Sports corner

[sajiv]

Rugby:-Toulouse without Lecouls for Cup

Benoit Lecouls will play no part in Toulouse's crucial Heineken Cup quarter-final against Cardiff Blues on Saturday.

The France prop was hampered by neck problems during the RBS 6 Nations Championship and he continues to struggle with the injury that will prevent him playing at the Millennium Stadium.

With fellow prop Jean-Baptiste Poux also out with a neck injury, coach Guy Noves will have to remodel his front row.

Noves will now go with a 24-man squad for the match, with lock Romain Millo-Chluski also a late withdrawal after failing to recover from a rib injury.

Full-back Clement Poitrenaud, who has been playing at centre for Toulouse in recent weeks, boards the flight to Wales today even though there were fears an adductor injury would keep him out.

He is not expected to start though, with Florian Fritz and Yannick Jauzion being Noves' usual midfield combination for big matches and Maxime Medard likely to begin at number 15.

[sajiv]

Bridging generation gap with games

"People underestimate the value of a game. I am not against any modern game, but the beauty of traditional games is that they can bridge huge gaps between generations," says Vinita Sidhartha, taking us through neatly-packed boxes of over 12 traditional games including Pallanguzhi, Aadu Puli Aatam and Gilli Danda – some of the most popular games from her stable.

Since 2002, when Vinita launched Kreeda, (meaning 'play' in Sanskrit), she has been manufacturing and selling traditional games. This is besides researching and reviving some forgotten games. Liffy Thomas catches up with her.

Pricing, sourcing, packing, presenting ... it is a lot of work for Vinita these days. In a week's time one more set of traditional games, 'Celebrating Summer,' will be launched in a small way, keeping the holiday season in mind.

"These are tiny games you play with seeds – there are elements where children can paint, work with used materials at home, etc," says the freelance writer-turned-entrepreneur.

Though Vinita's venture started out of her fascination for games and the fun of it, Kreeda and its socially-driven activities only seem to be growing. Every colourful game is the handiwork of elders from old age homes, NGOs, children, local craftsmen and artisans – each contributing their mite to revive games which people once played.

Her team makes periodic visits to old age homes where they first build a rapport with the elders, try making them recollect what they played, play with them or sometimes only document memories on the origin, rules or purpose of the games and what it speaks about.

"Commercial success for me is the ability to do more research." From three stores where it started retailing, today Kreeda's games are present in almost every metro and tier II city. The games are priced from anywhere between Rs. 45 and Rs. 600, with around 20 different games in the kitty.

This June, it is gearing up to revamp its website ( www.kreedagames.com) as well as start online sales, where it aims at targeting youngsters and those from smaller metros.

"These games will not exist if I don't take it to the younger audience," she says, adding how games are tested with people from different cultural and socio-economic backgrounds before they are out in the market.

Enthusiasts can expect a lot of serious study on the social relevance of certain games. Citing example of the Ramayana series, Vinita says, "Indian traditions can be fun and similar games are on the cards." Besides, Kreeda is also planning to launch a new game every month.

[ganeshbala]

India lifts Azlan Shah title after 13 years

India regained the Azlan Shah hockey title after a 13-year gap, defeating hosts Malaysia 3-1 in the finals of the five-nation tournament here today.

Arjun Halappa (8th minute), Prabhjot Singh (20th) and Shivender Singh (41st) sounded the board for India through neatly worked out field goals, while Misron (11th) reduced the margin for the hosts.

Earlier in the day, New Zealand pipped Pakistan 2-1 in a play-off match to secure the third spot at the Azlan Shah Stadium.

High on confidence after their 3-0 win against Malaysia during the round-robin stage, India, who last won the tournament in 1995, started making forays into the rival half from the word go.

The Indian forwards' efforts bore fruit as early as in the eighth minute of the match when Arjun scored a field goal to give India the lead.

The lead was, however, shortlived as Misron drew parity, much to the delight of the home crowd, in 11th minute through a field goal.

[Kalyan]

'I want to make sure Mumbai Indians win the IPL'

In 14 matches in the inaugural Indian Premier League [Images] last year, Abhishek Nayar scored 206 runs @ 25.75, with an impressive strike rate of 149.28, for Mumbai Indians [Images]. To many he seemed cut out for the shorter versions of the game. But the 25-year-old showed he could also excel in the longer version with a consistent performance during Mumbai's title run in the Ranji Trophy.

Besides finishing among the top run scorers for his side, with 233 runs from four matches (@ 58.25), he also snapped up 10 wickets (@ 18. 60). His 99 in the final against Uttar Pradesh [Images] was a crucial innings in the every sense of the term.

For those consistent domestic performances, the all-rounder was rewarded with an upgrade of his IPL contract with Mumbai Indians. Now, with India set to defend its Twenty20 [Images] world title in England [Images] this June, Nayar also finds himself in the 30-member preliminary squad.

The youngster spoke with Special Correspondent Bikash Mohapatra a couple of days before boarding the flight to South Africa [Images] for the second season of the IPL.

Take us through to your experience on the recent trip (with Mumbai Indians) to South Africa?

I think it was a great experience. We obviously got a look into the conditions and the kind of pitches they have. And we got to play three practice games at Durban. That was an eye-opener, because the conditions were alien to us.

We tried to make the best use of whatever time and opportunities were provided to us by Mumbai Indians' management.

The emphasis was primarily to try and get used to the conditions, and it worked well for us.

The IPL has now shifted to South Africa. Will it make any difference to Mumbai Indians' fortunes, considering you have already trained there?

Hopefully, it will make a difference and we will win this year.

We were fortunate in the first place to go and get to practice there; luckily for us the IPL also shifted there.  Besides, it will make a difference because it will be more competitive cricket, more challenging for us.

How was the experience of working with Jonty Rhodes [Images] and Shaun Pollock [Images]?

Going to South Africa to acclimatize was in itself a great experience, and Jonty and Shaun being there was like an icing on the cake. They were tremendous. Just having their presence in the dressing room and them talking to us was a big motivator.

When Jonty talked about how keeping the intensity throughout matters in a game, it made us realise a lot of things. We had lost a few encounters in the last season owing to that.

Jonty also focused on quite a few things during the training sessions, like the fielding techniques, making sure that we were in the right positions while throwing and right throwing action among others.

You played alongside Pollock in the Mumbai Indians' squad last season. This year he returns in the role of a mentor to Mumbai Indians. How has the equation changed?

Well, I think last year he was a player-cum-mentor for us. This year he's still being the same. He hasn't changed a lot. His inputs have been tremendous.

Like last year, for me, just being around Shaun helped throughout the year. I mean, his thoughts and ideas I have carried for a whole year and I have done pretty well.

NayarWith Zaheer Khan [Images] joining Mumbai Indians from Bangalore Royal Challengers [Images], your bowling also is strengthened?

It is tremendous. As we know he (Zaheer) is one of the best fast bowlers in the world at the moment. He has also done well whenever he has played for Mumbai. Just having Zak around is going to be an amazing experience.

Praveen Amre's appointment as the assistant coach should also work well for Mumbai Indians�

It couldn't be any better for us. I mean we have worked with him throughout. I have also worked with him prior to the Ranji Trophy, as we represent the same club. To have him around makes things more comfortable for us. We know that when we need some advice who we need to go and talk to.

Under him we have done well the whole year� the Ranji Trophy, the Duleep Trophy and the one-dayers. So, hopefully, we will carry the good work forward.

His appointment surely matters a lot. He understands our minds quite well and also has a lot of understanding about how domestic cricket is played, as he has been around for a while.

Moreover, he has done well in South Africa. So when he does share his experience it will be a good learning curve for us.

You mentioned that your team has been doing well this year. Last season the results weren't as good. How much do results matter?

Results instill confidence in a player as well as a team. I mean, you can always make out the difference between a champion team player and a player who belongs to a team that hasn't won for a long time.

The good results have given us good confidence. And, hopefully, we can translate that confidence into performance and help the Mumbai Indians win the IPL.

You are among the 30 probables for the Twenty20 World Cup in England? Hoping to make it to the national team some time soon?

At this point I am just trying to ensure I do well in this tournament (IPL) and enjoy my time in South Africa, and make sure that Mumbai Indians win the IPL.

On a personal front, I just want to keep doing what I am doing; I am not trying to do anything different. There are just a few minor adjustments. But I want to make sure that whatever opportunities I get I make good use of that.

source : rediff

[sajiv]

India wins Azlan Shah Cup after 13 years

Ipoh: The Indian team emerged the champions of the Azlan Shah Cup hockey after beating the hosts, Malaysia at 3-1 in the finals on Sunday, Apr 12.

Arjun Halappa, Prabhjot Singh and Shivendra Singh scored for India. Halappa scored for India as early as eight minutes into the game while Misron scored for Malaysia three minutes later.

Indian defence stood their grounds to keep the opponents at 1, while Prabhjot scored a second one for India.

By Half time the score was 2-1 and Shivendra's strike in the second half giving India a remarkable lead.

India has won the cup after 13 years.

OneIndia News

[sajiv]

India takes its eye off the IPL as election fever mounts

Tuesday marked the start of the Hindu new year in Kerala and some other parts of the country, but if Lalit Modi was expecting saturation media coverage with the start of the Indian Premier League only days away, he would have been sorely disappointed. The Malayala Manorama, a broadsheet with a readership of more than 15 million, did feature the IPL on its sports pages, but it was almost an afterthought, after a lengthy preview of Liverpool's mission impossible at Stamford Bridge (after that heroic failure, you can rest assured there will be at least six columns tomorrow).

Some would say that such coverage reflects the fact that India's most literate state has a more balanced view of the world of sport than the rest of the cricket-crazy country. And there is some truth in that. The genuine sports lover recognises the fact that football's European Cup is the pinnacle of club sport. Nothing else – the World Series, Super Bowl, the NBA finals, or the IPL – comes close. Fair enough then that the biggest show on turf gets bigger headlines than some pre-IPL soundbites.

But Messrs Lampard, Messi and Ronaldo are not the only reason that IPL fever hasn't quite spread to every corner of India. If one thing can take minds off cricket, it's politics, especially in a state like Kerala, which voted in the world's first elected communist government in 1957. The 20 parliamentary constituencies will elect their representatives tomorrow, and it's fair to say that hardly anyone cares about John Buchanan's 'multiple-captain theory' or the IPL's latest entertainment package.

As was the case last year games have been scheduled for 4pm and 8pm local time, but it's hard to see the same number of eyes watching once election season hots up. Modi was right when he said that 95% of the IPL audience is TV-based, but he and many others may have underestimated the importance of local roots when they moved the tournament to South Africa.

Palaniappan Chidambaram, the Home Minister, has already said that it was the intransigence of the IPL authorities over the shifting of certain dates that caused it to eventually move overseas, and the lack of pre-tournament buzz is keenly felt in cities now completely taken over by election slogans and posters. In the run-up to the opener at Bangalore's Chinnaswamy stadium last April, the pavements near the venue were chock-a-block with fans trying to score last-minute tickets. The situation was no different for games in Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai, with demand far outstripping supply as the event started to capture the imagination.

The advantage of staging the games in the biggest cities was obvious. It may have caused the odd traffic jam and disturbed sleep patterns, but it was impossible to remain oblivious to the tournament, especially once those that would normally settle for the local version of Coronation Street/EastEnders decided to switch loyalties for six weeks.

The IPL team shirts are on display in various outlets all over the big cities, but they are not flying off the shelves like they did last year. With the players now the width of the Indian Ocean away, hearts do not seem to have grown fonder. Even the hardcore fan appears more concerned with how India will fare in their defence of the World Twenty20 title in England a week after the IPL curtain comes down.

So is the IPL suffering from second-season syndrome? Has the global recession burst the bubble?

