessively on foreign players, especially in the batting; two of those, Adam Gilchrist and Andrew Symonds, guided him during the course of decisive partnerships that broke Deccan's five-match losing streak and dealt a blow to Bangalore's hopes of a semi-final berth.

Suman's promotion to No.3 on Thursday put an end to the embarrassment Deccan have endured amid other teams that have produced match-winning stars. While Suman's record prior to this game was modest, the rest of the Indian contingent in the Deccan squad, except for Rohit Sharma and Pragyan Ojha, had done little of note. Anirudh Singh, Monish Mishra and Venugopal Rao average 7.40 between them; on the other hand, Kedar Jadhav and Pradeep Sangwan have boosted Delhi Daredevils; Saurabh Tiwary and Ambati Rayudu have been finds for Mumbai Indians. Naman Ojha, Manish Pandey and M Vijay are established openers for their respective teams. 

Source : http://www.cricinfo.com/ipl2010/content/story/455294.html

Tiger Economy Felt on Washington Road

Tiger Woods's  comeback at the U.S. Masters has done little to help florist Frank's business but former British Open champion John Daly had no complaints as he hawked merchandise nearby on Wednesday.

Sitting no more than a Woods three-iron away from Augusta National, a smiling Frank, as he has for nearly 40 years, stood outside his shop holding a "$20" (13 pounds) parking sign above his head.

"I have had people from around the world come back and park here every year," said Frank, who was unwilling to provide his surname, as he looked back at an empty lot where he has previously squeezed in 25 cars to supplement his income.

The battle for the Masters parking dollar is just a sliver of the fickle underground economy that operates on the fringes of the world's most exclusive golf club. 

Source : http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2010/04/07/sports/sports-uk-golf-masters-business.html

A clinical performance by Royals

A ragged Kings XI Punjab further blotted its reputation when Rajasthan Royals scored an emphatic victory — by nine wickets and with five overs to spare — at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium here on Wednesday.

It was a clinical performance by Royals which has kept its track record at home clean — eight wins in eight matches.

Royals's authority was hardly surprising. It faced an opposition that appeared disjointed right through and then a robust performance by ‘man of the match' Michael Lumb highlighted the huge difference between the teams.

He scored with disdain and at will, plundering 16 fours and two sixes in his blazing knock. “I needed luck and I guess I was lucky,” said a modest Lumb.

The Punjab bowling was put to the sword in a resounding statement by Royals, which now has 12 points from 11 matches. Punjab's record is a dismal four from ten matches.

“Nice work by the boys. The quicks did well and I was pleased with the way Lumb and Naman (Ojha) finished the job,” gushed Royals skipper Shane Warne.

Source : http://www.hindu.com/2010/04/08/stories/2010040856522100.htm

Punjab to start International Kabaddi League on IPL lines

Enthused by the good response for the ongoing Kabaddi World Cup Punjab (KWCP), the state government is proposing to initiate International Kabaddi League (IKL) on the lines of the popular Twenty20 cricket Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament.

'The idea is to promote kabaddi on an international level and to give global exposure to our players,' said Sukhbir Singh Badal, Punjab deputy chief minister here Monday.

'The IKL would professionally market the game at the international level so that players can get worldwide recognition. In the coming days we will also make all out efforts to get circle kabaddi included in the Asian Games, the Commonwealth Games and in the Olympic Games.'

Sukhbir, who is also the chairperson of the organising committee of KWCP said IKL would organise matches in Europe, Canada, the US and in Australia in summers and quarter-final, semi-final and final would be played in winters in the Asian sub-continent especially in India and Pakistan. 

Source : http://sify.com/news/punjab-to-start-international-kabaddi-league-on-ipl-lines-news-national-keftOcdfdaf.html

Super Kings tames Mumbai Indians

Defending a moderate total with a tigerish resolve, Chennai Super Kings ambushed Mumbai Indians by 24 runs on a sluggish pitch at Chepauk here on Tuesday night.

Opting to bat, Super Kings scored 165 for four. The home bowlers then took centrestage to restrict Mumbai Indians to 141 for nine.

The resurgent Super Kings now has 10 points from 10 games in the DLF-IPL III while Mumbai Indians has 14 from nine.

