Mumbai, May 16: If Sachin won’t, Sanath will. Mumbai went silent for a minute as hometown hero Sachin Tendulkar walked back within four minutes of his arrival at the crease. The master blaster’s duck was the only glitch in Mumbai Indians’ perfect finish, as they crushed Kolkata Knight Riders to register a thrilling eight-wicket win at the Wankhede here on Friday.

If T20 is the shortest version of the game, the day’s match can be labeled a movie trailor. Action-packed, high on drama, it was an instant thrill for the cricket-crazy public of Mumbai. The opponents were overpowered in 5.3 overs, the home team making a mockery of the meager target of 67.

Sanath Jayasuriya was in blistering form once again. If the Sri Lankan’s 114 not out against the Chennai Super Kings a day before was a purist’s delight, his quickfire, unbeaten 48 (17 balls, 6x4, 3x6) on the day were enough to put the best of bowlers to shame. The Sri Lankan toyed with the pace of Shoaib Akhtar and Ishant Sharma, who had identical figures of 1/29 at the end of the minuscule innings.

The Matera Marauder batted effortlessly and the silken touch was there for all to see. His two magnificent sixes off Akhtar in the third over were a delight as Shoaib conceded 23 runs. The Marauder finished the only way he knew, hitting two fours and a six in Ishant Sharma’s second over to bring up the Indians’ fifth win in a row.

Earlier, Shaun Pollock, Dwayne Bravo and Domnic Thornely wreaked havoc to leave the Knight Riders in shambles. Coming after a stupendous win against the Delhi Daredevils, the visitors cut out a sorry figure as they fell to the lowest score that the league has seen so far. Sticking to a good line and length, the Pollock-Bravo duo induced deadly blows right from the word go. The Knight Riders folded up for 67 in 15.2 overs.

Not the best of batting sides, the Knight Riders were exposed on a wicket that assisted seam movement.

The batsmen failed to apply themselves and departed as soon as they came, evoking huge cheers from the home crowd who celebrated each wicket. The usually chirpy Shah Rukh Khan, Knight Riders’ team owner, also settled down after a while.

For Kolkata, skipper Sourav Ganguly (15, 20 balls, 2x4) spent the maximum time (5o minutes) in the middle. Ironically, the skipper did not have much to show when he departed in the 15th over, Bravo’s offcutter bringing an end to his sluggish innings.

The rout started when Pakistan opener Salman Butt — who hit the only six of the Kolkatan innings — misjudged a full length delivery from Pollock. At slip, Tendulkar made no mistake scalping the first wicket for the team. There was further agony in store as Aakash Chopra ran himself out on the very next ball going for a non-existent single.

Pollock, in particular, was unplayable. The South African exuded class to finish with figures of 3/12. He accounted for the prized scalps of Butt, dangerman David Hussey and Mohammad Hafeez.

First-change bowler Bravo was the perfect foil for the South African. Introduced in the sixth over, he cleaned up Wriddhiman Saha, in the only maiden over of the game.

Hyderabad, May 16: Deccan Chargers captain Adam Gilchrist criticised the Delhi Daredevils for their pacer Mohammad Asif’s off-and-on presence on the field during Thursday’s IPL match even as his counterpart Virender Sehwag claimed it was within the rules.

Gilchrist said it baffled him to see Asif bowling, going out before returning again to bowl. Shoaib Malik fielded for Asif, while Delhi already had a substitute fielder in AB de Villiers for Gautam Gambhir who had injured his knee while batting.

"Players being allowed to bowl an over then walk off the field, have a substitute fielder come on then walk back on to the field, bowl an over and then go off again is a cycle which I don’t believe is in the spirit of the game," Gilchrist told this newspaper on Friday.

"I was told that it was within the laws of the game and that there was not much anyone could do. But I believe if you are fit enough to bowl, you should be fit enough to field and take part in the game. It was a bit frustrating," he added.

Also, "Asif bowled with tape around fingers on his bowling hand which is not allowed according to the rules," Gilchrist observed.

Asif’s was not the only issue. "Gautam Gambhir was also not fielding, having taken a blow when he was batting, which allowed them (Delhi) to have two of the best fieldsmen in the world as substitutes, who had a hand in crucial dismissals," Gilchrist said.

