Royal Challengers Bangalore scored 165 for six against Chennai Super Kings in their Pepsi Indian Premier League match played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, here today.
     Brief score:
     RCB: 165 for 6 in 20 overs (AB de Villiers 64, Virat Kohli 58; Chris Morris 3/40).

RCB post 165/6 against CSK

PTI Automatic

Mumbai Indians fast bowler Mitchell Johnson today credited his side's 41-run victory over Pune Warriors in their IPL game here to the 54-run opening stand between skipper Ricky Ponting and Sachin Tendulkar.
     "I think our opening partnership got us to a good start. Then DK (Dinesh Karthik) and Rohit (Sharma) put on a good partnership. Rohit kept going and obviously got us a good total to bowl to. That gave us the confidence to go out there and pitch the ball up and get those early wickets," Johnson said at the post-match press conference.
     "It was nice to see the ball swing around. You normally see it in these conditions with the white ball, a bit of early swing, so (we were) looking to pitch the ball up. It was nice to get those early wickets because it definitely put them under pressure," he said.
     "We started well with a good partnership, we slowed down a bit we got another partnership going. We know we can score at the backend of the innings, so the boys did ...

Johnson says Ponting-Tendulkar opening stand sets up MI win

Pune Warriors assistant coach Pravin Amre today defended his team's decision to ask listless Ashok Dinda to bowl the final few overs in their IPL game against Mumbai Indians that they lost by 41 runs here.
     "That was the game plan. We wanted Bhuvneshwar Kumar to bowl in the beginning and Dinda at the death," said Amre at the post-match media conference at the Wankhede Stadium.
     Dinda, who was very expensive in all his three spells, conceded 63 runs in his four overs and his poor display with the ball was a major factor in the Warriors suffering a comprehensive third defeat in four games.
     Bhuvneshwar and Aaron Finch, who opened the bowling with his left-arm spin, had two overs each left from their quota at the end of the MI innings in which the hosts scored an imposing 183 for three.
     Dinda was taken to the cleaners first by Sachin Tendulkar in his opening over in which he was hit for four fours and then by Rohit Sharma in the 17th and 20th overs.
     Amre also ...

Amre defends team decision to ask Dinda to bowl last over

Kings XI Punjab coach Darren Lehmann today said that his side needed to show more consistency in their performance in the ongoing IPL.
     "We began in convincing fashion and then suffered a humiliating defeat. We need to show more consistency," Lehmann told reporters on the eve of KXIP's clash with Rajasthan Royals here tomorrow.
     "We have one-one record and it is going to be an important outing, but every match is important. We have prepared like any other match. We have few youngsters and we hope for a better performance from them," said the former Australian batsman.
     He refused to concede that his team was facing inconsistency due to presence of old players like captain Adam Gilchrist and Azhar Mehmood.
     "Look at the way Rahul Dravid is playing. We have the depth to rise from crises. We need to put in a better performance. Rajasthan Royals are a good team and would have home advantage too," he said.
     Talking about Aniket Choudhary, the left-arm medium pacer from .

We need to be more consistent: Lehman

Rajasthan Royals batsman Owais Shah, who is yet to play his first game in Pepsi IPL-6, today said that his teams strike bowler S Sreesanth was fine and raring to go after he created a fresh controversy by rekindling the 'slapgate' controversy of 2008 edition.
     Asked if the temperamental pacer was in his best mental shape for tomorrow's match against the Kings XI Punjab, Shah said he was surprised to know why people should think in this manner about his team-mate.
     "He is a professional player and has turned out in nets, training hard and bowling well. He is main strike bowler even for Indian team earlier. He swings the ball and has good rhythm. If selected he would give 100 per cent," Shah said.
     Talking about coach Paddy Upton and his expertise in the mental aspects of players, Shah said he would manage Sreesanth if he has problems.
     "Yes, he is a good coach and has worked with Sreesanth during his stint with Indian team and I am sure he would manage Sreesanth's ...

