Badrinath, Dhoni lift Chennai to 156
MUMBAI, May 14: Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who said he would have fielded first had he won the toss, watched his side slump to 46 for 4 but an important 95-run stand with S Badrinath set up a fighting total on an evening when the swing bowlers had a major say at the Wankhede Stadium here tonight.
Sachin Tendulkar’s return meant that Shaun Pollock wasn’t leading Mumbai today but his immaculate early spell (4-1-9-1) led an impressive bowling effort in what was a see-saw battle first up. Mumbai’s seamers dominated the first half before Dhoni and Badrinath redressed the balance.
The pair improvised when the opportunity presented but it was Dhoni’s fierce hitting that gave the bowlers no chance - even if he wasn’t in position the power behind the shots was always going to take it to the boundary ropes. Badrinath, whose repertoire ranges from the square drive on the back foot to the paddle over short fine leg, brought up his second successive fifty in the rescue mission.
It was a slew of medium-pacers who propelled Mumbai to an upset win over the Rajasthan Royals in the previous game and they utilised bowler-friendly conditions here too. The ball swung around through the innings and the six medium-pacers shaped the ball either way to make life difficult for the batsmen.
Pollock turned in a typically miserly spell, including a maiden to finish off against a relatively new Dhoni. He should have had Stephen Fleming in the first ball of the second over - when an edge fell just short of first slip - or even in the third - when Sanath Jayasuriya muffed a skier at point - but he had to settle for S Vidyut’s wicket two balls later when Rohan Raje clung on to another skier at mid-off.
Suresh Raina fell poking to an away-swinger from Dwayne Bravo before Chamara Kapugedera, the right-hander, did exactly the same to Dhawal Kulkarni’s nippy away-cutter. (Agencies)

Scoreboard
Chennai Super Kings
Vidyut c Raje b Pollock 16
Fleming b Kulkarni 26
Raina c Takawale b Bravo 1
Badrinath c & b Bravo 53
K’gedera c Takawale b Kulkarni 0
Dhoni not out 43
Morkel c Uthappa b Kulkarni 5
Extras: (lb 3, w 9) 12
Total: (6 wickets; 20 overs) 156
FoWs: 1-18, 2-28, 3-46, 4-46, 5-141, 6-156
Bowling: Pollock 4-1-9-1, Nehra 4- 0-31-0, Bravo 4-0-37-2, Kulkarni 4-0-33-3, Raje 3-0-33-0, Thornely 1-0-10-0

Gilchrist determined to lift the team from the pits:
They might be languishing at the bottom of the points table, but new Deccan Chargers skipper Adam Gilchrist has not lost hopes of making the semifinals of the Twenty20 extravaganza. Gilchrist, who took over the reins of the Hyderabadi team after VVS Laxman injured his wrist, said the team was now eying winning all the remaining matches to book semis berth. “It’s time to look forward. Now we have nothing to lose but to win the remaining five games. If we can win all the next five matches, we can still change the calculations for semis in our favour. That’s what we are trying to do now,” the 36-year-old Aussie said on the sideline of a launch event. However, the left-handed wicket-keeper batsman did not hide his disappointment on missing out the services of VVS Laxman “VVS Laxman is one of the best batsmen in the world. We are certainly going to miss his experience and skills out in the ground.” “It’s a loss on our part as nobody can replace a quality player like Laxman,” Gilchrist said ahead of tomorrow’s clash against Delhi Daredevils at Ferozshah Kotla ground.(PTI)

KRK fined for slow over rate again :
The Kolkata Knight Riders completed a dubious hat-trick after the Sourav Ganguly-led squad was fined, for the third straight match, for slow over rate in their last night’s Indian Premier League tie against Delhi Daredevils. The Knight Riders, who beat the Daredevils by 23 runs in an exciting match at the Eden Gardens last night, were found two overs behind the schedule and were handed down a USD 1000 fine. The IPL follows the ICC Playing Conditions and Rules, which states any team bowling a slow over rate would be fined USD 500 per over. In their previous match against the Hyderabad Deccan Chargers too, the Knight Riders were two overs behind the schedule and Match Referee Talat Ali fined them an equal amount.(PTI)

Ponting wary of improved Windies:
Australian captain Ricky Ponting doesn’t believe his team will win the three test series against the West Indies without a fight.The Australian team, which trained in Kingston, Jamaica ahead of their opening three-day match against a Jamaica XI on Friday, is keen to put aside views suggesting that it will be a one-sided contest in favour of Australia when the test series begins from next week. The first test begins at Sabina Park on Thursday, May 22. Ponting said he expected a more improved West Indian outfit this time than the one swept 3-0 in Australia in 2005-06. “I don’t think we’ll lose the series, I think we’ll win. But I expect it to be a pretty good tussle between two good teams,” (ANI)

