Rajasthan Royals take on Delhi Daredevils in the first SF of the IPL

A high-octane contest between two well-balanced sides is on the anvil when table toppers Rajasthan Royals take on the confident Delhi Daredevils in the first semifinals of the Indian Premier League on Friday.The two teams, which finished first and fourth in the preliminary 56-game phase of the Twenty20 league, look evenly matched .The Shane Warne-led Rajasthan, impregnable at home in Jaipur, had finished with only three losses from their 14 preliminary phase ties and have a 1-1 head-to-head record against the Daredevils, led by Virender Sehwag, who got into the last four with seven wins and 15 points to their credit.Both the teams have depended on their top-order to fire well and pile up a big total, and middle orders of both the sides looked a bit under-prepared when chips were down. The battle between McGrath, with support from Sri Lankan Farveez Maharoof and V Yo Mahesh, and Rajasthan's successful innings launchers Graeme Smith (416 runs) and Swapnil Asnodkar could be crucial to the game's outcome.The same applies to the Sohail Tanvir-Shane Watson-Munaf Patel combine who will be up against the marauding Delhi opening pair of Gautam Gambhir (523) and Sehwag (403), as well as another in-form batsman at number three, Shikhar Dhawan.Tanvir, with his extra quick bowling arm action similar to another Pakistani Wasim Akram, has been a real revelation in the IPL and has hardly been collared by any rival batting line-up, indicated by his superb haul of 21 wickets at just 10 runs per victim. Winning the toss and fielding first has become the order of the day for matches which commence at 8 pm and the trend is likely to continue on Friday.It has been largely rain-free so far in Mumbai, barring light drizzles, and the IPL authorities must be hoping that the weather remains clear over the next few days.

Teams

Delhi Daredevils: Virender Sehwag (c), Gautam Gambhir, Shikhar Dhawan, Rajat Bhatia, A b de Villiers, Tillakratne Dilshan, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Brett Geeves, Glenn McGrath, Farveez Maharoof, V Yo Mahesh, Mithun Manhas, Amit Mishra, Pradeep Sangwan, Mayank Tehlan, Manoj Tiwary.

Rajasthan Royals: Shane Warne (c), Graeme Smith, Swapnil Asnodkar, Kamran Akmal, Yousuf Pathan, Mohd. Kaif, Shane Watson, Ravindra Jadeja, Niraj Patel, Sohail Tanvir, Siddharth Trivedi, Pankaj Singh, Munaf Patel, Mahesh Rawat, Dinesh Salunkhe, Morne Morkel, Taruwar Kohli.

Manchester United claimed Champions League Title in Mascow

Moscow: Goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar was Manchester United's hero as Sir Alex Ferguson's side claimed the club's third European Cup with a penalty shoot-out win over Chelsea on a night of almost unbearable drama in Moscow. As many had predicted, the competition's first all-English final ended in penalties and ultimately it was van der Sar's full-length save from Nicolas Anelka that ensured United won the shoot-out 6-5 after the match had ended 1-1 after extra-time. The triumph ensured ensured a season that has seen United mark the 50th anniversary of the Munich air disaster ended with both the Premier League and Champions League trophies back at Old Trafford. Chelsea had their chance to claim the trophy for the first time after Cristiano Ronaldo had had his effort saved by Petr Cech. But captain John Terry pushed his spot-kick - Chelsea's fifth - wide of the target. It was hard on the London club, who could justifiably claim to have come closest to winning the match in the two hours that preceded the dramatic finale. It was also debatable whether Terry would have taken a penalty had Didier Drogba not been sent off shortly before the end of extra-time for tapping Nemanja Vidic on the face as several players on either side squared up to each other. United's early domination had yielded a deserved opener in the form of Ronaldo's 26th-minute header, the Portuguese winger's 42nd goal of an extraordinary season. But after failing to take the chances that followed, Ferguson's men were pegged back by Frank Lampard's equaliser on the stroke of half-time. Chelsea went on to dominate after the break and almost claimed a winner when Drogba's 25-yard shot came back off the post with van der Sar beaten. Chelsea struck the woodwork again in the opening period of extra-time, Lampard's cute shot on the turn bouncing off the bar with United's goalkeeper once more struggling. Substitute Ryan Giggs then had a glorious chance to mark his record-breaking 759th appearance for United in style but the veteran winger never really connected with Patrice Evra's cutback and Terry was able to head the ball to safety. With the exception of Park Ji-Sung's exclusion from United's match-day squad, there were no surprises in the personnel on display, although Ferguson did tweak United's usual shape. Owen Hargreaves was deployed on the right side of midfield with Ronaldo in the left-sided role that Park had been tipped to fill. With Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez alongside each other in attack, Ferguson also departed from the lone-striker policy. Michael Essien's relative inexperience at right-back may have influenced United's thinking and it was the Ghanaian's poor positioning that enabled United to take the lead.