Sreesanth fine, raring to go: Owais Shah

Adille Sumariwala was today elected unopposed as the president of Athletics Federation of India in its Annual General Body Meeting here today.
     W I Dawaram, C K Valson and P K Srivastava were also elected unopposed as senior vice-president, secretary and treasurer respectively on the opening day of the two-day AGM here. All the four officials will hold office till 2016.
     Sumariwala is also the president of Maharashtra Athletics Association while Dawaram and Valson are respectively the president and secretary of Tamil Nadu Athletics Association. Srivasata is the secretary of Uttar Pradesh Athletics Association.
     The election was conducted by Returning Officer M S Upadhye, a retired IPS officer. The AGM was held in the presence of government observer S D  Bakshi and Indian Olympic Association representative Rakesh Gupta.
     The elections to the posts of president, secretary and treasurer of the AFI are being held after the Sports Ministry refused to recognise the officials 

Sumariwala elected unopposed as AFI president

Pakistan Cricket Board today slapped bans on umpires Nadeem Ghouri and Anis Siddiqui for four and three years respectively after finding them guilty of corruption in an expose by an Indian television channel last year.
     The two umpires were found guilty of agreeing to extend undue favours for material gains in the sting operation carried out by India TV in October last. The PCB's integrity committee headed by chairman Zaka Ashraf took the decision today.
     Ghouri is an international umpire and has officiated in Test matches while Siddiqui is a first class umpire.
     "We are committed on creating awareness amongst our players and officials with regards to the possible pitfalls," Ashraf said in a statement.
     Ghouri, also a former Test spinner who has worked on the ICC international panel and has 13 years of umpiring experience, was not immediately available for comments but both umpires appeared before the committee in Lahore today to give their version of the story.
     ..

PCB bans two umpires for corruption in India TV expose

Chennai Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and elected to field against Royal Challengers Bangalore in their Pepsi Indian Premier League match, here today.
     Bangalore have made three changes to their side, bringing in Ravi Rampaul, Dan Christian and left-arm spinner Syed Mohammad in place of Muttiah Muralitharan, Moises Henriques and Lokesh Rahul.
     For Chennai, Mohit Sharma replaced Ankit Rajput in the playing XI.
     Teams:
     Chennai Super Kings: M S Dhoni (C), Murali Vijay, Mike Hussey, Suresh Raina, S Badrinath, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Ravichandran Ashwin, Dirk Nannes, Chris Morris and Mohit Sharma.
     Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli (C), Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, AB de Villiers, Daniel Christian, Arun Karthik, Ravi Rampaul, Syed Mohammad, R Vinay Kumar, M Kartik and R P Singh.

CSK win toss; elect to bowl against RCB

Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy defeated host Mumbai Hockey Association limited 16-0 in their Pool 'A' league game of the third Hockey India Sub-Junior Women's National Championship (West Zone), here today.
     Preet Dubey scored four goals followed by Suman Devi (3), Jyoti Pal (2), Karishma Yadav (2), Rakhi Prajapati (2), Neelu Dadiya (1), Brajnandini Dhuriya (1) and Neha Singh (1) in the match played at the Mumbai Hockey Association Limited Ground.
     In another match of Pool 'A', Hockey Maharashtra beat Hockey Bhopal 8-0. In the Pool 'B', Chhattisgarh defeated Goa 8-0.
     In the third Sub-Junior Men's National Championship (West Zone), Hockey Maharashtra defeated Rajasthan 9-1.
     In Pool 'B', Chhattisgarh drew 2-2 against Hockey Bhopal while Gujarat beat Goa 2-1.
     In the North Zone, Uttar Pradesh and Chandigarh entered the semifinals in the sub-junior women's section.
     Uttar Pradesh defeated Himachal Pradesh 6-0 while Chandigarh, despite losing 1-5 to Punjab in their .

MPHA defeat MHA ltd 16-0 in sub-junior women's national c'ship

The government wants an agreement with the Indian Olympic Association and National Sports Federations on the contentious Sports Code before having a joint meeting with the International Olympic Committee next month, Sports Secretary P K Deb said today.
     Deb told PTI that an agreement on the age and tenure guidelines under the Sports Code was required for any fruitful discussion with the IOC to pave way for India's return into the Olympic movement.
     "We welcomed the IOC's proposal for a joint meeting on May 7 at Lausanne. We have been trying for such a meeting for four months so that the we can have a discussion with the IOC. But we need an agreement with the IOA and NSFs on the Sports Code before the meeting," he said.
     Deb said that the IOA and the NSFs don't need to amend their constitutions to incorporate the provisions of the Sports Code but require an agreement on some contentious clauses before the joint meeting.
     "It is not possible for the IOA to amend its ...

