Every Day News

Unheralded off-spinner Ajit Chandila recorded the first hat-trick of the Indian Premier League season as Rajasthan Royals defeated Pune Warriors by 45 runs on Sunday.

Half centuries by Ajinkya Rahane (61) and Shane Watson (58) propelled the Royals to 170-4 before Chandila's hat-trick polished off the Warriors' top order in the space of his first seven deliveries, limiting the opposition to 125-9.

Bowling with the new ball, Chandila took the wickets of Jesse Ryder (1), Sourav Ganguly (1) and Robin Uthappa (0) to finish with figures of 4-13.


The victory kept the Royals in the hunt for a playoff place with 14 points from seven victories while it was the eighth straight loss for the Warriors who are second from the bottom on eight points.

West Indian Dwayne Bravo hit a last-ball six to guide Chennai Super Kings to a five-wicket victory over Kolkata Knight Riders on Monday, while Mumbai Indians beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by the same margin in the Indian Premier League.
Ambati Rayudu hit an unbeaten 81 and Kieron Pollard remained undefeated on 52 as Mumbai made 173-5 with two balls to spare after Royal Challengers put up a competitive target of 171-6.
Bravo (11) lofted seamer Rajat Bhatia's full toss over long on at Eden Gardens as Chennai Super Kings made 160-5 after Knight Riders had posted 158-6 off their 20 overs.


Both Rayudu and Pollard shared a match-winning 122 runs for the sixth wicket stand off 65 deliveries after Mumbai Indians lost star batsman Sachin Tendulkar for naught and struggling on 51-5.

Rayudu's knock came off 54 balls and it featured six fours and four sixes. Pollard, who hit five fours and three sixes, raised his half century when he hit countryman Chris Gayle for a winning boundary in the last over.

Needing 14 to win, Pollard flicked off-spinner Gayle over the midwicket fence for a six before hitting two successive boundaries.

Earlier, Mayank Agarwal hit six boundaries and four sixes in scoring an unbeaten 64 off only 30 balls to lift the Royals total, hitting seamer Munaf Patel for 24 runs in the last over of the innings.

Mumbai Indians now have 18 points from 14 matches. They share top spot with Delhi Daredevils, who are on the same points, but have a game in hand on Mumbai.

Royal Challengers are in fifth place in the nine-team league with 15 points after winning seven of its 14 matches.

Super Kings' opening pair of Michael Hussey (56) and Murali Vijay (36) put on 97 runs before off-spinner Sunil Narine put the brakes on and removed both batsmen in the space of three balls.

Super Kings needed five off Bhatia's last ball of the match and Bravo smashed the full toss for six to take his team to fourth place with 17 points.

Earlier, Bhatia had featured in the three dismissals when he first had Suresh Raina run out and then had the wickets of Faf du Plessis (13) and also had Mahendra Singh Dhoni (28) clean bowled in the last over.

Knight Riders could not capitalise on a fine start provided by their captain Gautam Gambhir (62) and Brendon McCullum (37), who shared a first wicket stand of 99 off 69 balls.

Knight Riders are also on 17 points but are third because of a better run-rate than Super Kings.

Brief scores:

Mumbai Indians 173-5 in 19.4 overs (Ambati Rayudu 81 not out, Kieron Pollard 52 not out; Muttiah Muralitharan 1-16) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 171-6 in 20 overs (Mayank Agarwal 64 not out, Tillakaratne Dilshan 47; Kieron Pollard 1-20, RP Singh 1-23).

Chennai Super Kings 160-5 in 20 overs (Michael Hussey 56, Murali Vjay 36; Sunil Narine 2-14, Rajat Bhatia 2-33) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 158-6 in 20 overs (Gautam Gambhir 62, Brendon McCullum 37, Shadab Jakati 2-26).

James Anderson was named England's cricketer of the year for 2011/12 at a ceremony at Lord's on Monday.
The Lancashire seamer saw off competition from fellow nominees Stuart Broad and Alastair Cook for an award voted for by the English cricket media.
The award recognises outstanding performances in all formats of international cricket over the past year beginning with last year's domestic international programme and encompassing the recent winter tours.
Anderson, who is currently the number three ranked bowler in the ICC's Test rankings, enjoyed an impressive 12 months with England which saw him take his 250th Test wicket and rise to fifth on the list of England's all-time wicket-takers in Test cricket.