Hamilton won the 2nd race of the season at Monaco

Monaco: McLaren's Lewis Hamilton battled to a masterful Monaco Grand Prix victory on Sunday despite hitting the barriers on an afternoon of mayhem on the principality's slippery streets. First English winner of the showcase race since Graham Hill in 1969. The Briton’s sixth win in 23 starts, and second of the season, catapulted the 23-yearold to the top of the standings —three points clear of Ferrari’s world champion Kimi Raikkonen who took ninth place after a wet and crashstrewn race. Poland’s Robert Kubica was second for BMW Sauber, 3.0 seconds behind, with Ferrari's Brazilian Felipe Massa in third after starting on pole position. The race, glamour highlight of the Formula One season, was ended after the two hour mark was reached with 76 of the 78 scheduled laps completed. Hamilton made a great start, taking Raikkonen for second place into the first corner, but had to pit on lap seven with a deflated right rear tyre after a brush with the barriers at the harbour-side Tabac corner. The Briton rejoined in fifth but still with everything to play for on a circuit where the slightest mistake carries a heavy penalty. Ironically, the early pit stop played into Hamilton's hands as others literally slipped up, with Massa sliding off at the Ste Devote corner and handing the lead to Kubica for a long stretch before the pitstops. Hamilton’s victory made up for the disappointment of finishing runner-up in a McLaren one-two last year and allowed him to emulate his late boyhood hero and champion Ayrton Senna as a Monaco winner. In a race turned into a lottery by rain and crashes, with accompanying safety car interventions, Australian Mark Webber finished fourth for Red Bull with Germany’s Sebastian Vettel fifth for Toro Rosso. Brazilian Rubens Barrichello was sixth for Honda, his first points since 2006, with Japan’s Kazuki Nakajima seventh for Williams and Finland’s Heikki Kovalainen eighth for McLaren after starting last from the pit lane. Hamilton’s friend Adrian Sutil provided the heartbreak and tears, the German starting 18th for Force India but enjoying the race of his life in fourth place until Raikkonen misjudged his braking and shunted him out at the tunnel.

Felipe Massa won the Turkish GP third year in a row

Istanbul (Turkey): Ferrari’s Felipe Massa won the Turkish Grand Prix from pole position for the third year in a row on Sunday after tyre concerns slowed Lewis Hamilton’s challenge. The Brazilian took the chequered flag 3.7 seconds ahead of the 23-year-old McLaren driver, who ran most of the race on the harder tyres and had to make three pitstops compared to his rivals’ two. It was Massa’s seventh win in Formula One, at the anticlockwise track where he took his first in 2006, and his second in five races this season. Ferrari’s world champion Kimi Raikkonen saw his overall lead trimmed to seven points from nine after finishing a close third. The Finn, the only driver to score points in every race this season, now has 35 to Massa and Hamilton’s 28. Massa’s win was champions Ferrari’s fourth in a row and meant that the Turkish Grand Prix, which made its debut in 2005, has still only ever been won by the driver on pole position. Three of his wins have come in Turkey, prompting a suggestion that the Brazilian should change nationality: “I think I can get a passport here already,” he grinned. Poland’s Robert Kubica was fourth, ahead of BMW Sauber teammate Nick Heidfeld. Double world champion Fernando Alonso put Renault back in the points with sixth place while Australian Mark Webber was seventh to score for the fourth race in a row. Germany’s Nico Rosberg took the final point for Williams. Massa led from the start while Hamilton, winner of the season-opener in Australia, accelerated past his McLaren teammate Heikki Kovalainen from third on the grid with Kubica close behind. The safety car came out at the end of the opening lap when Italian Giancarlo Fisichella’s Force India slammed into the back of Kazuki Nakajima’s Williams at the first corner, leaving debris on the track. Kovalainen, coming back from a big accident two weeks ago and making his first start on the front row, went to the back of the field when he pitted at the end of the second lap with a puncture after banging wheels with Raikkonen. He finished 12th. Hamilton pitted after 16 laps and then brilliantly overtook Massa, who had come in three laps later, for the lead on lap 24. The Briton then pitted again at the end of lap 32, with Massa again taking over at the front until his second and final pitstop when Raikkonen took over for three laps before again leaving Hamilton ahead. But the youngster knew he had to pit again for the softer tyres, with drivers having to use both types during the race, and he made his third stop with 13 laps to go before coming back out in second place.

