'Domestic cricket is the way for axed trio'

NEW DELHI: To force their way back into the national side, the axed trio of Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag should keep the fighting spirit alive and get back through good performances in domestic cricket, former captain and chairman of selector Kris Srikkanth said on Thursday.

Srikkanth said not losing self belief was key to any struggling player looking for a comeback.

"They are young players with lot of talent. Positivity is key to their comeback. They have to fight. They should look to domestic cricket in the next season. Such comebacks have been made in the past and I am sure, they can do it," Srikkanth said.

"There will be lot of cricket ahead, so that's their chance," he said.

Gambhir, Yuvraj and Sehwag are not part of the Indian squad, which will fly to England for the Champions Trophy.

The conditions in England would be completely alien to what Indians cricketers are getting while playing in IPL but Srikkanth said that won't affect the players much.

"The best thing is that the players are playing cricket consistently. They are in good form. And after IPL, they will reach England in time, so getting used to conditions won't be much of a trouble," he said on the sidelines of the launch of an e-learning programme English Strokes, a collaboration between British Council and his company.

Srikkanth was of the view that India along with Pakistan and England would be top contenders to lift the title.

Talking about his IPL side Sunrisers Hyderabad, Srikkanth said they stand a "good chance" to make the knockout stage.

"It's a close fight. But we are right up there. we lost to Chennai last night. but it was one of those bad days. I am confident, we will bounce when we play Kings XI Punjab next.

"There is still lot cricket left. And I am confident, we will make the semis," he said.

Hyderabad are placed fifth in the table behind Royal Challengers Bangalore.

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Slow Royals eye easy win over KXIP

NEW DELHI: With eight wickets in hand, Rajasthan Royals are slowly approaching 146-run target set by Kings XI Punjab in the IPL clash t the PCA stadium.

Rajasthan crossed 100 mark in the 15th over.

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Punjab spinner Piyush Chawla gave Rajasthan second blow in the 10th over by bowling out Shane Watson (31) after a solid 66-run stand with Ajinkya Rahane.

Watson's 31 came off 25 balls and were studded with three boundaries and a six.

Left-arm spinner Bipul Sharma bowled out Rahul Dravid, inflicting first blow to Rajasthan Royals after Kings XI Punjab scored 145/6.

Dravid (4) was dismissed in the second over with five runs on board.

Rajasthan Royals bowlers maintained discipline despite an attractive half-century by Shaun Marsh and an equally useful contribution from Adam Gilchrist, to restrict Kings XI Punjab to 145 for six in the IPL match on Thursday.

Marsh (77) and Gilchrist (42) added 102 runs for the second wicket but Rajasthan Royals bowlers, led by Kevon Cooper (3/23), put the brakes during the death overs.

The last seven overs of the innings produced only 45 runs and Kings XI lost five wickets in the process.

Ajit Chandila got a breakthrough in the first over when Mandeep Singh (0) lobbed a simple return catch to the bowler with not a run on the board.

Gilchrist, who had dropped himself from the playing XI, however, batted positively from the onset. He started off with a cover-drive off S Sreesanth.

A flurry off boundaries followed from Gilchrist's bat as he struck two meaty blows off Sreesanth's next over. When left-arm seamer James Faulkner came into bowl, he steered successive deliveries to the boundary with the home team taking off after the first over dismissal.

Marsh, who had come in after Mandeep's dismissal, was boosted by Gilchrist's counter-attack as he lofted Chandila for a six and followed that with a boundary. 14 runs came off the seventh over.

The 100 came up in the 13th over while Marsh duly reached his 50 off 44 balls as he played Faulkner towards fine leg.

However, soon after the century stand, Gilchrist was dismissed by West Indian Kevon Cooper as he committed early to a slower delivery. He faced 32 balls and hit six fours.

David Hussey (1) was castled by Watson but there was no stopping Marsh as he hit Faulkner over long-on for his second six and followed that with a cover-driven boundary.

When Cooper bowled Marsh with another slower delivery, he had faced 63 balls and hit six boundaries and two sixes.

Man of the moment, David Miller, was also snapped up by Cooper with Rahane taking a catch at deep mid-wicket. The momentum was lost as Kings XI finished much below what was expected of them after being 100/1 after 13 overs.

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IPL 6: Rajasthan beat Punjab by 8 wkts

NEW DELHI: A gritty knock by Ajinkya Rahane and decent contributions from Shane Watson and Sanju Samson steered Rajasthan Royals to an easy 8-wicket victory over Kings XI Punjab at the PCA stadium on Thursday.

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Despite losing skipper Rahul Dravid early, Royals face no difficulty in chasing the 146-run target at the slow Mohali track.

Rahane hit third half-ton in a row and stayed unbeaten after scoring 59.

Left-arm spinner Bipul Sharma bowled out Rahul Dravid, inflicting first blow to Rajasthan Royals. Dravid (4) was dismissed in the second over with just five runs on board.

Rahane and Watson then steadied Rajasthan and shared 66-run stand for the second wicket.

Punjab spinner Piyush Chawla gave Rajasthan second blow in the 10th over by bowling out Shane Watson.

Watson's 31 came off 25 balls and were studded with three boundaries and a six.

Rahane and Samson (47), however, didn't allow Punjab any further success and pulled off an easy victory for the visitors.

Rajasthan Royals bowlers maintained discipline despite an attractive half-century by Shaun Marsh and an equally useful contribution from Adam Gilchrist, to restrict Kings XI Punjab to 145 for six.

Marsh (77) and Gilchrist (42) added 102 runs for the second wicket but Rajasthan Royals bowlers, led by Kevon Cooper (3/23), put the brakes during the death overs.

The last seven overs of the innings produced only 45 runs and Kings XI lost five wickets in the process.

Ajit Chandila got a breakthrough in the first over when Mandeep Singh (0) lobbed a simple return catch to the bowler with not a run on the board.

Gilchrist, who had dropped himself from the playing XI, however, batted positively from the onset. He started off with a cover-drive off S Sreesanth.

A flurry off boundaries followed from Gilchrist's bat as he struck two meaty blows off Sreesanth's next over. When left-arm seamer James Faulkner came into bowl, he steered successive deliveries to the boundary with the home team taking off after the first over dismissal.

Marsh, who had come in after Mandeep's dismissal, was boosted by Gilchrist's counter-attack as he lofted Chandila for a six and followed that with a boundary. 14 runs came off the seventh over.

The 100 came up in the 13th over while Marsh duly reached his 50 off 44 balls as he played Faulkner towards fine leg.

However, soon after the century stand, Gilchrist was dismissed by West Indian Kevon Cooper as he committed early to a slower delivery. He faced 32 balls and hit six fours.

David Hussey (1) was castled by Watson but there was no stopping Marsh as he hit Faulkner over long-on for his second six and followed that with a cover-driven boundary.

When Cooper bowled Marsh with another slower delivery, he had faced 63 balls and hit six boundaries and two sixes.

Man of the moment, David Miller, was also snapped up by Cooper with Rahane taking a catch at deep mid-wicket. The momentum was lost as Kings XI finished much below what was expected of them after being 100/1 after 13 overs.

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Knight Riders elect to bat against Pune

NEW DELHI: Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Gautam Gambhir won the toss and decided to bat against Pune Warriors India in their IPL 6 match at the Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium in Pune.

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The Knight Riders head into this match with two changes to their playing XI as Ryan ten Doeschate and Manoj Tiwary come into the team in place Ryan McLaren and Debabrata Das.

On the other hand, the Warriors bring in Parveez Rasool in place of Rahul Sharma.

Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders would be looking to restore lost pride when they take on the struggling Pune Warriors.

It will be a great chance for the title-holders, who are virtually out of contention for a berth in the four-team play-offs, to redeem themselves against a side enduring a nightmarish campaign this season.

However, it would certainly not be an easy task for KKR, especially after the thrashing they received at the hands of Mumbai Indians on Tuesday.

Similarly, Pune Warriors cup of woes is also brimming over after they suffered their seventh straight loss against Rajasthan Royals in their previous game.

And it would again be a daunting task for Aaron Finch's boys against a team, which might be low at the moment but boasts of some big-hitters.

Teams (from):

Pune Warriors: Aaron Finch (Capt.), Angelo Mathews, Abhishek Nayar, Ajanta Mendis, Ali Murtaza, Anustup Mazumdar, Ashok Dinda, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Dheeraj Jadhav, Eklavya Dwivedi, Harpreet Singh, Ishwar Pandey, Kane Richardson, Krishnakant Upadhyay, Luke Wright, Mahesh Rawat, Manish Pandey, Marlon Samuels, Mitchell Marsh, Mithun Manhas, Parveez Rasool, Rahul Sharma, R Gomez, Robin Uthappa, Ross Taylor, Shrikant Wagh, Steve Smith, T Suman, Tamim Iqbal, Udit Birla, Wayne Parnell and Yuvraj Singh.

Kolkata Knight Riders: Gautam Gambhir (Capt.), Manvinder Bisla, Yusuf Pathan, Jacques Kallis, Rajat Bhatia, Laxmipathy Balaji, Sarabjit Ladda, Brad Haddin, Debabrata Das, Iqbal Abdulla, Brett Lee, Ryan McLaren, Eoin Morgan, Sunil Narine, Sumit Narwal, Suchitra Senanayake, Pradeep Sangwan, Shami Ahmed, Shakib Al Hasan, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Ryan ten Doeschate, Manoj Tiwary, James Pattinson.

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Ojha praises MI captain Rohit Sharma

MUMBAI: Mumbai Indians left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha applauded captain Rohit Sharma for his calm approach and said that the young skipper takes his own decisions on the field.

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"He is very cool on the field. He takes his own decision. We have a few seniors and as a youngster when a senior says something, there is a little bit of pressure but he handles it very well. And he is very calm and composed," Ojha told reporters at the post match press conference.

"He always tells you, you have to get me couple of wickets. As a captain it is important when he comes and gives you lot of confidence. So you open out as a bowler," he said.

Having posted a challenging 170, Mumbai Indians bowled out the Kolkata Knight Riders for 105 in 18.2 overs on Tuesday to register a comfortable 65-run victory, and Ojha said the hosts got a good pitch to bat on.

"Mumbai got a very good wicket to bat on. Especially the last couple of games -- the last game and this game -- it was a bit slow. Getting 170 with our bowling it was something challenging for KKR," he said.

"We have got a very good batting line-up. Anyone who walks in, has got some amount of experience behind him, so we were confident."

The Bhubaneswar-born bowler said he is varying his pace and trying to bowl more slower deliveries in this format.