The 29-year-old Lancashire seamer, who is set to lead England's attack in the first Test against the West Indies starting at Lord's on Thursday, said of his award: "I am flattered to win this award and would like to thank everyone who voted for me.

"I have been pleased with my performances over the last year and was delighted with the way I bowled on the recent tour of Sri Lanka - but I take even greater pleasure from being part of such a successful England team."

In 2011 England rose to number one in the ICC's Test rankings, a position they retained despite losing four out of five Tests against Pakistan and Sri Lanka during their (northern hemisphere) winter tour.

The Indian Premier League (IPL) has been rocked by spot-fixing allegations following a sting operation by an Indian TV channel.India TV on Monday claimed to have blown the lid off "murky deals" in the ongoing IPL among players, organisers, owners and big guns of Indian cricket, according to reports.
The channel claimed it had done a sting operation in which many players confessed on hidden camera they get much more than their prescribed auction under the table.According to the channel, its operation also revealed that spot-fixing is not only prevalent in IPL but also that first class matches are fixed and women played an important role in match-fixing.



Superstars of Indian cricket and even an international player, who is a captain of one of the teams, are involved in fixing the matches, the channel alleged in a statement.

India's cricket board called an emergency meeting on Tuesday warning that tough action would be taken if the report is found to be true.

The Hindi-language India TV channel showed a local player contracted with an IPL team allegedly agreeing to bowl pre-arranged no-balls in a domestic match, with another boasting he could do it in the IPL too.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said it would not tolerate corruption at any level and has asked to see the video footage before taking a decision.

"We will ensure that the integrity of the game is protected," BCCI president Narayanaswami Srinivasan was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India news agency.

"The BCCI believes in the integrity of the game. We will have to see the tapes and the moment we see it, whoever is the player, we will take very strict action."

BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale added the IPL's governing council will meet on "an emergency basis" to review the footage.

India TV reporters, posing as sports agents offering lucrative contracts, claimed they had bribed Deccan Chargers bowler T.P. Sudhindra into sending down a no-ball in a local match in his home city of Indore.

The channel said it had also taped Kings XI Punjab seamer Shalabh Srivastava telling the reporters that he could bowl a no-ball in the IPL if he was paid one million rupees (about $18,500).

Srivastava, 30, who has played two seasons of first-class cricket for Uttar Pradesh, denied the charge and threatened to take the TV channel to court.

"The voice which suggests that I am ready to spot-fix is not mine," he told the Indian Express newspaper. "I am ready to clarify this to the BCCI, my team owners and the IPL governing council."

"I will definitely file a case against them."

Another Kings XI Punjab player Amit Yadav reportedly said he had reason to believe that last season's IPL match against Delhi Daredevils was fixed, but could not substantiate his claim.

Young Satya Ramesh displayed the maturity of a seasoned batsman to guide ECB Greens to a morale-boosting four-wicket victory over Farooq CC in the 38th Bukhatir League ‘A’ Division Tournament, organised by the Sharjah Cricket Council, at the Sharjah stadium.

The 17-year-old batsman smashed 81 off 119 balls as ECB Greens, which comprised promising players whose average age is 16, overhauled Farooq’s modest total of 178 all out in 42.3 overs.



Ramesh, who clubbed five fours and two sixes in his match-winning innings, was well supported by Waruna Perera (22 off 26 balls) and Mohsin Hassan (16 off six balls with two fours and one six).

Earlier, Farooq CC, put in by ECB Greens, struggled to pace their innings in the face of a spot-on ECB Greens attack which was spearheaded by Varun Totadri, who claimed three wickets for just 18 runs while Aditya Mavuru and Mohsin Hassan picked up two each to restrict the Farooq CC batsmen.

Farooq CC, who were reduced to 114 for seven at one stage, brought some respectability to their innings through Adil Reyal, who made 34 off 49 balls. Tauqeer Ahmed (33 off 37 balls), Clint Benken Show (27) and Ahmed Shaukat (21 off 28 balls) were the other major scorers.