Ferrari Dominates at Spaninsh GP

Barcelona: Ferrari’s world champion Kimi Raikkonen stretched his Formula One lead to nine points with a dominant win from pole position in the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday. Brazilian Felipe Massa sealed Ferrari’s second successive one-two finish, and third win in a row, with McLaren's Lewis Hamilton taking third place to revive his title challenge after a disappointing last race in Bahrain. Raikkonen’s 17th grand prix win left the Finn with 29 points, nine clear of closest rival Hamilton, and catapulted Ferrari back in front of BMW Sauber in the constructors' standings. Spaniard Fernando Alonso, who started on the front row for Renault, retired on lap 35 with a blown engine but he had already fallen down the field after being the first driver to refuel. Massa, winner in Bahrain, had got past double world champion Alonso at the start while Hamilton slotted into fourth place after muscling past BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica from fifth. Poland’s Kubica finished fourth, moving him up to third in the championship with 19 points, ahead of Massa on 18, with Australian Mark Webber fifth in a Red Bull. Britain’s Jenson Button finished sixth for Honda’s first points of the year while Japan's Kazuki Nakajima was seventh for Williams and Italian Jarno Trulli eighth for Toyota. Force India's Giancarlo Fisichella finished the Spanish GP at 10th, the team’s first Top-10 finish in the 2008 season. Adrian Sutil was forced out of the race in the very first lap when he spun off the track.

rafael nadal wins Monte Carlo Masters

Monte Carlo: Rafael Nadal won an historic fourth successive Monte Carlo Masters title on Sunday as he defeated world number one Roger Federer 7-5 7-5 in the latest thrilling instalment of their epic rivalry. The 21-year-old triple French Open champion came back from 0-4 down in the second set to achieve his third successive final victory over Federer. It was also his ninth win in 15 career meetings with the world’s top player and his seventh in eight claycourt clashes. The last man to win four Monte Carlo titles in a row was New Zealand’s Anthony Wilding in 1914 but Nadal, who now has 24 career titles, is the first man to complete the feat in the Open era.

RajasthanRoyals tame the DeccanChargers in front of their home crowd

9th Match 24th April

Hyderabad: Symonds's heroic effort goes in vain when warne got required 19 runs in his last over as DeccanChargers once again fell short in their third successive IPL League match. RajasthanRoyals get their batting act together in tremendous way.Yusuf pathan shows his hitting power and made 61 from just 28 balls, smith was exceptional and kaif also hit some good shots.

Brief Score:

DC

Batting: 214/5, Symonds-117*(11-4s, 7-6s), R sharma-36

Bowling: Afridi-3/28, D Kalyankrishna-1/30, C Vaas-1/42, RP Singh-1/44

RR

Batting: 217/7, Smith-71(9-4s, 2-6s), Y Pathan-61(4-4s, 6-6s), M Kaif-34, S Warne-22*

Bowling: Y Pathan-2/20, S Warne-2/47, S Watson-1/32

Result: RR won by 3 wickets

Ronaldo missed penalty as Man Utd draw with Barca into the Champions League's first leg SF