"I keep things simple and vary the pace and spin the ball. Normally in this format, I have seen the bowlers bowl really fast, so they cut down on turning the ball. People like Anil Kumble, when you have (as a mentor), his experience always helps you.

"He has told me to vary the pace. In second innings there is a lot of dew on the wicket, so if you bowl fast, it becomes easy for a batsman to clear the boundary. When you are bowling slow, he has to use a lot of power, he has to go on top of the ball to hit. There is lot involved for a batsman when you are bowling slow," he said.

Asked if KKR did the right thing by leaving out Sri Lankan spinner Sachitra Senanayake, considering that he and Harbhajan Singh shared five wickets between them, Ojha said, "The wicket was a little slow and holding up a bit and turning, so may be another spinner would have been some sort of an advantage for them."

The 26-year old Ojha, who got rid off the dangerous Yusuf Pathan, said getting his wicket was important.

"He is known for his big hitting, he would have played a crucial role. Getting him out at that point of time was crucial," he said, adding that the team had chalked out plans for the top-order batsmen as well.

Left out of the Indian squad for next month's Champions Trophy, Ojha said he just wants to focus on taking wickets.

"The selection is not in my hands. I have got a ball, I have got a ground and I have to go and perform, and I am doing that. I am happy and I am positive about it. As long as I am performing, I am really happy and in good space.

"The selection is something I shouldn't be thinking about, that is what I have told myself. I am just focusing on taking wickets. At some point of time, I might get a nod," he said.

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Tendulkar only Indian in Stewart's team

LONDON: Sachin Tendulkar is the only Indian to make it to the Test dream team drawn up by former England captain Alec Stewart from among players against whom he had played in his career.

"The 'Little Master' is a no-brainer for his extraordinary run-scoring over such a long period of time and the way he has dealt with the pressure of being India's number one sporting icon," Stewart told BBC Sport here today.

"I remember a brilliant 165 in his hometown of Mumbai in 1993 and 193 at Headingley almost a decade later. When he got in, his bat just seemed to get wider and wider," added the channel's Test Match Special summariser as part of a special feature.

Two other Indians -- Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble -- made it to Stewart's broader squad but missed out in the final Test XI.

Stewart, whose Test XI would be captained by Australian Steve Waugh, said West Indian Brian Lara was the best batsman he has played against. His team does not include former Australian captain Ricky Ponting nor the legendary batsman Vivian Richards while the latter's West Indian contemporaries Gordon Greenidge and Malcolm Marshall find places.

Richards and Marshall played their last Test together in 1991 while Greenidge quit the same year but a few months before them.

Stewart explained Richards' omission on the ground that the legendary West Indian's "very best days were just behind him by the time I made my Test debut in 1990".

"During my 14-year career as an international cricketer, I came up against some of the finest players in the history of the game, so to select an XI has not been an easy task.

"I have tried to stick to those who made the greatest impression on matches in which I played," added the English wicketkeeper-batsman who played 133 Tests between 1990 and 2003.

Stewart chose West Indies' Gordon Greenidge and Australia's Matthew Hayden as his openers, followed by Brian Lara, who he describes as the "best batsman I played against bar none".

"He won games single-handedly and his appetite for scoring huge runs - I was on the receiving end of his incredible 375 in Antigua - was insatiable. He looked as though he had come from another planet to teach us all how to bat," Stewart said about Lara.

The only other representative from the Indian sub-continent is Pakistani pacer Wasim Akram for his "genius with the new and old ball".

"There have not been many quicker bowlers than Wasim Akram. He had a dangerous bouncer, was a great competitor and could score handy runs down the order," says Stewart.

The rest of the Dream XI is made up of Jacques Kallis from South Africa, Australians Steve Waugh -- who would captain the imaginary side, Adam Gilchrist (as wicketkeeper) and Shane Warne with West Indians Malcolm Marshall and Curtly Ambrose completing the bowling attack.

"A genuine world-class XI in my opinion but one that was extremely tricky to put together. Like all good selectors, I started out by naming a squad before whittling it down to a starting XI," said Stewart, who named two other Indian cricketing greats -- Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble -- among the long list that "pained me to have to leave out".

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'You can't hit middle of the bat everyday'

MUMBAI: For a while it seemed it was February 27, 1996 again. India were playing Australia in a prickly World Cup fixture and the Wankhede was bathed in milky white light for the first time. On that balmy Tuesday evening, he carted Glenn McGrath for four fours and a divine flicked six over mid-wicket in one over, almost in anger after the Aussie pace great had hurled the ball back at him to effect a mock run out.

"Saachin.... Saachin" the crowd screamed. Deliriously.

"Saachin.... Saachin" they screamed again on another Tuesday, 17 years later with the Wankhede bathed in floodlights (malfunctioning ones) again. His adversaries from that game, Glenn McGrath has retired even from IPL and is coaching young fast bowlers at the MRF Pace Academy. Another one, Shane Warne plays sporadically, is more at ease in night clubs, commentary boxes and on poker tables. Indian cricket's pied piper though was still doing to lesser mortals what he did 17 years ago. Brutalise bowlers.

Ryan McLaren felt the heat of that assault as Tendulkar, for the first time in many months shed every robe of inhibition to get his first man of the match award in any fixture, in almost two years and one month. He last won a player of the match prize on April 12, 2011 in the T20 league game against RCB at Bangalore.

For a cricketer who has pocketed such awards out of habit, the wait for it must have felt like an eternity and the smile on his face was unmissable when he was suddenly summoned after his rakish and youthful 28-ball 48 paved the way for Mumbai Indians' 65-run win over Kolkata Knight Riders.

When asked at the post match ceremony about his knock, he analysed, "If you look at the whole season, whenever I've batted, I've not been able to spend much time in the middle. But whenever I've batted, it has been aggressively."

The 40-year old batting hero has had a wretched time of late and his poor strike-rate in the powerplays and his tendency to get bowled repeatedly has been debated and criticised. Tendulkar, who has also lost his cool in front of the media when asked about his dipping form and slowing reflexes, was defiant on Tuesday too. "You can't go out and find the middle of the bat everyday," he stressed.

"This is the kind of surface where there's a bit of help upfront for the seamers. When you're striking the ball well, you should be aggressive and make the most of it. Today was one of the days when I was striking the ball well and I thought I should be the aggressive partner," he explained.

While runs and form may be in short supply in the Tendulkar tank, pride and passion aren't and his enthusiastic fielding was evidence of that. "I'm still in love with this game," he said, when asked if he was enjoying playing in the T20 tournament despite turning 40. "The passion for the game is very much there," he added.

What is also there is the drive to be the perfect senior statesman, despite the presence of mentors like Anil Kumble and coaches like John Wright. "It's all about give and take. It's not one-way traffic where I just say and don't absorb anything from my teammates. I've learnt a lot from many of my teammates. The more you discuss cricket, the better you get and the more you know. It's all about sharing."

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IPL 6: Hyderabad invite Chennai to bat

NEW DELHI: Sunrisers Hyderabad won the toss and elected to bowl against Chennai Super Kings in their IPL clash at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Wednesday.

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Hyderabad have made no changes to their side. Chennai, on the other hand, have one difference to their team as Jason Holder came back in place of Ben Laughlin.

It remains to be seen if the Super Kings have recovered sufficiently enough to put it across the hosts, who have been at their best on this slow pitch.

The Sunrisers have thrived in home conditions, pulling off five consecutive wins. Their rivals have been unable so far to figure out a strategy to counter the potent Hyderabad attack.

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Dravid falls after fiery 50 as RR cruise

NEW DELHI: Rahul Dravid and Ajinkya Rahane slammed fifties to lead Rajasthan Royals to a thumping 9-wicket victory over Delhi Daredevils in their IPL 6 match at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.

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The win elevated the Royals into second position in the overall standings with 16 points from 12 matches.

Dravid slammed an impressive half-century to lead the Rajasthan run chase against Delhi Daredevils.

Chasing a 155-run target, Dravid completed his half-century in 45 balls with the help of 7 boundaries before being dismissed by Siddarth Kaul for a score of 53.

Dravid along with Ajinkya Rahane gave Rajasthan Royals a good start when the duo put up a quick-fire 108-run stand for the opening wicket to put the Royals in a commanding position.

However, Kaul broke the partnership when he had the Rajasthan skipper caught at long on by Ajit Agarkar.

Soon after Dravid's dismissal, Rahane too reached his fifty and finished the match with an impressive score of 63* off just 45 balls and had 5 boundaries and a lone six to his credit.

Earlier, a gritty half-century by Ben Rohrer guided Delhi Daredevils to a competitive 154/4 against Rajasthan Royals attack.

Rohrer scored an unbeaten 63 (40) and shared indomitable 76-run stand for the fifth wicket with KM Jadhav, who remained not out at 24 off 21 balls.

For Rajasthan, Siddharth Trivedi, Stuart Binny, Shane Watson and James Faulkner claimed a wicket each.

Opting to bat first, Delhi Daredevils were bamboozled by a fiery Rajasthan Royals pace attack.

Delhi suffered two quick blows early on in the match when they lost opener Virender Sehwag and CM Gautam in quick succession.

James Faulkner struck in his first over for the Royals to dismiss Sehwag (11), who was clean bowled.

In the very next over, Shane Watson forced debutant Gautam (2) to get a wicked outside edge only to be caught behind by keeper Sanju Samson.

Stuart Binny then joined the party when he scalped David Warner (13) by getting him caught by Sachin Baby at short cover.

Skipper Mahela Jayawardene then put up a hard-fought innings of 34 runs, which included 4 boundaries and a lone six, before he was dismissed by Siddharth Trivedi.

Delhi have made six changes to their playing XI with Morne Morkel and Rohrer coming in place of Jeevan Mendis and Johan Botha.

Ajit Agarkar, Siddarth Kaul, Pawan Negi and CM Gautam replace Shahbaz Nadeem, Irfan Pathan, Ashish Nehra and Unmukt Chand.

For Royals, Shaun Tait and the 42-year-old leg-spinner Pravin Tambe have come in place of Kevon Cooper and Ajit Chandila.

Teams:

Rajasthan Royals: Rahul Dravid (Capt.), Ajinkya Rahane, Shane Watson, Brad Hodge, Stuart Binny, Sanju Samson (wk), James Faulkner, Shaun Tait, Sachin Baby, Pravin Tambe, Siddharth Trivedi.

Delhi Daredevils: Mahela Jayawardene (Capt.), Virender Sehwag, Muralidharen Gautam, David Warner, Ben Rohrer, Kedar Jadhav (wk), Pawan Negi, Morne Morkel, Ajit Agarkar, Siddarth Kaul, Umesh Yadav.

