Ganguly leads from the front to snatch a thrilling victory

With nothing to lose, Kolkata skipper came out firing all guns to lead from the front, scoring an unbeaten 86, while Umar Gul chipped in with a brilliant all-round performance to help their team clinch a thriller against Mohali on Sunday night, making sure that the hosts get their much needed face-saving victory before bowing out of the IPL here at the Eden Gardens.

Chasing 175, Kolkata had almost accepted their defeat, when Man-of-the-Match – Umar Gul walked in to join his skipper in the middle with six wicket down and all recognised batsmen back inside the pavilion.

Gul (24; 11 balls, 1x4, 3x6) along with Ganguly (86; 53 balls, 6x4, 6x6), who stood his ground right throughout the innings, stole 49 runs during their seventh wicket stand to snatch the 3-wicket victory from the jaws of defeat with 2 balls to spare, leaving Mohali in a state of shock.

After losing their sixth wicket in the form of Aakash Chopra with the scorecard reading a miserable 106-6 in 15.3 overs, Ganguly started to take his chances and was ably supported by Gul.

In a Piyush Chawla’s over, the former India captain took 18 runs, hitting 2 towering sixes to give a glimpse of hope to the home crowd, before he and Gul managed to take another 16 runs of a Sreesanth’s over to bring Kolkata right back on track.

Although, VRV Singh gave the much-needed breakthrough to Mohali by sending off Gul in the penultimate over but by then the Bengal southpaw was in a mood to finish it off.

Taking the responsibly, he denied the new batsman Ishant Sharma from taking a run in the last ball of the 19th over in order to keep the strike.

With 15 runs needed in the last over, Yuvraj brought in Irfan Pathan but Ganguly was determined to go for the kill and with two massive sixes, a two and a one, he handed out the formidable Mohali a defeat in 19.4 overs.

With Mohali already having booked a place in the last four of the IPL, a confident batting line-up toyed with Kolkata’s bowling after they opted to bat first earlier.

Keen to keep the winning momentum, Mohali batsmen dominated the proceeding with Kumar Sangakkara hitting his fourth IPL fifty and Shaun Marsh scoring 40 to pile up 174-6 in their allotted 20 overs.

In reply, Kolkata openers - Ganguly and Salman Butt put on a fine 45-run partnership in 5.2 overs, yet they never looked in the contention as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals thereafter.

However, they once again bounced back in the last four over.

Earlier, Sangakkara smashed a superb 45-ball 64 with 7 fours and 2 sixes, besides putting on an impressive 83-run partnership in 57 deliveries with Marsh for the second wicket as they sent the fielders on a leather hunt, while Kolkata made a mess of it all on the field with a number of dropped catches and sloppy fielding.

It was the lone bowler in Umar Gul (4-23), who had some success against the visitors but even he failed to pose much of a threat, expect for in the last over when he took two wickets in consecutive balls to return Irfan Pathan (7) and Piyush Chawla (0) to restrict Mohali reaching nearer to 200-run mark.

Mohali lost James Hopes (13) early but it failed to have any significance on their scoring rate with opener Marsh and Sangakkara simply keeping the rhythm going.

And thereafter, skipper Yuvraj Singh (18-ball 27) played a cameo, putting on 31 runs with Mahela Jayawardene (11 not out) before the former got run out in the penultimate over.

In the last over, Gul conceded only four runs besides taking two wickets to put some brakes.

Earlier, for the hosts, spinner Ajantha Mendis from Sri Lanka made his debut and took one wicket as well.

Teams:

Kolkata: Salman Butt, Sourav Ganguly (capt), David Hussey, Debabrata Das, Aakash Chopra, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ajantha Mendis, Umar Gul, Ishant Sharma, Ashok Dinda.

Mohali: James Hopes, Shaun Marsh, Yuvraj Singh (capt), Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Piyush Chawla, Tanmay Srivastava, Ramesh Powar, Irfan Pathan, VRV Singh, Sreesanth.

Samuels to contest two-year ban

Marlon Samuels' lawyers, Churchill Neita and Delano Harrison, have indicated that they will press for a judicial review against the two-year ban imposed on the batsman by the West Indies Cricket Board. On May 9, a disciplinary committee deemed that Samuels had breached section C4 of the ICC's Code of Conduct regulations, which involves receiving money, benefit or other reward which could bring him or the game of cricket into disrepute.