Gilchrist made it clear that "It’s not an excuse to why we lost. Delhi played better and were able to get the win. But the captains had signed an agreement at the start of the tournament about the spirit of cricket. And I think that when things like these are exploited, the cricket agreement doesn’t weigh much."

The Chargers captain said he addressed the issue with the match referee, Clive Lloyd, after the game. "I just took it upon myself to go to the match referee after the game. He was very understanding of my concern and has taken it on board. He has noted down the concern. However, we as a team are not lodging an official complaint or trying to take it any further... we just expressed our concern with the match referee," the Australian said.

Sehwag on his part, said his side was playing by the rules. "I think if umpires did not have any problems, Gilchrist too should not have any. The rulebook says a bowler can go out as many times as needed in case of external injury. Asif was injured while fielding," Sehwag said.

It’s an intriguing match for Delhi Daredevils against Mohali’s Kings XI Punjab on Saturday. At the risk of annoying Delhi’s fans, and I am no less, they are arguably up against the one of the best sides of the IPL.

Shaun Marsh is among the top-run-scorers after having played a mere five games! James Hopes, the two Sri Lankans — I expect Kumar Sangakkara to be back in the fray — the sweet poison of Piyush Chawla and the Irfan-Sreesanth duo, again the leading wicket-takers of the competition, all suggest to an extremely powerful side. And we haven’t counted on Yuvraj Singh yet.

Yuvraj perhaps will fire now. He can’t be down for too long. Now that icons are stepping out of their dens — Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Shoaib Akhtar and Sanath Jayasuriya et al — the Mohali captain is like a coiled cobra ready to spread it’s hoods. If he can inspire confidence, you will see Marsh and Co. play with still greater freedom in the coming matches. It’s a frightening prospect for other teams.

Fortunately for Delhi, the match is in their own home ground. They tend to score heavily at the Kotla. The top three can truly hurt the opposition. As I said in my previous column, Delhi are just about getting their mix right. They have cricketers who can bowl and bat effectively, a trait they share, although to a lesser degree, with Mohali. Farvez Maharoof and Tillekratne Dilshan are dangerous men in a short format. I also found the fielding of Ab de Villiers, as also the two catches in the deep by Shoaib Malik, as outstanding efforts. Both are overseas cricketers and were not playing the Thursday’s game. Yet they gave of their best which suggests the team spirit is running just fine amongst Daredevils.

I would love to watch Piyush Chawla and Amit Mishra square off against each other. Both are leg-spinners and promise a lot for Indian cricket. They are quite similar in methods — both are short, have deadly variations, pick wickets in the middle overs.

New Delhi, May 16: Pushed to the brink, the Delhi Daredevils have clawed their way back into contention with a win at last against a beleaguered Deccan Chargers side, but they are still not out of the woods.

The fight for the semifinal is heating up with every game with both Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders very much in the race. The Daredevils are in fifth place with five wins from ten matches, splitting the two teams in the points tally.

Saturday’s showdown against overwhelming favourites Kings XI Punjab at the Feroze Shah Kotla will therefore be of added significance. Knight Riders and the Mumbai outfit are looking to up the ante, with the coming of Shoaib Akhtar and Sachin Tendulkar in their ranks. Another slip for Delhi now and their chances will take a nosedive.

To add to their woes is their skipper Virender Sehwag’s appalling form. The law of averages seems to have finally caught up with the dashing opener who was on a hot streak in the early stages of the tournament. He has been to unable to open his account in the last two innings. The Twenty20 format suits him the best and a ‘Sehwag Special’ is always round the corner. At the moment, though, his batting seems error prone. That apart, the Daredevils though, would gain much confidence with their batting success on Thursday night.

The consistent Gautam Gambhir kept the orange cap to himself with another blazing innings, Shikhar Dhwan notched up his fourth IPL fifty while the middle-order, for the first time, didn’t let the side down. On the bowling front too, the Hayana leg-spinner Amit Mishra has solved Sehwag’s dilemma of relying on part-timers to deliver four key overs.

Gambhir’s injury to his right toe will be a cause of concern. He was out of the field against the Chargers nursing his injury, but is expected to play on Saturday. The side seems to have got finally their bearing right, but their true test of character will be against the Yuvraj Singh-led team that are looking unstoppable. They beat Delhi the last time the two teams met and that too at a stage when the latter were enjoying their best run. Almost every player has exploded into action whenever the side gets into trouble. Delhi will best served, if they do not overlook how Yuvraj and Simon Katich tore apart their bowling attack with their power-hitting more than a fortnight ago.