Bhajji banned for 5 ODIs, warned of life ban
Mumbai, May 14: Temperamental off-spinner Harbhajan Singh today got away with a five-match ODI ban for slapping his India teammate S Sreesanth but was warned by the Cricket Board of a life ban for any further misconduct on his part.
A day after BCCI-appointed Commissioner Sudhir Nanavati submitted a 14-page report to the Board, the BCCI’s Disciplinary Committee acted swiftly to impose the ban on the beleaguered spinner who will now miss the forthcoming tri-series in Bangladesh and two matches of the Asia Cup in Pakistan.
The 27-year-old Harbhajan, who had already been banned from the ongoing Indian Premier League and fined a whopping Rs three crore match fee for the level 4 offence, was summoned by the Disciplinary Committee, headed by president Sharad Pawar, to hear his views on the incident which happened after an IPL match in Mohali on April 25.
“The Committee accordingly decided to ban Harbhajan Singh for five one-day internationals, starting today and further observed that any further instance of misconduct will invoke a life-ban,” the BCCI said in a statement after the committee’s hearing.
“The Committee invoked Rule 3.2.1 of the BCCI Regulations for Players, Team officials, Managers, Umpires and Administrators. Under this provision, the maximum punishment that can be meted out to a player is a ban up to a maximum of 5 ODIs and/or 3 test matches,” Pawar told reporters.
He said a copy of the report was given to Harbhajan who was heard by the committee before taking a final decision on the quantum of punishment.
“The player admitted his guilt in the concerned matter. He prayed for leniency and assured the Committee that there would not be any misconduct on his part in the future,” the Board said. Pawar and other members of the committee, President-Elect Shashank Manohar and Vice-President Chirayu Amin, met at the Cricket Centre to discuss Nanavati’s report on the issue.
With the ban coming into effect immediately, the off-spinner will have to sit out of the tri-series in Bangladesh to be held from June 8-14 and the first two matches of the Asia Cup scheduled to be held in Pakistan from June 24-July 6. The Board also told Sreesanth to mend his way.
“The Disciplinary committee also considered Sreesanth. He has to improve a lot and if he is does something similar in future, he will be dealt with firm hand,” Board secretary Niranjan Shah said.
Asked how Harbhajan reacted to his ban, Shah said, “He is okay, he knows that he is guilty and the BCCI has also given a warning that if he gets involved in any further misconduct, he will be banned for life.” “He has learnt his lesson, he knows exactly where he stands,” he said. Shah refused to call it an exemplary punishment but made it clear that the Board would not brook any such indiscipline.
“It is sure that if any indiscipline is seen on the field the board would be very strict. It won’t allow itself to be taken for granted,” he asserted.
Harbhajan slapped his national teammate Sreesanth at the conclusion of King’s XI Punjab’s IPL match against Mumbai Indians in Mohali on April 25. Harbhajan, who was bought by Mukesh Ambani’s franchise for a whopping Rs 3.40 crore during the landmark auction, was subsequently banned from the remainder of the IPL, apart from losing nearly Rs 3 crore of match fee, for breaching the ICC’s Level 4.2 Code of Conduct.
As per the ICC Code of Conduct, a level 4 offence results in a maximum punishment of a life ban or a minimum of 5 Tests or 10 ODI ban. But in this case, the Board went by its own regulation and invoked Rule 3.2.1 of the BCCI regulations.
Sreesanth, who was at the receiving end of Harbhajan’s wrath, was also warned against aggressive on-field behaviour and told that his conduct would be taken seriously.
Mumbai Indians manager Lalchand Rajput was fined 50 per cent of the match fee for not stopping the off-spinner’s attack on Sreesanth playing for Kings XI Punjab.
The BCCI, under whose jurisdiction IPL is being held, decided to conduct a separate probe into the incident by appointing Nanavati who viewed a video recording of the incident, summoned the warring players to Ahmedabad and conducted the probe.
Nanavati also considered statements by IPL match referee Farokh Engineer and umpire Amish Saheba while preparing his report.
Nanavati described the slapping incident as “shocking” after viewing the video recording of the sordid episode, one of the worst-ever in the history of Indian cricket, in the BCCI office here last week. (PTI)