I don't think so. Once the fireworks start with a double-header on Saturday – the organisers have cannily scheduled Tendulkar [Mumbai Indians] v Flintoff [Chennai Super Kings] and Pietersen [Bangalore Royal Challengers] v Warne [Rajasthan Royals] – it should be more or less business as usual as far as the TV audience is concerned. And things will really get interesting from the middle of May, once polling is over and the counting of votes starts.

With a hung parliament inevitable, the IPL's final week will also clash with the task of forming the new government. If Modi's pet project can generate enough interest in those horse-trading times, we'll know for sure that he is on to a winner. But until that happens, it is best to sit tight and not believe the hype. Only rarely, as at Stamford Bridge last night, does reality actually match or surpass the highest of hopes.

[sajiv]

An online cricket fantasy

NEW DELHI: While international cricket starts will be engaged in a keen contest in the Indian Premier League in South Africa, Indian cricket lovers will now get an opportunity to take part in their very own "Indian Hatke League" (IHL) between April 17 and May 24.

Coinciding with the IPL season, mobile service provider Virgin Mobile will be launching an online cricket fantasy game – IHL – this Friday where anyone can just log in to www.indianhatkeleague.com , sign up and play the game for free. The online game will provide users the option to play for any of the eight teams for the IHL.

As per the IHL format, a total of eight teams with 11 players each will play 20-over matches. Virgin Mobile has got some unusual names for the participating teams – Delhi Dhinchaks, Deccan Chillieaters, Kolkata Tram Riders, Chennai Super Muthus, Kakke's XI Punjab, Mumbai Manoos, Rajasthan Muchhads and Royal Chillmaadis Bangalore.

Explaining how the IHL would work, Virgin Mobile Indian CEO M. A. Madhusudan says: "People just need to register themselves under a team of their choice, play the tournament representing that particular team, score individually and for the team during the game. A person can play as many times as he wants and submit his best score for each match individually. And if his team loses a match and does not quality for the next match, his score will be retained. To continue playing, he just needs to sign up for another team and play. Participants with the best scores will get various prizes."

Describing the entire initiative as a "brand building exercise", Mr. Madhusudan said: "It is all about interacting with the Indian youth and giving them a taste of some stimulating entertainment and sense of being part of a cricketing phenomenon. They also get to win some exciting prizes that include Hyundai's latest hatchback 'i20', Sony's video game console 'Play Station' and Virgin Mobile phones."

[sajiv]

Carrom tournament for men from today

TIRUCHI: The Tiruchi District Carrom Association (TDCA) will conduct the Tamil Nadu State ranking prize money carrom tournament for men from April 17 to 19 at Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited Community Centre (BHEL CC) here to commemorate its golden jubilee.

Announcing this at a press conference here on Thursday, TDCA Executive President S. Kalyanaraman said that players from various parts of the State will be taking part in the tournament, organised with support from the BHELCC. The tourney will be conducted in two categories – singles and doubles.

Two-time world champion and Arjuna awardee Maria Irudayam, reigning National champion B. Radhakrishnan and former champion M. Nataraj are the star participants.

"With some of the top players participating we expect the tournament to be tough and exciting," Mr. Kalyanaraman added.

The General Manager (Spares), BHEL, N. Jagadeesan, will inaugurate the tournament, while the Collector T. Soundiah will give away the prizes on Sunday.

TDCA patron S. Rengachari, Secretary S. Subramanian, Treasurer P. Rajkumar and Media in-charge K.C. Neelamegam explained the initiatives taken to make the tournament a high-profile event.

[sajiv]

International Cricket :-Morkel, Ntini is SA squad for fifth ODI

South Africa on Thursday brought back pace duo of Morne Morkel and Makhaya Ntini for Friday's final ODI against Australia.

They are brought into the team at the cost of off-spinner Johan Botha and fast bowler Wayne Parnell.

Botha was reported for suspect bowling action during the fourth match, which the hosts won to secure an unassailable 3-1 in the five-match series.

"Botha's action may go Murali way"

South Africa skipper Graeme Smith said their success against formidable Australia and earlier against England is most satisfying.

"If I look back at the highlights over the past 18 months, I have to put the away Test series victories over England and Australia at the top of the list.

"These have been the two toughest assignments for South African cricket in the past and to have achieved both of those successes in the space of six months has been very special for this team," Smith said.

The opening batsman also lavished praise on his young players for living up to challenges.

"On an individual level the most pleasing aspect has been the way the younger players have come through. You need a hard core of experience on which to base a top team and we now have the ideal balance of youth and experience coming together.

"The emergence of these young players has also enabled us to develop our one-day brand and the type of cricket we want to play," he said.

[sajiv]

Football:-Manchester City 2-1 Hamburg

Man City may have won 2-1 but it was Hamburg who advanced to the semis of the UEFA Cup with a 4-3 aggregate victory.

After being 3-1 down from the first leg the last thing manager Mark Hughes wanted was for his side to concede an early goal but that was exactly what they did as Paolo Guerrero scored from close range.

However City battled back gallantly and goals from Elano - with a penalty - and Felipe Caicedo gave them hope.

But City were left cursing their luck as Elano twice had superb free-kicks come back off the woodwork and to compound their misery skipper Richard Dunne was sent off in the second half for two bookable offences.

City midfielder Stephen Ireland told ITV4: "We had a lot of chances and we didn't take them, we should have been more clinical.

"I think Caicedo had a few clear-cut chances and didn't finish them, the same with Micah Richards.''

Hamburg manager Martin Jol, formerly in charge at Tottenham, said: "It's unbelievable, to get to the semi-finals is fantastic. I think we were the better team at home and the first half (tonight) we were probably the better team.

"The penalty was also harsh but the crowd was fantastic and they've got some good players."

Hughes said: "We're proud of the performance. It was a big night for us and we've produced a real performance of desire and commitment.

"The crowd sensed something really special was happening but we just needed that break at the right time.

"We kept on probing and kept trying to do the right things, putting pressure on their back four and they couldn't handle it. They're a good side and we made them look quite ordinary at times."

[sajiv]

Motorsport:-Chinese Grand Prix Practice

Practice for the Chinese Grand Prix gets underway as Jenson Button aims to go three for three in the 2009 Formula 1 season!

The Chinese Grand Prix is set to get underway, a welcome change from the other news that have been headlining the sport.

McLaren chief executive officer Ron Dennis stepped down from his post just yesterday, leaving the Woking-based outfit in the capable hands of team principal Martin Whitmarsh since joining them in 1981.

Meanwhile, the FIA's International Court of Appeal confirmed on Wednesday this week that the design of the controversial 'double-decker' diffuser employed by Brawn GP, Toyota and Williams did not contravene the technical regulations.

Back to the Chinese Grand Prix and high-flying Jenson Button is fully focused on winning in Shanghai.

[sajiv]

Tennis:-Rain delays Andy Murray

Andy Murray will resume his clash with Fabio Fognini in Monte Carlo after rain forced an early end to play.

The match was moved to the top of the order of play after bad weather delayed the start of proceedings for five hours but the British number one must have wish he had stayed in the locker room when they did finally get under way.

Italian qualifier Fognini raced into a 5-0 lead but Murray dug deep to level before taking an astonishing tie-break 13-11. He then won the opening game of the second set and will resume leading 7-6 (13/11) 1-0.

Fognini is ranked outside the top 100 but is a clay specialist and served notice of his threat to the top players with victories over Tomas Berdych and Marin Cilic in the opening two rounds here.

And the 21-year-old, who played Murray many times as a junior, appeared determined to extend his run as he raced into an early lead.

Fognini was displaying superb touch and a lovely drop volley gave him the advantage in the fourth game as he claimed another break.

The British number one, who has never reached a clay court quarter-final, was struggling for ideas, the consistent tennis that has served him so well this year having little effect against Fognini.

Murray finally got on the board in the sixth game, although not without again being taken to deuce thanks to a thumping Fognini return.

And the Scot kept alive his hopes of winning the set by breaking his opponent for the first time in the next game.

Murray began to give his shots a bit more air, resulting in some errors at last from the Fognini racquet.

The first signs of doubt from the Italian began to emerge as Murray created another break point in the ninth game, which he duly took to remarkably get back on serve.

And one game later he was level at 5-5, although he needed to show all his battling qualities as Fognini upped his game again.

The world number 108 stopped the rot to inch ahead again but Murray held firm to make it 6-6 courtesy of a bizarre net exchange that Fognini should have won.

In keeping with the set, the tie-break was a scrappy but dramatic affair. Fognini had three set points but again Murray refused to lie down and the Scot gradually got the upper hand before clinching the game 13-11 on his fourth chance.

The Dunblane-born star surely felt Fognini's failure to win the set would weigh heavily on his shoulders but the weather came to the Italian's aid moments later.

With Fognini at deuce in the second game of the second set having saved a break point, the rain returned with a vengeance and play was called off for the day just before 8pm local time.

[sajiv]

Golf:-Cejka takes control in South Carolina

Alex Cejka grabbed the first-round lead at the Verizon Heritage as Jose Maria Olazabal found his way onto a leaderboard.

As the PGA Tour resumed play following last weekend's Masters, Cejka shot a bogey-free seven-under-par opening round of 64 on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina while Spanish veteran Olazabal shot a three-under 68 as both continued comebacks from injuries.

Cejka leads the tournament by one stroke from American Lee Janzen, who fired a 65, the two-time US Open champion posting an inward nine of 31 having started on the 10th tee for only his fourth sub-70 round of the year.

The German is still recovering from neck surgery he underwent last September having pinched a nerve at the Open last July and he returned to action at the start of the year looking only to get fit.

"My goal is to stay healthy," Cejka said. "The last couple of years, I've been a little bit unlucky, a little bit injured. I had the neck surgery, also, where I was off for three months.

"I just lost all my strength in the left side. So it was tough to come back.

"So just hopefully everything stays well and I get healthy and practice hard.

Olazabal's battle with rheumatism has been longer lasting and the two-time Masters champion has been restricted to six appearances in each of the last two years.

The 43-year-old Spaniard returned to action this year on a major medical extension in the US, reappearing at the Masters where he missed the cut.

He made amends on Thursday, however, with a one-bogey, four-birdie 68 to end the first round in a tie for sixth place, four strokes off Cejka's lead.

"It's a golf course where you have to hit it really straight off the tee with its narrow fairways and very small greens," Olazabal told PGA Network Radio.

"If you don't strike the ball well you're not going to score but I managed to do that today, keep the ball in play and make a couple of putts. That was it.

"I haven't been able to play for more than a year and I need to do the best I can and that's what I'm going to try to do this week.

"I've been as healthy as I can remember and for the last three weeks it's been good. It hasn't been like that for a long time so I want to try to make the best use of it."

South Africa's Trevor Immelman failed to successfully defend his Masters title at Augusta but put disappointing early-season form behind him to finish in a tie for 20th in the opening major of the year.

That good form continued at Harbour Town where, despite closing with a bogey five on the ninth hole, Immelman shot a five-under 66 to finish the day in third place.

Americans Ted Purdy and Brian Gay finished a further shot behind with 67s with Olazabal part of an 11-man group on three under that also included Ernie Els of South Africa, Australian trio Rod Pampling, Aron Price and Stephen Leaney and Americans Bob Estes, Bill Haas, Todd Hamilton, Cliff Kresge, Jeff Maggert and Tim Petrovic.

England's Greg Owen shot a 69 alongside, amongst others, defending champion Boo Weekley, who is chasing a hat-trick of successive wins in the tournament.

Camilo Villegas of Colombia, American Zach Johnson, Rory Sabbatini of South Africa and Nathan Green of Australia were among those who carded 70s while Daniel Chopra of Sweden, England's Brian Davis and India's Jeev Milkha Singh were in a big group that shot level-par 71s.

Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy finished with a 72 while English duo Luke Donald and Paul Casey each shot 73s.

Carl Pettersson also shot two over while fellow Swede Fredrik Jacobson slumped to a 76 and Martin Laird of Scotland a 77.

[sajiv]

Rugby:-Wilko is "Michael Jackson of rugby"

Jonny Wilkinson has been dubbed "the Michael Jackson of rugby" by the man who is trying to lure the England star to France.

Wilkinson has been heavily linked with a move to French Top 14 side Toulon and he met representatives of the big-spending southerners last month.

Toulon president Mourad Boudjellal maintains there is still work to be done before Wilkinson's signature is secured but he feels it would be a major coup if the player was enticed over.

Boudjellal even went as far as comparing the 2003 World Cup-winning fly-half to pop star Jackson.

"If we manage to get this player, it will be something enormous," Boudjellal said.

"He is a sort of Michael Jackson of rugby. He is an unbelievable player."

Philippe Saint-Andre, who will be Toulon's director of rugby next season, revealed today his future employers remain in talks with Wilkinson about a possible move.

The former France star told BBC Sport: "Jonny's people are in talks with the Toulon chairman.

"I would obviously like to have as many good players as possible next season and Jonny is a top-quality player.

"I have heard that a couple of other French clubs are in for him and there is also, of course, the option for him to stay at Newcastle."

Wilkinson, 29, has suffered a string of injuries since kicking England to World Cup glory five and a half years ago, the latest being a dislocated knee he sustained while playing for Newcastle against Gloucester on September 30.

But Boudjellal dismissed any suggestion Toulon are taking a major risk in trying to sign Wilkinson.

"Wilkinson already at Toulon, it is anything but a done deal," Boudjellal told www.lequipe.fr.

"But when you sign a player, zero risk does not exist. For next season, Wilkinson has as much chance of getting injured as any other player.

"When you take on a player, he hurts himself or he doesn't hurt himself. It is always 50/50 and in life it is the same. Sure there is a risk."

French clubs are not under the same financial constraints as Guinness Premiership sides and have proved an attractive proposition for out-of-contract players in recent years.

Toulon already have the likes of Jerry Collins, Tana Umaga, Joe van Niekerk and Sonny Bill Williams on their books, thanks to millionaire Boudjellal, and are keen to continue their ambitious recruitment drive.

Accepting the club's overtures may yet have an impact on Wilkinson's hopes of an international recall, though, after the Rugby Football Union made their concerns about England players leaving the country known following the simultaneous departures of James Haskell, Tom Palmer and Riki Flutey from Wasps.

Wilkinson is no longer in the RFU's elite playing squad due to his injury woes but the current party were all contacted by chief executive Francis Baron outlining the potentially harmful effect of abandoning the domestic game.

[sajiv]

Cricket:-Dhoni, Sachin face-off in IPL

The stage is all set for the second season of the IPL, as Mumbai Indians take on Chennai Super Kings in Cape Town today.

The captain of the Chennai Super Kings, M S Dhoni has been successful in proving his potential by making India win at the inaugural World Twenty20 Championship in 2007.

Last year, in the first edition of the cash-rich league, Dhoni led his team, the Chennai Super Kings to the final.
With players like Matthew Hayden, Andrew Flintoff and all-rounder Albie Morkel bolstering the top order, Chennai are expected to come out strong this year.

To balance the team with an equivalent lower order, there are players like L. Balaji and M.S Gony, who are capable of bowling away the opposition.

On the other hand, Sachin Tendulkar's brigade is all set to reply back with Sanath Jayasuria, JP Duminy and Zaheer Khan.

With Sachin's experience and inspiration, Mumbai Indians can win against team Chennai and come out in splendid colours in the tournament.

Approaching milestones

- In case Sanath Jayasuriya posts a hundred, he would
be the first batsman to register two centuries in the
IPL.

- In the first edition of the IPL, six batsmen had
recorded a hundred each - Sanath Jayasuriya, Adam
Gilchrist, Michael Hussey, Shaun Marsh, Brendon
McCullum and Andrew Symonds.

- Jayasuriya, with 88 boundaries (57 fours and 31 sixes)
needs just 12 to become the first batsman to make a
century of boundaries in the IPL.

[sajiv]

Football:-Lukasz just fab for Wenger

Arsene Wenger feels Arsenal's makeshift defence is in safe hands with Lukasz Fabianski on his 24th birthday.

The Poland international is looking to make it a birthday to remember with victory over Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.

Fabianski was given the nod by Wenger for both cup competitions this season, but has found himself promoted to the regular number one in the past two weeks following injury to Manuel Almunia.

Arsenal have plenty of concerns at the back.

Youngster Kieran Gibbs will undergo a fitness test on his groin problem suffered in the closing minutes of the midweek Champions League win over Villarreal, but fellow full-back Bacary Sagna will be out again because of a virus.

With Gael Clichy, William Gallas and Johan Djourou all also unavailable, Wenger will be forced to send out something of a patched up rearguard against the Blues.

Fabianski, though, is one player Wenger has no qualms about rising to the challenge.

"I rate him highly," said the Arsenal manager.

"He is intelligent and he reads the game well.

"Lukasz is brave and has all the ingredients to be successful in his position.

"I hope it will be a great day for him."

Arsenal's defence will have to be on their toes against Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba, who is back in form and will be out to continue his own personal good record facing the Gunners.

Wenger said: "Didier Drogba is a fighter. I believe that we want to make sure that we combat with him and certainly one of the keys will be to keep him quiet."

Despite their defensive concerns, Wenger believes Arsenal have no other way to approach this afternoon's game than with their usual quick-passing, forward-thinking style.

"You know how we play. We will not sit back and wait for Chelsea to make the game. We will go in there and try to dictate the game," the Gunners boss continued.

"If you say that we have too many players at the moment going forward it is because many of them were out and we discovered those who came in are very good as well.

"But do not forget that two or three months ago, people were saying, 'You cannot score goals, you don't have enough offensive weapons'.

"We show now that we have the players and the confidence."

The Gunners head to Wembley for the first time since it re-opened two years ago following a £750million redevelopment.

Wenger, though, admits he was not impressed by the new ground when he visited as a spectator, and the old stadium, which hosted some of Arsenal's Champions League games, still holds a special place in his heart.

"I loved the old Wembley, and I was not too impressed by the new Wembley," said the Arsenal manager.

"I was only there was as a spectator at the first FA Cup final between Chelsea and Manchester United.

"Maybe I will have a completely different impression this time. I was only a spectator - I was not behind the scenes in the stadium or on the pitch."

Wenger added: "Historically, as a boy, we always played on bad grounds, so the dream of everybody was to play on the marvellous grass and pitch of Wembley.

"When I heard they had problems with the pitch, historically, that was a big disappointment because you always felt you wanted to play at Wembley as there was something special on the pitch there.

"If that is not there any more, then it is a little bit disappointing.

"I expect a good pitch, but the noises I get are not as convincing as the former pitch. The former pitch was really something special."

[sajiv]

Motorsport:-Chinese Grand Prix Qualifying

Qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix has gone underway. Renault and Robert Kubica have followed Ferrari's lead and ditched the KERS system. Timo Glock will take a five-place grid penalty.

Click here for the latest updates from the qualifying race at the Chinese GP!

Third Practice session: Rosberg gets his nose in front.

Second Practice session: Button scores another first place.

First Practice session: The top three from the first practice session in Shanghai are Hamilton, Button and Barrichello.

- A detailed look at the Shanghai International Circuit

- Chinese GP photo-gallery

- Play F1 Fantasy on espnstar.com

On Saturday

Here is the news that preceded the qualifying race on Saturday.

With the all the off-track controversies gone, MOBILE ESPN's Chetan Narula writes about the absolute cracker of a month that we are going to have in F1 - The real season begins now.

Ferrari meanwhile have finally come to their senses and dropped the KERS system altogether. Renault and Robert Kubica have followed Ferrari's lead and ditched the KERS system. Only Nick Heldfeld and the McLaren cars are left using the KERS system.

Toyota's Timo Glock will take a five-place grid penalty after he changed his car's gearbox. He only completed six practice laps on Saturday.

Flavio Briatore has kept the diffuser row brewing by saying Brawn have an unfair advantage - Button has told him to zip it.

[sajiv]

Tennis:-Elena elated in Charleston

Elena Dementieva was given a helping hand as she progressed to the semi-finals of the Family Circle Cup in Charleston.

The number one seed's opponent Dominika Cibulkova was forced to retire due to injury.

World number three Dementieva was leading 6-4 1-0 when Slovakian Cibulkova retired to hand the Russian a last four meeting with Caroline Wozniacki after the fifth seeded Dane strolled past Virginie Razzano 6-2 6-0.

World number 12 Wozniacki, 18, did not drop her serve once as she outclassed her French opponent.

In the other half of the draw, 16th seed Sabine Lisicki continued her good run with a 6-4 6-0 win over Elena Vesnina of Russia.

The German, who beat second seed Venus Williams 24 hours earlier, needed less than an hour to seal her progress to a meeting with sixth seeded Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli, who beat Melinda Czink of Hungary 6-4 6-1.

[sajiv]

Golf:-Monty loses his cool in China

Colin Montgomerie lost his temper at a photographer and a TV cameraman at the Volvo China Open during the second round.

The Scot has said that his appointment as captain for the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor in 2010 had helped make him a much more relaxed golfer these days.

But there was little evidence of that at the event in Beijing today as Montgomerie laboured to a one over par 73 after being two-over at the halfway point of this Euro-Asian Tour co-sanctioned tournament in the Chinese capital.

Having covered his first four holes in even par, Montgomerie was playing the 14th when he banished a photographer that had irritated him from inside the ropes.

The 45-year-old then hooked his drive at the eighth into the water and as he trudged down the fairway to find his ball, barked at a cameraman: "Don't film me."

[sajiv]

Rugby:-Cockerill turns full-time at Tigers

Leicester have appointed Richard Cockerill as their permanent head coach with immediate effect, the club has announced.

Cockerill, who appeared in 262 matches for the Tigers, has been their acting head coach since Christmas when Heyneke Meyer was forced to return to South Africa for personal reasons.

Since then he has guided the team to the top of the Guinness Premiership and into a position to challenge for a place in the play-offs as well as into the semi-finals of the Heineken Cup.

As a player, Cockerill won five league titles and two Heineken Cup medals with Tigers, and collected 27 England caps.

Tigers chairman Peter Tom CBE said: "Richard has been doing a tremendous job as acting head coach and we have been very impressed by his work in that role.

"He knows what makes this club tick and he is very passionate about bringing the best out of the players and bringing success to Leicester Tigers.

"Richard has worked very well with the players and forged a good team with assistants Matt O'Connor and Paul Burke and the backroom staff.

"We have watched his coaching and management style develop since he joined the coaching staff and we are convinced that he is the man to continue to push Tigers forward."

Cockerill said: "I know that the job of head coach at Leicester Tigers is one of the biggest jobs in rugby and I feel privileged to be given the appointment.

"The players have been fantastic, I have had great support from the staff and I am very happy to be appointed.

"This club is very important to me, it has been a big part of my life and I just want success for Leicester Tigers and the people here."

[nithyasubramanian]

Sachin weaves magic as Mumbai overwhelm Chennai   

Cape Town, April 18: A prudent knock of unbeaten 59 by batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar followed by a disciplined performance by the bowlers helped Mumbai Indians start their IPL II campaign in style. They thumped last year runner-up Chennai Super Kings by 20 runs in the inaugural match of the cash-rich Indian Premier League that took the cricketing world to a new level ever since its inception last year.

