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A battle of batting might in Kochi
Balaji stars in crushing win
Pune lose despite Yuvraj’s all-round show

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A battle of batting might in Kochi

Kochi Tuskers Kerala are on a high after stunning the Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede, a result which their captain Mahela Jayawardene believes will make other teams take Kochi seriously ...

Balaji stars in crushing win

"Balaji, zara dheere chalo!" (Balaji, walk a little slowly) was the cry in 2004 when L Balaji charmed the Pakistan public with his skill and smile. Seven years later, post a career-threatening back problem, both the traits were visible tonight and Eden Gardens lapped it up in delight as a Balaji-inspired Kolkata Knight Riders routed Rajasthan Royals on a slow pitch...

Pune lose despite Yuvraj’s all-round show

Yuvraj top-scored with an unbeaten 66 to help Pune reach a challenging 187-5 before Delhi achieved the stiff target with four balls to spare for their first victory in three matches in the Twenty20 tournament ...

Rajasthan routed for 81

L Balaji produced some magic, Shakib Al Hasan had a double strike and the fielders hustled as Rajasthan were shot out for 81 in Kolkata ...

Smith to miss IPL season

Australian all-rounder Steve Smith is set to undergo ankle surgery, ruling him out of the Indian Premier League for Kochi Tuskers Kerala ...

Morkel strikes early for Chennai Super Kings


Dhoni


NEW DELHI: Albie Morkel gave Chennai Super Kings an early breakthrough when he had R Sathish caught by Srikkanth Anirudha at mid-wicket in their IPL match at Wankhede stadium in Mumbai on Friday. 

Morkel struck in the third over as Sathish failed to get off the mark. 


The breakthrough came after Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and chose to bowl. 

Chennai have replaced Tim Southee and Shadab Jakati with Suraj Randiv and Joginder Sharma. 

Mumbai have brought in Harbhajan Singh in place of Ali Murtaza. 

The wicket will play similar to what it played in the last game. There will be carry initially with the new ball. It may slightly become slow and low as the game goes on. 

Sachin said he also would have fielded first, feels that due may be a factor and its better to chase on this surface. 

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Bangalore thrash Kolkata by 9 wickets


Gayle


KOLKATA: Chris Gayle hammered an unbeaten 102 off just 55 balls to power Royal Challengers Bangalore to a nine-wicket victory over Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League on Friday. 

The West Indies batsman cracked seven sixes and 10 fours in a superb display of power-hitting as Bangalore achieved a 172-run target with 11 balls to spare for their second win in six matches of the Twenty20 tournament. 

Gayle, playing his first IPL match after being dropped for the opening home games against Pakistan, put his team on course for victory with a 123-run stand for the opening wicket with Sri Lankan Tillakaratne Dilshan. 

Dilshan scored 38 off 31 balls with the help of six fours before being bowled by fast bowler Lakshmipathy Balaji. 

But there was no stopping Gayle, who completed the victory and his century when he hit left-arm spinner Shakib Al Hasan through the covers for a four. Virat Kohli was the other notable contributor with an unbeaten 30. 

Kolkata, who suffered their third defeat in six matches, earlier posted a competitive total, thanks to skipper Gautam Gambhir (48), Yusuf Pathan (46) and South African Jacques Kallis (40). 

Kallis put on 44 off just 4.5 overs for the opening wicket with Australian Brad Haddin (18) and 58 for the second wicket with Gambhir before Pathan stepped up the run-rate in the closing overs. 

Gambhir hit six fours in his 38-ball knock, while Pathan smashed three sixes and as many fours in his brisk 24-ball innings. 

Seamer Sreenath Aravind dismissed both Gambhir and Pathan to finish with 2-37 off three overs.

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Mumbai set for grudge match against Chennai


Sachin Tendulkar


MUMBAI: At the same venue where Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni, together, lifted the World Cup trophy, they'll be back again on Friday but this time to clash with each other in a different tournament, playing for different teams, and in a different format. 

However, the fact that they'll be around - regardless of the task on hand - makes the Mumbai Indians versus Chennai Super Kings clash at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday evening a much anticipated contest. In fact, considering that Mumbai lost to Chennai in the final of the 2010 edition, this might go on to be a grudge game for the hosts too. 