"From the outset, we wish to make it pellucidly clear that we propose to challenge the findings of the majority [3 to 1] by way of judicial enquiry, as we believe a most grave injustice has been done by their finding of our client's liability of one of the ICC's disciplinary offences," the lawyers said in a statement issued yesterday.

It was added that the disciplinary committee had found "no basis upon which to find that Mr. Samuels acted dishonestly or in a corrupt manner." They were also "amazed" at the committee's ruling, and considered the reasons given by them to be "flawed and in defiance of logics".

The lawyers raised the following points to make a case for their client:

* "The evidence in the hearing was that the hotel bill paid for our client by Mr Mukesh Kochar was a loan from a friend and father-figure which was to be repaid on Marlon's return to the West Indies."
* "The evidence in the hearing was that Mr Mukesh Kochar was not a bookmaker."
* "The evidence in the hearing was that Marlon only came to need a loan because money which he had expected to earn from a contract to participate in a television reality show that would have earned him a sum considerably in excess of the hotel bill, did not in fact materialise. Further, his credit card which he had tendered to meet the bill, was declined."

They also pointed out that the aforementioned loan agreement came two weeks after the alleged offence and after the West Indies had completed their tour of India in January 2007, and that the disciplinary committee had "agreed unreservedly" with them that "there has not been proved against Mr Samuels, any element of corruption."

They said the judgement was not an unanimous one, with Aubrey Bishop opposing the final decision made by the four-man committee which also included Richie Richardson, Justice Adrian Saunders, and Lloyd Barnett.

Concluding their statement, the attorneys said: "It is because of the foregoing why we consider that an application for judicial review stands a realistic chance of success and we, therefore, propose to pursue it actively."

Late Strikes From New Zealand Leave England Struggling

New Zealand picked up two England late in the day to confirm a position of strength after two day's play in the second Test at Old Trafford.After Ross Taylor hit an unbeaten 154 out of their 381, New Zealand removed England's top three as well as nightwatchman Ryan Sidebottom with the home side closing on 152 for four, still 229 runs behind.

England took the wickets of Jacob Oram (38) and Daniel Vettori (one) through run outs before they were frustrated by Kyle Mills, who made his maiden Test fifty, before he was bowled by James Anderson off an inside edge.Cook swooped with a direct hit to run out Oram while Monty Panesar took advantage of some poor running to remove Vettori, the pair departing within two overs of each other.After lunch, England lost their way, twice dropping Taylor and twice offering up four overthrows with some appalling work in the field.With Daniel Flynn unable to bat, Taylor smashed five sixes, playing as many shots as he had tried at Lord's but this time with the license to do so, and most of them came off. Anderson picked up his fourth wicket when Chris Martin was bowled for a three-ball duck.England made a steady start to their reply, Cook and Andrew Strauss playing patiently and picking off the bad balls. Cook's innings ended in somewhat unlucky fashion when an Iain O'Brien delivery jagged back markedly, as if he had bowled a leg-break, to rap him on the pads and he was sent on his way for 19.Michael Vaughan got off the mark with a glorious cover driven four before the break, but scored his runs at a desperately slow pace, succumbing shortly before the close to a Vettori delivery that he played all round to be trapped in front. He had made 30 runs from 133 balls.In between those wickets, Andrew Strauss was brilliantly caught by Brendon McCullum off of O'Brien, falling on England's most dreaded number 111 after he had made a neat 60.England's poor day was compounded when one ball after nightwatchman Sidebottom edged Vettori for four, he edged straight into the hands of Jamie How at slip to leave England in a precarious position overnight.Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell, two men who owe their team some runs, were the overnight batsmen with Pietersen on 22 and Bell on four.How scored 64 on day one to set up New Zealand's position.