Sehwag knows his team will have to put their best foot forward. "At this stage, all the matches are challenging for us. Kings XI have been on a roll but however good you maybe, someone will come and beat you hands down. Our bowlers have done well throughout," he said.

Jaipur, May 16: For a team that has lost more matches than the top two put together, the Royal Challengers will surely be grappling with motivation. Making up the rear of the points table, the Challengers are up against the form team of the tournament, Rajasthan Royals, who, not surprisingly, are the table toppers.

With five matches to go, the Challengers are definitely going through the motions; even given a miracle, it’s unlikely that the Bangalore team will find a berth in the semifinals of the Indian Premier League. To just go out and play without the least bit of motivation is the worst thing that can happen to a team and unfortunately, the Challengers are faced with that situation.

The crux of the problem has been the constant chopping and changing of their personnel in search of that futile, winning combination. Sadly for Rahul Dravid, nothing seems to have worked. Having initially struggled with the Twenty20 format, these days, it appears as if the captain is the saving grace for the team. It’s true that the Challengers are desperately looking for a potent opening pair, but having said that, a mere opening partnership alone will not fetch wins.

Contrast this with the Royals, who under Shane Warne, have gelled as a unit and uncorked some unbelievable performances along the way with seven wins from nine games. Warne, basically, has trusted his instincts and the team has more than stood up for the count.

London, May 16: Ryan Sidebottom turned in a miserly spell of four wickets for five runs in 10.1 overs on Friday as New Zealand were bowled out for 277 on the second day of the first Test here at Lord’s. But considering New Zealand had been 104 for five, in overcast, seam-bowler friendly conditions after losing the toss, their’s was a fine recovery.

New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori did his best to keep England at bay with 48 before he was last man out, bowled by Sidebottom.

Vettori’s innings supplemented wicket-keeper Brendon McCullum’s excellent run-a-ball 97 which began New Zealand’s fightback on Thursday.

England were 26 without loss when bad light forced an early tea. Andrew Strauss was nine not out and Alastair Cook 16 not out.

Earlier, Sidebottom returned innings figures of four wickets for 55 runs in 28.2 overs. The Nottinghamshire left-arm quick’s haul was all the more impressive as he didn’t take a wicket until his 24th over.

New Zealand’s enduringly fragile top-order has often left the 28-year-old having to bat his side out of trouble.

And on Friday, once more showing good judgment in both defence and attack, Vettori proved a thorn in the side of England’s bowlers.

Sidebottom, the Black Caps’ tormentor-in-chief with 24 wickets during England’s 2-1 Test series win in New Zealand in March, found his line on Friday after a wicketless first day and took two for three in 7.5 overs before lunch.

Vettori, however, guided his side near 300 with three well-struck fours in as many balls off James Anderson.

He was in sight of his 17th Test fifty when, three balls after stoppage for bad light, Vettori was bowled by Sidebottom after making a late decision to try to leave the ball. In all, he batted for 162 minutes and faced 100 balls with six fours.

New Zealand, after Sidebottom removed Jacob Oram for 28 with the help of a first slip catch by Strauss, looked as if they might get through the morning session for the loss of just one wicket. But with the second delivery with the new ball, Sidebottom bowled Kyle Mills for 10 with an inswinger.

Brief scores: New Zealand (1st innings) 277 all out (B. McCullum 97, D. Vettori 48; R. Sidebottom 4/55, J. Anderson 3/66) vs England (1st innings) 26 for no loss.

Hyderabad, May 16: In the last two decades, elections to the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) have been bitterly fought in a no-holds barred battle for supremacy. But it looks as if the rivals have become battle weary and are looking to settle matters before the battle of the ballot takes place.

On Thursday, HCA secretary N. Shivlal Yadav said that there would be no elections at the Annual General Body Meeting of the association on June 8. "This time we will not have elections. It will be selections only," he said with a smile on his face.

Shivlal, who had told his supporters last month that he was not keen on contesting for the post of secretary this year, said: "Doc (M.V. Sridhar) and (Arshad) Ayub will henceforth look after all cricket matters of the association. I will be handling the administrative and stadium affairs for some more time."

