Showing posts with label Sports. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sports. Show all posts
5/26/11
Mumbai pull off thrilling win over Kolkata
KOLKATA: Ambati Rayudu smashed a last-ball six as Mumbai Indians pulled off a thrilling five-wicket victory over Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League on Sunday.
Mumbai needed 21 to win off the last over to surpass Kolkata's 175-7, but New Zealander James Franklin (45 not out off 23 balls) hit paceman Lakshmipathy Balaji for 17 off the first five balls before Rayudu finished the game.
South African Jacques Kallis top-scored with 59 and seamer Rajat Bhatia took three wickets for Kolkata.
In another match, Chris Gayle cracked an unbeaten 75 as Royal Challengers Bangalore topped the points table with an eight-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings.
The West Indies opener hit six sixes in his 50-ball knock as Bangalore surpassed Chennai's total of 128-8 with two overs to spare in their last league match of the Twenty20 tournament.
Bangalore (19 points), Chennai (18), Mumbai (18) and Kolkata (16) have qualified for the play-offs.
Gayle, who added 80 for the second wicket with Virat Kohli (31), finished the match when he hit spinner Suresh Raina for 11 runs off the last three balls of the 18th over.
Chennai skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni hit six sixes in his explosive 40-ball 70 not out but received little support from the other end, the highest stand of the innings being 42 for the fifth wicket.
Chennai made a poor start after being put in to bat as they lost four wickets for 22 runs in the opening six overs, with left-arm paceman Zaheer Khan dismissing Australian Michael Hussey and Raina in successive overs.
Hussey could make just four runs before inside-edging a Zaheer devliery on to the stumps while Raina was caught by Kohli at point.
New Zealand left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori put more pressure on Chennai when he removed Subramaniam Badrinath and West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo to eventually finish with 2-15 off four overs.
Brief scores:
Kolkata Knight Riders 175-7 in 20 overs (J. Kallis 59, Yusuf Pathan 36, M. Tiwary 35; A. Nechim 2-32, J. Franklin 2-35) lost to Mumbai Indians 178-5 in 20 overs (J. Franklin 45 not out, S. Tendulkar 38, Harbhajan Singh 30; R. Bhatia 3-22) by five wickets.
Sri Lanka reject Pakistan tour on security
Sri Lanka reject Pakistan tour on security
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka Cricket on Tuesday turned down an invitation by Pakistan to return to the troubled nation, saying security was still a problem two years after its players were attacked there.
"We are not going to send our team to Pakistan," Sri Lanka Cricket chairman D.S. de Silva said. "I have asked the secretary to inform the Pakistan Cricket Board today (Tuesday) of the decision.
"We have instead requested Pakistan to host the matches in Colombo or at a neutral venue like Dubai or Abu Dhabi," he said.
The Pakistan Cricket Board announced at the weekend that they had invited Sri Lanka to play three Tests, five one-day internationals and one Twenty20 game in a series proposed for October.
"The circumstances, with regards to security, don't allow us to play matches there. Even the ICC (International Cricket Council) has not given us security clearance," de Silva said.
Sri Lanka ex-skipper Mahela Jayawardene told the London-based Guardian newspaper on Tuesday that he still carries scars from the attack in Lahore in which militants shot at the Sri Lankan team bus in March 2009.
Eight people were killed and seven Sri Lankan players were wounded, including their assistant coach.
"I still get flashbacks," he told the Guardian. "At first, the guys were saying, 'Why would anyone let off crackers at eight in the morning?' But then someone shouted: 'No, they're shooting at us, get down.'"
Sri Lanka Cricket secretary Nishantha Ranatunga had reacted cautiously on Monday to the invitation, saying they were awaiting clearance from Sri Lankan security authorities before responding.
Pakistan have been forced to play "home" series in the United Arab Emirates, England and New Zealand.
