Unadkat, Ganguly script a fine five-wicket win over Rajasthan

Kolkata captain superbly lead his young guns on the field and later scored a fine unbeaten 75 to carve out a rather comfortable eight-wicket victory over Rajasthan Royals. Though it was a tad baffling why Ganguly and his partner Cheteshwar Pujara, who batted well for his 45, did not show any urgency to knock off the runs within 13 overs, as it would have helped the team to have more favourable net run rate. Eventually, after restricting Rajasthan to 132 for 9, Kolkata scored 133 for 2 with consummate ease and with 3.5 overs...

Must-win for Chennai in battle of Kings

Dharamsala: Chennai's fate lies as much in their own hands as in the hands of other teams. For starters, they will have to win their game against Punjab at Dharamshala on Sunday to keep their hopes alive of remaining in the competition. Punjab, on the other hand, would like keep their pride intact in what has been otherwise a disastrous IPL - III for them and sign off on a winning note. On paper, Chennai look far superior,...

Virtual semi-final as Delhi take on Deccan

New Delhi In a game supposed to decide the fourth and the final semi-finalist, Delhi Daredevils take on Deccan Chargers at the Ferozeshah Kotla stadium in New Delhi. Loss for either could jeopardise their chances of reaching the semis. A win though would guarantee a place in the final four, something which has surely come at a high price this IPL. Delhi's position is a little better than Deccan's. They have a good run-rate...

Modi offered $50 mn to pull out: Kochi team owner

New Delhi/ Mumbai: Lalit Modi – Shashi Tharoor IPL row took yet another turn after one of IPL Kochi’s co-owners Shailendra Gaikwad alleged that Modi had offered Rendezvous Sports a huge sum to pull out of the bidding process that was held in March. "We were offered USD 50 million by Modi to withdraw from the Kochi team" Shailendra Gaikwad, CEO of the franchise, alleged within hours of Modi telling reporters that there was a question mark over the fate of the new team, secured by a bid of Rs 1533 crore last month. Terming as...

We wanted to finish it off quickly: Pietersen

Jaipur: 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. "Against Deccan Chargers we took too long to be...

IPL 2010: Tendulkar Guides Mumbai Into Semi-Finals

Sachin Tendulkar produced another Indian Premier League batting masterclass as the Mumbai Indians qualified for the semi-finals with a comprehensive 37-run win over the Rajasthan Royals. Tendulkar batted through Mumbai's innings and took full advantage of being dropped by Aditya Dole when on 45 to see his side to a score of 174 for five before the Royals could only manage 137 for eight in reply. Early on in his well-crafted...

Shah Rukh Khan will not be present in IPL Match on chennai

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) co-owner Shah Rukh Khan will not be present when his side takes on Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings in a must-win encounter for teams on Tuesday at the Chidamdaram Stadium. "No, I won’t come to Chennai for the match. Think the team needs to introspect and play without my interference...emotional or physical," the superstar tweeted on Monday. The Knight Riders have not been consistent...

Tharoor's to-be wife stakeholder in IPL Kochi franchise

New Delhi: Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor himself may not be a stakeholder but the lady he is reportedly planning to marry is part of the consortium which owns the Kochi franchise of the Indian Premier League, revealed IPL commissioner Lalit Modi. Clearing the air about the ownership structure of the little known Rendezvous Sports World which coughed up USD 333.33 million (appr Rs 1533 crore) to...

Kochi-IPL spat turns ugly, Modi alleges foul play

New Delhi: The IPL-Kochi franchisee row took a more intense turn as league commissioner Lalit Modi, unperturbed by BCCI chief Shashank Manohar’s rebuke, alleged that the Shashi Tharoor ‘linked’ group had a lot to hide and he had done no wrong by disclosing their names to public. In an e-mail to the BCCI chief, he even went at lengths to say that the group “has lied about who is the actual owner of the shares” and is...

Bangalore seek to settle score

It’s heartening to see reigning champions Deccan Chargers finally getting their bearings right. And now they look a potent force, having clocked two wins on the trot. As Gilchrist and Co had comprehensively beaten Royal Challengers in their own den in the last encounter, they would go into this match with a psychological edge at their surrogate home ground, Nagpur. Deccan Chargers Interestingly, Tirumalasetti Suman’s batting form has coincided with the team’s change in fortune. Batting at no. 3, he carved out two half-centuries...

