Sunrisers Hyderabad Have A Tough Task At Hand Against Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League

After being outplayed by Mumbai Indians in their previous match, Sunrisers Hyderabad face another tough battle when they take on table-toppers Kings XI Punjab at the Rajiv Gandhi International cricket stadium in an IPL match on Wednesday.

The Kings XI Punjab have had a rampaging campaign in this edition of the IPL before the Kolkata Knight Riders got the better of them in a match on May 11 at Cuttack.

Having suffered a sudden setback, the Punjab side would be keen to come all guns blazing against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, who cannot afford to lose any more matches in order to stay in contention for a place in the semi-finals.

Punjab's star duo of Glenn Maxwell and David Miller have been in scintillating form and the team's old warhorse Virender Sehwag has also, of late, been reminding about his batting prowess.

While batting has been the mainstay of Punjab, the bowling department is no less potent with the presence of pacer Sandeep Sharma, one of the top wicket-takers this season and Australian import Mitchell Johnson, who slowly gathered some momentum after a rather indifferent start...

Source: Cricket News in Hindi

From ndtv News

Mumbai still optimistic of hosting IPL final

It is to be noted that the IPL Governing Council on May 10 decided to shift the final of the IPL from Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai to M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. The final will be played on June 1.

An emergency meeting of the MCA was held on Monday during which it was decided that the association will write a letter to the IPL GC asking for reasons for the shift. "We have not received anything in writing about shifting the final away from Mumbai," MCA joint secretary PV Shetty told dna.

"We did not know the actual reasons as to why it was shifted. Our vice-president Ravi Savant has spoken with BCCI interim president for the duration of the IPL, Sunil Gavaskar about the issue. Gavaskar will talk to the members of the IPL GC and get back to us on Tuesday. We are very optimistic of the IPL final coming back to Mumbai," he said.

Nitin Dalal, joint secretary, MCA, said: "We have asked them for the reasons. We are waiting for their reply. We can get the required permissions from the authorities. As a special case, the Mumbai police will help us with the necessary permissions including the late night noise."..

Source: Cricket News in Hindi

From delhidailynews News

Maria Sharapova joins Li Na to move into third round of Madrid Open

Johannesburg: Russian ace Maria Sharapova has joined Chinese star Li Na in moving into the third round of the women's Madrid Open following their respective second round wins on Tuesday.

Sharapova, who won her first tournament of the season on her return to clay in Stuttgart two weeks ago, reeled off five straight games to beat world number 57 Christina McHale from USA 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 in fine form.

According to Sport24, Sharapova has set up a meeting with either Spain's Garbine Muguruza or 2011 US Open champion Sam Stosur in the last 16...

Source: Sports News in Hindi

From dna News

Rajasthan hold edge against Hyderabad

 Up against an outfit that is struggling to stay afloat, fancied Rajasthan Royals will look to consolidate their position in the pecking order when they lock horns with Sunrisers Hyderabad in the ongoing seventh Indian Premier League (IPL) in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.

Rajasthan Royals staged a dramatic fight back to down Kolkata Knight Riders by 10 runs in their last match, while Sunrisers Hyderabad were overshadowed by Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Led by inspiring Australian all-rounder Shane Watson, Rajasthan are placed third in the points table with five wins and two reverses, while the Southern team is struggling to keep their chances alive in the competition having already suffered four defeats in six games to be placed seventh in the eight-team cash-rich tournament.

Watson has always been the key man in the RR set-up and it will be no different this time around. The Aussie, who struck a 20-ball 31 to go with his 3/21 with the ball, will look to do better with the willow at the Sardar Patel Stadium in Motera. ..

Source: Cricket News in Hindi

From TH News

Virat Kohli Retains Top Spot in ODI Rankings

Virat Kohli has retained his top spot in the ICC rankings of ODI batsmen while his compatriot Ravindra Jadeja is among the top-five in the rankings for both bowlers and all-rounders.

India remained second in the list of teams with 112 points as Australia maintained their top rank with 115 points.

Kohli, with 881 points, topped the list of the batsmen, followed by South African A.B. de Villiers with 872 points.

Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was sixth with 783 points while Shikhar Dhawan was ranked eighth with 723 points.

In bowling, Jadeja remained at fifth position with 676 points while Ravichandran Ashwin was 14th. Among all-rounders, Jadeja is ranked fourth.

Source: Cricket News in Hindi 

From indiawest News

IPL 2014: Mumbai Indians vs Kings XI Punjab – Live Score

As expected, Kings XI Punjab are fielding an unchanged XI, while Mumbai Indians have left out left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha for talented seamer Jasprit Bumrah.

Mumbai XI:

Ben Dunk, Rohit Sharma (capt.), Corey Anderson, Ambati Rayudu, Keiron Pollard, Aditya Tare, Harbhajan Singh, Chidhambaram Gautam (wk), Jasprit Bumrah, Zaheer Khan, Lasith Malinga

Punjab XI:

Cheteshwar Pujara, V Sehwag, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Glenn Maxwell, David Miller, George Bailey (capt.), Rishi Dhawan, Mitchell Johnson, Akshar Patel, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Sandeep Sharma

Toss:

Punjab skipper, George Bailey won the toss and have opted to bat first. Rohit Sharma also said, they would have also like to bat first as the pitch is dry.

===================================================

Mumbai: On paper, they are all tigers and lions. It`s altogether another story that only a few live up to their colours, rather stripes. The match-up between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab will pit two such teams with names and claims galore, albeit with some historical difference.

What has happened so far this season has once again underlined the fact that, past is not present. Mumbai Indians won the tournament last time around. But in 2014, they have found themselves wanting in almost every field. Whereas, Kings XI Punjab – historically one of the under-performing teams in the Indian Premier League, have won all there five matches so far and have truly blossomed as a perfect team.

But, what happened during the UAE-leg can no longer be considered the basis to out-rightly dismiss the Rohit Sharma-led squad from the reckoning. Now onwards, the tournament will be played in India, at home, with fans, noise and new zeal. In fact, the Mumbai franchise have won all their eight matches at Wankhede Stadium in 2013. And today, they welcome the pace-setters in their lair. And what spurred them to such a perfect record was the combination of these factors. So, the question is: Will Wankhede help Mumbai regain their lost touch?....

Source: Cricket News in Hindi

From Znews

Sania-Cara pair reach Portugal Open final

 Sania Mirza alongwith her doubles partner Cara Black stormed into the finals of the Portugal Open with a straight-set victory over third seeded American pair of Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond in Oeiras.

Continuing their fabulous run, the top seeded combo of Sania and Cara took an hour and 14 minutes to get the better of their American rivals, 6-4 6-3 at the $250,000 clay court event.

First set saw the Indo-Zimbabwean pair struggle a bit, as they could convert only three of the eight breakpoints they got but they managed to held their nerves to finally win it.

In the second set, two decisive breaks of serve enabled Sania and Cara to wrap up the match comfortably in their favour...

Source: Sports News in Hindi

From TH News

South African fans upset over Proteas Test squad losing number one ranking

The Proteas losing their No 1 status in Test cricket to Australia has caused somewhat of an uproar among South African cricket fans.

According to Sport 24, prior to South Africa's home Test series against Australia earlier this year, it was widely reported that the hosts would not lose their No 1 status even if they came unstuck in the three-Test series.

Australia duly won the series 2-1 to move past India into second spot, but still trailed South Africa (127 points) by 12 ratings points.

Now, South Africa finds itself ranked second, because as of May 1, a new two-year cycle in the ICC rankings has started, which saw results from the 2010/11 season dropped from the calculation. Also, results from the 2012/13 season are now reduced to a weighting of 50 percent.

This has enabled Australia to gain eight ratings points to move up from 115 to 123, while South Africa dropped from 127 to be level on 123, but Australia are ahead by a fraction of a point...

Source: Cricket News in Hindi

From BS News

Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova set for Miami WTA final rematch

Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams will have a rematch of their 2013 final in the Miami WTA semi-finals on Thursday after both advanced in formidable style on Tuesday.