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IPL 6: Mumbai opt to bat vs Kolkata

NEW DELHI: Mumbai Indians won the toss and elected to bat against Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL clash at the Wankhede stadium on Tuesday.

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Mumbai brought in Abu Nechim in place of an injured Pawan Suyal.

Kolkata replaced Senanayake and Sumit Narwal with L Balaji and McLaren.

Mumbai Indians: DR Smith, SR Tendulkar, KD Karthik, RG Sharma*, KA Pollard, AT Rayudu, Harbhajan Singh, MG Johnson, SL Malinga, PP Ojha, AN Ahmed

Kolkata Knight Riders: MS Bisla, G Gambhir*, YK Pathan, JH Kallis, EJG Morgan, DB Das, R Bhatia, R McLaren, Iqbal Abdulla, SP Narine, L Balaji

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Dravid, Rahane help Royals beat Delhi

JAIPUR: Rahul Dravid and Ajinkya Rahane struck fluent half-centuries as Rajasthan Royals inched closer towards securing a play-off berth with a comprehensive nine-wicket victory against Delhi Daredevils in a Pepsi Indian Premier League match on Tuesday.

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Dravid led from the front with a classy 48-ball-53, his fourth half-century in this IPL edition, while Rahane played an equally impressive unbeaten knock of 63 as Royals maintained their impeccable record at home. They now have 16 points with eight wins and look like firm contenders for a berth in knock-out round.

Delhi Daredevils, whose season has gone from bad to worse stay put on eight position with six points.

Royals registered their seventh win at home with 13 balls to spare, scoring 155 for one. Shane Watson remained unbeaten on 14-ball 28, laced with three fours and one six.

Dravid and Rahane added 108 runs for the opening-wicket partnership in just 13.4 overs with the former India captain playing the more aggressive knock of the two.

In the process, Royals also registered their highest opening-wicket partnership in this edition of the IPL, surpassing 98 runs against Pune Warriors last week.

For Daredevils, Rohrer hit a fine 39-ball 63 under trying conditions while Mahela Jayawardene (34) and Kedar Jadhav (23 no) also chipped in with useful contributions to help their side post a competitive 154 for four but, in the end, the total did not prove to be enough.

Royals made a confident start to their run-chase with the trusted opening pair of Dravid and Rahane once again providing their team a good start.

Both made short work of Delhi bowlers and enthralled a near sell-out crowd with their vast repertoire of stroke-play.

Delhi's misery was further compounded by their butter-finger fielders when Rahane was dropped by Pawan Negi at extra-cover off Morne Morkel when the batsman was at an individual score of 4.

Rahane made full use of the reprieve and raised a century-plus partnership with Dravid. It was a treat to watch vintage Dravid show as he cut and drove Delhi bowlers to reach his second successive fifty in the tournament in just 45 balls.

The fact that Daredevils made as many as four changes in their bowling department for this game did not come to any help to them as the duo of Dravid and Rahane played them with utmost ease.

Dravid was finally out in the innings' 14th over when he was caught by Ajit Agarkar off Siddharth Kaul at long-on while going for an expensive pull. However, Rahane and Watson ensured that Royals remained invincible at home with an unconquered 47-run partnership for the second wicket.

Earlier, Rohrer put on display some innovative shots to single-handedly guide Daredevils past 150 runs, which looked unlikely at one stage with the visitors struggling at 78 for four.

He found an able ally in Kedar Jadhav (23 no, 21 balls, 2x4) and together in his company added an unbeaten 76-run partnership for the fifth wicket. The last five overs yielded 53 runs for the Daredevils.

Electing to bat under scorching heat, Delhi were off to a poor start as Virender Sehwag (11) and CM Gautam (2) were sent back to pavilion in quick succession with scorecard reading 22 for two.

Sehwag looked in good touch, hitting James Faulkner for two consecutive fours, before the lanky Australian pacer flummoxed him with a slower ball which swung in uprooting the off-stump.

Sehwag, as usual, committed himself to the shot a tad too early playing across the line.

Gautham, playing his first IPL match, departed in the very next over as he chased a wide delivery outside his off stump to give a simple catch to wicket-keeper Sanju Samson off Shane Watson.

Skipper Jayawardene held one end strongly and, in the company of David Warner (13), tried to resurrect the innings while picking up a few occasional boundaries. That included four hits to the fence off Shaun Tait's second over.

However, Warner failed to contribute much to the team's cause and was caught by Sachin Baby off Stuart Binny at extra cover just before the first strategic time-out.

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Dravid, Rahane help Royals beat Delhi

JAIPUR: Rahul Dravid and Ajinkya Rahane struck fluent half-centuries as Rajasthan Royals inched closer towards securing a play-off berth with a comprehensive nine-wicket victory against Delhi Daredevils in a Pepsi Indian Premier League match on Tuesday.

Watch IPL Videos | Scorecard | Match in Pics

Dravid led from the front with a classy 48-ball-53, his fourth half-century in this IPL edition, while Rahane played an equally impressive unbeaten knock of 63 as Royals maintained their impeccable record at home. They now have 16 points with eight wins and look like firm contenders for a berth in knock-out round.

Delhi Daredevils, whose season has gone from bad to worse stay put on eight position with six points.

Royals registered their seventh win at home with 13 balls to spare, scoring 155 for one. Shane Watson remained unbeaten on 14-ball 28, laced with three fours and one six.

Dravid and Rahane added 108 runs for the opening-wicket partnership in just 13.4 overs with the former India captain playing the more aggressive knock of the two.

In the process, Royals also registered their highest opening-wicket partnership in this edition of the IPL, surpassing 98 runs against Pune Warriors last week.

For Daredevils, Rohrer hit a fine 39-ball 63 under trying conditions while Mahela Jayawardene (34) and Kedar Jadhav (23 no) also chipped in with useful contributions to help their side post a competitive 154 for four but, in the end, the total did not prove to be enough.

Royals made a confident start to their run-chase with the trusted opening pair of Dravid and Rahane once again providing their team a good start.

Both made short work of Delhi bowlers and enthralled a near sell-out crowd with their vast repertoire of stroke-play.

Delhi's misery was further compounded by their butter-finger fielders when Rahane was dropped by Pawan Negi at extra-cover off Morne Morkel when the batsman was at an individual score of 4.

Rahane made full use of the reprieve and raised a century-plus partnership with Dravid. It was a treat to watch vintage Dravid show as he cut and drove Delhi bowlers to reach his second successive fifty in the tournament in just 45 balls.

The fact that Daredevils made as many as four changes in their bowling department for this game did not come to any help to them as the duo of Dravid and Rahane played them with utmost ease.

Dravid was finally out in the innings' 14th over when he was caught by Ajit Agarkar off Siddharth Kaul at long-on while going for an expensive pull. However, Rahane and Watson ensured that Royals remained invincible at home with an unconquered 47-run partnership for the second wicket.

Earlier, Rohrer put on display some innovative shots to single-handedly guide Daredevils past 150 runs, which looked unlikely at one stage with the visitors struggling at 78 for four.

He found an able ally in Kedar Jadhav (23 n.o., 21 balls, 2x4) and together in his company added an unbeaten 76-run partnership for the fifth wicket. The last five overs yielded 53 runs for the Daredevils.

Electing to bat under scorching heat, Delhi were off to a poor start as Virender Sehwag (11) and CM Gautam (2) were sent back to pavilion in quick succession with scorecard reading 22 for two.

Sehwag looked in good touch, hitting James Faulkner for two consecutive fours, before the lanky Australian pacer flummoxed him with a slower ball which swung in uprooting the off-stump.

Sehwag, as usual, committed himself to the shot a tad too early playing across the line.

Gautam, playing his first IPL match, departed in the very next over as he chased a wide delivery outside his off stump to give a simple catch to wicket-keeper Sanju Samson off Shane Watson.

Skipper Jayawardene held one end strongly and, in the company of David Warner (13), tried to resurrect the innings while picking up a few occasional boundaries. That included four hits to the fence off Shaun Tait's second over.

However, Warner failed to contribute much to the team's cause and was caught by Sachin Baby off Stuart Binny at extra cover just before the first strategic time-out.

Rohrer tried to break the shackles with two successive fours off Mumbai leg-spinner Pravin Tambe, who became the oldest IPL debutant at 41 years and 212 days.

Jayawardene too tried to free his arm and hit Siddharth Trivedi for a six over mid-off before he ran out of patience and gifted his wicket at a crucial juncture.

Jayawardene failed to read the line of the ball and landed Dravid an easy catch at mid-wicket off Trivedi. At 78 for four, Rohrer took the onus on himself and mixed caution with aggression to take the team's total past 150-run mark.

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'We are very much in race for play-offs'

MUMBAI: Despite having won just four out of 11 games, Kolkata Knight Riders captain Gautam Gambhir is confident that his team will be able to beat Mumbai Indians Tuesday's IPL encounter and stay in contention for the play-offs.

"We are very much in the race. I haven't heard anyone say that we're out. A lot of people are saying that we need to win five out of five. But if you see in the last three years teams have qualified in the top four with eight wins," Gambhir put up a brave face as his team prepares to take on the mighty Mumbai Indians.

"We're not thinking about the play-offs right now but we want to win as many games as we can from here," said Gambhir ahead of the crucial game.

Gambhir did not agree with the suggestion that the must-win situation the team finds itself in could be a blessing in disguise in making his players more determined.

"Whether it's the start or the end of a tournament, we always go out there to win. The desperation is always there. Till now, we have approached every game with the same hunger and desperation and it's not that only because we are in a position like this that we are desperate to win.

"We have to look at the remaining games like any other game rather than thinking it's a must-win game," said Gambhir who the leading scorer for the team with 320 runs in aggregate.

Asked whether the team will go in with both their leading spinners Sunil Narine and Sachitra Senanayake on a wicket which helps pacers, Gambhir said they were quality bowlers who did not need support from a helpful track.

"Not sure (whether to play two spinners). Not seen the wicket so far. From what we have seen in games here, there's a little bit of bounce and some swing late in the evening. I believe we have quality spinners.

"They don't require (helpful) surfaces because when you have too many things up your sleeve they don't require surfaces. They both have a lot of variations and all that stuff. Last time, I remember we played three spinners and we were successful in defending 127. When you have a quality attack just go for that," he said.

Gambhir said small contributions from different players are what is crucial in the T20 format of the game.

"In T20 format, you're never in or out of form. For me, in this format, small contributions make big difference. If someone goes in the end overs and chases down 20 runs in two overs, that contribution makes a huge difference and wins you the game," he said.

He also said there was nothing to worry about the strike-rate of Jacques Kallis up the order.