Barcelona: Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo missed an early penalty as his side drew 0-0 with a dominant Barcelona in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal at the Nou Camp on Wednesday. The Portugal international sent his spot kick high and wide after Barca centre-back Gabriel Milito handled the ball in the area with just over a minute on the clock. Barca, the only non-English side in the semis, have been poor in the league but gave a far more impressive performance against an out-of-sorts United and will feel short-changed by a result that leaves the tie delicately balanced before next week’s return at Old Trafford. United seemed to have got off to a dream start when Milito conceded a penalty in the second minute, handling the ball after Ronaldo had beaten him to a header in the area. But the normally super cool Portuguese completely missed the target, sending the ball past Victor Valdes’s left post after he tried to chip it into the top corner. The crowd exploded with delight at the winger’s error, while United seemed to be in shock at their team mate’s miss. Barca took advantage of the confusion in the United ranks to put the visitors under heavy pressure with Deco driving forward from midfield and providing some good service for Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and Samuel Eto’o. United barely got a sniff off the ball as Deco and Yaya Toure bossed the midfield and when they did get possession they looked nervous and surrendered the ball almost immediately. Barcelona continued to dominate the middle of the park but did not seriously challenge Van der Sar until the United goalkeeper tipped a long-range shot from right back Gianluca Zambrotta over the bar.

Sehwag shows his brilliance against DC, IPL update till 23rd April

6th Match 21st April

Jaipur: Shane warne's tremendous bowling effort and Shane Watson's sensible batting earns first victory for RajasthanRoyals against PunjabKingsXI.

Brief Score

PKXI

Batting: 166/8, Yuvraj-57(6-4s, 3-6s), Goel-26, Chawla-24*, Sangakara-20

Bowling: I Pathan-1/21, J Hopes-1/33, B Lee-1/35, Sreesanth-1/38

RR

Batting: 168/4, Shane Watson-76*(5-4s, 5-6s), R Jadeja-36*(5-4s, 1-6s)

Result: RR won this match by 6 wickets

7th Match 22nd April

Hyderabad: Sehwag's blitzkrieg knocks demolish DeccanChargers in their first home ground match.

Brief Score

DC

Batting: 142/8, Rohit Sharma-66(6-4s, 4-6s)

Bowling: RP Singh-1/27

DD

Batting: 143/1, Sehwag-94*(10-4s, 6-6s), Shikhar Dhawan-25*

Result: Delhi Daredevils won by 9 wickets

8th Match 23th April

Chennai: Chennai SuperKings defeat MumbaiIndians in a thriller by 6 runs.

Brief Score:

CSK

Batting: 208/5, M Hayden-81(12-4s, 2-6s), S Raina-52(3-4s, 3-6s), MS Dhoni-30(4-4s, 1-6s)

Bowling: Jogendar Sharma-2/29, Muralidharan-2/40, M Gony-1/18, Amarnath-1/57

MI

Batting: 202/7, A Nayar-45*(6-4s, 1-6s), R Uthappa-43(6-4s, 1-6s)

Bowling: M Khote-2/29, D Kulkarni-1/25, A Nehra-1/35

Result: CSK won by 6 runs.

Chelsea Escape defeat At Anfield in Champions League's 1st leg SF

Liverpool 1(Dirk Kuyt 43) Chelsea 1(Riise own goal 90+4)

Chelsea escaped from Liverpool with a 1-1 draw after the first leg of their Champions League semi-final on Tuesday, rescued by an injury time own goal from substitute John Arne Riise. Dirk Kuyt had given Liverpool the lead after 43 minutes when he fired between goalkeeper Petr Cech’s legs and with almost five minutes of injury time played, it looked as though Liverpool would take a deserved lead to Stamford Bridge for next week’s second leg. However with Austrian referee Ko Plautz looking at his watch, Chelsea stitute Salomon Kalou lofted one last h ball into the Liverpool penalty area. ise, who had replaced the injured Fa Aurelio after 62 minutes, stooped t and head the ball clear, but instead ed it past helpless goalkeeper Pepe Reina and into the roof of his own net. It gave Chelsea a share of the spoils they hardly deserved as Liverpool dominated for long periods but were denied by some outstanding saves from Cech. With time almost up, it looked as though the seventh meeting between the teams in the Champions League in the last four seasons was about to end in a 1-0 scoreline for the fourth time. Instead, this match became the first to produce two goals and leave the tie on a knife-edge with Chelsea the slight favourites to advance to the final in Moscow on May 21. Although Chelsea started the brighter, they failed to create any real scoring chances. Their best opportunity in the opening exchanges came after only three minutes when Didier Drogba saw his free-kick deflected to safety by the wall. The breakthrough eventually came two minutes before half-time after a sustained period of Liverpool pressure. The move began with a quickly taken free-kick by Xabi Alonso who found Kuyt. His cross was headed clear by John Terry to Lampard who was dispossessed by Kuyt. The ball ran to Alonso who found Javier Mascherano, and his miscued shot beat Claude Makelele’s atted head er, allowing Kuyt to fire ugh C ech’s legs to put Liverpool ahead. It was the third time he had scored in knockout rounds after goals against Milan and Arsenal and looked to have done enough to win the match. Cech then denied Torres with another fine stop at his near post and Chelsea took full advantage.