Sachin Tendulkar, who was awarded with the man of the match trophy today, might have made room for the younger generations to play for the country in T20 format of the game but one thing is for sure, he is still the best in any form of cricket. The millions of Indians who are watching the IPL proceeding on TV got a taste of his batting skills as he scored an unbeaten 59 with ease on a pitch where the ball was moving throughout the innings. It's for his intelligent batting, which held the Mumbai fort together, helped his team reach a competitive total of 166/7 after MS Dhoni asked them to use the damp Newland pitch first.

As has been said earlier by several experts, the contest between bat and ball in IPL II will be even because of the South African tracks which are not entirely biased to the batsmen only. The prediction has turned into truth as Mumbai Indians' total of 166 proved to be a good score on a relatively lively strip of Newland.

The evidence of the IPL not taking place in India was there for all to see as there is little support for the teams despite having a near capacity crowd. Unlike the IPL I that took place on Indian flat tracks, the number of fours and sixes was not in abundance.

Chasing a target of 166, Chennai Super Kings got off to a disastrous start as they lost two quick wickets in the form of Parthiv Patel and Suresh Raina. Both the batsmen fell to short ball.

Sri Lankan pacer Lasith Malinga drew first blood for Mumbai Indians as he removed the former India stumper Parthiv Patel for a duck.

From then on CSK never looked to be in control of the match though Flintoff and Hayden tried to stitch a partnership in the middle. But Harbhajan sent back Flintoff to trigger a mini collapse in the middle as he was followed by Hayden to the pavilion.

Though the King of kings for Chennai, Dhoni, tried to stand tall amidst the ruins with a knock of 36 like his counterpart Sachin Tendulkar, but it was not enough as he got little support from the other kings. Ultimately, CSK innings could not go beyond 146/7 in stipulated 20 overs.

Though Zaheer Khan was not at his best giving away 34 runs without scalping any wicket, it was Sri Lankan slinger Lasith Maliga who was the wrecker-in-chief for the Mumbai team. His figure of 3/15 off just 4 overs speaks volume about his value to any side.

The spin duo of Harbhajan Singh and Sanath Jayasuriya bowled pretty well as they chipped in with one and two wickets respectively.

Earlier, Sachin Tendulkar's intelligent batting, which held the Mumbai fort together, helped his team reach a competitive total of 166/7 after the allotted 20 overs against MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings in the inaugural match of IPL II.

Sachin along with Shikhar Dhawan gave Mumbai innings some kind of respectability with a 43-run partnership after they lost big-hitter veteran Sanath Jayasuriya for 26. Jayasuriya was looking ominous when he got out trying to flick the delivery of his Sri Lankan compatriot Thilan Tushara. Hayden, who earlier dropped Tendulkar at slip, made no mistake this time as he latched on to a low catch.

But Shikhar Dhawan's tryst with Mumbai Indians did not start too well as he departed after scoring 22 off 21 balls. He tried to pull a short delivery from MS Gony, but gave an easy catch to MS Dhoni who was standing at short mid wicket.

The middle order of Mumbai Indians squandered the opportunity of scoring big runs as three batsmen threw away their wickets in quick succession.

Jean-Paul Duminy and Dwayne Bravo got out without scoring too many and after 15 overs, Indians' innings were gasping for breath with scoreboard reading only at 105 for 4.

And then came Mumbai hard-hitter Abhishek Nayar whose 35-run cameo was enough to take Mumbai past 150 which was considered to be good score on the Newland pitch, which was assisting the medium pacers throughout the day.

Nayar gave MI the much needed momentum in batting as he heaved 3 sixes and 2 fours in his 14-ball cameo.


MS Gony's dream run in IPL continued as he kept on impressing with the ball in the first game of the IPL 2. It was he who sent new batting sensation and local lad Jean-Paul Duminy and Shikhar Dhawan packing. Duminy made only 8.

Overall, it was a disciplined performance from the Chennai bowlers. Besides Gony, all the bowlers, Thilan Thushara, Andrew Flintoff, Jacob Oram and Joginder Sharma bowled well and chipped in with a wicket each.

courtesy : Zeenews.com

[nithyasubramanian]

IPL to levy heavy fines for slow over-rates

Cape Town, April 17: In an attempt to deliberately minimise match-time delays, the Indian Premier League has decided to levy heavy fines on teams which resort to slow over rates.

A fine of USD 20,000 will be levied on the captain for a first offence and USD 220,000 on the entire team for the second. The third offence will result in a team fine of USD 360,000 and a one-match ban for the captain.

"Last year we found that 59 out of 59 games went overtime by as high as 45 to 50 minutes or an hour," Modi said. "Each game was being dragged further and further and further.

The reasons were that players were going back and forth with messages and there was a lot of strategy being decided from time to time."

"So we decided that we're going to tighten those as far as overs are concerned, time of overs is concerned and time of play is concerned."

"So we decided that we're going to tighten those as far as overs are concerned, time of overs is concerned and time of play is concerned."

The announcement came from the IPL chairman and commissioner, Lalit Modi soon after reports of IPL adding 15 minutes to each match were released.

The purpose of the 'tactical time-out', which will be broken up into two mid-innings slots, is mainly to add more commercial value to the league.

Modi had earlier confirmed the time-out, a seven-and-half-minute break after 10 overs, was designed mainly to earn more money through advertisement rather than give the teams an opportunity to discuss strategies and game plans.

The breaks in each innings will lengthen the duration of a Twenty20 match from three hours to three hours and 15 minutes.

courtesy : Zeenews.com

[nithyasubramanian]

Anil Kumble has best economy rate in IPL

Cape Town, April 19: Anil Kumble returned with his first five-wicket haul in Twenty20 cricket to bowl Bangalore Royal Challengers to victory over reigning champion Rajasthan Royals in the second match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) second edition Saturday.

The former India captain also has the best economy rate in the IPL (1.57). Delivering a minimum of twelve balls in an innings, Kumble bettered Mohammad Hafeez`s rate of 2.00 (4-0-8-1) for Kolkata Knight Riders against Deccan Chargers at Kolkata`s Eden Gardens last year.

Other statistical highlights of the Royals-Challengers match:

Kumble (5/5 off 3.1 overs) posted the second best bowling figures in the IPL. Sohail Tanvir had 6 for 14 for Rajasthan vs. Chennai at Jaipur last year.

Kumble became the fourth bowler to capture five wickets in an innings. Sohail Tanvir, Amit Mishra and Lakshmipathy Balaji were the first three to claim five wickets in an innings.

Rahul Dravid (66) has been adjudged the Man of the Match for the first time in the IPL for producing his third fifty in the tournament -- his fourth in Twenty20.

Rajasthan Royals` 58 off 15.1 overs is the lowest total in the IPL, surpassing the 67 by Kolkata Knight Riders against Mumbai Indians in Mumbai last year. Their total is the second lowest in the history of Twenty20, next only to Titans` 47 against Eagles at Centurion in 2004.

Bangalore Royal Challengers` 75-run triumph is their biggest by runs margin in the IPL.

Rajasthan Royals` defeat by 75 runs is their first in three IPL games against Bangalore Royal Challengers.

courtesy : Zeenews.com

[nithyasubramanian]

Rain may prove spoilsport in Delhi-Punjab tie

Cape Town, April 18: The third match of the Indian Premier League Season-II between Delhi Daredevils and Mohali Kings XI might be delayed after Cape Town witnessed constant drizzle. While the drizzle has ceased, the umpires are expected to take stock of the ground situation soon and release an official confirmation on the state of the match.

Both the teams fell at the semi-final hurdle last year and would be eager to take atleast one step forward on last year`s achievements.

The North Indian derby is a clash between teams boasting of explosive batting talents. While Delhi comprises of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, besides new signings David Warner, Paul Collingwood and Owais Shah, Punjab would be banking on last year`s highest run-getter Shaun Marsh, captain Yuvraj Singh, Sri Lankan duo of Kumara Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene to provide an early impetus to their campaign.

While the teams may be evenly balanced when it comes to wielding the willow, Delhi`s upper-hand with the ball may prove to be decisive. The team from the capital has the likes of Glenn McGrath, Daniel Vettori, Ashish Nehra and Amit Mishra in their ranks, the Mohali team wears a depleted look in it`s bowling reserves.

With S Sreesanth and Brett Lee ruled out due to injury, it would be up to Irfan Pathan and Piyush Chawla to curtail the Sehwag tornado.

courtesy : Zeenews.com

[sajiv]

Motorsport:-Vettel hails team effort

Sebastian Vettel paid tribute to his team after Red Bull Racing overcame mechanical problems to secure a maiden victory.

The cars of both Vettel and team-mate Mark Webber suffered driveshaft problems in practice yesterday and as a result the team took a cautious approach in qualifying.

Vettel did just one lap in each session but the 21-year-old made them count as he went fastest in Q3 to claim pole.

However, doubts remained over whether his car would survive the rigours of the race.

But Vettel once again proved his mettle in the rain as the German claimed his second grand prix win in conditions similar to those in which he took the chequered flag at Monza last year when driving for Toro Rosso.

"It was an enormous job from Red Bull and we are happy and very, very pleased," said Vettel.

"The car was fantastic, it is definitely necessary to mention the team did a really, really good job in preparing the car.

"It was an extremely good effort from the team to make the cars reliable after the problems yesterday."

Equally pleasing for the team was Webber's second-placed finish which secured a one-two for Red Bull, a result which emphatically ended Brawn GP's early-season dominance.

Webber enjoyed a thrilling tussle with Brawn driver Jenson Button in the latter stages of the race but the Australian came out on top.

"The conditions were tough for the whole grand prix," said Webber, who has made a remarkable recovery from a broken leg suffered over the winter.

"It got a bit better in the middle and then a bit interesting at the end.

"It was a very tough race but it is extremely rewarding to get this result and personally it is the best result of my career."

Button, meanwhile, conceded the better team won on the day.

The 29-year-old was denied a third successive victory as he finished third to extend his lead in the drivers' championship to six points over team-mate Rubens Barrichello, who came home in fourth.

"I knew that the Red Bulls had very good pace," Button said. "They were very strong from the word go.

"I am very thankful we were able to get to the end of the race with both cars but it is great to get on the podium again."

[sajiv]

Tennis:-Nadal clinches fifth in a row

Rafael Nadal clinched his fifth title at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters with a 6-3 2-6 6-1 victory over Novak Djokovic.

The world number one looked in trouble at the start of the third set but dug deep under pressure before eventually coasting to victory.

Djokovic, who had never beaten Nadal in six previous meetings on clay, began well, securing the first break of serve in the opening set.

But the Spaniard's battling powers are legendary and he quickly responded before going on to take the set.

Djokovic has a good record on clay, reaching the semi-finals at least in every event he played last season and taking the title in Rome.

And the third seed responded impressively at the start of the second set, breaking Nadal's serve in the opening game after a brilliant rally, which he celebrated with a huge roar.

The defending champion had a chance to break back in the fourth game but Djokovic held firm and then went further ahead by capturing Nadal's serve again to make it 5-1.

He duly served out to level things up, firing down a fourth ace on set point.

Djokovic went into the decider with his tail up and had Nadal in all sorts of trouble in the opening game but could not force the break - one incredible pass saving the top seed.

Almost inevitably Nadal then took his first break point in the second game when a Djokovic shot hit the top of the net and bounced long.

Djokovic had his chances in the third game, too, the 21-year-old showing admirable belief when it appeared the match could slip away from him, and he was rewarded with a break at last.

However, all his hard work was undone in the next game as a series of unforced errors gave Nadal a 3-1 lead.

The Spaniard looked every inch a five-time champion as he served out the first love game of the match and Djokovic's challenge was extinguished when he was broken again before Nadal comfortably clinched victory.

[sajiv]

Golf:-Strange takes China Open title

Three birdies in four holes on the back nine helped Scott Strange win the Volvo China Open with a final round of 68.

Strange began his final round four strokes adrift of overnight leader Richard Finch but birdies at the fifth and eighth saw him move into contention with the leaderboard becoming more congested as the final day's action progressed.