"No, we're absolutely fine with his game. We've got all kind of players. There are people like Brendon (McCullum) and Yusuf (Pathan) who thrive on strike-rates and bat at a rate of more than 130-140. So, we need someone to anchor the innings and Jacques has been playing that role for us."

"We have picked our squad based on that thinking. We pick players to play the role that suits their own game rather than asking them to change their game. We need someone who the team can bat around the Jacques has done that very successfully for us."

He also praised the team's principal owner Shah Rukh Khan for the support he has given and insisted there was no pressure from that side on the players.

"Shah Rukh and the entire support staff has been fantastic. There have been no pressures from their side and have given me complete charge of the team. Whatever has happened with KKR in the last three years from the cricketing point of view have been my decisions."

Gambhir admitted that there is bound to be pressure when one is leading a high-profile side.

"Yes, there is pressure on you when you're leading a team. You are answerable to the owners and are expected to make the right decisions. I know that if the team doesn't do well, I am the one answerable for that. If you can't handle that, you shouldn't be captaining a side."

"But I am very lucky to have owners like Shah Rukh and Jay (Mehta) because they have been very professional and they don't get involved in the cricketing matters," he said.

Asked about his omission from the Champions Trophy squad, Gambhir gave a terse reply.

"I don't get disappointed or irritated when I am not picked. All I look to do is to score runs in whatever cricket I play, whether I am playing for ONGC, KKR, Delhi or India. Scoring runs was the reason why I started playing cricket and till the time I play this game, that will remain my sole focus."

"I can't do anything about the things I don't have control over. My job is to score runs and the selectors' job is to pick team," he concluded.

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Modest Rahane praises Royals' bowlers

JAIPUR: He might have been the star of Rajasthan Royals' win over Pune Warriors in a high-scoring IPL thriller but Ajinkya Rahane was modest about his role, opting to praise his team's bowlers for keeping it tight in the death overs.

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Chasing 179, Rajasthan romped home with five wickets and a ball to spare on Sunday. Rahane was the star for them bagging the match of the match honour for striking a 48-ball knock of 67.

"I feel our bowlers came back strongly and restricted the visitors a good 10-15 run short then what was expected at one stage. They should be given credit for the way they bowled in last 6-7 overs," said Rahane after the match.

The 24-year-old, who is seen as a bright prospect for the future, was not picked in India's Champions Trophy squad but Rahane said he would rather focus on performance than selection.

"I wanted to contribute and play well. Selections are not in my hands," said Rahane.

Talking about Sunday's match, Rahane said his strategy was to stay at least till the 15th over to ensure the team was close to a win.

"We had planned to play our normal game. The skipper ( Rahul Dravid) too had asked me to stay till the 15th over and play positive cricket. The plan was that either of us had to be there till the end but it did not work out," Rahane said.

"I am a little disappointed but also happy that Binny (Stuart) and Sanju (Samson) accomplished the job," added the batsman, who put on 98 runs for the opening wicket with Dravid.

"It is toughest to chase in the Twenty20 format. We always have to keep the wickets and run ratio in mind. We wanted to take it to 17th over where 20 off 15 would be needed."

When asked how it was when he was batting with Dravid, the youngster said he is learning from the great player.

"It has been a great learning experience batting with him. I have been watching since my childhood and still learning from him," said the batsman.

Talking about the next two home games against Delhi Daredevils and Chennai Super Kings, Rahane said his team is focusing on one match at a time.

"Delhi is a pretty good side. We want to take one match a time, so, we are not thinking much about the playoffs," he said.

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Sachin deserves to play 200 Tests: Lee

MUMBAI: Former Australia speedster Brett Lee would like to see senior India batsman Sachin Tendulkar reaching the unprecedented landmark of 200 Test matches before calling it quits.

"There is a lot of media saying he should move on, he should stand down. (But) I believe if he keeps scoring runs and he keeps batting well, then he should be able to go (out) on his own terms. I think it is only fair," Lee said.

"If a guy has played for over 20 years of international cricket, he deserves the right to play his 200th Test match. Hopefully, he does get his 200th Test match, because I can't see it ever being achieved again," the Aussie said at the Staeta Soy Milky event on Monday.

Tendulkar, who has retired from one-day cricket but is active in the traditional five-day format and the IPL T20 tournament for Mumbai Indians, has played 198 Tests since his debut in 1989.

The 40-year old cricketer, however, will have to wait till the end of this year to play his next Test, when India are scheduled to tour South Africa from November.

Lee, who is representing Kolkata Knight Riders in the ongoing Pepsi IPL, was all praise for Tendulkar.

"He is a legend. He is a little master with all due respect with 198 Test matches to his credit. He is the most prolific run scorer in the world... I am not trying to say one (Don Bradman and Sachin Tendulkar) is better than the other, but he certainly is right up there. He has been a hero of mine while growing up."

"He is like a good bottle of red wine that keeps getting better with age. He is a wonderful guy, a great role model around the world. He is loved in Australia. I would love to see him play more but it is upto the great man to say when he wants to hang his boots up," Lee said.

Lee, who formed a lethal combination with his senior partner Glenn McGrath during Australia's long domination of world cricket, backed his home country and India to do well in the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy in the United Kingdom.

"Australia, if they do back themselves up. I would never bet against Australia. I still think they are a great side. India would be very tough to beat too," he said.

"We obviously enjoyed playing Champions Trophy. It's a tournament that everyone looks forward to. It's a prestigious tournament and it's one that you do want to be a part of and also want to try and win it. We had some success in the past," he said.

But he also feared for the future of the 50-over limited overs game and said it was dying a slow death with the increasing popularity of the all-out-action T20 cricket.

"Unfortunately the one other format of the game that is slipping away is the 50-over cricket which I feel sad about because I always enjoyed playing 50-over cricket. It's a lot different from T20 because it's a bit more strategic.

"I do hope for world cricket that 50-over cricket isn't lost. It appears that it is dying its slow death, obviously being taken over by T20 cricket and I want to make sure Test cricket is very healthy as well," he said.

Lee conceded that the 4-0 drubbing by India over Australia in the last Test series held here before the IPL would have undermined his countrymen's confidence a bit ahead of the Ashes battle in England after the Champions Trophy.

"I would be lying if I said it wouldn't affect their confidence leading upto that series, the Ashes. Australia will have to do a lot of work before they go to England. I would never bet against Australia. If they hit the right team, the right set-up, right structure in place then they can be successful," he said.

Lee termed Ashes and the battle against India as Australia's biggest in the Test cricket these days.

"We obviously now consider playing against India and the Ashes as the two biggest tournaments. It used to always be the Ashes. We all now think that playing against India in India is a tough tournament that we want to win. We haven't had a lot of success over here on these wickets.

"You have got to give full credit to India, their preparation is outstanding. The way they play from team point of view is sound," he said.

He also backed compatriot and Mumbai Indians' left-arm pace spearhead Mitchell Johnson, ignored by the Australian selectors for the Ashes series, to regain his spot in his country's team in the near future.

"It looks like he has been in the best form of his life right now and certainly in T20 cricket - the way he is bowling for Mumbai Indians. He is swinging the ball back in.

"When Mitchell Johnson swings the ball back in, it is really healthy for Australian cricket. He will be disappointed (for leaving out for Champions Trophy), but I am sure he will be back in no time."

Johnson broke the back of Chennai Super Kings's innings with a brilliant early three-wicket burst in Sunday's IPL game here and won the man of the match award.

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IPL 6: Punjab invite Bangalore to bat

NEW DELHI: Kings XI Punjab won the toss and elected to bowl against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL clash at the PCA stadium on Monday.

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Kings XI Punjab will look forward to home advantage to put it across the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

To be fair to the Punjab team, they have been more on the road this season, playing seven of their 10 games away. It is in stark contrast to the other teams - Royal Challengers Bangalore, Rajasthan Royals, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Chennai Super Kings - who turned their respective grounds into impregnable fortresses this season.

In contrast, Punjab have played only three matches at home and won two of those, their only loss coming at the hands of Chennai Super Kings. However, three consecutive away losses (to the Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings) have nearly put Kings XI Punjab out of the semifinals race. The last two were particularly heartbreaking as the Kings were in the race till the last over.

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Quick wickets hurt Chennai run chase

NEW DELHI: Chasing a 140-run target, Chennai Super Kings were in deep trouble as they lost half their side inside 35 runs against Mumbai Indians in their IPL 6 match at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

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The Mumbai party started when Mitchell Johnson dismissed opener Murali Vijay, Suresh Raina and S Badrinath in the third over to rattle Chennai after Mumbai posted 139/5.

Johnson bowled out Vijay (2) and then got Raina (0) caught by Kieron Pollard in consecutive deliveries. Though the pacer missed the hat-trick, he struck again on the fifth delivery to trap Badrinath (0).

Soon after, debutant Pawan Suyal struck to dismiss Dwayne Bravo (9) when the Mumbai pacer's short of length delivery was smacked by the West Indian straight to Ambati Rayudu at extra cover.

Harbhajan Singh then rubber more salt on the Chennai Super Kings wounds when he clean bowled Ravichandran Ashwin (2).

Michael Hussey (22) then tried his level best to hold the Chennai innings together, but failed in his attempt when the Aussie was caught by Dwayne Smith at deep midwicket off the bowling of Pragyan Ohja.

That brought Ravindra Jadeja to the crease who put up a brave 12-run stand with skipper MS Dhoni to halt the falling of wickets for a while but Ojha scalped Dhoni (10) soon after.

Earlier, a late show by Rohit Sharma (39* off 30) and Harbhajan (25* off 11) inspired Mumbai Indians to score 139/5 against Chennai Super Kings.

The precarious Mumbai Indians batsmen got off to a bad start as they were jolted early in their innings by Chennai Super Kings all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Bravo.

Jadeja drew first blood for the Super Kings when he caught Sachin Tendulkar (15) plumb after Mumbai Indians got off to a slow start.

Soon after, West Indian Bravo caught his compatriot Smith (22) off his own bowling when the Mumbai batsman got a wicked top-edge.

Tendulkar and Smith put up a 40-run stand for the opening wicket after Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and decided to bat in bright and sunny conditions.

Jadeja then stuck twice in quick succession to dismiss the dangerous duo of Pollard (1) and Dinesh Karthik (23) when both the Mumbai batsmen were caught by Raina in the outfield.

Ravichandran Ashwin then joined the wicket taking party when he got the better of Rayudu's stumps and thereby foiled all plans that Rayudu (10) had to steady the innings.

Mumbai Indians head into this match with just one change as seamer Suyal replaces Dhawal Kulkarni, who misses out due to an injury.