IPL round up till 20th April Sunday

1st match 18th April

Bangaluru: Kolkata Knight Rider(KKR) defeated Bangalore Royal Challengers(BRC) by 140 runs thanks to the record breaking effort by Brendon Mcullum who made 158 from merely 73 balls.

Breif Score:

KKR

Batting: 222/3, Mcullum-158(10-4s, 13-6s), Ponting-20, D Hussey-12, Ganguly-10

Bowling: Agarkar-3/25, Ishant-1/7, Dinda-2/9, Ganguly-2/21, L Shukla-1/12

BRC

Batting: 82/10, Praveen-18*

Bowling: Zaheer-1/38, Noffke-1/40, Kallis-1/48

Result: KKR defeated BRC by 140 runs.

2nd Match 19th April

Mohali: Chennai Super Kings(CSK) won this match by 33 runs thanks to the Hussey's heroic effort 116 from just 54 balls as he taken only 50 balls to score fastest hundred in the league and broke the record of Mcullum 53 balls hundred that he created against BRC last night.

Breif Score:

CSK

Batting: 240/5, M Hussey-116(8-4s, 9-6s), S Raina-32, Badrinath-31*, Hayden-25
Bowling: Muralidharan-1/33, M Gony-1/42, Amarnath-1/42, Jogendar-1/47

PKXI
Batting: 207/4, Hopes-71(10-4s, 3-6s), Sangakara-54, Goel-24, Yuvraj-23, Katich-21*

Bowling: I Pathan-2/47, Bret Lee-1/35, Mota-1/24, Hopes-1/53
Result: CSK won by 33 runs

3rd Match 19th April

New Delhi: Delhi DareDevils(DD) won by 9 wickets as RajasthanRoyals(RR) put merely 129 on board, Gambhir and Dhawan made 58 and 52 not out respectively.

Breif Score:

RR

Batting: 129/8, R Jadeja-29, Salunke-26*, Watson-21

Bowling: Watson-1/31

DD

Batting: 132/1, Gambhir-58*(7-4s, 1-6s), Dhawan-52*, Sehwag-12

Bowling: Mahroof-2/11, Bhatia-2/17, Mcgrath-1/21, Vettori-1/35

Result: DD won by 9 wickets

4th Match 20th April

Kolkata: Kolkata KnightRiders(KKR) won by 5 wickets. Hyderabad DeccanChargers(DC) put only 110 runs on a rough wicket.

Breif Score:

DC

Batting: 110/10, Symonds-32(2-4s, 2-6s), Gilchrist-23

Bowling: Vaas-2/9, Ojha-2/18, RP Singh-1/15

KKR

Batting: 112/5, D Hussey-38*(1-4s, 3-6s), Ganguly-14

Bowling: Karthik-3/17, Agarkar-2/19, Hafeez-1/8, Ishant-1/9, Dinda-1/18, D Hussey-1/35

Result: KKR won by 5 wickets

5th Match 20th April

Mumbai: Bangalore RoyalChallengers(BRC) won this match 5 wickets. Mumbai Indians(MI) got weaker due to absence of Tendulkar.