A par putt at the 12th slid by the hole but it proved a temporary setback as birdies at the 14th and 15th were followed by another at the 17th when he drained a putt from around 15 feet after finding the left side of the green with a nice approach.

A solid par at the last sealed an eight under par total and victory ahead of Spaniard Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano.

Finch endured a tough front nine, posting three bogeys as he went out in 38. A birdie at the 10th reignited his challenge but further opportunities went begging as Strange eventually took charge. He finished with a two-over 74

Fernandez-Castano, playing alongside Finch, signed for a 72 after a birdie at the last saw him finish level for the day and claim second place.

Hall and Brown, who both broke the course record yesterday, carded 71 and 69 respectively to tie for third alongside Finch on six-under, the latter leading for a period before bogeys at the 11th and 14th and a double bogey at the 12th extinguished the New Zealander's hopes.

Strange underlined it was a solid rather than spectacular week that enabled him to take the title.

"I didn't tear the golf course apart but I played the golf course the best way I could and produced a score which ended up winning," he said.

"I had a peek on the board on 12 and I knew there was a log jam there. I didn't really know if I'd won when I holed that putt at the last.

"The boards weren't there, I wasn't looking at them, so I didn't think I was leading until I holed that putt at the last."

Finch, meanwhile, was philosophical about seeing victory slip through his fingers.

"I'm a little disappointed, obviously 74's not the final round I was looking for at all but positives are that I played the long game really well, I was delighted with how I struck the ball, gave myself plenty of chances for birdies but just didn't convert really," he said.

"That was disappointing then I think I got a bit guilty of trying too hard, trying to think of my technique and change that, I'd hit one a bit too hard then I'd leave one short in the middle and I just didn't quite get my eye in like I did yesterday.

"That's the way it goes, you've just got to take it on the chin so that's that."

[sajiv]

Rugby:-Brumbies spirit please Mortlock

Stirling Mortlock believes the Brumbies' continued steady resolve will help in their clash against the Hurricanes.

The Brumbies beat the third-placed Bulls 32-31 in Canberra last night to remain in contention for a play-off berth with four games remaining.

"I'm very happy with the underlying effort from this group," said Mortlock.

"There's a tremendous amount of spirit in this team, what we need to do is improve a lot of the basics of our game but certainly underlying what we are doing is a huge effort and spirit."

Against the Bulls Mortlock was shifted to the wing in a backline reshuffle which saw Adam Ashley-Cooper moved to full-back and Francis Fainifo brought in on the other wing as a result of Mark Gerrard being ruled out through injury.

The change caused a few nervous moments and the Brumbies will look to cut out any defensive lapses heading into next week.

"The way the game is at the moment there's always of ebbs and flows and momentum shifts throughout the game," Mortlock said.

"What we're probably not doing is identifying when we don't have momentum and reacting accordingly to solve those situations. We'll certainly look at the tape and look to move forward from here.

"If you look at a lot of the tries we're giving oppositions, a lot of them are quite soft, where as for prolonged periods of time we defend really, really well.

"For some reason we let it slip and give oppositions cheap points. In this tournament you can't afford to do that, we've managed to dig our way out a couple of times, but I think that's a big learn for us tonight."

The Brumbies are approaching the remaining four games with a must-win attitude and while the rising injury toll is a concern, Mortlock is confident in the depth of the squad and the attitude of the players.

"We've got a fair few bangs and bruises but that's what this time of year is about, the ability to have good depth in the whole squad and the ability to cover those injuries," he added.

"The whole journey this team has been on has been an experience both physically and emotionally.

"We're in the situation now where every game is pretty much a grand final and I think that's a good thing for us. This group normally responds to pressure and that's how we are mentally approaching every match.

"It doesn't get any easier going over to play the Hurricanes at the Cake Tin but it's a challenge we are looking forward to."

[dwarakesh]

IPL2 Day-1 TV ratings dip 16% over IPL1

According to the viewership data provided by overnight TV audience measurement agency Audience Measurement and Analytics Ltd (aMap), the television ratings for the first two matches matches stood at 3.6 per cent (Mumbai Indians versus Chennai Super Kings) and 3.8 per cent (Royal Challengers Bangalore versus Rajasthan Royals) respectively, compared to 4.3 per cent for the first match of IPL's inaugural season (Kolkata Knight Riders versus Royal Challengers Bangalore on April 18, 2008).

These ratings are based on cable homes and among viewers in the 15-plus age group in the top six cities, a standard parameter used by ratings agencies and media planners for measuring the sports genre of TV channels. India has about 86 million cable homes.

However, about 1.4 million additional viewers logged on to SET MAX on the first day. According to the aMap data, about seven million viewers tuned in on Saturday to watch the first-two IPL matches, compared to about 5.6 million viewers that saw the inaugural IPL match last year.

On the seeming discrepancy between the rising number of viewers but lower ratings, Amit Varma, CEO, aMap, said the average time spent by the viewers on the channel was less than last year on a match-to-match comparison.

The average time spent by viewers on SET MAX stood at about 32 minutes on Saturday compared to about 50 minutes for the first match of last year's IPL, the aMap data said.

The dip in viewership numbers for IPL matches has not surprised media agencies. Explaining the reasons for it, Anita Nayyar, chief executive of Havas Media India, said, "We expected a decline in viewership ratings on two counts. First, the novelty factor was missing since this is the second year. This trend is also noticeable for realty shows that air for the second or third time. Second, IPL moving out of India has also contributed to the decline in ratings."

Nayyar said lower viewership ratings were expected for the weekday matches, but she expected viewerwship to gather momentum towards the latter half of IPL.

For SET MAX, the first day turned out to be encouraging in terms of advertising spends. According to the aMap data, between the two IPL matches and its own IPL programming (Extraa Innings), SET MAX aired about 640 advertising spots of 10-seconds each. The top advertisers were telecom (140 spots), automobiles (70 spots) and durables (55 spots), which together consumed nearly 40 per cent of the on-air advertising time, said a top aMap executive.

Media agency sources said Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Heinz and Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) were among the top 17 brands that advertised on SET MAX on the first day of IPL and the effective spot rates ranged from Rs 2.25 lakh to Rs 2.50 lakh.

Also, on April 18, SET MAX generated the highest gross rating points (GRPs) of 61.7 among all genre of TV channels owing to IPL matches. But the GRPs of Star Plus, Zee TV and other entertainment channels also registered double-digit growth over the same period last week, indicating a fragmented viewership pattern, says the aMap data.

The GRPs are the currency used for determining the ad rates across channels. It is calculated by adding the TV ratings of all programmes aired on a channel during a 24-hour period. IPL will be played till May 24 and there are 57 more matches scheduled between the eight league teams.

[dwarakesh]

IPL Brings Live Cricket Matches Online with Microsoft

Microsoft India in association with IPL unveiled online IPL viewing experience on the official website of IPL, promoted by Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

People those are on working and want to see IPL matches can watch live telecast of IPL matches online from the IPL website without registration for free of cost http://www.iplt20.com/.

As the online technology provider of IPL, Microsoft will ensure that the millions of cricket fans in India and around the globe are able to get the best user experience by interactive ball-by-ball updates of all matches on the IPL website.

Microsoft will helps users to access the live match in a lower bandwidth using Adaptive streaming, a new technology from Silverlight which enables users to watch video at 150 kbps of bandwidth. They also offer many interactivity elements like on-demand video gallery, Picture-in-picture window, Deep zoom.

source: itvoir

[ganeshbala]

Chennai super kings won the second match by 92 runs...

It seems chennai started their victory counting...

Cheer up ..

[nithyasubramanian]

KKR beat Punjab by 11 runs courtesy Gayle, D/L

Durban, April 21: Chasing a modest total of 159 runs for victory, KKR were off to flying start led by Chris Gayle and Brendon McCullum. However KKR's march was halted when rain disrupted the proceedings in Kingsmead as Kolkata scored 79/1 in 9.2 overs. Kolkata eventually were declared winner by 11 runs courtesy Duckworth Lewis rule.

The must win match for both the teams saw Kings XI Punjab fall again on the wrong side of the Duckworth Lewis method. An eleven run defeat ensured that Punjab lie at the bottom of the points table after two straight defeats.

The high voltage match between the two teams saw swinging fortunes as the momentum shifted from one end to the other. Put into bat first, Punjab were off to shaky start as Ishant Sharma struck early for Kolkata getting rid of Karan Goel for duck. Promoted up the order Irfan Pathan (32) did manage to get some momentum going with some lusty hits over the fence until Ganguly managed to lure him into a false shot. Ravinder Bopara (15) was Ganguly's second victim.

It was Sourav Ganguly's show in the first session as his twin strikes jolted Kings XI Punjab early on after Brendon McCullum won the toss for KKR and decided to field first. Yuvraj Singh and Kumara Sangakkara took Punjab's total to 67/3 when rain came pouring down during the mandatory strategy break after the tenth over during Kings XI Punjab's innings.

Sourav Ganguly in particular was at his vintage best reminding people of his excellent bowling skills in Toronto almost a decade ago. Things returned to normalcy for a brief period for Kings XI Punjab but just when it looked that Yuvraj and Sangakkara would finally lead Punjab to a big total, Aakash Chopra's direct hit caught the Lankan captain out of crease as McCullum rattled the stumps.

Sangakkara scored 26 of 24 balls he faced. Yuvraj Singh on other hand kept the scorecard ticking as he was joined by Mahela Jayawardene at the crease. Captain of Kings XI was then holed in the deep mid wicket by Yashpal Singh of Henriques while trying to clear the fence. Yuvraj scored 38 off 28 balls he faced and twice cleared the fence, much to the delight of owner Preity Zinta.

After Yuvi came the late flurry by Mahela Jayawardene saw Kings XI Punjab pose a challenging total of 158 runs for Kolkata Knight Riders to chase. Jayawardene (31) treated the Durban crowd with some audacious hitting as Punjab amassed 158/6 in the stipulated 20 overs.

Beginning the chase McCullum and Gayle set Durban on fire with some thudding strokes through off side. Irfan Pathan in particular was at the receiving end of hard hitting West Indian who clubbed 15 runs of 5 balls he faced. Brendon McCullum was not far behind in joining the party as the Kiwi smashed a four and six of Vikramjeet Malik's first two balls in the sixth over but nicked an edge while cutting the third one.

By the time rain came calling, Kolkata had ensured their first win of the Indian Premier League season two restoring SRK's lost smile.

Toss:Kolkata Knight Riders captain Brendon McCullum won the toss and elected to bowl against Kings XI Punjab in their Indian Premier League cricket atch.

Teams:

Kolkata Knight Riders: Brendon McCullum, Chris Gayle, Sourav Ganguly, Brad Hodge, Yashpal Singh, Aakash Chopra, Moises Henriques, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Ishant Sharma, Murali Kartik, Ashok Dinda.

Kings XI Punjab: Ravi Bopara, Karan Goel, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Yuvraj Singh, Taruvar Kohli, Irfan Pathan, Vikramjeet Malik, Piyush Chawla, VRV Singh, Yusuf Abdulla.

courtesy : Zeenews.com

[sajiv]

Pak needs something like IPL: Waqar Younis

Lahore: Waqar Younis, former Pakistan pacer held the Government and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCE) responsible for the International Cricket Council's (ICC) decision to take away Pakistan's co-hosting rights for the 2011 World Cup.

"We are helpless under prevailing circumstances that we can do nothing much against this ruling, because PCB is the one which let the ICC pronounce this ruling," The News quoted Younis, as saying.

Questioning, the country's ability to provide security for the foreign players; Younis said that the PCB has to start something like the Indian Premier League (IPL) to gain the confidence of other cricket playing nations.