Brief scores:

ECB Greens beat Farook CC by 4 wickets: Farooq CC 178 all out in 43 overs (Adil Reyal 34, Tauqeer Ahmed 33, Clint Benken Show 27, Ahmed Shaukat 21; Varun Totadri 3-18, Aditya Mavuru 2-31, Mohsin Hassan 2-42) ECB Greens 180 for six in 42.3 overs (Satya Ramesh 81, Waruna Perera 22, Mohsin Hassan 15; Moiz Shahid 2-29, Salman Farooq 2-27). Man of the match: Satya Ramesh of ECB Greens. Umpires: Mushin Butt and Syed Shabbir Ali. Scorers: Zameel Hameed and Mohammad Sarwar.

Shaimon Butt smashed a blistering innings of 195 to light up the proceedings in the 30th Bukhatir League 'A' Division Tournament as Yogi Group beat Wings by eight wickets in a one-sided match at the Sharjah stadium.

Butt clubbed 15 fours and 19 sixes during his power-packed 74-ball knock, helping his side overhaul Wings's total of 261 in just 20.5 overs.

Ayoub Inayat (31 off 16 balls with two fours and three sixes) and Salman Faris (25 off 36 balls) further frustrated the struggling Wings attack.


Earlier, Wings had built their innings around Inam Farid, Ruwaid Mohammed and Naveed Khan, who all hit chipped in with solid half-centuries and lifted their side to a respectable total.

Farid made 81 off 85 balls with 11 fours and two sixes while number 10 batsman Mohammed contributed 58 off as many balls with four fours and three wickets and Khan weighed in with 50 off 67 balls.

Salman Faris and Ambey Parwatker were the pick of the Yogi Group bowlers, taking three wickets each while Shiva Pagrani grabbed two for 32.

With Butt playing an innings of rare aggression, Yogi Group sealed the match without almost breaking a sweat.

Brief scores:

Yogi Group beat Wings CC by 8 wickets: Wings CC 261 all out in 49.3 overs (Inam Farid 81, Ruwaid Mohammed 58, Naveed Khan 50; Salman Faris 3-40, Ambey Parwatker 3-39, Shiva Pagrani 2-32) Yogi Group 267 For 2 in 20.5 overs (Shaimon Butt 195, Ayoub Inayat 31, Salman Faris 25). Man of the match: Shaimon Butt of Yogi Group. Umpires: Hamid Mukhtar and Mohammed Aslam. Scores: Zameel Hameed and Mohammad Sarwar.

Five domestic Indian Premier League players were on Tuesday suspended from cricket after a sting operation by a local TV channel highlighted alleged fixing and corruption, sporting authorities said.



The Board of Control for Cricket in India said the players were handed provisional suspensions until its investigations into the allegations could be completed.

English umpiring great Harold "Dickie" Bird was presented with an honour at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday in recognition of his outstanding sporting career and charity work.The 79-year-old was made an officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), receiving the honour from Prince Charles, the heir to the throne, at the investiture ceremony in London.Bird, from Barnsley in Yorkshire, northern England, stood in what was then a world record 66 Tests from 1973 to 1996 before stepping down as a Test umpire.
He joked about needing a strong tipple after the ceremony.
"I don't normally drink, but I could do with a brandy," he joked.
Bird described the OBE as a "great honour" and said it was something he would cherish.



Prince Charles presented the honour just a few months after the men met in the former official's home town, where they chatted beneath a statue of Bird unveiled in 2009.

"The prince said to me it was a well-deserved honour, and it was so nice to see that I've got it and I said thank you very much for coming to Barnsley," Bird said after receiving the OBE.

Bird is fondly remembered as one of the game's great characters as well as one of its finest umpires. He officiated in three One Day International World Cup finals.

He criticised the modern use of television replays and technology to help umpires made crucial decisions.

"I do miss umpiring, but it's completely changed now: umpiring is done by a machine. In my era we made the decisions on the field," he said.