On the other hand, the Chennai Super Kings bring in Ben Laughlin in place of Albie Morkel.

Teams:

Mumbai Indians: Dwayne Smith, Sachin Tendulkar, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Rohit Sharma (Capt.), Kieron Pollard, Ambati Rayudu, Harbhajan Singh, Mitchell Johnson, Lasith Malinga, Pragyan Ojha, Pawan Suyal.

Chennai Super Kings: Murali Vijay, Michael Hussey, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni (Capt. & wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Subramaniam Badrinath, Chris Morris, Ben Laughlin, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohit Sharma.

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'Seamer-friendly England will assist me'

JAIPUR: Picked in the Indian squad for the upcoming Champions Trophy, Bhuvneshwar Kumar is confident of making the opportunity count and says the seamer-friendly conditions in England and Wales will "assist" his style of bowling.

Kumar was yesterday included in the 15-member squad for the 50-over tournament, to be held from June 6 to 23.

"I am feeling very happy for my selection. I am confident of doing well there as the conditions will assist my style of pace bowling," Kumar said.

The selectors opted for five seamers, and the list included the name of the 22-year-old Uttar Pradesh player.

Kumar said he will stick to the basics and would not look to experiment too much with his pace and variation.

"I wanted to be a part of this team. I will stick to my basics, just try to bowl within my limits. I won't experiment much with my pace and variation," he said.

Kumar, who is playing for Pune Warriors in the ongoing Indian Premier League, said the team would look to win its next five games in the tournament.

Warriors are lying at the bottom of the points table with just two wins from 11 matches.

"We are virtually out of the play-off race, efforts would be to win our next five games, which will help boost our morale. There were patches when we haven't performed well but that's part and parcel of the game. Some teams perform well, some don't," he said.

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Pune elect to bat against Rajasthan

NEW DELHI: Pune Warriors won the toss and elected to bat against Rajasthan Royals in their IPL clash at the Sawai Mansingh stadium on Sunday.

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Rahul Dravid's men have won all five games played at the home ground and will be eager to put their campaign back on track when they take on bottom-placed Pune Warriors.

With the competition hotting up, it's important to win almost all their games, and after the loss against Kolkata Knight Riders the Royals will have to bank on their good home run to stay in the fray.

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IPL: Mumbai maul Chennai by 60 runs

NEW DELHI: Mumbai Indians halted Chennai Super Kings' seven-game winning streak by beating them comprehensively by 60 runs in their IPL 6 match at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

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Mitchell Johnson and Pragyan Ojha took three wickets apiece to help bowl out the Super Kings for their lowest ever total of 79.

Chasing a 140-run target, Chennai Super Kings were in deep trouble as they lost half their side inside 35 runs against Mumbai Indians.

The Mumbai party started when Johnson dismissed opener Murali Vijay, Suresh Raina and S Badrinath in the third over to rattle Chennai after Mumbai posted 139/5.

Johnson bowled out Vijay (2) and then got Raina (0) caught by Kieron Pollard in consecutive deliveries. Though the pacer missed the hat-trick, he struck again on the fifth delivery to trap Badrinath (0).

Soon after, debutant Pawan Suyal struck to dismiss Dwayne Bravo (9) when the Mumbai pacer's short of length delivery was smacked by the West Indian straight to Ambati Rayudu at extra cover.

Harbhajan Singh then rubber more salt on the Chennai Super Kings wounds when he clean bowled Ravichandran Ashwin (2).

Michael Hussey (22) then tried his level best to hold the Chennai innings together, but failed in his attempt when the Aussie was caught by Dwayne Smith at deep midwicket off the bowling of Ohja.

That brought Ravindra Jadeja to the crease who put up a brave 12-run stand with skipper MS Dhoni to halt the falling of wickets for a while but Ojha scalped Dhoni (10) soon after.

Earlier, a late show by Rohit Sharma (39* off 30) and Harbhajan (25* off 11) inspired Mumbai Indians to score 139/5 against Chennai Super Kings.

The precarious Mumbai Indians batsmen got off to a bad start as they were jolted early in their innings by Chennai Super Kings all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Bravo.

Jadeja drew first blood for the Super Kings when he caught Sachin Tendulkar (15) plumb after Mumbai Indians got off to a slow start.

Soon after, West Indian Bravo caught his compatriot Smith (22) off his own bowling when the Mumbai batsman got a wicked top-edge.

Tendulkar and Smith put up a 40-run stand for the opening wicket after Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and decided to bat in bright and sunny conditions.

Jadeja then stuck twice in quick succession to dismiss the dangerous duo of Pollard (1) and Dinesh Karthik (23) when both the Mumbai batsmen were caught by Raina in the outfield.

Ravichandran Ashwin then joined the wicket taking party when he got the better of Rayudu's stumps and thereby foiled all plans that Rayudu (10) had to steady the innings.

Mumbai Indians head into this match with just one change as seamer Suyal replaces Dhawal Kulkarni, who misses out due to an injury.

On the other hand, the Chennai Super Kings bring in Ben Laughlin in place of Albie Morkel.

Teams:

Mumbai Indians: Dwayne Smith, Sachin Tendulkar, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Rohit Sharma (Capt.), Kieron Pollard, Ambati Rayudu, Harbhajan Singh, Mitchell Johnson, Lasith Malinga, Pragyan Ojha, Pawan Suyal.

Chennai Super Kings: Murali Vijay, Michael Hussey, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni (Capt. & wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Subramaniam Badrinath, Chris Morris, Ben Laughlin, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohit Sharma.

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Champions Trophy: Gambhir, Yuvraj out

MUMBAI: Opener Gautam Gambhir and middle order batsman Yuvraj Singh were axed while stumper Dinesh Karthik was rewarded for his good batting form with a berth in India's 15-member squad for next month's Champions Trophy in England.

Apart from Karthik, all-rounder Irfan Pathan, pacers Umesh Yadav and Vinay Kumar also made a comeback to the side announced BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale after a meeting of the selection committee on Saturday.

The selection committee, headed by former cricketer Sandeep Patil, however, surprisingly picked Murali Vijay in the team ahead of the left-handed Gambhir. Vijay has not been in the best of form and has been dropped from even his IPL franchise, the Chennai Super Kings.

Pacer Ashok Dinda, who has been getting a lot of stick in the IPL, and batsman Ajinkya Rahane were also left out of the squad, which has Mahendra Singh Dhoni as captain for the event starting June 6.

Leg-spinner Amit Mishra, performing well in the IPL, was also included in the team to complement Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin -- the two other specialist tweakers in the side.

Shikhar Dhawan, who made his Test debut with a breathtaking 187 against Australia recently, expectedly got the selectors' nod as the number one opener.

The national selectors sprung a surprise by sacking Gambhir, whose form has been patchy of late. He has scored 320 runs in 11 games in the ongoing IPL, including three half-centuries.

Gambhir has, however, been named in the probables' list for the tri-series in the West Indies, which will follow the Champions Trophy. In that list, six players -- Manoj Tiwary, Praveen Kumar, Mohammad Shami, Ambati Rayudu, Rahul Sharma and Gambhir -- were added to the 15 named for the Champions Trophy.

Gambhir's omission did come as a surprise, particularly after his long-time partner Virender Sehwag was not even included in the 30-member probables list.

Clearly, the selectors are looking to blood in young openers keeping in view the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

Yuvraj's ouster was not entirely unexpected considering that the left-hander has not been in the best of form in the ongoing IPL.

Yuvraj has been without a half-century in his eight IPL matches for Pune Warriors, managing just 156 runs at an average of 22.28 with the best being a 34.

Considering the seam-friendly conditions in England, the selectors have opted for five pace bowlers with Ishant Sharma spearheading the attack.

The squad has five specialist batsmen in Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Vijay and Dhawan, while Dhoni and Karthik are the two wicketkeeper-batsmen.

In Gambhir's absence, Dhawan and Vijay are likely to be the opening combination though Karthik could also be an option since there are just two specialist openers in the squad.

India and South Africa are scheduled to kick off the contest on June 6 at the Sophia Gardens at Cardiff, Wales in a Group B match.

India will then take on the West Indies at the Kennington Oval in London on June 11 before concluding the four-team group engagement on June 15 against archrivals Pakistan at Edgbaston, Birmingham.

Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Sri Lanka form Group A.

The top two teams from each group would progress to the semi-finals scheduled on June 19 and 20 at the Kennington Oval and Sophia Gardens respectively with the winners advancing to the June 23 final to be played at Edgbaston.

This would be the first international engagement for the Indian team after the conclusion of the four-Test series against Australia on March 24.

Team: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Capt.), Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik, Murali Vijay, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Irfan Patan, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra, Vinay Kumar.

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Poor ODI form costs Gambhir, Yuvraj

MUMBAI: Two years after playing major roles in the World Cup final that the hosts won, Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh find themselves omitted from the India squad for the next major ICC event, the Champions Trophy commencing June 6.

On April 2, 2011, the 31-year-old Gambhir scored 97 off 122 balls and anchored the Indian innings brilliantly during the memorable and successful run-chase against Sri Lanka.

Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (91 not out) and Yuvraj (21 not out) then guided the hosts home past Lanka's 274 with an unfinished fifth-wicket partnership to herald night-long celebrations all over the country.

While Dhoni secured the man of the match award in the summit clash for his blistering knock that included the winning shot, Yuvraj won the man of the series award for his splendid all-round display in cricket's showpiece event.

However, India's form in overseas Test matches and ODIs has dipped since that unforgettable day two years ago.

Gambhir and Yuvraj, both 31 and left-handed, under-performed in the previous two ODI rubbers at home against Pakistan in December 2012 and England in January, leading to their sacking.

Gambhir scored 127 runs from five games against England while Yuvraj got 126 from as many. Both the batsmen flopped by scoring an identical 34 runs in three games against Pakistan.

The selectors have wielded the axe on this senior duo for this indifferent display.

The brilliant form of another left handed opener from Delhi, Shikhar Dhawan, who made a sensational Test debut against Australia at Mohali before picking up an injury from which he has recovered now, has given the selectors the opportunity to leave Gambhir out for the present.

However Gambhir, whose form in the IPL too has dipped after he started off the campaign with three half centuries in Kolkata Knight Riders' first four games, has some hopes of making it back into the squad in the near future.

He has been named as one of the 21 probables for the triangular series in the West Indies, that follows the Champions Trophy, from June 28 to July 11.

Yuvraj, on the other hand, has been cold-shouldered for the ODI tournament in the Caribbean too, after he fought a personal battle against a rare germ cell cancer following his triumphant days in the World Cup and made a comeback.

