IPL 5: Nerveless Rohit steers MI to last-ball win

Mumbai Indians 142 for 5 (Rohit 73*, Steyn 3-12) beat Deccan Chargers 138 for 9 (Dhawan 41, Christian 39, Munaf 4-20) by five wickets

The fifth edition of the IPL, which began in tepid fashion, finally had a nail-biter as Rohit Sharma hit the last ball of the match for six to seal a thrilling finish for Mumbai Indians against Deccan Chargers, who fought tooth and nail while defending 139. Daniel Christian, not the wisest choice for the final over, as very recent history tells us, dished out two full tosses to Rohit. One of them was off the final ball, which was dispatched over long-on to spark wild celebrations.

The Chargers were still favourites with 18 to defend off the last over. Kumar Sangakkara had bowled out his best bowler, Dale Steyn, leaving the final task with Christian. The first ball was smashed by James Franklin past long-off for four; the second down the same region; the batsmen sneaked a bye off the third; the fourth was a high full toss slammed by Rohit Sharma over deep backward point. With five needed off two, the penultimate ball was forced to long-off and Rohit Sharma timed his dive just in time to survive a run-out appeal. Christian couldn't come up with anything special, gifting Rohit Sharma the most hittable delivery of the over, breaking the hearts of the home fans who saw their side slip to a second straight defeat.

Read more »

Yuvraj back in India after completion of cancer treatment

Yuvraj Singh, the India allrounder, is back in the country after two and a half months in the USA, where he had received treatment for cancer. Yuvraj arrived in Delhi on Monday morning, and was received by his mother and several fans.

Yuvraj was diagnosed with a type of cancer called "mediastinal seminoma", a germ-cell tumour located between his two lungs, in February. He underwent three sessions of chemotherapy in Indianapolis, at the IU Simon Cancer Centre at the Indiana University Medical Centre, under Lawrence H Einhorn, who headed the treatment of cycling champion Lance Armstrong in 1996. He finished the last cycle of chemo in mid-march, and his response it had left his medical team "fairly confident" that he would not suffer a relapse. He had spent a few days in London while recuperating from the side effects of the treatment.

He arrived on a Jet Airways flight, sporting a red sports cap - he has suffered hair loss, a common side effect of chemo - and flashing a victory sign to the waiting crowds. A friend who was with Yuvraj in London said the cancer is "completely out of his system", PTI reported. Yuvraj had tweeted about his homecoming on Sunday.

Read more »

IPL-2012: Points Table

Teams	Mat	Won	Lost	Tied	Pts	Net RR
Rajasthan Royals	5	3	2	0	6	+0.738
Pune Warriors	4	3	1	0	6	+0.491
Mumbai Indians	4	3	1	0	6	+0.361
Delhi Daredevils	3	2	1	0	4	+0.820
Kolkata Knight Riders	5	2	3	0	4	+0.217
Chennai Super Kings	5	2	3	0	4	-0.108
Kings XI Punjab	4	2	2	0	4	-0.417
Royal Challengers Bangalore	4	1	3	0	2	-1.050
Deccan Chargers	2	0	2	0	0	-1.950

Read more »

Dravid lauds Rahane after easy win over Kings XI

Jaipur: Rajasthan Royals captain Rahul Dravid on Friday lauded young Ajinkya Rahane for his brilliant 98-run knock that set the platform for his side`s comfortable win over Kings XI Punjab in their opening match of the Indian Premier League season five here.

Rahane scored a blistering 98 off just 66 balls with the help of 16 fours and a lone six to power Rajasthan to 191 for four after sent into bat.

In reply, Kings XI could only manage 160 for the loss of nine wickets, thereby losing the encounter by 31 runs at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium here.

"It is a fantastic night for us. Great to start with a win. It was nice to see the youngsters doing well. We executed our plans well," Dravid said after the match.

"Rahane was brilliant. He has worked really hard after being out of the Indian team," he added.

Kings XI skipper Adam Gilchrist also praised Rahane for his fantastic innings and said Rajasthan completely outplayed his side today.

"We were outplayed. Probably, I got the toss wrong. Rahane played a beautiful innings," he said.

"We gave away 20-30 runs more than what I thought we should have conceded. We now have plenty to work. We need to work hard for our victories and execute our plans well," Gilchrist added.

Man-of-the-Match Rahane was full of praise for the pitch offered at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium.

"I was batting well even in practice games so wanted to continue. I believe in myself and if you are a good batsman, you will play well irrespective of the format. The wicket was good and the ball was coming on well," he said.

Read more »