Breif score:

MI

Batting: 165/6, Uthappa-48(5-4s, 1-6s), Jayasuriya-29, Pollock-28

Bowing: Harbhajan-2/36, Kulkarni-1/19, Jayasuriya-1/39, Nehra-1/45

BRC

Batting: 166/5, Boucher-39*(4-4s, 2-6s), Dravid-32, Kallis-25, R Taylor-23, Kohli-23

Bowling: Zaheer-2/17, Akhil-2/17, Praveen-1/29

Result: BRC won by 5 wickets

Man Utd manage to Draw with Tevez's late equalizer

London: Carlos Tevez equalised two minutes from the end for Manchester United to draw 1-1 at Blackburn and stay three points ahead of Chelsea in the Premier League title race. Roque Santa Cruz put Blackburn ahead in the 21st minute at Ewood Park and Rovers threatened to throw the title race wide open. After Rovers goalkeeper Brad Friedel had made a series of top quality saves, Tevez leveled in the 88th minute when he headed home a flick-on from Paul Scholes. United now have 81 points and Chelsea 78 with the two teams meeting at Stamford Bridge next Saturday. United have a far superior goal difference of 54 against Chelsea’s 36. Chelsea were idle after beating Everton 1-0 Thursday. Blackburn unsettled United’s defence and was rewarded with Santa Cruz’s 20th goal of the season. Both Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic missed the ball as Morten Gamst Pedersen’s throw in found its way to Santa Cruz’s feet. Nani released Wayne Rooney in the 86th only for Friedel to divert the shot wide. After Friedel produced another save to deny John O’Shea’s header,Tevez nodded home at the far post to level after Scholes flicked on Nani’s corner. In Saturday’s other games, fourth place Liverpool won 2-0 at Fulham to push the cottagers closer to relegation.

Barca draw again in spanish league

Madrid: Barcelona’s chances of winning the Spanish title looked doomed after a 0-0 draw in the local derby with Espanyol. Despite dominating the game for long periods, the Spanish giants failed to find the net in their Nou Camp stadium thanks to a combination of poor finishing and solid defending from Espanyol. Barca have drawn their last three league games. Real Madrid now have an eight-point advantage over Barca at the top of the table and a game in hand. The 30-time Spanish champions could have this season’s league title wrapped up by the time Barca visit the Santiago Bernabeu stadium for the latest edition of ‘El Clasico’ on May 7. Barcelona had a purple patch in the middle of the first half but Xavi Hernandez, Gianluca Zambrotta and Samuel Eto’O couldn’t convert good opportunities. Even the introduction of the often-inspirational Lionel Messi at half time failed to break the deadlock. Barca pressed hard for almost the entire second half but were unable to break down a resilient Espanyol.

AC Milan beat Reggina as Kaka scored hat-trick in Serie A

Rome: World player of the year Kaka scored a hat-trick as AC Milan beat lowly Reggina 5-1 at the San Siro on Sunday to keep alive their Champions League qualification hopes. Milan are still four points behind Fiorentina, who beat Palermo 1-0 at home on Saturday, with four matches to play as they chase that crucial fourth place and a slot in Europe's premier competition next season. Sixth-placed Sampdoria stayed level on points with Milan as they beat Udinese 3-0 at home, leaving the seventh-placed north-easterners eight points behind Fiorentina and out of the race for Europe's premier competition. Third-placed Juventus need only one more point to ensure they play Champions League football next season as veteran striker Alessandro Del Piero scored a hat-trick in a 4-0 victory at Atalanta. Milan got off to a flying start with Kaka putting them ahead from the penalty spot after he was brought down by Francesco Modesto. Luca Vigiani brought down veteran Dutch midfielder Clarence Seedorf on 34 minutes and Kaka held his nerve a second time from 12 yards. But five minutes before the break, Reggina pulled one back through Edgar Barreto, who sent a fizzing strike into the top corner of Australian goalkeeper Zeljko Kalac's net. Kaka completed his treble with a low right-footed shot from the left into the far corner and super-poacher Filippo Inzaghi mopped up the loose ball after substitute Pato's shot was turned onto a post by goalkeeper Andrea Campagnolo. Pato put the final gloss on the result, heading home a cross from French midfielder Yohann Gourcuff.