Sharapova, who has not beaten the world number one American since 2004 and has lost 14 consecutive matches in the rivalry, regained her big-match confidence after twice being pushed to three sets by defeating Petra Kvitova 7-5, 6-1.

Top seed Williams pounded German fifth seed Angelique Kerber 6-2, 6-2, taking 62 minutes and ending with seven aces and four breaks of serve in windy conditions.

"When the wind picked up I just had to concentrate," said Williams, who holds six Miami titles. "I felt better today than in any of my other matches.

"When you're facing a top-10 player, you have to lift your game, That's what I was able to do."..

Source: Sports News in Hindi

From ndtv News

World Twenty20: Former Pakistan coach predicts India-Pakistan final

Former Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson has tipped arch rivals India and Pakistan to play the final of the 2014 World Twenty20. Lawson, who was in charge of the Pakistan team between 2007-2008, said conditions in Bangladesh were ideally suited to both sides as was evident from their performances in the recently concluded Asia Cup.

The two rivals meet on March 21 in what is being termed as the 'real' curtain- raiser for this year's World T20.

"India and Pakistan will be playing on slow paced and low-bounce pitches and as such they may start as the two most likely to play in the final once again. Pakistan have the spin king in Saeed Ajmal and the the all-round talents of Mohammed Hafeez and Shoaib Malik and the inimitable Shahid Afridi. That's plenty of slow bowling on their preferred surface," Lawson wrote in his column for Al Jazeera.

For the talented Pakistan team, the challenge essentially will be to curb their tendency to implode if they are to repeat their 2009 World Twenty triumph. Mohammad Hafeez's men take on Australia, defending champs West Indies and a qualifier after their clash against India in what is perhaps the tougher of the two groups at the World T20.

Source: Cricket News & Sports News

From ibnlive News

FIH changes match format from two halves to four quarters

International Hockey Federation (FIH) on Thursday, announced changes to the structure of the game, moving from two 35-minute halves to four 15-minute quarters, a model that has been tried and implemented by both the Euro Hockey League and Hockey India League. The purpose of the change will improve the flow and intensity of the game and increase the fan experience and opportunity for game presentation and analysis.

Other changes include the implementation of 40-second time-outs following both penalty corner awards and the scoring of a goal. Both stoppages ensure that the 60-minute game time is maximized for actual play and not consumed with penalty corner set up or other dead time when the ball is not in play. The new regulations will be applied to the upcoming Champions Trophy, World League Round 2, World League Semi-Final and Final, all continental Olympic qualifying events as of 1 September 2014 as well as the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Leandro Negre, president of FIH, said: "The decision today demonstrates our commitment to fan engagement. With the additional breaks, fans will have the opportunity to enjoy more replays and be more engaged with the event, whether in the stadium or watching from a far, while hockey commentators will be allowed more time to provide sport analysis between plays. In addition, coaches and players will see improvement in their performance with the additional opportunities to re-hydrate and re-strategize."

The new format will result in a higher intensity, faster paced and more exciting game of hockey. It will enable event organisers and broadcasters to develop more engaging fan experiences, both at the venue, on TV and online. With an increase in opportunity to review highlights, explain the game and add colour to the play, people from all over the world can have a better lens on the exciting sport of hockey.

Following the already-existing formats of several other sports such as basketball, American football and netball, the FIH Executive Board decided to move hockey into a four-quarter format. Overall game time will move from 70 minutes (previously two 35-minute halves) to a 60-minute game with four 15 minute quarters where there is a time-out for penalty corner setup and goals. After the first and third quarters, each team will have a two-minute break, while the existing 10-minute half time will remain unchanged.

Supplementing the new 60-minute regulation, FIH also announced the implementation of a 40-second time-out when a penalty corner is awarded. Additionally, a 40 second time out will also be added when a goal has been scored. Both time-outs allow for on-field team celebration time, video replays and analysis for televised matches, as well as additional opportunities to engage fans.

The time-outs ensure that the new 60-minute format is primarily actual playing time and eliminates the dead time associated with penalty corner set up while allowing for teams to enjoy their goal..

Source: Sports News 

From ndtv News