When asked about the chances of Pakistan defeating Australia in the Dubai one-day international series which will be beginning from Apr 22, Younis said that it was the best opportunity for Pakistan to crush the World Champions.

Younis added that besides the weather conditions, pitches in UAE would also offer help to Pakistan.

ANI

[sajiv]

ICC strips Pak of 2011 World Cup hosting rights

Dubai: Due to the recent incident in Lahore where the Sri Lankan team suffered a terror attack, the International Cricket Council (ICC) striped Pakistan of the rights to co-host the 2011 World Cup.

Pakistan along with India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka was supposed to host the quadrennial cricketing event. However, due to the unrest in the country and the lack of security the ICC board was forced to withdraw Pakistan's hosting right.

"It is a regrettable decision (but) our number one priority is to create certainty and deliver a safe, secure and successful event," ICC President David Morgan said.

On March 3, there was terror attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore in which six Sri Lankan players and an assisting coach were injured and several policemen were killed.

Before this the ICC had also shifted the Champions Trophy out of Pakistan due to security reasons.

OneIndia News

[nithyasubramanian]

Delhi snatch thrilling nine-run victory over Chennai

Durban(PTI) AB De Villiers blasted a 54-ball 105 to record the first century in the second edition of the Indian Premier League as Delhi Daredevils snatched a slender nine-run win over Chennai Super Kings in a thrilling match here on Thursday.

On a day which saw more than 350 runs being scored, Delhi Daredevils first posted an imposing 189 for five and then restricted the opponents just nine runs short of the target in the stipulated 20 overs.

Chasing 190, Chennai went off to a flying start, courtesy a sparkling 22-ball 50 runs by Australian Matthew Hayden but once he was back in the hut the Super Kings lost the plot completely.

Hayden was removed by Pradeep Sangwan in the eighth over and once Parthiv and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (5) also perished, Suresh Raina (41 off 27 balls) and Andrew Flintoff (16) joined hands to stitch together a 31-run crucial stand.

Needing 42 runs in last five overs, the Super Kings could not keep the score ticking and fell like a house of cards.

Manpreet Gony (6), Joginder Sharma (4) and Laxmipathy Balaji (0) run themselves out in pursuit of quick runs and handed a narrow nine win to the Daredevils in the end.

For Delhi, Pradeep Sangwan returned with a three-wicket haul for 28 runs and Daniel Vettori scalped two crucial wickets giving away 29 runs.

Earlier, Tillakaratna Dilshan scored a 24-ball 50 to set the tone for the Delhi innings, while De Villiers hit a 54-ball century to propel Delhi after they were pushed to the backfoot by Chennai, removing the explosive openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir within two overs.

De Villiers' innings was bejewelled with six massive sixes and five hits to the fence.

Electing to bat first, Delhi Daredevils were left tottering at eight for two with Gambhir losing his wicket in the very first ball of the innings.

Gambhir (0) paid the price for being overconfident as he danced down the pitch in the very first delivery off Balaji only to be caught behind by Dhoni.

Sehwag (6) soon joined him in the hut after he tried to pull a rising delivery of Manpreet Gony in the next over only to be caught by Albie Morkel at mid on.

However, new batsmen Villiers and Dilshan joined the groove and shrugged off the early disappointment to notch up a 68-run partnership in just 38 deliveries to post 76 for two in eight overs.

The duo took the attack to the swords and plundered fours and sixes at will with Dilshan leading the carnage with a 24-ball fifty studded with two sixes and seven fours, before being removed by Morkel in the ninth over.

Dinesh Karthik then joined hands with De Villiers and the two brought up the 100 in 11.2 overs before Karthik was removed by Flintoff off Balaji in the 14th over.

The South African continued the blitzkrieg sending the bowlers for the leather hunt and notched up a 74-run partnership off 34 balls with new man Monaj Tiwary contributing only nine runs.

De Villiers exploded in the end overs and blasted a couple of sixes and equal number of fours in the 18th over off Flintoff to score 22 runs to notch the highest total of the tournament.

For Chennai, Balaji returned with the best bowling figures, scalping three wickets for 19 runs.

courtesy : The Hindu.

[nithyasubramanian]

IPL refuses ICC assistance to tackle match-fixing

Dubai (PTI): The Indian Premier League has refused the International Cricket Council's help to deal with the threat of match fixing and betting in the multi-million dollar Twenty20 event underway in South Africa.

The ICC's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit keeps an eye on international tournament but with the IPL being a domestic tournament, the organisers decided to have their own staff to tackle any wrongdoing.

"IPL opted not to use the ICC's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit, it's a domestic tournament and there's no compulsion to use ACSU. Every event has its own protocol and the IPL organisers preferred to use their own staff," ICC spokesman Brian Murgatroyd was quoted as saying by Associated Press.

"The issue of anti-corruption measures was one that was brought to the attention of the organisers of the IPL by the ICC ahead of the tournament," he added.

The ASCU is headed by former London Metropolitan Police chief Sir Paul Condon. It was formed after the 2000 match-fixing scandal.

The ASCU is assigned the job of keeping an eye on the visitors to the players' dressing rooms and team hotels during international matches.

Even last year, the IPL had not taken the ICC's help to deal with any possible corruption in the league.

courtesy : The Hindu.

[Prashanth]

"If Pakistan manages to play at neutral venues like Dubai, Ireland, England or elsewhere it would be too good for all us," ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat was quoted as saying by 'The News'.

Pakistan lost the right to co-host the 2011 World Cup after the ICC Executive Board ruled that the country was not safe enough to conduct the quadrennial event. The ICC's decision came in the aftermath of the Lahore terror attack on the Sri lankan cricketers.

Even before that, the country had been virtually isolated in international cricket with teams like Australia and India refusing to come here. Pakistan was also stripped of the hosting rights of the Champions Trophy.

"The problem is that nobody wants to come to Pakistan. We in the ICC are trying our best to keep Pakistan playing at neutral venues by telling the other nations to fulfill their commitments," Lorgat said.


Source: espnstar

[nithyasubramanian]

Explosive line-ups promise run-feast in Deccan vs Mumbai tie

Durban, April 24: Unvanquished so far in the tournament, table-toppers Deccan Chargers and Mumbai Indians take on each other in what promises to be a run-feast, given the two teams` explosive batting line-ups, in the Indian Premier League.

Both sides are through with two matches each and while Deccan Chargers have won both, Mumbai had to share the points due to their washed out second game against Rajasthan Royals.

It has been a dramatic turnaround of fortunes for the Adam Gilchrist-led Deccan Chargers, who finished at the bottom of the table last season.

In their tournament-opener against Kolkata Knight Riders, the Hyderabad team took the first "small step", as described by Gilchrist, towards regaining the shattered confidence after last year`s show.

They stunned the fancied Knight Riders by eight wickets. Pacer R P Singh picked up four wickets before Herschelle Gibbs and vice-captain Rohit Sharma guided them home with ease.

Gilchrist led from the front in the next game, hitting a blistering 71-run knock to take the Deccan Chargers to a dominating win over Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Rohit also played a crucial 52-run innings, prompting Gilchrist to describe him as a `class act`.

The triumph propelled the side to the top of the table with four points and though Delhi Daredevils caught up with them after beating Chennai Super Kings yesterday, the Hyderabad team remained numero uno owing to a better run rate.

The Mumbai Indians, on the other hand, have not played since their stunning opening win over last year`s runners-up Chennai Super Kings.

Skipper Sachin Tendulkar looked in good touch as he struck a 59-run knock while the young Abhishek Nayar also showed promise with a quick-fire 34 as Mumbai beat Chennai.

However, their much-anticipated contest against Rajasthan Royals, which would have renewed the famed Tendulkar-Shane Warne rivalry, ended quite literally on a damp note as persistent drizzle didn`t allow a ball to be bowled.

Lacking in match practice due to the rained-out game, ageing warrior Sanath Jayasuriya`s form will also be crucial to Mumbai`s chances in tomorrow`s match.

courtesy : Zeenews.com

[nithyasubramanian]

Kolkata, Chennai lock horns in battle of resurgence

Cape Town, April 24: With two wounded sides smarting from narrow defeats in their respective previous outings, a no-holds-barred battle is on the cards when Kolkata Knight Riders cross sword with Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League.

It has been a rollercoaster ride for the Kolkata side right from the start of the tournament. After a shaky start to their campaign following the defeat against last year`s laggards Deccan Chargers, the Knight Riders bounced back in their next game against Kings XI Punjab.

John Buchanan`s wards, however, could not maintain the tempo and was pipped by Rajasthan Royals via `Super Over` in a see-saw encounter here last night.

Earlier the same day in Durban, Chennai Super Kings looked primed to chase down the highest score of the tournament before managing to throw away the match to concede their second defeat of the league.

On paper, Kolkata has a devastating opening combination but while Chris Gayle has lived up to the expectations with blistering knocks in the last two matches, skipper Brendon McCullum`s (1, 21, 3) bat has not done the talking so far.

The middle-order also looks lacklustre with Brad Hodge, Laxmi Ratan Shukla and Moises Henriques being out of form.

The Knight Riders, however, will take heart from Sourav Ganguly`s form, especially after the former skipper`s gutsy 46 last night which took them close to a victory.

Chennai, on the other hand, doesn`t have any issues with the opening pair where Matthew Hayden is in red-hot form and Parthiv Patel content playing the second fiddle.

Down the order, Suresh Raina is also in good nick even though the same could not be said of Andrew Flintoff.

Much was expected from the talismanic English all-rounder in his debut season but Flintoff is yet to set alight the stage with the kind of batting fireworks he is known for.

Not that Chennai skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been able to do that either. Much to the disappointment of his legion of fans, Dhoni has been largely subdued so far in the tournament and would be expected to lead from the front when he takes the field in tomorrow`s crucial encounter.

In the bowling department, Manpreet Gony and Lakshmipathy Balaji have done a decent job with the ball even though Flintoff proved costly.

In contrast, McCullum doesn`t have the some gunpowder in his arsenal with Ishant Sharma struggling with his line and length and Ajit Agarkar failing to impress.

Meanwhile, it would be an interesting battle of one-upmanship between the Sri Lankan spin twins of Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis who would don different jerseys tomorrow.

For Chennai, Muralitharan has been among the wickets and proved difficult to score off. Mendis, on the other hand, did well in the match against the Royals before Yusuf Pathan`s `Super Over` heroics spoiled his party.

courtesy : Zeenews.com

[nithyasubramanian]

Strategy break to be reviewed after IPL II: Modi

Durban, April 24: Beating a retreat after the widespread criticism of the `strategy break`, Indian Premier League chairman Lalit Modi said innovations like this would be reviewed after the second edition of the Twenty20 event gets over.

Reacting to leading players like Sachin Tendulkar`s criticism of the seven-and-half minutes break at the end of every 10 overs, Modi said he would take the observations into consideration while reassessing the innovation after the event.

"I neither agree nor disagree -- what I will do is repeat the point I started with: this is an innovation, an experiment we are trying this year," he said.

"And as with all innovations, there are probably good points to this, and also bad points -- but there will be time to evaluate those," Modi wrote on his blog for the IPL`s official website.

"When the league is over, the last ball has been bowled here in South Africa and a winner has been crowned, our real work will begin to fine tune the DLF Indian Premier League for improvements in Season 2010 next year."

"On the basis of an exhaustive review, we will be able to arrive at some conclusions on what has worked, what hasn`t worked; we will be able to decide what needs to be changed, or fine-tuned, or scrapped altogether," he added.

Modi also dismissed the media criticism of `strategy breaks` as "ill-informed", insisting those are not aimed at increasing advertising revenue.

"Ill-informed media commentary that we have introduced strategy breaks simply to squeeze in more ads does us a disservice," Modi said.

"Most of you seem to think that it is an unnecessary interruption, designed only so that we can insert more ads. But nothing could be further from the truth."