The host spinners varied their pace and trajectory and controlled the extent of turn with clever use of the crease. Off-spinner R. Ashwin and left-arm spinner Shadab Jakati impressed. Gradually all escape routes were cut off for the Mumbai Indians.

Desperate measures

The ball was not coming on to the bat off the surface and stroke-making was difficult. As the pressure mounted, the Mumbai Indian batsmen, including the big-hitting Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard, resorted to desperate measures. The Super Kings fielders held on to catches in the deep.

In the initial part of Mumbai Indians' reply, Sachin Tendulkar thrilled the senses. Tendulkar's balance and timing were evident when he cover-drove Sudip Tyagi and whipped left-armer Doug Bollinger. However, the maestro, when on 38, had to retire hurt with dehydration.

Source : http://www.thehindu.com/2010/04/07/stories/2010040766042100.htm

Chennai Super Kings v Mumbai Indians

A live stream of Chennai Super Kings v Mumbai Indians is available to watch online at Youtube on 06 April 2010 from 14:30 GMT (GMT)

Free bets on the Chennai Super Kings v Mumbai Indians Many bookmakers are giving you free bets on the game. If you want to bet on the Chennai Super Kings Mumbai Indians game live then we recommend these bookmakers who allow you to bet on the match BEFORE and DURING the game! In-play or live betting is fun and adds to the enjoyment of watching the match.

Free bets work as follows - say you deposit X then you will get X free so you can bet for 2X. The below bookmakers are London Stock Exchanged listed and UK licensed bookmakers who are accepting bets on Chennai Super Kings v Mumbai Indians.

Source : http://www.bettingpro.com/category/Live-Streaming/Chennai-Super-Kings-v-Mumbai-Indians-201004060040/

Victoria Govt. wants Wood's to play in Australian Masters

The Victorian Government will bid to have Tiger Woods return to Melbourne to play in the Australian Masters this year.

Sports Minister James Merlino said Victorians will welcome back Woods with open arms and the government would love to have him back, despite the controversy surrounding his sex life.

Last year Woods received a $3.25m appearance fee to play in the event, which he won, with the state government chipping in $1.5m.

Earlier, Australian politician Peter Ryan had said that Woods should be disqualified from receiving taxpayer dollars to play in Victoria because of his infamous transgressions.

Source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/golf/top-stories/Victoria-Govt-wants-Woods-to-play-in-Australian-Masters/articleshow/5766189.cms

Gambhir backs under-fire Yuvraj

Yuvraj Singh congratulates Gautam Gambhir on his hundred, Bangladesh v India, 3rd ODI, Kitply Cup, Mirpur, June 12, 2008

Gautam Gambhir, the Delhi Daredevils captain, has come out strongly in defence of his India team-mate, Yuvraj Singh, who was criticised by the media for his poor performance in the 2010 season of the IPL.

"You have got to show confidence in your cricketers, you have got to back them up when they are down," Gambhir wrote in his column for Hindustan Times. "Yuvraj is an exceptional cricketer, and the match-winner right now in this country. He's always been the way he is, in form or out of it. He's had the same lifestyle, the same carefree, happy attitude to life in general. So why kick the guy when he's down?

Yuvraj has scored only 137 runs in eight IPL games at an average of 17.12. His performance mirrored Kings XI Punjab's woeful showing and they are virtually out of contention for the semi-finals after winning only one out of eight games. That led to speculation that his poor form was due to an alleged rift between Yuvraj, the former Punjab captain, and incumbent Kumar Sangakkara. An upset Yuvraj vented his feelings on his Twitter page. 

Source : http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/454590.html

Kings XI Punjab hope to turn the tide

What hope can a team have, languishing at the bottom of the points table exactly at the halfway stage with just a solitary win to show and that too in a tie-break situation.

Kings XI Punjab had removed Yuvraj Singh, their iconic skipper of the first two seasons, in the hope that the team would finally lay their hands on the IPL trophy in their third attempt.

Whatever the franchisees may have to say, there is no denying that the move has backfired, and it would require a Herculean effort from hereon to avoid the wooden spoon.

Match after match and defeat after defeat skipper Kumar Sangakkara has been putting up a brave front when facing a barrage of questions from the media. The articulate and savvy, Sangakkara does not give away his frustrations, and promises that the team will turn the tide.

Source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/iplarticleshow/5753086.cms