"If umpires made a mistake in those days people talked about it in the pubs, in the clubs, the press, the television, the radio -- it was part of the game. Now it's changed so much.

"I certainly miss it but you cannot stop time."

Rohit Sharma scored 109 as Mumbai Indians beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 27 runs while Chennai Super Kings scored an easy nine-wicket win over Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League on Saturday.
Sharma's century off 60 balls was part of an unbroken 167-run stand with Herschelle Gibbs (66) for Mumbai to reach an impressive 182-1 after electing to bat at Eden Gardens. Kolkata managed 155-4 in reply.

Sharma, who came in to bat after Sachin Tendulkar's dismissal in the third over, was in the groove straight away by pulling speedster Brett Lee for a six over the square-leg boundary.


He exhibited several fine shots square of the wicket on either side, smashing seamer Rajat Bhatia for 19 in an over. He totaled five sixes and 12 fours in his maiden IPL century and dominated the partnership with Gibbs, who hit two sixes and seven fours in his first IPL appearance this season.

"There was no game plan, I just wanted to go out there and spend some time, which is what usually helps," Sharma said. "I wanted to bat 20 overs as we were batting first and wanted to get a decent target. We knew the pitch was quite slow."

Kolkata's reply featured Jacques Kallis (79) and Yusuf Pathan (40 not out) keeping the home side in the hunt.

Pace bowler Munaf Patel bowled captain Gautam Gambhir with a slower delivery for a duck. After opener Manvinder Bisla fell for 1 to left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha to make it 3-2 in the second over, Kolkata always faced a stiff challenge.

Kallis added 57 for the third wicket with Manoj Tiwary (27), but some tight bowling by the Mumbai bowlers denied them the chance to have a good shot at the target.

Kallis struck three sixes and seven boundaries in 60 balls, while Pathan cracked a six and two fours in 31.

Mumbai climbed to third place in the standings with eight wins and five losses. Kolkata was second with eight wins, four losses and one no-result.

At Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, Australia pace bowler Ben Hilfenhaus accounted for the top three batsmen - David Warner, captain Virender Sehwag and Naman Ojha - as Delhi was restricted to a low 114-5 on a slow pitch.

Two-time defending champion Chennai got to the target with ease as openers Murali Vijay (48 not out) and Mike Hussey (38) made 75 together.

Chennai is fourth with seven wins, six losses and a no-result from 14 games, while Delhi remains on top with nine wins and fours losses from 13.

Brief scores:

Mumbai Indians 182-1 (Rohit Sharma 109 not out, Herschelle Gibbs 66 not out) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 155-4 (Jacques Kallis 79, Yusuf Pathan 40 not out, Manoj Tiwary 27).

Chennai Super Kings 115-1 in 15.2 overs (Murali Vijay 48 not out, Mike Hussey 38, Suresh Raina 28 not out) beat Delhi Daredevils 114-5 (Yogesh Nagar 43 not out, Venugopal Rao 27; Ben Hilfenhaus 3-27).

Rohit Sharma scored 109 as Mumbai Indians beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 27 runs while Chennai Super Kings scored an easy nine-wicket win over Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League on Saturday.
Sharma's century off 60 balls was part of an unbroken 167-run stand with Herschelle Gibbs (66) for Mumbai to reach an impressive 182-1 after electing to bat at Eden Gardens. Kolkata managed 155-4 in reply.

Sharma, who came in to bat after Sachin Tendulkar's dismissal in the third over, was in the groove straight away by pulling speedster Brett Lee for a six over the square-leg boundary.


He exhibited several fine shots square of the wicket on either side, smashing seamer Rajat Bhatia for 19 in an over. He totaled five sixes and 12 fours in his maiden IPL century and dominated the partnership with Gibbs, who hit two sixes and seven fours in his first IPL appearance this season.

"There was no game plan, I just wanted to go out there and spend some time, which is what usually helps," Sharma said. "I wanted to bat 20 overs as we were batting first and wanted to get a decent target. We knew the pitch was quite slow."

Kolkata's reply featured Jacques Kallis (79) and Yusuf Pathan (40 not out) keeping the home side in the hunt.