"The `strategy break` is an innovative deviation from tradition, which gives teams an opportunity to consult and alter strategies after 10 overs to get their acts right," he said.

"Strategy time-outs, are designed so the coach can have some inputs into the course of the game. Such practices are normal in the world of sport be it on the Grid–Iron or the basketball courts of the NBA. We spoke to coaches of the various teams, to administrators, and others, and decided to try this out as an innovation," he explained.

courtesy : Zeenews.com

[nithyasubramanian]

BCCI-IPL issues advisory against trademark violation

Mumbai, April 24: After noticing violations of Indian Premier League`s intellectual property rights, the BCCI-IPL issued a public advisory with respect to the cash-awash tournament`s proprietary trademarks, trade names and match play footage.

"We have noticed a large and growing number of violations of IPL intellectual property rights and believe that it is important for us to issue this public guidance document," said Lalit Modi, Chairman and Commissioner of the Twenty20 event.

"There seems to be a presumption among third parties that the BCCI-IPL`s proprietary names, marks and contents can be used for various commercial purposes without permission of the BCCI-IPL. This document has been issued to correct any such misconceptions," he said in a statement.

The advisory, which has been made available on IPL`s official website, describes the proprietary names, marks and content protected by law and the restrictions on unlicensed use thereof.

"We are committed to protecting IPL brand from dilution and damage and will do all things necessary to safeguard the large investments that our sponsors, partners and broadcasters have made to make the event possible. We will assert our rights against all infringers and will not allow any attempt at ambush marketing to succeed," Modi said.

courtesy : Zeenews.com

[nithyasubramanian]

IPL can't be complacent on corruption threat: ICC

Dubai, April 24: The Indian Premier League`s refusal to take the ICC`s help in dealing with the threat of match fixing is not much of a concern for the governing body but it has warned that the cash-rich Twenty20 event remains very vulnerable to corruption.

"The board has consistently said it cannot afford to be complacent (about the risk of corruption in Twenty20 cricket)," ICC CEO Haroon Lorgat told reporters.

"We are mindful that with Twenty20 cricket there is great excitement and money. Put those ingredients into a pot and there is a higher concern," he added.

The IPL has hired private staff to deal with possible wrongdoings at the event underway in South Africa and Lorgat said the ICC doesn`t have any issues with it as the home board, the BCCI, is fully responsible for ensuring that the event remains corruption-free.

"It is not dissimilar to county cricket, in that it is a domestic tournament, and the onus for matters such as anti-corruption and doping lie with the home board," he said.

courtesy : Zeenews.com

[sajiv]

Indian Premier League

Hyderabad win three in a row

A maiden IPL fifty from Herschelle Gibbs saw the Deccan Chargers to victory over the Mumbai, their third in three games.
Gibbs' 58 from 44 balls was the backbone of the Chargers' 168 for nine, a score Mumbai threatened to better when Sachin Tendulkar (36 from 27) and JP Duminy (47 from 40) were at the crease.

However, Pragyan Ojha (three for 21) removed them both and the Indians never recovered, reaching 156 for seven.

Gibbs began steadily in tandem with captain Adam Gilchrist, manufacturing a steady stream of runs off Zaheer Khan while Lasith Malinga kept it tight at the other end.

Dwayne Bravo's introduction was met by a dismissive flick for six by Gilchrist, but the all-rounder got his revenge four balls later when the former Australia wicketkeeper edged through to Pinal Shah for 35 off 20 balls.

That gave Bravo the opportunity to bowl at Dwayne smith, who immediately hit his international team-mate for four before sweeping Sanath Jayasuriya for a huge six in helping the Chargers to 88 for one at the halfway stage.

The pair continued to make hay, striking a six apiece to take 18 off one Dhawal Kulkarni over, but one slog too many saw Smith (35 off 22) bowled by Jayasuriya in the 13th over with the score on 124.

Bravo then removed Rohit Sharma for three and VVS Laxman for a golden duck, before a mix-up saw Gibbs run out and Malinga returned to remove Venugopal Rao's leg stump for nine.

Malinga also accounted for Dwaraka Ravi Teja (nine) and Fidel Edwards (one) in the final over.

Mumbai began their chase in unconvincing fashion, Jayasuriya falling to RP Singh in the second over, but that changed in Harmeet Singh's first over.

Duminy and, in particular, Tendulkar tore into the medium pacer, plundering 19 runs to put the Indians back on track.

But, not for the first time, the so-called strategy break appeared to harm the momentum.

Tendulkar hit Ojha straight to Gibbs at extra cover with the score on 86 before the slow left-armer bowled Shikhar Dhawan for three just six runs later.

And Duminy (47 from 40 balls) gave Ojha his third as he perished to a good catch in the deep by Smith.

Edwards removed Abhishek Nayar (10) before, much to his delight, trapping West Indies team-mate Bravo lbw for 21.

Harbhajan Singh's last-ditch efforts brought him a second six in the final over before he perished on the boundary for 20, extinguishing any faint hopes the Indians had.

[sajiv]

Football:-United hold talks with Kaka

Manchester United have held talks with Brazil and AC Milan star Kaka over a sensational summer move to Old Trafford.

According to reports in The Sun newspaper, the Premier League giants have already met with Kaka's representatives in a bid to thrash out personal terms which would net the talented playmaker some 35million pounds in wages alone.

"It was a very positive meeting, although nothing was agreed," a source close to Kaka told the paper.

"The player wants a five-year contract and wages of £135,000 a week.

"He is very keen to join United and these are figures that are within United's pay structure. It's up to them what happens now."

With AC Milan expected to demand a transfer fee in the region of 70million pounds for Kaka, there is, however, some confusion as to where United would get the necessary money from.

One solution would be the sale of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid, something that, according to former Real president Ramon Calderon, is as good as a done deal.

Kaka, who was the subject of an audacious mega-money approach by Manchester City during January's transfer window, has made no secret of his admiration for United and said recently: "They have some great players in Giggs and Scholes and especially Wayne Rooney.

"One of my best friends, Anderson, is also there - how can anyone say no?

"They are the English and European champions and a great club to play for."

The Brasilia-born former Sao Paulo ace has also revealed his desire to one day play in the Barclays Premier League - a league he views as being one of the world's most competitive.

"I like the Premier League a lot, so maybe that would be my choice if I leave Milan," the 27-year-old told the Daily Star newspaper.

"Whenever I can, I try to swap experiences with my friends playing in other countries and leagues.

"All the players that I've talked to that play in the Premier League, or used to play there, say it's a tough league - tough, very fast and competitive."

[sajiv]

Motorsport

Toyota secure one-two in Bahrain

Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock scored an historic one-two for Toyota in qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix on Saturday.

In their eighth season and 127th grand prix, Toyota stand on the brink of their maiden victory after Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock scored an historic one-two in qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix.

For veteran Trulli, it is the fourth time in his 203-race career he starts from top spot.

He posted a lap of one minute, 33.431 seconds at the Sakhir circuit, beating team-mate Glock by almost three tenths.

Last Sunday's race winner in China, Sebastian Vettel, is third for Red Bull Racing, with Britons Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton are fourth and fifth for Brawn GP and McLaren respectively.

After grabbing his first pole since the United States Grand Prix in 2005, Trulli said: "This is a great result for the team.

"We have worked very hard for this, and I'm very happy. I feel very comfortable ahead of the race."

Completing Toyota's first front row lock-out, Glock remarked: "I was quite happy during qualifying.

"But then I made one mistake, although I don't think it would have been good enough for pole. Jarno was just too good."

Vettel, meanwhile, feels the Toyotas are running light on fuel and so feels he is in a good position to capitalise.

"It was a good session for us," he said. "We had no problems, and it was a smooth qualifying session, but in Q3 the two Toyotas were just a bit too quick.

"But I think they will be coming in (for their first stop) a bit before me."

It remains to be seen how strong the Toyota duo are once their fuel load becomes known, but the performance led to understandable celebrations in the garage.

Toyota boss John Howett said: "It's a combination of aggressive strategy and raw speed.

"I don't think we're excessively light on fuel, but we'll have to see when the loads are published."

Pre-race favourite Button was not too enamoured with fourth as he said: "We don't have the pace of the Red Bulls and the Toyotas. It's good over long runs but not in one lap."

World champion Hamilton's season-high fifth place further underlines how quickly he and McLaren are reeling in their rivals.

Rubens Barrichello starts sixth in his Brawn ahead of the Renault of Fernando Alonso, with the Ferraris of Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen sandwiching Williams' Nico Rosberg in eighth, ninth and 10th.

Despite McLaren's improvements, Heikki Kovalainen again missed out on the top 10, but only just, by 0.076secs, leaving him 11th.

Williams' Kazuki Nakajima, so far unable to match the pace of team-mate Rosberg, starts 12th, with the BMW Sauber duo behind him in Robert Kubica - who had flames bursting from his car at one stage in Q1 as he sat in his pit box - and Nick Heidfeld.

It is another indicator of how far the team have slumped this season as Kubica was on pole for this race a year ago prior to the two men finishing third and fourth come the chequered flag.

Kubica said: "We are just too slow, but we knew that already.

"We are lucky we have got KERS here in Bahrain or we would be even worse. We just have to stay cool and wait for Barcelona where we will have a new package."

Renault's Nelson Piquet is 15th after making it into Q2 for the first time this season, but the young Brazilian has now been out-qualified 22-0 by Alonso since joining the team.

In qualifying for the past two races there has been a surprise name eliminated from the opening 20-minute Q1 - Massa in Malaysia and Kubica in China - and on this occasion it was Mark Webber.

On a high after his runner-up finish in Shanghai behind team-mate Vettel, Webber will start a miserable 19th, although there were extenuating circumstances.

The Australian was blocked on the run down to the final corner of his hot lap by Adrian Sutil in his Force India, and it would be a surprise if the stewards did not review the matter.

Asked if the team will complain, a frustrated Webber replied: "It doesn't make any difference. My race is screwed.

"You don't usually get caught out in traffic and that was the worst corner to get blocked. Absolute disaster."

Sutil, who also baulked Alonso in Q1, suggested he "did not know Webber was on a flying lap".

The German ultimately missed out on what would have been Force India's first time in Q2 by just 0.050secs, and for now will start 16th if he is not penalised.

Sebastien Buemi, who stunned observers by starting 10th in China, was unable to repeat such heroics in Sakhir as he is in 17th.

Sandwiching Webber are Giancarlo Fisichella in his Force India and the Toro Rosso of Sebastien Bourdais, whose days in F1 are surely drawing to a close on the basis of his poor performances this year.

[sajiv]

Tennis:-Australia pull out of Davis Cup tie

Australia could be banned from the Davis Cup for a year after Tennis Australia decided not to travel to Chennai next month.

The decision follows the International Tennis Federation (ITF) board's rejection of an appeal to shift the Asia/Oceania Zone Group I third round tie out of India because of security concerns.

"We asked for the tie to be moved because we have major security concerns for the players, particularly during the election," Tennis Australia president Geoff Pollard said.

"The ITF decision has left us with no other option. We cannot send the team. It is extremely disappointing.

"It would be irresponsible of us to send our players into an area of such high risk. Davis Cup is very important to us but some things are more important than tennis."

The decision also angered Davis Cup captain John Fitzgerald, who believes the ITF should follow the move to switch the Indian Premier League to South Africa due to security concerns.

"It is just irresponsible. Surely some thought must be given to the players' safety," he said.

"I believe they say the election is not a cause for concern, the IPL moving is not relevant and that an ATP tournament held in January shows it is safe to play in Chennai.

"So what about the fact that dozens of people are being killed along the campaign trail of the election? A train was hijacked this week, but that does not alter their thoughts? Did the IPL move for no reason?