On Monday, Afghanistan became the first foreign squad to arrive in Pakistan since the attack on the Sri Lankan players. The Afghans will take on a second-string Pakistani national team in a three-match series.
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka Cricket on Tuesday turned down an invitation by Pakistan to return to the troubled nation, saying security was still a problem two years after its players were attacked there.
"We are not going to send our team to Pakistan," Sri Lanka Cricket chairman D.S. de Silva said. "I have asked the secretary to inform the Pakistan Cricket Board today (Tuesday) of the decision.
"We have instead requested Pakistan to host the matches in Colombo or at a neutral venue like Dubai or Abu Dhabi," he said.
The Pakistan Cricket Board announced at the weekend that they had invited Sri Lanka to play three Tests, five one-day internationals and one Twenty20 game in a series proposed for October.
"The circumstances, with regards to security, don't allow us to play matches there. Even the ICC (International Cricket Council) has not given us security clearance," de Silva said.
Sri Lanka ex-skipper Mahela Jayawardene told the London-based Guardian newspaper on Tuesday that he still carries scars from the attack in Lahore in which militants shot at the Sri Lankan team bus in March 2009.
Eight people were killed and seven Sri Lankan players were wounded, including their assistant coach.
"I still get flashbacks," he told the Guardian. "At first, the guys were saying, 'Why would anyone let off crackers at eight in the morning?' But then someone shouted: 'No, they're shooting at us, get down.'"
Sri Lanka Cricket secretary Nishantha Ranatunga had reacted cautiously on Monday to the invitation, saying they were awaiting clearance from Sri Lankan security authorities before responding.
Pakistan have been forced to play "home" series in the United Arab Emirates, England and New Zealand.
On Monday, Afghanistan became the first foreign squad to arrive in Pakistan since the attack on the Sri Lankan players. The Afghans will take on a second-string Pakistani national team in a three-match series.
Pakistan level Test series against West Indies
BASSETERRE: Pakistan beat West Indies by 196 runs on the fifth day of the second test Tuesday to draw their two test series 1-1.
Slow left-armer Abdur Rehman finished with figures of 4-65 as West Indies, resuming on 130for five and needing to bat through the day to win the series, were bowled out for 230 before lunch.
Off-spinner Saeed Ajmal did the damage with the key wickets of Brendan Nash (30), skipper Darren Sammy (41) and Ravi Rampaul (20).
It was always going to be too much for West Indies to bat through the day having already lost their top order but it was a sorry end to their innings when Kemar Roach was run out for12.
Any chance of resistance dissipated when Nash edged Ajmal to Taufeeq Umar at slip and then Baugh became the latest in a series of West Indies batsmen to fall lbw to Rehman.
Sammy was caught at midwicket off a dreadful shot off Ajmal and although Rampaul showed some defiance, it ultimately proved futile.
Once again West Indies struggled against spin, which will give great heart to their upcoming opponents India who begin their tour of the Caribbean next month.
Pakistan, who won the five-match one day international series earlier in the tour 3-2, took full advantage of poor West Indian fielding in their second innnings which saw centuries for Taufeeq Umar and skipper Misbah-ul-Haq.
Misbah was delighted with the way his team, who are still unable to play home tests due to the security situation, coped and performed on the tour.
"I am really proud of this bunch of guys and their fighting spirit. Catching was one of our failings in the first test but we turned it around here and it was the big difference between the two teams," he said.
"I am happy, I am performing well and it feels good to lead from the front. We hope we will be able to play on our home grounds soon but we are getting exposure outside and becoming a better team in the process," he said.
For West Indies, who have blooded young opening batsmen Lendl Simmons and Kraigg Brathwaite with little success in this test, the debate will restart over selection choices for the India series, with ex-skipper Chris Gayle's position still unclear.
The optimism generated by the first test victory in Guyana was short-lived and Sammy highlighted a familar problem.
"We have not been able to be consistent with the bat or ball. We have some work to do. India is going to be a tough series but we are looking forward to it," he said.
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