It’s going to be a close call for fourth semi-finalists
Kolkata Knight Riders have stolen a march over Delhi Daredevils but it’s going to be a close call for the fourth semi-finalists of the Indian Premier League. Kolkata have a match ahead against each of the three top teams of the league –Jaipur, Mohali and Chennai. Delhi, in contrast, only need to face Mohali among the biggies. Delhi also play four of the five left matches at home. Kolkata have three of the five remaining at Eden Gardens.
Still the fall from grace has been stunning for Delhi Daredevils. Initially, they lacked the balance due to a frail middle order and the absence of a spinner. Now when that has been set aright, it’s the top order which is wobbly. Good as Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir are, and also Shikhar
Dhawan, they are not structuring their innings properly. A leaf out of Shaun Marsh’s book, or David Hussey, Shane Watson and even our own Rohit Sharma, can be instructive. They score at a similar clip but are far more solid. Its a case of adapting to the situation. If sehwag departs early then Gambhir has to take stock of the fact that he is accomplished enough to score at a fair clip without trying the extraordinary. Discretion after all has always been a better part of valour. I read with interest when Sehwag quipped that they looked to bat too freely against Shoaib Akhtar and paid the price. So perhaps the fault is identified. Shane Warne said the other day they wanted to take the pace off the ball against Sehwag-Gambhir pair. Opposition is also trying to bowl wide at Delhi openers. Teams are planning overtime against the Delhi pair and they can’t allow themselves to walk into a trap. The challenge for them is to bat for at least the first 10 overs. If they do so, Delhi would be logging 100 on the board. All those swinging arcs of bats at widish deliveries can wait. Delhi now are up against Hyderabad’s Deccan Chargers which perhaps has the weakest bowling attack of all in the competition. But it is balanced by arguably the most destructive line-up in the league. Hyderabad’s problem has been a bat or two alone fire in a match. They all don’t come good together. Now that they more or less have no pressure, Hyderabad can really come out firing. Their batsmen can sink any opposition on any given day.
Delhi though would be pleased by how Tillekratne Dilshan, Fervez Maharoof and Amit Mishra have shaped up in the last two games. The plan clearly has been to identify bowlers who are also handy with the ball. With due respect to the Pakistani duo Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Asif, they are one-dimensional cricketers.I say Shoaib Malik as well because the confidence in his bowling seems to have disappeared. It also is judicious to rest Dinesh Karthik if AB de Villiers can keep the stumps. The problem, as I said, is for the openers to use patience as a vital tool. Manoj Tiwari must play all the games cause I believe he would be the one to make a difference if Delhi has to qualify for the final. His bowling has also to be thought off. (TCM)

From foe to friend, Rawalpindi Express wins Kolkatans’ hearts
Kolkata, May 14: Nearly a decade ago, the Eden Gardens used to be silent on the appearance of Shoaib Akhtar, the then No 1 foe among the cricket frenzy Eden crowd, and his lethal deliveries.
However, last night, the same arm became touchstone for the 65,000-strong crowd, who went wild and endeared the Pakistani as ‘saviour’.
Since his arrival, the 33-year-old speedster has aroused curiosity in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
His non-inclusion in last two matches on fitness grounds fuelled speculations, though he remained the first catch for the media. His movement has been a prime writeup matter for scribes whether he was really hiding any injury.
But on his debut in the IPL and a magical 3-0-11-4 spell wiped out all doubts after flooring Delhi Daredevil’s four top order batsmen beginning with hitman Virender Shewag.
He remained true to his commitment saying Eden was his favorite ground.
Nearly 100, 000 cricket lovers in Eden were spellbound as two successive deliveries sent back master blaster Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid in 1999.
Since then the ‘Rawalpindi Express’ had become most fearsome paceman, thus the Indian crowd, particularly, Kolkata rating him as the most dreaded enemy.
However, he changed the equation since his arrival here from one month suspension of his five-year punishment by Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on disciplinary ground and Kolkata taking him as their “own boy’’.
When Shoaib Akhtar called Kolkata his new home, everyone wondered what he meant. “My money comes from Kolkata Knight Riders,’’ he replied during an interview yesterday.
The “man-of-the-match’’ Akhtar told the crowd at the Eden Gardens that KKR had badly needed a win in the 8-team competition and he was fortunate enough to be a part of the winning team.
The win jacked up KKR to the fourth spot on the IPL table, two points clear of the Delhi Daredevil’s eight points from nine outings.
Calender date 13, perhaps to augur a fresh turning point for the controversial pacer, whose Eden feat last evening coincided with his birth date of August 13, 1975.
He justified his paypack of moderate 425,000 dollars, the sum he was auctioned by the Shar Rukh Khan’s KKR, though the movie mogul knew the “Ralwalpindi Express” was embroiled in controversy with PCB.
“SRK’s special affinity with speedster and Sourav Ganguly’s firm belief in him made the Pakistani bowler a humble man, who still has to fight a legal battle to clear his indisciplined tag in his real home (Pakistan),’’ said a cricket fan. (UNI)