"The ATP event involved no national teams and was held three months prior to the election. This decision makes no sense. We have worked so hard to get back in to World Group contention, to have it snatched away like this is gut wrenching."

Fitzgerald said the players shared his disappointment and still had hoped that the ITF would change their decision prior to May 8.

The ITF announced their decision yesterday, saying: "The ITF Board of Directors has upheld the decision of the Davis Cup Committee regarding the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas Asia/Oceania Zone Group I third round tie between India and Australia. The tie will take place at the SDAT Tennis Stadium in Chennai on 8-10 May. The location and venue was previously approved by the Davis Cup Committee following a positive report from the ITF's security consultants."

[sajiv]

Golf:-Derksen still leads in Korea

Robert-Jan Derksen is within touching distance of winning the Ballantine's Championship after taking the third round lead.

Dutch ace Derksen battled through the swirling winds and cold at the Pinx Golf Club to post a three-over-par 75 for a three-day total of six-under-par 210 to take a two shot lead over Spain's Pablo Martin who recorded a 212 total.

Korea's Kang Kyung-nam and Kang Wook-soon together with Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee are tied for third on 214, two shots behind Martin while three-time Major winner Ernie Els of South Africa was among the mix tied for sixth on 215.

Play was suspended for three hours in the morning due to heavy fog and when it finally resumed, Derksen quickly got his game going with a birdie on the par-four five.

However, difficult wind conditions saw him drop shots on the sixth and ninth before he made amends with an eagle on the 10th straight after the turn.

Derksen bogeyed the 11th and mixed his card with another birdie on the 13th and four other bogeys recorded in his closing four holes.

"It was very tough.  I think it was unfair and unplayable. I think there was definitely a lot of luck involved today," said Derksen.

"It was unplayable and the only thing you can do is to just do your best.  I did that on every shot I played today, and I'm still two in front.  So I guess that's the best part of the day," added the Dutch.

Thongchai chasing his 12th win on the Asian Tour, started off convincingly with two birdies in his opening four holes.

The Thai ace temporary took a share of the lead when Derksen dropped a shot on the par four sixth to go to nine-under.

However, a disastrous double bogey on the seventh followed by further bogeys on the eighth and ninth saw him slip back to second as gusty winds and chilly temperatures continued to lash across the course.

An eagle three on the 543-yard par-five 10th at the start of his inward-nine temporary brought the smiles back for the 11-time Asian Tour winner.

But what followed after that were a double bogey and bogey on the 11th and 12th before birdies on the 14th and 15th appeared to have saved his game.

However, another double bogey on the 16th and two successive bogeys on the 17th and 18th meant that he would end the day with a 77 for a share of third place.

"It's really crazy out there today. This just isn't a day for playing golf. The winds made it so difficult to control your shots," said Thongchai of the day where only Francois Delamontagne of France broke par.

"It was just was a very solid, long game, and I had a good putting on the short one, so that's the secret to making the putts in these conditions. But you know, I'm from the Brittany in France, and there's a lot of wind, as well," said Delamontagne who finished in tied-six on 71.

Tournament marquee name Lee Westwood of England post a 76 to take a share of 27th place at the Ballantine's Championship which is the first Asian Tour event in Korea this season to be sanctioned by the Asian Tour, European Tour and Korean PGA.

[sajiv]

Rugby:-The Blues 24-31 The Reds

Talented Reds duo Quade Cooper and Berrick Barnes starred as they masterminded a surprise win over the Blues in Albany.

Unfancied and seemingly out of contention, the Reds showed their season is not over with a superb display under difficult conditions to upset the home team, who now face a battle to achieve a semi-final place.

Down 17-5 at half-time, the Blues conceded two tries in three minutes in the first 10 minutes of the second half to be 31-5 down before they attempted to mount an unlikely comeback.

The New Zealanders had replaced first five-eighths Tasesa Lavea with Jimmy Gopperth at the break, and hooker Tom McCartney with Keven Mealamu after 53 minutes.

Gopperth was able to emulate the Reds' long kicking game from the first half, but the margin proved too great to pull back and wasn't helped by poor handling.

They scored two tries in four minutes to replacement number eight Peter Saili and blindside flanker Kurtis Haiu but the honours were with the Reds who, once again, showed an ability to upset the Auckland-based side.

A power cut three minutes into the game resulted in a lengthy delay before the play could resume.

Several of the lights at one end of the stadium in Albany had gone out but captains Justin Collins and James Horwill were happy for play to carry on at that point.

But at a break in play a couple of minutes later, when Blues number eight Chris Lowrey was down with a nasty knee injury, referee Vinnie Jones decided to send the players off with the Reds leading 3-0 courtesy of a Berrick Barnes penalty in the second minute.

Nearly an hour elapsed before the lights were back on and in the meantime the replacement for Lowrey was Ali Williams with Kurtis Haiu moving to the blindside of the scrum and Blues captain Justin Collins shifting to number eight.

The Reds showed no effects of the break and mounted some fine raids on the Blues line, the best of them ending with home half-back Taniela Moa pulling off a try-saving tackle on flying wing Brandon Va'aulu.

Conditions at the ground, which saw a strong breeze favouring the visitors, resulted in early Blues forays into Reds territory being pushed back on the end of raking downfield kicks.

But 28 minutes into the half it was a scything backline entry by full-back Mark McLinden that opened up the Blues defence and when he needed support, it was Barnes who was there to aquaplane under the posts to score the try which he then converted to give his side a 10-0 lead.

The Blues were also forced to pay the price for some poor work by Moa when he received sloppy ball from a line out on the Blues 22 metre line. Rather than tie the ball up, he opted to pass it infield to wing Joe Rokocoko who was in a worse position.

The Reds bided their time and from a scrum build-up work resulted in lock and captain James Horwill drove through to score. Again Barnes converted.

However, all was not lost for the Blues, and in their first real period in the Reds 22 they secured the ball at the lineout and it was second five-eighth Isaia Toeava crossed, but his conversion attempt hit the post.

Six minutes into the second half, wing Rudi Wulf failed to find touch with a kick from his 22 and McLinden was quick to make the Blues pay.

He linked with Cooper and Barnes and they took play on the diagonal to set up the chance for centre Digby Ioane to score.

Two minutes later, the Blues failure to hold the wet ball saw prop Charlie Faumuina lose the ball and again the Reds backs cut a merry caper before replacement wing Anthony Faingaa broke through a high tackle by Kurtis Haiu to score.

Barnes' fourth conversion took the lead to 31-5, which proved too much for the hosts despite their late rally.

[sajiv]

No big releases, IPL, spell losses for multiplexes 

The revenue-sharing tussle between producers and multiplexes has cost the owners of movie theatres dear. With no big releases and the Indian Premier League (IPL) fever on, multiplexes are incurring 50 percent losses due to low footfalls.

'The business is very down and collections have plummeted over 50 percent. We are extending certain content out of compulsion because there is no new content. Moreover IPL is aggravating the problem in terms of footfalls,' Sakshi Mehra, an exhibitor and president of the Motion Pictures Association of Delhi-Uttar Pradesh, told IANS.

'We are in a serious situation until we get fresh films and quality content, which has not been flowing in since the beginning of the year when the strike was not effective. In fact, even the single screens are suffering because of the dispute,' he added.

Mehra, who also owns the IP multiplex in Varanasi and several single-screen theatres across Uttar Pradesh, is considering playing old hits like 'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge', 'Chak De! India' and 'Rang De Basanti' to attract audiences.

Some exhibitors are trying to keep the ticket window buzzing by playing re-runs of popular Hindi and English movies including 'Jodhaa Akbar', 'Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi', 'Dhoom 2', 'Life...in a Metro', 'Transformers', 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button', 'Mr. Bean's Holiday', 'Razzle Dazzle' and 'Marley and Me'.

There are cinema hall owners who are stretching available content like 'Confessions of a Shopaholic', 'Little Zizou', 'Aloo Chaat', 'Delhi-6', 'Dev D', 'Firaaq' and 'Videsh - Heaven on Earth'. Audiences can get to watch a bevy of regional movies, specially south Indian films including 'Kotha Bangaru Lokam', 'Chintakayala Ravi', 'Venkata in Sankata' and 'Aakashmantha', to name a few.

Industry sources predict that the six major multiplexes in the country namely PVR, INOX, BIG cinemas, Cinemax, Fun and Fame are set to lose close to Rs.300 crore (Rs.3 billion) collectively if no new films play in the first quarter (April-June).

The combined fixed cost losses for all multiplexes counting mall rentals, salaries, and electricity charges for the first quarter is expected to be around Rs.140 crore in case the dispute is not resolved, the sources said.

The problem started in February when multiplexes asked for 50 percent revenue share of a movie and producers refused. As a result, the united producers and distributors forum decided early March not to push any new releases in multiplexes. In a statement issued to the press, producers and distributors said that they have decided to suspend marketing and distribution of all films set to release after April 4, 2009.

Munish Sharma, general manager (marketing) of Satyam Cineplexes, however, blames the IPL more than the strike for low business.

'The strike did have an impact but it is the IPL series that is the main reason for the drop in ticket sales as most filmmakers had already decided to postpone their releases during the IPL season,' Sharma said.

But Joginder Mahajan, a Delhi-based distributor, disagreed with Sharma and held the producers' strike responsible for the losses.

'IPL is not the main reason for the losses. The impact on the ticket sales is a result of the ongoing tussle between producers and multiplexes. Why would people spend so much money to watch old films?' Mahajan asked.

He also said that many multiplexes like 'PVR and BIG cinemas' are keeping some 'screens off' as cost-cutting measures.

'Most multiplexes are keeping at least one of their screens on off-mode and are also cancelling some of their morning and night shows due to cost-cutting,' he claimed.

[sajiv]

Delhi Daredevils high on confidence

Port Elizabeth: High on confidence after two successive victories, Delhi Daredevils will strive to continue with the winning momentum while a struggling Royal Challengers Bangalore will try to recapture its winning touch from its first match when the two teams lock horns in an Indian Premier League match here on Sunday.

The Delhi team, by virtue of its back-to-back wins against Kings XI Punjab and last year's runner-up Chennai Super Kings, is comfortably placed at second place in the points tally.

The Vijay Mallya-owned Bangalore team meanwhile tamed defending champion Rajasthan Royals in its campaign-opener comprehensively but since then has lacked consistency and now languishes at seventh spot after losing three encounters on the trot.

Formidable batting
The Delhi side will count upon its formidable batting line-up with skipper Virender Sehwag joining hands with his Team India opening partner Gautam Gambhir to start the innings, followed by South Africa batsman AB de Villiers.

De Villiers played a beacon with his 54-ball 105 to guide Daredevils to victory in the last match against Chennai and the team will expect another blistering knock from him on Sunday.

With Sri Lanka's Tillakaratne Dilshan and New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori figuring in the middle order besides 'keeper Dinesh Karthick and Bengal boy Manoj Tiwary, Delhi's batting will be a hard nut to crack.

In bowling, Delhi cricketer Pradeep Sangwan who scalped three for 28 in the last outing, will find support from the new-ball pair of Australian Dirk Nannes and Ashish Nehra.

Besides, the experienced Vettori will also add to the worry of the Kevin Pietersen-led Bangalore side, which was handed a seven-wicket defeat by the Punjab team on Friday.

Former England skipper Pietersen, who was handed charge of the team after being bought for a whopping $1.5 million, will be under immense pressure to prove that the first-match win was not a false dawn.

Its batting has been inconsistent so far. The opening pair of Kiwi all-rounder Jesse Ryder, who made a 32 in the last match, and Robin Uthappa has to do a decent job if the Bangalore team is to win the match.

Jacques Kallis and Ross Taylor may well come out with some crucial innings, however, it is the bowling department which hasn't fired since it skittled out the Rajasthan team for a paltry 58 in the first tie.