Kolkata, April 16: Needing a miracle to make the semifinals, both Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals would be desperate for a big win when they clash in an Indian Premier League match here tomorrow.
Both the teams are in the same boat as only a big win combined with favourable results from other ties can help their cause.
Having started off the season amid much hype and hoopla, Knight Riders fizzled out when it came to performance on the field.
Jamaica, April 16: Surrey have confirmed they are in talks with Brian Lara in a bid to lure him out of retirement to play Twenty20 for them this season. Lara, who retired from international cricket after the 2007 World Cup, has not played competitively for two years.
“We have been in discussion with Brian regarding his possible involvement with the club,” a Surrey spokesman told the BBC. “However we have no further comment to make at this stage.”
Chennai, April 16: Following is the scoreboard of the India Premier League (IPL) match between Delhi Daredevils and the Chennai Super Kings here Thursday.
Chennai Super Kings:
Murali Vijay c Karthik b Nehra 17 (11b, 3 x 4)
Matthew Hayden c Collingwood b Nehra 01 (5b)
Mahendra Singh Dhoni c Manhas b Nannes 00 (2b)
Suresh Raina c Yadav b Dilshan 15 (19b, 2 x 4)
Mike Hussey c Dilshan b Sehwag 15 (18b, 2 x 4)
Subramaniam Badrinath c Warner b Nehra 30 (29b, 2 x 4)
Albie Morkel c Collingwood b Sehwag 01 (3b)
Ravichandran Ashwin (run out – Mishra) 06 (13b)
New Delhi, April 16: Commonwealth Games gold medallist shooter Pemba Tamang was stopped by immigration officials in Mumbai from boarding a flight to Beijing as his passport had the “invalid” stapled visa, which China issues to the Indians from Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh.
Tamang, a resident of Arunachal, was last night going to Beijing for International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup, to be held from April 17 to 24.
Chennai, April 16: Despite his side’s six-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings in an IPL match here today, Delhi Daredevils captain Gautam Gambhir said he was not happy at the “irresponsible” batting by his top order.
“Chasing 113 was not an easy job and you can’t just bat irresponsibly. The top order need to bat with some responsibility. You can’t bat just like that and leave the job for the lower order,” Gambhir, who scored a match-winning unbeaten 57, said after his side’s six-wicket win.
Mumbai, April 16: Indian Premier League Commissioner Lalit Modi was questioned for as long as eight hours over the financial dealings and share holding patterns of the cricketing body as Income Tax officials left his Worli-based office early today.
I-T officials visited IPL Head-Quarters at Wankhede Stadium as also Modi’s office at Nirlon House in upmarket Worli, where they quizzed him from 7.15 pm to 3.20 am.
Chennai, April 16: Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni today conceded his and opener Matthew Hayden’s poor run of form has hit his side hard in the IPL as they now depend on the largess of other teams to qualify for the semifinals.
“Hayden has been our leading player, so him not batting well as he had been has affected us. I have also fired only in a few matches. After the injury, I wasn’t 100 per cent sure of what I was doing in the middle. I am a sort of player who loves to spend more time on the wicket,” Dhoni said after his side’s six-wicket loss to Delhi Daredevils.
New Delhi, April 16: At the Asian Badminton Championships in New Delhi, top seed Saina Nehwal and Aditi Mutatkar have advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s singles.
World Number Six Saina lived up to her top billing in the tournament with a convincing 21-14, 21-16 win over Malaysian Julia Pei Xian Wong in just 27 minutes.
Joining Saina in the quarter-finals was Pune girl Aditi who came up trumps against Hsiao Huan Chen of Chinese Taipei 23-21, 21-11.
–Agencies
Mumbai, April 16: Indian Premier League Commissioner Lalit Modi was questioned for as long as eight hours over the financial dealings and share holding patterns of the cricketing body as Income Tax officials left his Worli-based office early today.
IT officials visited IPL Head-Quarters at Wankhede Stadium as also Modi’s office at Nirlon House in upmarket Worli, where they quizzed him from 7.15 pm to 3.20 am.
The raids conducted to probe the funding of the IPL teams and the ongoing funds controversy relating to the Kochi franchise.
New Delhi, April 16: After the market was flooded with news of Bombay Dyeing’s Ness Wadia selling its stake to Videocon, Actress and Co-owner, Kings XI Punjab, Preity Zinta has recently confirmed that the team will not be up for sale by the end of the third season of the much-popular IPL.
The actress wrote on the micro-blogging site Twitter that the news of selling Kings XI stake to Videocon is purely incorrect. “How many times the news has 2 be WRONG about our stake sale! First Hero Honda & now Videocon! Speaks a lot for the quality of news in the country,” she wrote on Twitter.
Chennai, April 16: The Delhi Daredevils, thanks to an unbeaten 57 by skipper Gautam Gambhir and his 75-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Mithun Manhas (25 not out) swept to a six-wicket win against the Chennai Super Kings in a crucial Indian Premier League (IPL) game, here tonight.
Batting first, the Super Kings were pegged to 112 for nine 20 overs while the Daredevils kept their composure despite losing four wickets for 38 as Gambhir guided the side to their seventh win in 13 matches with eight deliveries to spare.