He returned to the Indian squad after a gap of one year following treatment for the dreaded disease in the United States.

Yuvraj's poor form which is in contrast with the consistently good performance of a similar player, Ravindra Jadeja, has clearly given the selectors the option to leave Yuvraj out.

Like Punjab's Yuvraj, Saurashtra's Jadeja is an attacking left-handed middle-order batsman, effective with his flat left-arm spin and is also a fine fielder either in the in-field or outside.

Yuvraj's omission for the tri-series in the West Indies, featuring Sri Lanka as the third outfit, has left the batsman with little choice except to try and make another comeback through domestic circuit next season.

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Have been waiting for this day: Karthik

NEW DELHI: Hardwork and belief finally ended cricketer Dinesh Karthik's three-year-long wait to return to the national fold.

The 27-year-old wicketkeeper batsman heaved a sigh of relief on Saturday after he was selected in India's 15-member squad for next months' Champions Trophy in England and Wales.

"I am really happy at the moment. I was waiting for this day for sometime now. It means a lot to me," Karthik said over phone from Mumbai.

Karthik, whose last of 52 ODIs was against Sri Lanka in August 2010, has been in great form for the Mumbai Indians in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL). He has scored 331 runs, including two half-centuries, from 10 matches with a highest score of 86.

Karthik, who turns 28 next month, however, feels IPL was not the sole reason behind his selection. He also had an impressive first class season. Karthik scored 577 runs from eight Ranji Trophy matches at an average of 64 and his highest was 187.

"I would like to believe that my performances in other domestic tournaments also played a part. I have been able to carry my good from into the IPL," he said.

With two keepers in the squad, including skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Karthik's ability to play anywhere in the batting order gives him a fair edge.

"I have always been confident in my batting ability. Besides that, I am a decent fielder. So, I look forward to doing in well in any format. Nobody can replace someone like Dhoni," Karthik said.

For the time being, Karthik wants to focus on helping Mumbai Indians getting their maiden IPL title.

"I don't really want to think about that (Champions Trophy) too much. Just feels great to be back in the team. For now, the focus remains on doing well for the Mumbai Indians and helping them win the IPL trophy," he said.

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IPL: Delhi elect to bat against Hyderabad

NEW DELHI: Delhi Daredevils skipper Mahela Jayawardene won the toss and decided to bat against Sunrisers Hyderabad in their IPL 6 match at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.

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Two teams which have only recently recovered from poor form will square off with both sides aiming to continue the winning run and stay alive in the event.

The match is crucial for both the teams are in the lower half of the points table with Delhi being second last right now.

DD have six points from 10 matches, while SH have bagged 12 from the same number of matches.

The Sunrisers have enjoyed a dream run at home, winning all the matches played here so far.

The lethal bowling attack of the Sunrisers has played a crucial role in their victories against some of the formidable teams like Mumbai Indians.

On the other hand, Delhi have just managed to survive in the competition by defeating Kolkata Knight Riders by seven wickets on May 1.

Teams:

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Parthiv Patel, Shikhar Dhawan, Kumar Sangakkara (Capt. & wk), Hanuma Vihari, Darren Sammy, Thisara Perera, Karan Sharma, Amit Mishra, Ashish Reddy, Dale Steyn, Ishant Sharma

Delhi Daredevils: Mahela Jayawardena (Capt.), Virender Sehwag, Unmukt Chand, David Warner, Jeevan Mendis, Kedar Jadhav (wk), Irfan Pathan, Shahbaz Nadeem, Johan Botha, Umesh Yadav, Ashish Nehra/

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'MSD clever captain in Indian conditions'

NEW DELHI: Dashing England batsman Kevin Pietersen feels Mahendra Singh Dhoni's "clever" captaincy is the reason behind Chennai Super Kings' success in the ongoing IPL but downplayed the issue of his own absence being the cause of Delhi Daredevils' poor show.

"The reason why CSK are so successful is because MS (Dhoni) is such a clever skipper in Indian conditions," Pietersen replied when asked about his opinion on the secret of CSK's success in the cash-rich league.

"Besides him (Dhoni) making a huge impact with the bat, CSK have also got quality spinners for the tracks on which they are playing. Their overseas recruits including Mike Hussey and even coach Stephen Fleming, have made significant contributions," Pietersen told reporters during a whirlwind visit to the capital, where he was unveiled as the Brand Ambassador of Japanese watch giants Citizen.

"While I am surprised that KKR are doing so badly, I will be a fool to bet against CSK considering that one Qualifier and the final will be played at the Eden Gardens, which is so similar to Chennai. Hyderabad has also been good. Difficult call but I will go with Chennai."

Asked about his knee injury that dented Daredevils' chances, he answered, "It's flattering to hear that but I don't think that's the only reason. We also didn't have Viru (Sehwag) for the initial matches, Morne (Morkel) and Roelof (Van der Merwe) had domestic commitments. Also what happened to Jesse made us slow starters. But the boys are gaining confidence and mathematically, we can still make it."

"Daredevils is very close to my heart as I have so many friends over here. The coaching set-up is great and a fantastic owner. It's not that absence of one person would make a difference."

Pietersen seemed hopeful of his DD colleagues Umesh Yadav and Irfan Pathan doing well in the upcoming Champions Trophy.

"Whatever I have seen, Umesh has developed a good slower delivery which will be helpful in limited overs cricket. Irfan, being a left-armer is a valuable asset with angles he can produce. It's an absolute necessity in T20s and ODIs.

"In England, the Indian bowlers will have a good time as the ball swings a bit more. The batsmen might have to face a little bit more testing but again if the sun shines brightly, you will have flat tracks and ball might not swing," KP assessed.

About his knee injury, Pietersen, who is now off the braces for the last 10 days is hopeful that he will be fit and ready by the time Ashes starts.

"I have been off braces for last 10 days. The body is healing well. I didn't want to take any risk (Champions Trophy) but I will be up and firing by the time Ashes starts. Whenever the England and the Australian players put their respective shirts on, it's different battle which is fascinating to watch."

Asked if Mushtaq Ahmed has passed on some "notes" to David Warner regarding how to tackle spin twins Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann, he laughed and said, "Mushy (Mushtaq's nickname) won't pass on anything to David. I am confident about that as he is on our side."

Quizzed about whether he has set any specific batting target in his Test career, pat came the reply, "I would like to score atleast 10,000 Test runs. I am 2500 runs away (7499 runs in 94 Tests) from it and hopefully I will get there."

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Eng recall Bopara and Bresnan for CT

LONDON: England have recalled batsman Ravi Bopara and fast bowler Tim Bresnan for the one-day series against New Zealand and next month's Champions Trophy on home soil, the England and Wales Cricket Board said on Friday.

Bopara, 27, has not played a one-day international since September and Bresnan, 28, missed this year's tour of New Zealand due to an elbow injury.

Batsman Kevin Pietersen was ruled out with a knee problem. Spinner Samit Patel and fast bowler Jade Dernbach were omitted from the 15-man squad.

Alastair Cook will captain the team in three one-day internationals against New Zealand starting on May 31 after the two-match test series between the teams.

The hosts' first game in the Champions Trophy is against Australia on June 8.

England squad: Alastair Cook (captain), James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Steve Finn, Eoin Morgan, Joe Root, Graeme Swann, James Tredwell, Jonathan Trott, Chris Woakes.

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Amit Mishra in contention for CT berth

CHENNAI: Amit Mishra has been the best spinner of the ongoing T20 tournament. The leggie, who has been in and around the Indian squad for a while, has got 16 wickets in the tournament so far with a strike rate of 13.8 and an economy of 6.40.

And now, with the Indian team for the Champions Trophy to be selected on Saturday, the leg-spinner stands a good chance of making the cut.

"I am just looking to perform in the tournament I am playing now. But if I get a chance for India, I will be happy," the Sunrisers leg-spinner said.

He played a big role in the success of Sunrisers in the tournament so far, with a hat-trick against Pune Warriors.

Mishra has won quite a few man of the match awards as well that has brought him into contention.

But the conditions in England are not always conducive for spin bowling and that is one thing that might just go against him.

It's certain that R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, both Chennai Super Kings players, will be part of the squad and Mishra will sneak in if the selectors decide to include a third spinner in the line-up.

Skipper MS Dhoni's vote, too, will become crucial and it's to be seen if the Indian captain decides to add a bit of depth to the spin department.

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Royals elect to bat against Knight Riders

NEW DELHI: Rajasthan Royals skipper Rahul Dravid won the toss and decided to bat against Kolkata Knight Riders in the defending champions' last league fixture at the Eden Gardens on Friday.

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Their campaign in doldrums, Knight Riders would be desperate to register a victory over a consistent Royals.

Midway into the extravagant T20 League, when faltering teams like Delhi Daredevils have started to get their act together, the Knight Riders have refused to learn from the mistakes, with captain Gautam Gambhir being adamant in his approach.

The latest of their seven losses was against the resurgent Daredevils who registered their second successive win, third overall, by seven wickets on Wednesday at Raipur.

It was Knight Riders' fifth defeat from as many away games. They now have an uphill task of winning six more matches if they want to earn a ticket to the playoffs.

That they have three away games, including one in Mumbai, and two 'home' games (vs RCB and PWI) at an unfamiliar venue -- Ranchi -- will make the case all the more difficult, and it will be a real test of character for skipper Gambhir.

On the other hand, Rahul Dravid has led the side by example so far and backed his little-known judicious-spending team to perfection, reminding one of what Shane Warne did in their triumphant season one (2008).

Rajasthan's back-to-back victories have earned them 12 points from nine matches and they are comfortably placed at third position in the table.

Shane Watson's red-hot form with the bat -- 101, unbeaten 98 and 41 in last three appearances -- is just coming at the right time. The Aussie vice-captain's contribution with the ball is also providing the team an edge.

They also have big hitters in Brad Hodge and Owais Shah, while talented batsman Ajinkya Rahane will be hoping to get back to his rhythm.

The fact that Dravid-led team had a three-day break after their victory against RCB will put them in the right frame of mind as compared to KKR, who travelled to Chennai and Raipur before coming here.

Teams:

Kolkata Knight Riders: Gautam Gambhir (Capt.), Manvinder Bisla (wk), Yusuf Pathan, Jacques Kallis, Eoin Morgan, Debabrata Das, Rajat Bhatia, Sumit Narwal, Sunil Narine, Iqbal Abdulla, Sachithra Senanayake.

Rajasthan Royals: Rahul Dravid (Capt.), Ajinkya Rahane, Sanju Samson, Shane Watson, Stuart Binny, Owais Shah, James Faulkner, Siddharth Trivedi, Brad Hogg, Ankit Chavan, Dishant Yagnik (wk).