Both captains are unlikely to make any changes to their respective squads. Therefore, the focus will once again be on the fact that Mumbai Indians haven't really been tested in the tournament so far other than that shocker of a defeat to Kochi Tuskers Kerala and Chennai Super Kings have a lot to sort out as far as their bowling attack goes. 

For Chennai, their pacers Tim Southee and Albie Morkel have been blowing hot and cold but it is the complete lack of any action from their spinners that should be worrying. 

R Ashwin in particular has not been able to match up to Chennai's expectations. Even Shadab Jakati, the left-arm-spinner, who has starred in previous campaigns, has proved to be listless so far. 

Ashwin says that until the play-offs are over and the knockouts begin, it will be difficult to assess teams simply because all the 10 sides currently look exciting. "In that sense, we have the ability to try and achieve what we did in the last three years," he says. 

So, right now the lack of sting in Chennai's attack doesn't seem to be bothering Ashwin too much. 

"There is a lot more to come. I owe a lot to Dhoni who has shown a lot of confidence in my abilities and I hope I continue to deliver according to expectations," he says. 

As of now, Ashwin is preparing to bowl at Sachin Tendulkar on Friday. 

"There is not much I can do bowling against Sachin, but I will do whatever I can to the best of my ability," he says, looking forward to the context. 

Mumbai is bound to be star-struck once again when the two captains take field.

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Kolkata Knight Riders up for the challenge

Gautam GambhirKOLKATA: Kolkata Knight Riders' skipper Gautam Gambhir believes "once you have the winning momentum, you have to continue". 

Faultless logic, really. However, Gambhir would have doubtless realized after Wednesday's match against the Kochi Tuskers that it is difficult to sustain the momentum if your batsmen lack patience on a wicket where the ball not only refuses to come on the bat, but also tends to keep low. 

The six-run loss hasn't hurt KKR too much, for they are still at the top of the heap. It has only dented their pride and exposed a few chinks in their armour. On the flip side, the home team can quickly regain lost ground when they take the field on Friday against Royal Challengers Bangalore, who have just three points from five matches and are languishing at the last-but-one spot in the league table. 

Led by Daniel Vettori, the Challengers have punched way below their weight in IPL 4 despite having some big names and a relatively young side. Three losses in their first four games, followed by a wash-out against the Rajasthan Royals in Bangalore on Tuesday has pushed RCB into a corner. Their batting has not been up to the scratch, while their bowling and fielding has been well below par. 

South African AB De Villiers has been among runs (157 runs in 4 matches), but their young turks, Virat Kohli, Saurabh Tiwary and Cheteshwar Pujara haven't quite warmed up to the task. To add to their woes, the prolific Tillakaratne Dilshan appears to have lost his form post World Cup. 

The new Sri Lanka captain, who air-dashed to Colombo to attend a selection panel meeting on Wednesday, rejoined his teammates hours after they had checked into the team hotel, and is expected to open the innings against KKR. 

His opening partner could be Chris Gayle, who has been signed up by the RCB management, in a smart move. Technically, Gayle has been roped in to replace the injured Dirk Nannes, but picking an opening batsman in place of a fast bowler, RCB have actually sought to fill the void that will be left behind by the departure of Dilshan when he leaves for national duty. 

The Royal Challengers will, however, be hoping that Dilshan would be able to set aside his national team concerns and fire with the bat in the next few games. 

According to RCB sources, Gayle will be available for selection against his former team on Friday. The big-hitting Jamaican was a favourite with the KKR faithfuls during his three-year stint and the home team will be wary of his ability to explode on the big stage. 

The former West Indies captain, who has chosen to put club (franchise) before his country, will be eager to make an early impression, and given the fact that he bats only in top gear, KKR's bowlers will be up against it. Gayle, who is likely to replace Johan van der Wath in the playing XI, is also expected to shore up RCB's wafer-thin bowling resources with his quickish off-breaks. 

In Zaheer Khan and skipper Daniel Vettori, RCB have two wily practitioners of their art who can use the slowness of Eden track to their advantage. Zaheer has been their highest wicket-taker, though a touch expensive. 

It remains to be seen whether KKR opt for a change of surface for Friday's game that has a 4pm start, but it is unlikely that Gambhir will tinker much with the KKR line-up, unless, of course, Yusuf Pathan's injured knee plays up. 