Federer wins first title of the year

Estoril (Portugal): Roger Federer won his first title of the season on Sunday when he clinched the Estoril Open with a 7-6 (7/5), 1-2 win over Nikolay Davydenko who was forced to retire in the second set. The world No. 1, who suffered glandular fever before the Australian Open, broke his title duck as he notched a 12th win against no defeats in his career series against the Russian world No. 4. The Swiss had won the last of his 54 career titles in November at the Masters Cup in Shanghai.

IPL all set to roll today in a few hours

Bangalore: History will be created here as the mutli-million dollar IPL event gets under way in just a few hours. In the past, the Chinnaswamy stadium has hosted cricket matches and Miss World pageants; but for the first time, entertainment and sport — in that order — will converge in a big way. It will be interesting to see which comes out on top at the end of the night. For their part, Bangalore fans will be hoping that their team hands out a royal defeat to Team Kolkata in the inaugural match on Friday night; the visitors will be hoping to ride on some luck and pluck to start off on a victorious note too. The organisers — thanks to the local association — have remembered to lay out a lush green outfield and a cricket pitch too; this despite the primary task of putting up a stage for the artists, along with power lasers from the rooftop and massive speakers all along the ground. People in charge have no doubts that the pitch will remain true for the entire 40 overs. But will the highly paid cricketers live up to expectations and deliver a cracker of an opener? We will have to wait and see. There is no dearth of stars in either side. Both are led by former Indian captains and contain a host of international stars, with four from each side allowed to take the field as per the rules of the tournament. The total prize money of Rs 12 crore (the winner gets Rs 4.8 crore), ensures that the players will be interested till the very end. Big money has attracted the biggest of stars and led to an international integration that will see Australians team up with New Zealanders, South Africans with Sri Lankans along with the mother of all combinations, Indians with Pakistanis. If Dravid, the Bangalore skipper, has players such as Jaques Kallis and Mark Boucher with the experience to help him out on the field, Kolkata’s Ganguly will look to Ricky Ponting for support.

Chelsea's chances of EPL championship shrink as they drew with Wigan

London: Chelsea’s hopes of winning the Premier League took a huge dent at Stamford Bridge on Monday when an injury time goal from Emile Heskey gave the visitors a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge against wigan. His strike cancelled out a 55th minute goal from Michael Essien that had given Chelsea the lead. Manchester United have 80 points, Chelsea have 75, Arsenal with in third place on 71 points after losing at United on Sunday. They still looked all set to close the gap on United to three points thanks to Essien’s strike. However, they were punished for not taking their chances when Heskey latched on to a cross from Jason Koumas and lashed the ball past Petr Cech from close range.

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Inter Milan maintained their top position by beating fiorentina

Inter Milan beats Fiorentina 2-0 at the San Siro on Sunday to maintain their four-point lead in Serie A. Goals from Esteban Cambiasso and teenage striker Mario Balotelli earned the champions a deserved victory over Champions League chasing Fiorentina. The result also gave AC Milan a Champions League lifeline after they lost 3-2 at Juventus on Saturday. The Viola’s loss meant Milan remain just four points off fourth place and the final Champions League qualification position. Inter had the better of the first half chances but goalkeeper Sebastien Frey was in fine form. But he could do nothing 10 minutes after the restart when Patrick Vieira managed to square the ball into the box, finding Cambiasso, who rifled home into the roof of the net. Seven minutes later rising star Balotelli beat the offside trap and kept his head to cooly slot home.

Sharapova wins first title on clay court

Maria Sharapova captured her first claycourt title when she defeated Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova 7-6 6-3 in the final of the Amelia Island Championships on Sunday. Sharapova win three titles this season following her success at the Australian Open and Qatar Open and improved her 2008 win-loss record to 22-1. She suffered her only defeat this season against Svetlana Kuznetsova in the semifinals at Indian Wells. Sharapova was pushed all the way in the opening set and eventually captured it 9-7 in the tiebreak when Cibulkova sent a backhand into the net. The Florida-based Sharapova cut down on her unforced errors from 26 in the first set to just seven in the second set to wrap up the match. Cibulkova, playing in her first WTA final, was hampered by a leg injury and received treatment from the trainer in the second set after breaking Sharapova for a 2-1 lead.