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I was lucky to play for India: Dravid

KOLKATA: Former skipper Rahul Dravid was modesty personified as he said that he was lucky to have possessed enough talent to play cricket for India and "couldn't have asked for more".

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"I am very lucky that I had the talent to play cricket for this country. It is the number one sport in this country, virtually a religion in this country and I feel privileged to have played for my country," Dravid said on the sidelines of a felicitation ceremony in recognition of his Padma Bhushan award.

"I couldn't have asked for anything more and on top of that to get the recognition and honour is truly a big privilege," Dravid said.

About getting the third highest civilian award, Dravid said: "It is a great honour. When you start playing you don't think about the awards. You just play because you just love it and there is no reason why you start playing this game.

"But along the way when you get awards and recognitions from the government of India, from the people of this country, it is a great privilege and honour," the Rajasthan Royals skipper added.

Dravid has led the Royals by example as they have been a consistent unit in the IPL 6 with six wins from nine games. They are currently in the third position and are in line for a playoff berth.

Dravid said it was important for him to be adaptable so as to meet the demands of T20 format.

"I think the key role is to be adaptable, to be able to do various roles, to do things that might not be in your comfort zone or you might not be used to.

"When you are a part of the team or any organisation, it's very important to ensure that you play your part well. When you play in the team, it's not only about yourself, it's also what success you can give to your team and how well the team does.

"I think at the end of the season, if the team you're part of does very well, you can take a lot of credit from that," Dravid said.

Talented batsman Ajinkya Rahane said his role model was none other than his Rajasthan skipper Dravid.

Rahane further said it's Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar who're the ones he grew up watching.

"My role model is here -- Rahul Dravid. I grew up watching Sachin Tendulkar and Dravid," Rahane said on the same programme.

The Rajasthan opener may be going through a lean patch but he said everyday was a learning experience for him.

"I always think I would like to improve my game day by day learning from each and everyone, no matter whether they are senior or junior.

"Actually there is no senior, junior in the game... I would like to learn from everyone," he added.

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Marsh slams 50 to revive Punjab chase

NEW DELHI: Chasing 187 and losing openers early, Kings XI Punjab were provided with some respite when Shaun Marsh reached his 50 in their IPL 6 match against Chennai Super Kings.

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Marsh slammed his fifty in just 34 balls with the help of 4 boundaries and 2 sixes at a time when Punjab seemed to lose all hope as quick wickets hurt their 187-run chase.

Marsh along with David Miller put up a quick-fire 70-plus run stand for the fourth wicket.

Earlier, Kings XI Punjab got off to a bad start when Mohit Sharma struck twice to dismiss openers Luke Pomersbach and Mandeep Singh.

Pomersbach (7) was first in line to be dismissed when he was bowled by Sharma, who looked to carry his good form of the tournament into this match as well.

Soon after, Sharma scalped his second victim in the form of Mandeep (15) who was caught brilliantly at extra cover by Suresh Raina.

Skipper David Hussey and Shaun Marsh then held their nerves and looked to steady the innings as they put up a precarious 37-run partnership for the third wicket.

However, Ravichandran Ashwin had other ideas in mind when he dismissed the Punjab skipper for 22 runs by having him caught at long off by Dwayne Bravo.

Earlier, Raina (100*) slammed his maiden IPL hundred to power Chennai Super Kings to 186/4 against Kings XI Punjab.

Raina slammed his century in just 53 balls and studded his innings with 7 boundaries and 6 sixes that helped revive the Chennai innings after the hosts lost opener Wriddhiman Saha early.

However, Piyush Chawla broke the 55-run stand between Raina and Michael Hussey by dismissing Hussey (35) who was stumped after some good work behind the stumps by keeper Gurkeerat Singh.

Soon after, Chennai lost skipper MS Dhoni as well when he fell short of his crease while attempting a cheeky single and was run out.

However, that brought Albie Morkel to the crease with whom Raina put up a blistering 74-run partnership for the fourth wicket that surged the Super Kings to set the massive target for the Kings XI Punjab.

Earlier, the Raina-Hussey duo revived the innings after Chennai suffered their first blow in the form of Saha, who was caught at deep square leg by Shaun Marsh off the bowling of Parvinder Awana.

Saha (18) and Hussey put up a decent 27-run partnership for the opening wicket after Chennai Super Kings skipper MS Dhoni won the toss and decided to bat.

While the Super Kings head into this match with an unchanged playing XI from the last match, Punjab bring in R Sathish for Manan Vohra and Luke Pomersbach in place of Azhar Mahmood.

Teams:

Chennai Super Kings: Wriddhiman Saha, Michael Hussey, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni (Capt. & wk), Subramaniam Badrinath, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Albie Morkel, Chris Morris, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohit Sharma

Kings XI Punjab: Shaun Marsh, Mandeep Singh, David Hussey (Capt.), David Miller, Luke Pomersbach, Gurkeerat Singh (wk), R Sathish, Piyush Chawla, Manpreet Gony, Praveen Kumar, Parvinder Awana.

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IPL: Super Kings beat Punjab by 15 runs

NEW DELHI: Chennai Super Kings players fired in unison to pull off a thrilling 15-run victory against Kings XI Punjab in their IPL 6 match at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

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Chasing 187 and losing openers early, Kings XI Punjab were provided with some respite when Shaun Marsh reached his half-century.

Marsh slammed his fifty in just 34 balls and finished the match with 8 boundaries and 2 sixes to his credit that came at a time when Punjab seemed to lose all hope as quick wickets hurt their 187-run chase.

Marsh (73 off 51) along with David Miller (51* off 26) put up a quick-fire 95-plus run stand for the fourth wicket, which almost took the match away from the Super Kings.

However, the match turned around at the fag end when Chris Morris gave away just 3 runs of the last two balls in the penultimate over and Bravo picked up 3 wickets in the last over.

Bravo finished the match with figures of 3/34 thereby taking over the purple cap from James Faulkner.

Earlier, Kings XI Punjab got off to a bad start when Mohit Sharma struck twice to dismiss openers Luke Pomersbach and Mandeep Singh.

Pomersbach (7) was first in line to be dismissed when he was bowled by Sharma, who looked to carry his good form of the tournament into this match as well.

Soon after, Sharma scalped his second victim in the form of Mandeep (15) who was caught brilliantly at extra cover by Suresh Raina.

Skipper David Hussey and Shaun Marsh then held their nerves and looked to steady the innings as they put up a precarious 37-run partnership for the third wicket.

However, Ravichandran Ashwin had other ideas in mind when he dismissed the Punjab skipper for 22 runs by having him caught at long off by Dwayne Bravo.

Earlier, Raina (100*) slammed his maiden IPL hundred to power Chennai Super Kings to 186/4 against Kings XI Punjab.

Raina slammed his century in just 53 balls and studded his innings with 7 boundaries and 6 sixes that helped revive the Chennai innings after the hosts lost opener Wriddhiman Saha early.

However, Piyush Chawla broke the 55-run stand between Raina and Michael Hussey by dismissing Hussey (35) who was stumped after some good work behind the stumps by keeper Gurkeerat Singh.

Soon after, Chennai lost skipper MS Dhoni as well when he fell short of his crease while attempting a cheeky single and was run out.

However, that brought Albie Morkel to the crease with whom Raina put up a blistering 74-run partnership for the fourth wicket that surged the Super Kings to set the massive target for the Kings XI Punjab.

Earlier, the Raina-Hussey duo revived the innings after Chennai suffered their first blow in the form of Saha, who was caught at deep square leg by Shaun Marsh off the bowling of Parvinder Awana.

Saha (18) and Hussey put up a decent 27-run partnership for the opening wicket after Chennai Super Kings skipper MS Dhoni won the toss and decided to bat.

While the Super Kings head into this match with an unchanged playing XI from the last match, Punjab bring in R Sathish for Manan Vohra and Luke Pomersbach in place of Azhar Mahmood.

Teams:

Chennai Super Kings: Wriddhiman Saha, Michael Hussey, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni (Capt. & wk), Subramaniam Badrinath, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Albie Morkel, Chris Morris, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohit Sharma

Kings XI Punjab: Shaun Marsh, Mandeep Singh, David Hussey (Capt.), David Miller, Luke Pomersbach, Gurkeerat Singh (wk), R Sathish, Piyush Chawla, Manpreet Gony, Praveen Kumar, Parvinder Awana.

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Bangalore elect to bat against Pune

NEW DELHI: Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli won the toss and opted to bat against Pune Warriors India in their IPL 6 match at Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium in Pune.

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Warriors made two changes, bringing in Ajantha Mendis and Angelo Mathews in place of Luke Wright and Kane Richardson.

Pune would be desperate to make amends but they face an uphill task against the star-studded Bangalore.

It won't be an easy task for Finch's boys as they are up against a formidable Bangalore side which boasts of the big-hitting Chris Gayle.

On paper, Bangalore appear to be the overwhelming favourites with six wins in 10 games, while Pune are languishing at the bottom with just two wins in 10 matches.

Pune would be eager to forget the nightmarish experience it encountered the last time these two teams met on April 23, when Bangalore registered the highest team score of 263 and Gayle massacred the bowling to score a record 66-ball 175.

Teams (from):

Pune Warriors India: Aaron Finch (Capt.), Angelo Mathews, Abhishek Nayar, Ajanta Mendis, Ali Murtaza, Anustup Mazumdar, Ashok Dinda, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Dheeraj Jadhav, Eklavya Dwivedi, Harpreet Singh, Ishwar Pandey, Kane Richardson, Krishnakant Upadhyay, Luke Wright, Mahesh Rawat, Manish Pandey, Marlon Samuels, Mitchell Marsh, Mithun Manhas, Parveez Rasool, Rahul Sharma, R Gomez, Robin Uthappa, Ross Taylor, Shrikant Wagh, Steve Smith, T Suman, Tamim Iqbal, Udit Birla, Wayne Parnell and Yuvraj Singh.

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli (Capt.), AB de Villiers, Abhimanyu Mithun, Abhinav Mukund, Andrew McDonald, Arun Karthik, Cheteshwar Pujara, Chris Gayle, Christopher Barnwell, Daniel Christian, Daniel Vettori, Harshal Patel, Jaidev Unadkat, K P Appanna, Karun Nair, Mayank Agarwal, Moises Henriques, Murali Kartik, Muttiah Muralitharan, Pankaj Singh, Prasanth Parameswaran, R Vinay Kumar, Ravi Rampaul, Rudra Pratap Singh, S Aravind, Sandeep Warrier, Saurabh Tiwary, Sheldon Jackson, Sunny Sohal, Syed Mohammad, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Vijay Zol, Zaheer Khan.