Lalit Modi tweets names of IPL Kochi owners

New Delhi: IPL Chairman Lalit Modi ended all speculations regarding the scrapping of Kochi franchise by giving a list of the names of the owners on his Twitter page. Modi informed his followers on the page saying, "Kochi shareholders are: Rendezvous 25% free, Rendezvous 1%, Anchor 27%, Parinee 26%, Film Waves Combine 12%, Anand Shyam 8%, Vivek Venugopal 1%. And Rendezvous free equity - held by Kisan, Shailender and...

ICC rules out window for IPL

The ICC has ruled out creating a separate window in the FTP for lucrative domestic leagues like the IPL, despite increasing calls for the game's governing body to figure out a way to allow players to participate without disrupting their international commitments. "We don't envisage a separate window for a domestic event like the IPL," Haroon Lorgat, the ICC's CEO, said in New Delhi at the unveiling of the ICC World Twenty20 trophy. "We cannot incorporate all domestic events into the FTP. It is just not possible as there would...

Dominant Tendulkar boosts Mumbai

Sachin Tendulkar shored up Mumbai Indians yet again with his fifth half-century of the IPL that all but guaranteed them a place in the semi-final and took him to the top of the run-charts in the tournament. He overcame Rajasthan Royals' strong start by building two partnerships: the first with JP Duminy to lead Mumbai's recovery after the loss of three early wickets, and the second with Kieron Pollard to accelerate at...

Pandey back, Bangalore field

Anil Kumble called correctly, and he went with the ploy that has fetched Bangalore five out of their six wins, choosing to field first. In the seven previous matches where Bangalore have chased, they have won five, and another such result will put them in an excellent position for a semi-final berth. They won the previous game convincingly against Kolkata Knight Riders, but made a couple of changes to that team, bringing in Manish Pandey and left-arm spinner KP Appanna instead of S Sriram and Praveen Kumar. Deccan, meanwhile,...

Tendulkar's presence would have helped us in T20 WC: Harbhajan

Sachin, HarbhajanDay in Pics: April 7CHANDIGARH: Considering the red-hot form Sachin Tendulkar is in these days, it would have been fantastic for India's Twenty20 World Cup campaign if the batting legend was a part of the squad, feels Harbhajan Singh. Tendulkar does not play T20 Internationals anymore hence the selectors did not include him in the Indian squad for the World Twenty20, beginning in the West Indies from April 30. Tendulkar, who turns 37 on April 24, is in scorching form and has been instrumental in Mumbai Indians'...

Suman, Symonds show keep Deccan in semi-final race

BANGALORE: T Suman (78 not out) played the innings of life while Andrew Symonds gave him the perfect support with a 24-ball 53 cameo as Deccan Chargers beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by seven wickets to stay afloat for a semi-final berth in the Indian Premier League on Thursday. Chasing a competitive 184, Suman came up with runs when it mattered most for his team and shared an unbeaten 46-ball 91-run fourth-wicket stand with Symonds as the title holders overhauled the target comfortably with four balls to spare. Suman bejeweled...

Kochi IPL franchisee to be scrapped?

Mumbai: Kerela’s dream of having a franchisee of its own in the Indian Premier League looks to be turning sour as, if sources are to be believed, Team Kochi might be scraped altogether.A consortium of various business groups, under the umbrella of Rendezvous, had bid Rs 1300 crore for the Kochi based franchisee at an auction last month.However, the status of one of the partner in the consortium, who owns a 25% stake, remains ‘unknown’.The Kochi franchisee has to submit its papers to the IPL board by Monday.The consortium has...

Kings XI have only pride to play for

MOHALI: It’s a clash between two teams at the extreme ends of the table; Mumbai Indian are the pace setters while Kings XI Punjab bring up the rear. The former are just a win away from securing a berth in the semifinals, while the home team’s languishing at the bottom ever since the IPL 3 started on March 12. Things have gone so bad for KXIP, proudly presented and backed by Preity Zinta, that the bubbly Bollywood star has become invisible during the last two games. In fact, she went to Haridwar for a dip in the Ganga and even...