Shivlal, who has been secretary for the last eight years and was the joint secretary for eight years prior to that, didn’t specify how long he will continue. Sources said it could be for a year or so as he was not too keen on hanging on to the secretary’s post. "I want to leave when things are going well and on a high note," Shivlal, who has been the driving force behind the construction of the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium at Uppal, said.

Arshad Ayub, who led the opposition panel last time and lost the election for the post of treasurer, said the peace was brokered for development of cricket.

"We are keen on developing the game and helping league cricket regain its rightful place," he said.

"There will be no shortcomings in our commitment to develop the game. All aspects regarding cricket will be taken care of," he added.

The peace moves will have a direct bearing on the clubs. "When the association is flourishing it is but natural that the clubs too should benefit. The private clubs are not able to provide proper facilities for the players. Hence, we have decided to have an infrastructure fund in place so that the clubs can develop infrastructure and practice facilities," Ayub said.

"We will streamline league cricket so that the season doesn’t end in September itself. A player should get to play at least 20 matches in a year so that he gets sufficient exposure," Ayub added.

Shivlal said the association was getting 15 acres of land. "HUDA has been generous enough to allot 15 acres of land at Jawahar Nagar for our usage," he said.

Bangalore, May 16: Following are acceptances for the races to be held here on Sunday.

1. The Malenahalli Plate 1400M 1.30 p.m.: Non Stop Cannon 62, Ronkonkoma 61.5, Awesome Fighter 60, Prayatna 59.5, Fantabulous Hero 59, Word To Word 57, Miss Marvelous 55.5, Road To Romance 55, Gracian 54.5, Everything Nice 54, Orange Orchard 51.5.

2. The Mount Everest Trophy (Div II) 1100M 2.00 p.m.: Tomsk 56, Our Charm 56, Voodoo Moon 56, See You There 56, Sunny Colours 54.5, Supreme Harmony 54.5, Theatre Star 54.5, Holly Go Lightly 54.5, Different Opinion 54.5, Running Splendour 54.5.

3. The Allaire Plate 1400M 2.30 p.m.: Mighty Heart 62.5, Grand Madame 62, Hidalgo 61.5, Nearco Master 61.5, Double Elite 60.5, Ravileena 60.5, Moneyinthebank 58, Tactical Game 57, Paint Me Red 55.5, Cabochon 52.5.

4. The Mount Everest Trophy (Div I) 1100M 3.00 p.m.: Astronomer Royal 56, Luminous Gold 56, Spicy Star 56, Clouseau 56, Glorious Princess 54.5, Blushing Beam 54.5, Fox Haven 54.5, Sheer Gold 54.5, She’s Spectacular 54.5, Material Lady 54.5.

5. The M.N. Prakash Memorial Trophy (Div I) 1200M 3.30 p.m.: Fighting Star 62, River Island 61, An Equal Music 60.5, Billy Blackjack 58, Tina’s Triumph 58, Bee The Star 58, Fanaa 57, Hawaiian Sunrise 57, Born Beauty 56, Jedi Knight 54.5.

6. The Jayachamaraja Wadiyar Cup 1400M 4.00 p.m.: Khaleels Pride 60, Vijayraaj 60, Rhapsidion Snow 60, Running Bull 60, Lionheart 60, Royal Ambassador 58.5, Aurelian 58.5, Pastiche 58.5, Jet Fire 58.5, Classic Sky 57.5, Our Little Savage 57, Dare Don 57.

7. The Aureole Time Plate 1200M 4.30 p.m.: Gara Fluid 61, Damgood 60.5, Masurathi 59.5, Master Strategist 59, Wile Wench 59, She’s Big 58.5, Splendid Glory 55.5, Chaila Babu 55, Zaios 53.

8. The Usha Stud Plate 1400M 5.00 p.m.: Stone Of Destiny62.5, Wonder Smile 62, War head 61.5, Lava 60.5, Flaming Lamborgini 59.5, Saptashwa 58, Symbol Of Speed 57.5, Red Mustang 56, Easy 53.5, Rebellious 53.5, Artic Blast 53.5, Welcome Back 51.5.