Barring Rajat Bhatia, everyone else has chipped in with bat or ball and it is certainly not the time to panic. At least not yet. Batting depth remains KKR's big strength, and it would be up to coach Dav Whatmore and skipper Gambhir to impress upon the batsmen the importance of pacing their innings. It could well be the difference between a win and a loss in what is likely to be another low-scoring affair.

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Kings XI Punjab vs Rajasthan Royals



MOHALI: It was supposed to be a Shane Warne show with Liz Hurley clapping in the stands. Instead, another Aussie, Shaun Marsh, hogged the limelight with Preity Zinta cheering the left-hander. 

It was carnage at the PCA stadium on Thursday night, as Marsh hammered the daylights out of the Rajasthan Royals attack after Paul Valthaty and Adam Gilchrist had given the team a solid platform. After Kings XI Punjab posted 195 for seven, it would have required some getting for a team that has struggled with the bat. In the end, the hosts won by a comfortable 48 runs. 

And so it proved, as the Rajasthan Royals' batting fell apart under the pressure of the huge total. What turned out to be a masterstroke was Gilchrist's decision to bowl out Praveen Kumar. Bowling his four overs on the trot, he accounted for Swapnil Asnodkar and the dangerous Shane Watson. 

After the fall of the two, all that RR could do was try and make a match of it. But even in that they failed miserably as KXIP bowlers tied the batsmen in knots, be it with pace or spin. Even before the innings was halfway through, the writing was on the wall when leggie Piyush Chawla trapped the last hope Ross Taylor leg-before. From then on, it was just party-time in the stands with red flags waving all over. 

Warne's decision to provide the home team the first use of the placid pitch turned out to be an early Easter gift as Gilchrist and Paul Valthaty rode their luck and went berserk against the wayward RR bowling. The duo posted the fastest 50 in IPL history, from just 18 deliveries, and from there on KXIP held all the aces. 

RR cannot but blame themselves, as they bowled no-balls at wrong times. In the first over, Siddharth Trivedi castled Gilchrist but it turned out to be a no-ball, In the very next over, Shaun Tait had Valthaty caught, but the TV umpire ruled it a no-ball for cutting the return crease. 

To add insult to injury, both the resultant free hits were hammered to the boundary. Those incidents unnerved the RR bowlers so much that they not only lost their composure, but also their line and length and gave away runs at the speed of light. In the end these blunders proved decisive. Continuing his stupendous run in the IPL, Valthaty required just 24 balls to snatch the Orange Cap back from Sachin Tendulkar. 

However, he threw away his hand as he became overambitious when he had the bowling at his mercy. He holed out to long-on in trying to hammer Warne out of the ground.

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Gilchrist falls after flying start against Royals

Adam Gilchrist

NEW DELHI: Openers Paul Valthaty and Adam Gilchrist gave Kings XI Punjab an aggressive start as they raced to fifty in 2.5 overs against Rajasthan Royals in their Indian Premier League clash at PCA stadium in Mohali. 

Punjab’s fifty is the fastest in the IPL history so far. Though their innings started dramatically as no balls saved both openers early after Siddharth Trivedi clean bowled Gilchrist in the first over and Valthaty was caught at third slip off Shaun Tait in the next over.

Earlier, Rajasthan Royals skipper Shane Warne won the toss and decided to field against Kings XI Punjab on Wednesday. 

Punjab brought in Bhargav Bhatt in place of Vikramjeet Singh Malik in the final eleven. 

Royals made four changes for the match as Rahul Dravid, Swapnil Asnodkar, Stuart Binny and wicket-keeper Dishant Yagnik are included in the side. 

Dravid is back after missing out last two matches due to injury. 

With new batting hero Paul Valthaty in scorching form, hosts Kings XI have a slight edge against struggling Royals. 

The two sides have a contrasting story so far as Rajasthan have lost direction after making a fantastic start with two wins while the Punjab have shrugged off the opening match defeat to present themselves as a formidable side now. 

Their last match was abandoned due to rain but Rajasthan are still standing second in the points table behind leaders Kolkata Knight Riders. 

Unlike Kings XI who have enjoyed quite a long gap after their last match on April 16, the Rajasthan have been traveling quite a lot and are playing their fourth game within a week's span. 

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KKR look to get their act together against RCB



KOLKATA: Kolkata Knight Riders would be looking to put their shock defeat against Kochi Tuskers behind and get their act together quickly when they take on Royal Challengers Bangalore in their IPL clash at the Eden Gardens on Friday. 