Australia batting collapse after Chanderpaul hundred

Australia suffered a rare batting collapse at the start of their second innings after Shivnarine Chanderpaul survived a stunning blow to the head and scored his 18th Test hundred for West Indies in the opening Test.
Australia, leading by 119 runs from the first innings, fell to 17 for four in their second innings when bad light stopped play nine overs early on the third day at Sabina Park.
Fidel Edwards put the skids on the visitors with two wickets for 11 runs from four overs, and Daren Powell gave admirable support with two for five from five overs.
This followed another epic innings of 118 from Chanderpaul which lifted West Indies to 312, in reply to Australia's first innings total of 431.
Stuart Clark was the pick of the Aussie bowlers with three wickets for 63 runs, Brett Lee captured three for 59, Mitchell Johnson took two for 63, and Stuart MacGill two for 100.
Australia were looking to build on their healthy lead but Phil Jaques was caught behind for five, the left-handed opener groping at a delivery moving away from the line of the off-stump.
Australia captain Ricky Ponting led his side's batting in the first innings with a majestic 158, but he had no answer when Daren Powell squared him up and had him caught at third slip for five to leave his side 11 for two.
But more drama was to come, when Edwards gained a palpable lbw verdict to dismiss makeshift left-handed opener Simon Katich for one, and next over, Australia suffered another blow, when Powell bowled Mike Hussey for one.
This all unfolded after Chanderpaul took a blow to the back of his head from a sharply, rising delivery from Lee and lay immobile on the pitch for several minutes.
The doughty left-hander, however, received medical attention of the field, and rose a little unsteadily to his feet before he carried on and reached his landmark, when he drove Stuart Clark straight down the ground for two.
But Lee had three wickets in the last hour before tea to pull the rug from under West Indies, after they had fought through the first half of the match to reach 260 for four.
Lee toiled 19 overs before claiming his first wicket of Dwayne Bravo, then added the scalps of Denesh Ramdin and Powell that sent West Indies crashing to 268 for eight at the tea break.

Lee struck an important blow, when he had Bravo caught at first slip for 46 edging a loose drive at a delivery outside the off-stump.
Australia would have been delighted to see the back of Bravo, after he came to the wicket in the closing stages of the morning period and emerged after lunch to spearhead the West Indies assault.
MacGill was the main target of Bravo's aggression and he was principally responsible for destroying the figures of the Aussie leg-spin bowler, as he struck all three of his sixes and a couple of his fours off him.
Australia continued to bowl with discipline, but Bravo and Chanderpaul kept West Indies going with a stand of 64 for the fifth wicket before Lee stepped in to transform the complexion of the match.
Lee had Ramdin caught behind for a duck in his next over, when the West Indies wicketkeeper/batsman too, drove loosely outside the off-stump.
Mitchell Johnson bowled with pace, but little accuracy, and he too, was struggling to find his first wicket until Sammy whipped an over-pitched delivery on leg-stump and was caught at mid-wicket.
Lee then had the sight that all fast bowler relish, when he bowled Powell for three with a well-directed yorker that extracted the middle-stump.
This carnage was in stark contrast to what transpired before lunch, when West Indies strode confidently to 197 for four at the interval.
Australia failed to make much headway in the morning period, as Runako Morton and Chanderpaul batted with enterprise to add 128 for the fourth wicket.
But Australia scalped Morton in the last 10 minutes before lunch, after he and Chanderpaul breathed life into the West Indies with contrasting half-centuries.
The Aussies made batting difficult throughout for the two West Indies batsmen, but Morton, in particular, and Chanderpaul remained steadfast to give the home team hope of staying competitive in the match.
Lee worked up a decent head of steam and gave a stern examination to Morton's technique with little success. Lee peppered Morton with a number of short, rising deliveries which the batsman either evaded or took on the body.
Clark, whose three wickets the previous evening had put the skids on West Indies, opened the bowling from the other end, and induced an edge past second slip for four from Chanderpaul early in the period.
But the Australians continued to bowl good lines and lengths, but Morton eventually reached his 50, when he lofted MacGill for a straight four, shortly before Chanderpaul turned Johnson behind square leg for a single to reach his milestone.