Pace bowler Munaf Patel bowled captain Gautam Gambhir with a slower delivery for a duck. After opener Manvinder Bisla fell for 1 to left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha to make it 3-2 in the second over, Kolkata always faced a stiff challenge.

Kallis added 57 for the third wicket with Manoj Tiwary (27), but some tight bowling by the Mumbai bowlers denied them the chance to have a good shot at the target.

Kallis struck three sixes and seven boundaries in 60 balls, while Pathan cracked a six and two fours in 31.

Mumbai climbed to third place in the standings with eight wins and five losses. Kolkata was second with eight wins, four losses and one no-result.

At Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, Australia pace bowler Ben Hilfenhaus accounted for the top three batsmen - David Warner, captain Virender Sehwag and Naman Ojha - as Delhi was restricted to a low 114-5 on a slow pitch.

Two-time defending champion Chennai got to the target with ease as openers Murali Vijay (48 not out) and Mike Hussey (38) made 75 together.

Chennai is fourth with seven wins, six losses and a no-result from 14 games, while Delhi remains on top with nine wins and fours losses from 13.

Brief scores:

Mumbai Indians 182-1 (Rohit Sharma 109 not out, Herschelle Gibbs 66 not out) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 155-4 (Jacques Kallis 79, Yusuf Pathan 40 not out, Manoj Tiwary 27).

Chennai Super Kings 115-1 in 15.2 overs (Murali Vijay 48 not out, Mike Hussey 38, Suresh Raina 28 not out) beat Delhi Daredevils 114-5 (Yogesh Nagar 43 not out, Venugopal Rao 27; Ben Hilfenhaus 3-27).

Kieran Powell scored the first hundred of the West Indies tour of England as they avoided an embarrassing defeat against the England Lions on Saturday ahead of next week's first Test at Lord's.
West Indies were facing the possibility of being beaten with more than a day to spare in this four-day match at Northampton.
At the start of Saturday's third day, they resumed on 28 for three in their second innings, still 166 adrift of the 341 first innings score posted by the Lions, England's 'A' side.


But Powell (108) shared successive century stands with Darren Bravo (57) and Shivnarine Chanderpaul (77) and by stumps the West Indies had advanced to 377 for eight -- a lead of 183.

West Indies' batting is considered to be the most vulnerable aspect of their game and the way they folded to 147 all out, albeit in seam-friendly conditions, in the first innings did not augur well for Lord's.

Nor did Friday's top-order collapse but Powell and Bravo, whose fifty was his second of the match.

Powell, who spent two years at the elite Millfield School in Somerset, where the former pupils also include England's Simon Jones and Craig Kieswetter, said: "I'm pretty much as acquainted with the conditions as anyone else in the team.

"It's always important to have good days in practice matches and spend as much time as possible in the middle. It is good that we got some time in the middle that was well needed."

However, a cautious Powell added: "You will have to play according to the conditions. We do not know what Lord's is going to provide differently to this ground or any other ground.

"You will just have to play what you see and hope for the best."

Bravo was first to his fifty, when he lofted England spinner Samit Patel down the ground for his ninth four in 76 balls, before he deflected a glance off uncapped seamer Jack Brooks, playing on his Northamptonshire home ground, on to leg stump shortly after lunch.

Opening batsman Powell, in what was only the second first-class hundred of the 22-year-old's career, pressed onto three figures with a 217-ball century including a straight six off Joe Root's off-spin and 13 fours.

The left-hander was, however, out not long afterwards when bowled by a turning delivery from Patel.

Chanderpaul, officially the world's best Test batsman, proved typically obdurate but was out in surprising fashion, the left-hander misjudging a ball from seamer Stuart Meaker to be lbw playing no stroke.

England are due to name their squad for the first of a three-Test series on Sunday, with Lions captain James Taylor and Jonny Bairstow, who earlier in this match made a century and a fifty respectively, in contention for a place after all-rounder Ravi Bopara tore a thigh muscle playing for Essex.