New Delhi, April 16: Union minister and former Board president Sharad Pawar Thursday came out in support of Lalit Modi, the Indian Premier League (IPL) supremo, saying there was nothing wrong in making public the names of the Kochi franchise stakeholders.
“There is nothing wrong in disclosing the names of the stakeholders,” Pawar said.
Karachi, April 15: Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi on Thursday said his team stands united behind him and was hungry’ enough to take another successful shot at the ICC World Twenty20 which gets underway in Guyana from April 30.
Afridi, who was attending a World Twenty20 trophy unveiling ceremony here with International Cricket Council (ICC) chief executive Haroon Lorgat and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ijaz Butt, said Pakistan can defend the title in the West Indies.
Gandhinagar, April 15: Chief Minister Narendra Modi today sought to distance himself from the IPL controversy with a state minister describing as baseless allegations that Modi had put pressure on IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi to bring a new team to Ahmedabad.
Earlier in the day, former Congress MP from Vadodara Satyajit Gaekwad, who is a spokesperson of Kochi franchise, had alleged that IPL commissioner Lalit Modi is targeting the new team under pressure from Narendra Modi, who is also president of Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA).
Kolkata, April 15: Despite the poor performance of his franchise in the first three editions of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) co-owner Shah Rukh Khan has announced that he will stick to his team.
“KKR is my team and I will never ever leave it. I have said it millions of times before,” the Bollywood actor wrote on his twitter account.
There was speculation about the superstar continuing his involvement with the KKR after the recent defeat of the men in purple that saw him come up with negative tweets.
New Delhi, April 15: With the ownership of the Indian Premier League’s Kochi franchise kicking up a storm, the Deccan Chargers today sought to come clean on their shareholding pattern.
In a statement issued to the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange, Deccan Chargers revealed its ownership details.
Johannesburg, April 15: Hundreds of football fans queued outside World Cup ticketing centres around South Africa overnight Wednesday even before the start of over-the-counter ticket sales at 9 am (0800 GMT).
With less than two months to go to kickoff in Johannesburg June 11, there are around 500,000 tickets still available, covering all 64 matches including the final.
World Cup organising body FIFA is hoping that South Africans, who have already bought nearly one million of the 2.2 million tickets sold so far, will buy even more as the purchasing process becomes easier.
Mumbai, April 15:Star Sports and Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment have tied up to promote upcoming ICC Twenty20 World Cup and multi-starrer comedy ‘Houseful’, both of which are opening April 30.
‘Cricket is passion, cricket is entertainment and in the same way film is passion and entertainment. Hopefully every stadium where India will play will be houseful. During the first year of ICC Twenty20 World Cup, ‘Heyy Babyy’ had tie up with it and India won the final,’ said director Sajid Khan, at Taj Lands End Hotel here Wednesday.
Johnannesburg, April 15: South Africans queued overnight for a chance on Thursday to buy half a million unsold World Cup tickets — including some for the final — in the last phase of sales for the tournament which starts in June.
FIFA agreed this week to drop a ruling that tickets could only be bought online or through a ballot and they will be on sale over the counter at ticket centres, in shopping malls and some popular supermarkets.
New Delhi, April 15: Under fire for his alleged meddling in the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise business, Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor Thursday met senior cabinet ministers Pranab Mukherjee and A.K. Antony at the Parliament House.
The meeting lasted 30 minutes. Tharoor refused to comment on what they discussed.
This is his second meeting with Mukherjee and Antony in less than a day. He met the Congress leaders Wednesday night to discuss the controversy.
New Delhi, April 15: In the eye of storm over its ownership pattern, Indian Premier League’s Kochi franchise today alleged that IPL commissioner Lalit Modi is targetting the new team under pressure from Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
The Kochi team is under the scanner for allegedly giving ‘free equity’ to Dubai-based entrepreneur Sunanda Pushkar, who is a close friend of the Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor.
“We were told that we won’t be allowed to work. The Adani group and Narendra Modi had a stake in the Ahmedabad IPL bid.
New Delhi, April 15: Kolkata Knight Riders co-owner Shah Rukh Khan has denied offering any role in the team to Dubai-based entrepreneur Sunanda Pushkar, who is at the centre of an ownership row involving the Kochi franchise.
Pushkar, a friend of the Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor, had claimed that she was approached by Kolkata last year for consultancy services.
But Shah Rukh said the team never offered her anything.
Jaipur, April 15: After taking Royal Challengers Bangalore close to the IPL semifinals with a blistering 29-ball 62, Kevin Pietersen said they came to bat with an aim to finish the game within 15 overs.
Chasing 131 to win, the visitors cruised to the win in 15.4 overs which helped them move up a place to second in the points table and get to a healthy net run-rate of +0.467.
Lahore, April 15: Former Pakistan cricket captain Shoaib Malik, who recently married Indian tennis star Sania Mirza, has filed his appeal against a 12-month ban and a Rs two million fine imposed on him by the PCB for indiscipline. Malik, who is in India for post-marriage ceremonies, filed his appeal yesterday through his lawyer here, becoming sixth of the seven players banned or fined by the Pakistan Cricket Board last month to challenge their penalties.
New Delhi, April 15: Dejected by Kolkata Knight Riders’ continuing poor run in the Indian Premier League, team owner and Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan took the blame for the debacle and said he feels awful for the side and its fans.