Karthik scripts thrilling win to keep Delhi alive

He was India's original man for Twenty20 cricket. Dinesh Karthik guided India to win in their first ever T20 international in South Africa, and led Tamil Nadu to victory in the country's first domestic Twenty20 tournament.
That Karthik, once India's first choice Test wicketkeeper but now beleaguered from the team, would be writing one more such script to keep Delhi in the hunt for a berth in the semi-final of the inaugural IPL with a thrilling five-wicket win over Mumbai here on Saturday, might be coincidental as well as predictable. Cricket indeed writes such stories.
Karthik's 32-ball unbeaten 56, laced with four immaculately timed boundaries and three sixes saw Delhi home along with Farveez Maharoof (20 not out) with a ball to spare. Needing eight from the final over, Maharoof struck two vital fours from the last two balls off Ashish Nehra, who plays first-class cricket for Delhi.
Desperately needing a win from their last match in the league stages, Delhi were chasing 177. And having lost Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Shikhar Dhawan, the trio who has done the bulk of the scoring, Delhi's middle order was faced with a test of character.
For a diminutive batsman, Karthik got stuck into the Mumbai bowlers when the home side appeared to be in the doldrums on 89-4, which included the wickets of Shikhar Dhawan and Tillekeratne Dilshan in consecutive balls off Dwayne Smith.
To add to their woes, Mumbai had a shocking night on the field with repeated lapses, the ball going through Andre Nel's hands for a boundary being an instance.
It was the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium here that saw the renaissance of Sanath Jayasuriya more than 12 years ago. The Sri Lankan opener defied logic and rewrote cricketing chapters with his pyrotechnics on his way to leading his side to World Cup glory.

And at 38, Jayasuriya continued to ridicule notions of age while hammering the Delhi bowlers to embarrasment as Mumbai piled up 176-8 and agony for Virender Sehwag's men on Saturday, who were in desperate need of a win to advance to the semi-finals.
Jayasuriya carted 66 runs in trademark fashion off 42 balls, assisted by five sixes and six fours. But there began Mumbai's misery as the veteran batsman wasn't backed up from the other end as the bowlers, led by Vijaykumar Yomahesh's 4-36, staged an impressive fightback, before Robin Uthappa smoked an unbeaten 23-ball 46 to add bulk to the score.
The Kotla crowd got their pay-per-view encounter first up, with Glenn McGrath renewing his age-old rivalry with Sachin Tendulkar. However, Tendulkar's early fall and Jayasuriya's firing blade set up an intriguing battle with Delhi's bowlers.
Brett Geeves bore serious brunt of Jayasuriya's onslaught, carted for 50 from his four overs, but McGrath and Amit Mishra's miserly ways kept the brakes on Mumbai's scoring, as did untimely dismissals of Dwayne Smith, Abhishek Nayar and Shaun Pollock.
Delhi, who needed a definite win from the game and some luck from other fixtures, saw their previous game washed out here against Kolkata, while Mumbai played out a thriller against Mohali where they went down by a run.
Teams:
Delhi: Virender Sehwag (captain), Gautam Gambhir, Shikhar Dhawan, Manoj Tiwary, Brett Geeves, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Dinesh Karthik, Farveez Maharoof, Amit Mishra, V Yomahesh, Glenn McGrath.
Mumbai: Sachin Tendulkar (captain), Sanath Jayasuriya, Robin Utahppa, Dwayne Smith, Abhishek Nayar, Shaun Pollock, Pinal Shah, Siddharth Chitnis, Dhaval Kulkarni, Andre Nel, Ashish Nehra.

PCB will remove ban on Shoaib: sources

Shoaib Akhtar is likely to get a reprieve from the five-year ban handed to him, according to sources.
“The ban is likely to be lifted on June 4. Shoaib will most likely be asked only to pay the penalty for hitting out at the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and its chairman Dr. Naseem Ashraf,” said Zaheed Bashir, a former marketing director of the cricket Board.
“It will not be a huge sum that Shoaib will be asked to deposit in the board treasury but it will only be a small portion of the sum he would have earned from playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL),” Bashir told Cricketnext.com.
The Appellate Tribunal comprising Aftab Farukh as chairman with Haseeb Ahsan and Salman Taseer as the members are set to meet on June 4 for the final verdict.
It was, however, still not known whether Shoaib Akhtar would be made a member of the Pakistan touring party for the tri-nation series in Bangladesh next month.
"He is still not 100 % fit (it was proved in the recent IPL matches in India) and we may not wait till June 4 to announce the team," a selector said.

Two matches to be played in IPL T20 today

Two matches would be played in Indian Premier League (IPL) today.

First match would be played between Rajashtan Royals and Chennai Super Kings. The match will start at 3:30 pm Pakistan Standard Time.

In the second match, Delhi Daredevils would face Mumbai Indians. This match will start at 7:30 pm Pakistan Standard Time.

Rajasthan Royals leading points table with 18 points with Chennai Super stands at second place with 14 points.

Tendulkar’s Mumbai Indians secured 12 points whereas Sehwag’s Delhi Daredevils have 13 points.