Kieran Powell scored the first hundred of the West Indies tour of England as they avoided an embarrassing defeat against the England Lions on Saturday ahead of next week's first Test at Lord's.
West Indies were facing the possibility of being beaten with more than a day to spare in this four-day match at Northampton.
At the start of Saturday's third day, they resumed on 28 for three in their second innings, still 166 adrift of the 341 first innings score posted by the Lions, England's 'A' side.


But Powell (108) shared successive century stands with Darren Bravo (57) and Shivnarine Chanderpaul (77) and by stumps the West Indies had advanced to 377 for eight -- a lead of 183.

West Indies' batting is considered to be the most vulnerable aspect of their game and the way they folded to 147 all out, albeit in seam-friendly conditions, in the first innings did not augur well for Lord's.

Nor did Friday's top-order collapse but Powell and Bravo, whose fifty was his second of the match.

Powell, who spent two years at the elite Millfield School in Somerset, where the former pupils also include England's Simon Jones and Craig Kieswetter, said: "I'm pretty much as acquainted with the conditions as anyone else in the team.

"It's always important to have good days in practice matches and spend as much time as possible in the middle. It is good that we got some time in the middle that was well needed."

However, a cautious Powell added: "You will have to play according to the conditions. We do not know what Lord's is going to provide differently to this ground or any other ground.

"You will just have to play what you see and hope for the best."

Bravo was first to his fifty, when he lofted England spinner Samit Patel down the ground for his ninth four in 76 balls, before he deflected a glance off uncapped seamer Jack Brooks, playing on his Northamptonshire home ground, on to leg stump shortly after lunch.

Opening batsman Powell, in what was only the second first-class hundred of the 22-year-old's career, pressed onto three figures with a 217-ball century including a straight six off Joe Root's off-spin and 13 fours.

The left-hander was, however, out not long afterwards when bowled by a turning delivery from Patel.

Chanderpaul, officially the world's best Test batsman, proved typically obdurate but was out in surprising fashion, the left-hander misjudging a ball from seamer Stuart Meaker to be lbw playing no stroke.

England are due to name their squad for the first of a three-Test series on Sunday, with Lions captain James Taylor and Jonny Bairstow, who earlier in this match made a century and a fifty respectively, in contention for a place after all-rounder Ravi Bopara tore a thigh muscle playing for Essex.

England named the following 13-man squad for the first match of the three-test series against West Indies, starting at Lord's on Thursday.



Squad: Andrew Strauss (captain), Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Jonny Bairstow, Matt Prior, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, James Anderson, Steven Finn, Graham Onions.

England named the following 13-man squad for the first match of the three-test series against West Indies, starting at Lord's on Thursday.



Squad: Andrew Strauss (captain), Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Jonny Bairstow, Matt Prior, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, James Anderson, Steven Finn, Graham Onions.

Unheralded off-spinner Ajit Chandila recorded the first hat-trick of the Indian Premier League season as Rajasthan Royals defeated Pune Warriors by 45 runs on Sunday.Half centuries by Ajinkya Rahane (61) and Shane Watson (58) propelled the Royals to 170-4 before Chandila's hat-trick polished off the Warriors' top order in the space of his first seven deliveries, limiting the opposition to 125-9.

Bowling with the new ball, Chandila took the wickets of Jesse Ryder (1), Sourav Ganguly (1) and Robin Uthappa (0) to finish with figures of 4-13.


The victory kept the Royals in the hunt for a playoff place with 14 points from seven victories while it was the eighth straight loss for the Warriors who are second from the bottom on eight points.

Unheralded off-spinner Ajit Chandila recorded the first hat-trick of the Indian Premier League season as Rajasthan Royals defeated Pune Warriors by 45 runs on Sunday.Half centuries by Ajinkya Rahane (61) and Shane Watson (58) propelled the Royals to 170-4 before Chandila's hat-trick polished off the Warriors' top order in the space of his first seven deliveries, limiting the opposition to 125-9.

Bowling with the new ball, Chandila took the wickets of Jesse Ryder (1), Sourav Ganguly (1) and Robin Uthappa (0) to finish with figures of 4-13.


The victory kept the Royals in the hunt for a playoff place with 14 points from seven victories while it was the eighth straight loss for the Warriors who are second from the bottom on eight points.