We want agreement with IOA, NSFs before meeting: Sports Secy

Mohun Bagan continued their dream I-League run, taking their winning streak to four matches when they overcame a stiff resistance from Air India for a hard-fought 3-2 victory at Kalyani Stadium, here today.
     Both the teams were reduced to 10-man in an action-packed second-half but Mohun Bagan ensured a fourth successive win riding on a Denson Devadas strike in the dying minuets (90+4th).
     Air India goalkeeper Bubai Singh was sent off following a tackle outside the box in the 68th minute but the Mumbai outfit did well to kept up the pressure.
     The fiery combination of Odafa Okolie-Tolgay Ozbey ensured Mohun Bagan a 2-0 lead early into the first-half. Odafa gave Mohun Bagan an 11th minute lead from a spotkick after they got the penalty following Prem Kumar's bad tackle of Ozbey inside the box.
     The Aussie doubled the lead with a spectacular finish in the 28th minute as Mohun Bagan looked unstoppable.
     The relegation-wary Air India however did not give up as they ...

Mohun Bagan win 3-2 against Air India

Over 11,000 children from the metropolis watched the Pepsi Indian Premier League clash between Mumbai Indians and Pune Warriors here today, as part of MI's initiative 'Education for All'.
     Of these, more than 8,000 were underprivileged children, represented by over 100 NGOs, an MI official informed.
     The franchise had, on Thursday, said they would dedicate this match to these children.
     The children rooted for the home team from the three stands of the Wankhede Stadium -- Sunil Gavaskar, Vijay Merchant and Sachin Tendulkar.
     Arrangements were made to get the children in buses and they were provided meal boxes, the official added.
     Team owner Nita Ambani, who pioneered the initiative said, "Last three years have been an eventful journey and I am happy that through our initiatives, over 15000 underprivileged kids have been impacted meaningfully. As we enter the fourth year, Mumbai Indians have drawn up plans to touch upon am additional 15,000 children this year ...

Over 11,000 underprivileged children watch MI-PW IPL clash

Smarting from back-to-back losses, Kolkata Knight Riders will once again bank on the mystery spin of Sunil Narine in their bid to turn it around against Sunrisers Hyderabad under home conditions here tomorrow, middle-order batsman Eoin Morgan said today.
     The English batsman said Narine's tidy bowling was the silver lining for the team, which had suffered two consecutive away losses after winning their campaign opener.
     "Sunil bowled well in both the games. He is a huge match winner -- especially at home. It's good to see him doing well, even if the team is losing," Morgan told reporters on the match-eve press conference.
     "We have seen the exploits of Sunil Narine, his potential of winning a match for us," he said referring to the West Indian off-spinner's 4/13 in their win against Delhi Daredevils at Eden Gardens in their first match.
     "I don't think the nature of pitches has changed much. The pitch on which we played Delhi Daredevils was pretty similar to last ...

Morgan pins hopes on Narine to turn things around for KKR

The suspended Indian Olympic Association is willing to amend its constitution in line with age and tenure guidelines of the controversial Sports Code of the government, a top IOA official said today.
     Senior IOA official Tarlochan Singh told PTI that it was high time the Sports Ministry and the IOA try to find a common approach in the joint meeting with the IOC proposed to be held in Lausanne on May 7 so that India can return to the Olympic movement.
     "There is a feeling that the IOC is willing for a solution. Repeated request for meeting should not be ignored but before going to Lausanne there should be an amicable agreement between the IOA and Sports Ministry," he said.
     "All the NSFs and IOA senior officials are willing to amend the constitution and bring in those clauses which deprived a much longer stay of individuals in the Olympic set-up. Also in recent IOA elections, age limit clause was observed. Having agreed to these conditions, there should not be any dispute ..

IOA willing to amend constitution in line with Code: official

Electing to bat, Mumbai Indians scored 183 for three against Pune Warriors in their Indian Premier League match at the Wankhede Stadium, here today.
     Brief scores:
     Mumbai Indians: 183 for 3 in 20 overs (Rohit Sharma 62 notout, Sachin Tendulkar 44, Aoron Finch 1/11, Yuvraj Singh 1/13).

Mumbai post 183/3 against Pune

Indian paddlers Achanta Sharath Kamal and K Shamini have failed to qualify for the knockout stages of the 26th Table Tennis Asian Cup, being played at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium in Hong Kong.
     Honk Kong's Tang Peng defeated Sharath (70), the highest-ranked Indian in the world, 13-11 7-11 5-11 11-1 11-8 11-7 in the qualification play-off round.
     Sharath grabbed a 2-1 lead over the local favourite after losing a close first set. However, the higher-ranked Peng (36) got the next three sets to end India's challenge.
     The 30-year-old Indian had entered the play-off round after registering easy wins over Iran's Alamian Nima (4-1) and Tuan Quynh Tran of Vietnam (4-2) in the group stage of the men's event.
     In the women's category, Shamini yesterday failed to clear the group stage. She defeated Qatar's Mohamed Aia 11-6 11-7 11-7 11-7, but lost to Nanthana Komwong of Thailand 11-9 11-6 11-6 9-11 11-5 to bow out of the tournament.