Going into the match, the hosts will be little short on confidence after their spineless batting display on Wednesday night against Kochi outfit where they failed to chase a modest 133-run target. 

Thus, it will a great test of character for Gautam Gambhir and company against Bangalore and the Knight Riders will look to come back to winning ways to consolidate themselves at the pole position.

Kolkata, having won three out of five games they have played so far, would have an upper hand against the Bangalore outfit, which lost three back-to-back matches before the previous game got abandoned due to rain. 

But the Royal Challengers would be keen to draw confidence from the fact that in Twenty20, scheme of things change significantly in a matter of few big hits. 

To their advantage, the team would be fresh as their last match -- against Rajasthan Royals -- was a washout and the two teams split points. 

Moreover, inclusion of West Indies explosive opener Chris Gayle, ex-Knight Riders player, ahead of their clash against Kolkata team, may prove to be good for the team. 

The 31-year-old Gayle, unsigned at the IPL auction last January, was snapped up by the Bangalore outfit to replace the injured Australian fast bowler Dirk Nannes. 

"Gayle has arrived in India and will be with the team to Kolkata," Royal Challengers manager Avinaash Vaidhya said. 

The West Indies big-hitter will certainly look to prove a point or two against his former team. 

And with the likes of Tillakaratne Dilshan, the new Sri Lankan captain, South African AB de Villiers -- two prolific batters in the World Cup -- and Indian star Virat Kohli in their ranks, the batting line-up looks solid on paper. 

They also boost of promising batsmen in Cheteshwar Pujara and Saurabh Tiwary but the Bangalore side is yet to click as a unit. 

They failed in their chase against Chennai Super Kings and Deccan Chargers, while their batsmen came a cropper against Mumbai Indians to gift the Tendulkar's side an easy win. 

Mayank Agarwal seems to be their weak link at the top as he has struggled so far, barring his 33 from 24 balls in the IPL opener against the Kochi Tuskers, which has been their only victory so far. 

On the slow track of Eden Gardens, RCB skipper Daniel Vettori will look to take charge along with Indian speedster Zaheer Khan. 

Kolkata, meanwhile, would be desperate to re-group. And as Gambhir rightly pointed out that their loss to Kochi would serve as a wake-up call for the middle order batsmen who are yet to be tested. 

In Eoin Morgan and Yusuf Pathan, Knight Riders have a strong and explosive mix but the duo has yet to fire. 

"We have got great finishers like Yusuf, Morgan. But somebody need to put their hands up at some point and do it for the side," Gambhir said. 

Pathan had an injury while taking a catch against Tuskers and batted at no 7 with a runner. It remains to be seen if the big hitter is fit in time for Friday's crucial game. 

Having played the same XI in last three matches, time may be ripe for the Knight Riders think-tank to ring in some changes. 

Shreevats Goswami is still warming the bench with Manvinder Bisla opening the batting and doing the needful behind the stumps, while experienced Bengal campaigner Laxmi Ratan Shukla is yet to be tested fully. 

Jacques Kallis, who has been their batting mainstay but the South African, after being dismissed cheaply in last two innings by a rising delivery, will surely look to make amends. 

Stylish Bengal batsman Manoj Tiwary looked in fine nick in his few appearances and the skipper will surely want a big one from the promising Indian team fringe batsman. 

Teams (from): 

Kolkata Knight Riders: Gautam Gambhir (c), Jacques Kallis, Manvinder Bisla, Manoj Tiwary, Yusuf Pathan, Eoin Morgan, Shakib-al-Hasan, Iqbal Abdulla, Rajat Bhatia, Brett Lee, Laxmipathy Balaji, Ryan ten Doeschate, Brad Haddin, James Pattinson, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Shreevats Goswami, Pradeep Sangwan, Shami Ahmed and Jaidev Unadkat. 

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Daniel Vettori (c), Mayank Agarwal, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Asad Pathan, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Saurabh Tiwary, Cheteshwar Pujara, Johan van der Wath,Ryan Ninan, Zaheer Khan, Chris Gayle, Mohammad Kaif, Sreenath Aravind, Arun Karthik, Raju Bhatkal, ANPR Fernando, Muralidharen Gautam, Abrar Kazi, Charl Langeveldt, Abhimanyu Mithun, Luke Pomersbach, Rilee Rossouw, Jonathan Vandiar. 

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