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Dhawan slams fifty as Hyderabad cruise

NEW DELHI: Shikhar Dhawan reached his half-century as he and Hanuma Vihari put up a swift partnership to lead the Hyderabad chase in their IPL 6 match at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.

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Dhawan reached his fifty in 40 balls with the help of 6 boundaries and a lone six and it came at a time when Hyderabad's chase of 130 suffered a dent.

Dhawan and Vihari weaved a swift 50-plus run partnership to revive the chase right after Harbhajan Singh scalped Kumar Sangakkara.

Sangakkara (21) was left bamboozled when Harbhajan caught the Sri Lankan off his own bowling and thereby broke a growing partnership between the Hyderabad skipper and Shikhar Dhawan.

Earlier, Sunrisers Hyderabad lost opener Akshath Reddy early to Mitchell Johnson.

Reddy (7) was caught at covers by Dwayne Smith off a short of length Johnson delivery thereby giving Mumbai their first breakthrough.

Earlier, a late unbeaten 50-run stand between Kieron Pollard and Ambati Rayudu helped Mumbai Indians reach 129/4 against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Pollard (14* off 19) and Rayudu (34* off 27) helped Mumbai to crawl towards their final total after the visitors were jolted by some amazing bowling display by Amit Mishra and Ishant Sharma.

Mishra, who finished his quota of over with figures of 2/24 struck to dismiss Dwayne Smith and Rohit Sharma at a time when the duo was going steady and looked to do damage.

It was after Ishant struck twice for Sunrisers Hyderabad to dismiss Sachin Tendulkar and Dinesh Karthik that Smith and Rohit held their nerves and put up a steady 42-run partnership.

However, Mishra had other plans in mind when he scalped the duo in one over to leave the visitors reeling at 80/4 after 13 overs.

Mishra struck first to dismiss Rohit (22) when the Mumbai skipper was caught by Ishant, who made good on his dropped catch earlier in the match.

Soon after, Mishra caught Smith (38) plumb as the Mumbai batsman, who hit 3 boundaries and 2 sixes, failed in his attempt to sweep the ball.

Earlier, the Tendulkar-Smith duo put up a quick-fire 32 run stand for the opening wicket after Mumbai won the toss decided to bat against Hyderabad.

However, the party was short-lived when Ishant played wrecker-in-chief to dismiss Tendulkar (14) and Karthik (0) in one over.

While Tendulkar, who hit a couple of boundaries in his short innings, was comprehensively bowled, Karthik was caught comfortably by Karan Sharma.

Both teams head into this match with unchanged playing XIs from the previous match.

Teams:

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Akshath Reddy, Shikhar Dhawan, Kumar Sangakkara (Capt. & wk), Hanuma Vihari, Karan Sharma, Thisara Perera, Darren Sammy, Amit Mishra, Ashish Reddy, Dale Steyn, Ishant Sharma.

Mumbai Indians: Dwayne Smith, Sachin Tendulkar, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Rohit Sharma (Capt.), Kieron Pollard, Ambati Rayudu, Harbhajan Singh, Mitchell Johnson, Lasith Malinga, Pragyan Ojha, Dhawal Kulkarni.

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Sachin will stop when he wants to: Shastri

SHIRDI (MAHARASHTRA): Former India skipper Ravi Shastri on Wednesday said that Sachin Tendulkar has much cricket left in him and a call on retirement will be entirely his prerogative.

"Often there is a discussion about Sachin's retirement but since his health and body is fit, he's playing... when he wants to stop, he will stop..," Shastri told reporters outside the Saibaba temple here.

"I think a player like Sachin will not come up at least in 100 years," he added.

Answering to a query, he said that if spin bowler Ravindra Jadeja improves his batting, he could become a genuine allrounder.

About his own record of hitting six sixes in an over in first class cricket, he said that records are often made to break but "my record in first class cricket is difficult to surpass."

Ahmednagar district judge and president of three member committee of Shirdi Sansthan Trust Jayant Kulkarni felicitated Shastri on the occasion.

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Dhawan's onslaught helps SRH beat MI

HYDERABAD: Shikhar Dhawan smashed his second half century of the season as Sunrisers Hyderabad scored an easy seven-wicket victory over Mumbai Indians in a lop-sided Pepsi Indian Premier League match on Wednesday.

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Dhawan struck nine fours and a six in his 55-ball unbeaten 73 as the home side chased down the small target of 130 with two overs to spare at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium at Uppal.

The India opener, who had an impressive Test debut against Australia in March, shared 74 runs from 9.2 overs with Hanuma Vihari (25 off 23 balls) for the third wicket as the Sunrisers reached 130 for three in 18 overs. Captain Kumar Sangakkara contributed run-a-ball 21.

Dhawan had scored an unbeaten 63 in his first match of the IPL season for a lost cause against Chennai Super Kings in Sunrisers' away match on April 25.

Despite Wednesday's win, their sixth in 10 matches, the Sunrisers remained at fifth place with 12 points. Mumbai, whose three-game winning streak was snapped today, also remained at fourth place with 12 points from 10 matches.

Chasing the modest target of 130, the Sunrisers lost opener Akshath Reddy (7) in the third over with just 16 on the board.

Reddy was done in by a Mitchell Johnson slower ball as he attempted to slice it over the covers but ended up ballooning in the air for Dwayne Smith to take an easy catch at covers.

Despite the early jolt, the home side had nothing much to worry about as the asking rate was small and captain Sangakkara and Dhawan finding the boundaries.

Sangakkara hit the first four of his innings off his Sri Lankan compatriot Lasith Malinga in the fifth over and then finished off-spinner Harbhajan Singh with two consecutive boundaries in the sixth over.

Dhawan was also settling down well with a four off Pragyan Ojha and a six off Harbhajan after hitting two boundaries off Dhawal Kulkarni early on.

Just as the Sangakkara-Dhawan second wicket partnership was threatening to end the game early, Harbhajan struck by dismissing the home side captain in the eighth over.

Sangakkara was in two minds whether he should go for a shot or defend and he ended up spooning the ball back to the off-spinner who took a low catch. Sangakkara's run-a-ball 21 contained three fours.

The asking rate climbed a bit at just below seven an over but the Sunrisers were cruising along at 61 for two at the halfway stage and the home side virtually took the game away from the reach of Mumbai Indians by taking 15 runs from the 12th over bowled by Dwayne Smith.

Dhawan struck two sweetly-times fours off the West Indian while Vihari also found the gap for another boundary.

Visiting captain Rohit Sharma shuffled his bowlers in a bid to break the partnership of Dhawan and Vihari which Mumbai could do only in the 18th over with the latter falling to Kulkarni.

But by that time, it was too late for Mumbai as the Sunrisers needed just three runs to win the match.

For Mumbai, Harbhajan, Johnson and Kulkarni bagged a wicket each.

Earlier, a fine bowling performance from Sunrisers saw them restrict a star-studded Mumbai Indians side to a modest 129 for four.

Pacer Ishant Sharma (2/15) and leggie Amit Mishra (2/24) proved to be the most miserly in their four-over spells.

The others too bowled economical spells with Karan Sharma and Dale Steyn conceding just 25 and 27 runs in their quota of four overs.

Mumbai's Ambati Rayadu played a useful 34-run knock while big-hitter Kieren Pollard (14 of 19 balls) found the going tough on a slow wicket at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.

The duo shared an unbeaten 50-run stand for the fifth wicket to take their side past 120.

Mumbai got off to a steady start with openers Sachin Tendulkar and Dwayne Smith reaching 31 at the end of four overs.

Smith opened the scoring with a four off the first ball of the innings from spinner Sharma. Tendulkar showed a touch of class hitting Steyn for two consecutive boundaries.

But twin strikes in one over from Ishant jolted the Mumbai camp, as he first dismissed Tendulkar (14) and followed it up with the wicket of in-form Dinesh Karthik for nought.

The pacer went through the gap between the bat and pad of Tendulkar while Karthik was caught at point trying to play an uppish drive.

Skipper Rohit Sharma got off the mark hitting back to back boundaries. However, Hyderabad kept a check on the run flow and never allowed the Mumbai batters to flourish after electing to bat.

At the half way mark, Mumbai were 60 for two. Hyderabad's highest wicket taker in this IPL, Mishra removed both Rohit (22) and Smith (38) in the same over, after Ishant dropped a sitter from Smith off his own bowling.

Smith hit three fours and two sixes in a 40-ball knock while Rohit hit a run-a-ball 22 that included two boundaries.

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KKR elect to bat against Delhi Daredevils

RAIPUR: Kolkata Knight Riders' skipper Gautam Gambhir won the toss and elected to bat against Delhi Daredevils at the newly- built Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh Stadium in Raipur on Wednesday.

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While Delhi made no changes to their line-up, Kolkata made two major changes. Brett Lee comes in for New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum and Shami Ahmed gives his place to Sumit Narwal.

After notching up a morale-boosting victory against the Pune Warriors, Delhi Daredevils will aim to improve their current position.

Just like the previous match between the Daredevils and the Warriors, this encounter will also be a battle of survival for both the teams -- especially KKR, whose slide during this edition has been pretty sharp.

While Daredevils have lost seven out of their nine games, KKR are not too far behind having lost six games out of nine.

The Daredevils have failed to finish off some close matches this season and their effort against the Warriors was certainly laudable considering the situation they are in at the moment.

The one thing that has been ailing both the teams is the performance of their Indian players which has definitely played a big role in their poor show in the million dollar league so far.

The pressure has been immense on skipper Gautam Gambhir, and Eoin Morgan, who have easily been the two best players in their side with scores of 308 and 268 runs respectively.

Gambhir, however, has failed in the last two games and would like to make amends during Wednesday's encounter.

In all, an exciting match is on the cards as it is redemption time for KKR. Daredevils, on the other hand, would look to exact a sweet revenge for their first leg loss against the same opponents.

Teams (from):

Delhi Daredevils: Mahela Jayawardene (captain.), Virender Sehwag, David Warner, Umesh Yadav, Ashish Nehra, Irfan Pathan, Kedar Jadhav, Unmukt Chand, Morne Morkel, Shahbaz Nadeem, Ben Rohrer.

Kolkata Knight Riders: Gautam Gambhir (captain), Brett Lee, Debabrata Das, Eoin Morgan, Jacques Kallis, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Manvinder Bisla, Rajat Bhatia, Sunil Narine, Yusuf Pathan, Sumit Narwal.

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