Sharath, Shamini bow out of Asian Cup TT

On a high after posting back-to-back home and away wins in the AFC Cup, East Bengal will look to continue the winning run in the I-League, when they take on Sporting Clube de Goa in a round 24 fixture here tomorrow.
     East Bengal, who lead the group table in the AFC Cup, had three consecutive stalemates in the I-League, which slighted affected their title hopes.
     Keeping this in mind, East Bengal would be keen to taste success against the Goans who have a clean record having won in their earlier two meetings this season.
     East Bengal are lying in the second position with 42 points from 22 matches, while Sporting Clube have 30 points to be on eighth position.
     Placed five points behind leaders Churchill Brothers, East Bengal must win at the Vivekananda Yubabharati Krirangan to keep their title hopes alive, with four more rounds remaining.
     "Winning all our matches remains the only option for us. Churchill Brothers are ahead of us on points but all is not lost and ...

East Bengal desperate for three points against SC Goa

A 10-member junior Indian boxing contingent will look to make a mark in the ASBC Asian Junior Boxing Championships to be held in Shymkent, Kazakhstan from April 15-22.
     Nine Indian boxers, accompanied by a coach, will be starting their season with the week-long continental championships.
     The event will also serve as a preparatory platform for the AIBA Junior World Championships, which is scheduled to be held at Kiev, Ukraine in August.
     Varinder Singh, who bagged a gold medal at the Sub-Junior National Boxing Championships last year, is expected to make a strong contention besides multiple sub-junior national events winner, L Bhimchand Singh. He was a part of the sub-junior boxing team that went to Yangiabad, Uzbekistan for a three- week long training-cum-competition in October last year.
     Bhutan, China, DPR Korea, Japan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and United Arab Emirates will be the other countries to participate in the ...

India's junior boxers to compete in Asian event

The International Olympic Committee's move to write a letter directly to the Sports Minister for a joint meeting has come as a surprise for suspended IOA officials, who point out that the parent body was contradicting its own stand.
     The IOC has written separate letters to the IOA and the Sports Minister, extending its invitation for a meeting in Lausanne on May 7 in yet another attempt to find a way for the country's return to the Olympic movement, even as the stand-off between the government and sport body persisted.
     On earlier occasions, the IOC had interacted strictly with the IOA and never directly with the government. The letters were written to IOC member in India, Randhir Singh and IOA's Acting President V K Malhotra.
     But by writing directly to the Ministry, the IOC has appeared to have gone against their own rule.
     On December 4, 2012, the IOC had cited government interference as the reason for banning the IOA.
     "It is very surprising that IOC has ...

IOC letter to Sports Ministry surprises IOA officials

Mumbai Indians captain Ricky Ponting elected to bat after winning the toss against Pune Warriors in an IPL match, here today.
     Both teams are fielding unchanged sides from their victories in their previous match against Delhi Daredevils and Rajasthan Royals respectively.
     Squad:
     Mumbai Indians: Ricky Ponting, Sachin Tendulkar, Dinesh Karthik, Rohit Sharma, Kieron Pollard, Ambati Rayudu, Harbhajan Singh, Rishi Dhawan, Mitchell Johnson, Pragyan Ojha, Lasith Malinga
     Pune Warriors: Robin Uthappa, Aaron Finch, Ross Taylor, Yuvraj Singh, Angelo Mathews, Abhishek Nayar, Tirumalsetti Suman, Mitchell Marsh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rohit Sharma, Ashoke Dinda.

Mumbai Indians elect to bat against Pune Warriors

Divij Sharan and Purav Raja's campaign ended at the Guadalajara ATP Challenger event in Mexico with a straight set semifinal defeat at the hands of giant-killing pair of Marin Draganja and Mate Pavic.
     The Indians fought hard before losing 6-7(2) 4-6 to the Croatian team in the close contest of the USD 1,00,00 hard court event.
     The Indians split USD 2,160 as prize money and earned 35 ranking points each, which will be good enough to bring Divij back in the top-100 bracket.
     The left-handed Divij is currently ranked 102.
     The Croatia pair, which had shocked the top seeds earlier, fired as many as 10 aces while the Indian players could manage four.
    The only time Indians came closing to breaking the rivals was in the third game of the second set but the Croats escaped with an ace.
     In the next game, Indians were broken and that lead stayed with their rivals, who easily held to clinch the issue.
     Divij and Purav play their last tournament in Mexico at Mexico ..

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