9. The M.N. Prakash Memorial Trophy (Div II) 1200M 5.30 p.m.: Adorabella 60, Movie Queen 58.5, Masquenada 57, Powerful Dreams 56.5, Enforcer 55.5, Seasons Greeting 55.5, Serious Warrior 55.5, Winning Rays 55.5, Dock Of Bay 55.5, Look Alike 55.5.

Jackpot: 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9.
1st Treble: 3, 4, & 5.
2nd Treble: 7, 8 & 9.

Bangalore, May 16: Mark Of Gibraltar, Imperial Dream and Vanquish impressed most in the workouts when the following horses were exercised on the trial track here on Friday.

Inner Sand:

800M: Bee The Star (M. Narredu), Bastian Bay (BL. Paswan) 51.5, 600/39, a fit pair. Aristos (M. Narredu) 52.5, 600/38.5, handy. Aevelina (C. Alford) 52.5, 600/41, fluently. Fighting Star (S. Marshall) 55, 600/39, unextended. Equidae (M. Narredu) 55, 600/40. Sunny Colours (M. Narredu) 52.5, 600/39.5, more in reserve. Korporate (G.Y. Rajesh Babu) 52.5, 600/40. Light Brigade (D.K. Ashish) 52.5, 600/37, urged. Sprawling Elegance (rb) 53.5, 600/41. Star Command (rb), Bourbon Star (D.K. Ashish) 56, 600/39.5, almost level. Classical Dancer (Srikanth), Born Beauty (rb) 50, 600/52, former three lengths ahead. Aquitaine (M. Narredu) 54, 600/40, leisurely. She’s Spectacular (rb), Symbol Of Speed (rb) 49, 600/37, both moved under pressure.

1000M: Set Alight (M. Narredu) 1-7, 800/52, 600/39, handy.

1200M: Born To Shine (rb), Maman Marvel (V.R. Jagdeesh) 1-23, 1000/1-9, 800/54.5, 600/41.5, former trounced. Stunning Grey (rb), Stanza Starry (rb) 1-23.5, 800/54.5, 600/41. Vijayraaj (S. Marshall), Mother’s Pride (Suraj) 1-18, 1000/1-5, 800/49.5, 600/37.5, former started three lengths behind, finished eight lengths in front. Mangalya Prarambh (S. Marshall) 1-25.5, 1000/1-8, 800/52.5, 600/39.5, unextended. Leon Cavalian (Vinod Shinde) 1-23, 800/54.5, 600/41.5, handy. In The Zone (S. John) 1-25, 800/55, 600/41, fluently. Lionheart (Chandrashekar) 1-25, 1000/1-9, 800/54, 600/41.

1400M: Caprioska (Lisa Jones), Hill Of Grace (W. Smith) 1-32, 1000/1-4, 800/50.5, 600/39, both good. Power To Fight (S. Babu) 1-38, 600/43.5, eased. Imperial Dream (Srinath), Originality (B. Prakash) 1-33, 1200/1-18, 1000/1-4, 800/49.5, 600/36.5, neck and neck. Vanquish (Suraj) 1-34, 1000/1-5, 800/52, 600/39, impressed. Mark Of Gibraltar (B. Prakash), Fantastic Quest (Srinath) 1-29.5, 1200/1-17, 1000/1-4.5, 800/49.5, 600/36.5, former started two lengths behind, finished six lengths in front. Pastiche (D. Patel), Sweeping Success (B. Prakash) 1-41, 800/52.5, 600/41, latter started six lengths behind, finished almost level. Mexican Wave (Srikanth), Commandperformance (rb) 1-36, 600/45, former fully extended to finish six lengths ahead.

1600M: Van De Star (Selvaraj), Strong Minded (Vinod Shinde) 1-48, 1200/1-21, 800/52.5, 600/40.5, former a length ahead.

Hamburg (Germany), May 16: Leander Paes and his Spanish partner Tommy Robredo notched up a straight set victory over Ivan Ljubicic and R. Soderling to storm into the doubles semifinals of the euro 2,270,000 Hamburg ATP Master Series event here on Friday.

The unseeded Indo-Spanish pair won 6-2 7-6 (3) after one hour and 12 minute quarterfinal contest to set up a semifinal clash with second seeded duo of Canadian D. Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia.

The Serbian pair had earlier downed fifth seeded combine of S. Aspelin (Sweden) and James Knowles (Austria) 6-2 5-7 10-8.