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great strike partnerships

24.4.09


Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole, Manchester United

Dwight Yorke is congratulated by Andy Cole after scoring in the 5-1 destruction of Wimbledon at Old Trafford on 17 October 1998. Cole scored twice in the same game. Photograph: Ross Kinnaird/Allsport

1) Kenny Dalglish and Ian Rush (Liverpool)

Liverpool have more to thank Steve McMahon for than the couple of stellar seasons he drove their midfield in the late 1980s; he's arguably the man who brought English football's arguably greatest striking partnership together. Kenny Dalglish hadn't scored a league goal at Anfield during the first 10 months of 1981. He had turned 30 in March, and had suggested to Bob Paisley that it was time he moved back into midfield, or at least a withdrawn role. Paisley wasn't interested, though, keeping his star striker up front, sure he would find form again. But he didn't, and was sorely out of sorts when Everton crossed Stanley Park for a First Division fixture at the beginning of November.

Just before half-time, McMahon – at this point an Evertonian – crocked Ray Kennedy, who had to be replaced by David Johnson. Moving back into midfield to accommodate the substitute striker, Dalglish started to pull strings, scoring twice in a 3-1 win. Ian Rush, a recent signing from Chester and being slowly blooded into the team, scored the other. Something snapped into place in Paisley's head. From now on, Dalglish would play just off the young Rush, running rampage in the extra space afforded to him in the hole. Having only scored eight league goals in 1980-81, the Scot hit 13 the year after, and a ludicrous 18 as a 32-year-old in 1982-83.

But his manipulation of the mobile Rush would be even more outstanding: the Welsh striker scored 30 goals in all competitions during his first season, 31 the year after, and a frankly silly 47 in 1983-84 (when the pair scored 59 between them). Rush had put years on the older man's career, who in turn had made him. Rush's record post-Dalglish was admirable – two 26-goal season hauls when Liverpool were still a force, an arguably more impressive 22-goal total in 1992-93 when the team was properly on the slide – but he never carried quite the same threat.

2) Emilio Butragueño and Hugo Sánchez (Real Madrid)

The classic example of a partnership that is, even though, er, it isn't. Not really. Emilio Butragueño was a quiet, polite man, and a slight, creative, scuttling forward. Hugo Sánchez was vainglorious and self-centred, a wallop the ball first, ask questions later kind of striker. They didn't like each other at all. They didn't really feed off each other either. And yet it somehow worked.

Real Madrid ran up five titles in a row during the late 1980s, and they were a team set up simply to get the ball into the box for either Butragueño to sniff out a chance, or Sánchez to PlayStation one in. It didn't matter who got there first; either way it worked. In 1989-90, the team scored a ridiculous 107 league goals, Sánchez helping himself to 38 of them – in only 35 matches – while Butragueño added another 10. Dalglish and Rush they weren't. But then Dalglish and Rush didn't score goals like this. Or this.

3) Mick Harford and Brian Stein (Luton Town)

One of the classic big-man-little-man partnerships; certainly, thanks to the presence of 6ft 4in battering ram Mick Harford, one of the hardest. Harford and the diminutive Stein – quick on the turn like Jimmy Greaves, with the low centre of gravity of Denis Law – helped Luton to their best-ever league position (seventh in 1983-84) then played integral parts in the club's greatest-ever triumph.

Harford was off the pitch injured in that 1988 Littlewoods Cup final against Arsenal when Stein scored the last-minute winner, but Stein's opener on 13 minutes offers perhaps the best illustration of their genius. The little man finishes the move exquisitely, passing the ball past John Lukic and into the bottom-right corner of the net – but the chance only came about because Harford had pulled three Arsenal defenders out of position while going up for a header.

Harford eventually left for Derby, the plastic pitch at Kenilworth Road irritating the hell out of his ankles. But he couldn't stop helping the club: on the final day of the 1990-91 season, he crashed a header past his own keeper – Peter Shilton, no less – from the outside of the box. The own goal secured Luton's First Division future for another year.

4) Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke

Chance can be the finest thing. Many successful World Cup partnerships have come together almost by accident, such as Gary Lineker and Peter Beardsley, and Toto Schillaci and Roberto Baggio. It can happen at club level, too. Andy Cole was arguably Sir Alex Ferguson's fourth choice to partner Dwight Yorke, after Patrick Kluivert (who was only interested in joining Arsenal), Ole Solskjaer and Teddy Sheringham. But after a month of gathering splinters, Cole was rotated into the side for a mundane league fixture at Southampton in October 1998, and he and Yorke had the sort of instant chemistry usually reserved for slushy romcoms. United scored 14 goals in the next three games, a smile came on Cole's face for the first time in years, and he and Yorke would spend the season mischievously and irrepressibly running amok in England and Europe, most memorably in the Camp Nou, the Delle Alpi and the bedroom of the 36 games they started that season, United lost just one (at Sheffield Wednesday) and scored 81 goals. Overall they scored 53 goals between them, propelling United to the treble. That wonderful move against Barcelona stands out, but others against Brondby, Sheffield Wednesday and West Ham in particular showed an almost eerie telepathy. All of which makes it peculiar that their success was so short-lived. They shared 46 goals the following season but were never the same, especially in Europe, and Ferguson turned his attention to another Dutch forward born on 1 July 1976: not Kluivert, but Ruud van Nistelrooy.

5) Giuseppe Signori, Francesco Baiano and Roberto Rambaudi (Foggia)

Before the twin facilitators of the backpass law and three points for a win, Serie A was a grizzled, gnarled world in which attackers were seen and not heard (except when they were being kicked) and goals had an almost Halley's Comet quality. Newly promoted Foggia, under the hippie management of the majestic Zdenek Zeman, came into that environment in 1991 and decided, Sod this for a game of catennacio. An adventurous 4-3-3 formation was centred around Roberto Rambaudi and the little-and-little pair of Giuseppe Signori and Francesco Baiano, born seven days apart in February 1968, whose rapier movements gave cynical defences a serious and unusual problem. All three would go on to play for Italy, but at this stage Baiano was comfortably outscoring the future star Signori.

Foggia finished ninth in that 1991-92 season but scored a truly unprecedented 58 goals in 34 goals. In the previous 25 seasons of Serie A, only three sides had scored more, and all finished in the top three. It was as incongruous as seeing a jester in a film noir, or a poem in a porno. Their intrepid approach led to some pastings – most notably an 8-2 shellacking at home to Milan – but they didn't care and turned up the next week with the same smile on their face. They became known as Foggia dei Miracoli. This was infectious, feelgood stuff; as joyously unexpected as digging up a brand new colour in the back garden. But it wasn't just neutrals who loved Foggia. Their rivals did, too, and Lazio, Fiorentina and Atalanta hoovered up Signori, Baiano and Rambaudi respectively in the summer. The adventure was short-lived, but it really was fun while it lasted.

6) Alfredo di Stefano and Ferenc Puskas (Real Madrid)

Nandor Hidegkuti would probably have had something to say about it, what with changing All Football just behind Ferenc Puskas in Hungary's Aranycsapat (Golden Team) of the early 1950s, but have two better strikers than Puskas and Alfredo di Stefano ever played alongside each other?

There are seven reasons, all of them in that European Cup final, to say NO.

And to think they were both in their 30s before they got together! The mind boggles at what they could have achieved as younger men. As if this wasn't enough.

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Keane speaks out against team-mates

Roy Keane Ipswich Town football

Roy Keane is unveiled as the new manager of Ipswich Town Photograph: Tom Jenkins/Tom Jenkins

Roy Keane returned to football management with Ipswich Town yesterday and delivered a brutal assessment of the achievements of Manchester United's much-vaunted "class of 1994", stressing that none of his former team-mates can consider himself a true success in the dugout until he wins a trophy.

Almost five months since he severed ties with Sunderland, and with resentment clearly still smouldering at perceived interference from the Wearsiders' hierarchy in team affairs during the latter days of his reign, Keane signed a two-year contract with the Championship club to replace Jim Magilton and offered little indication that he has mellowed during his brief sabbatical from the game.

There was a verbal attack on his former Republic of Ireland team-mate Tony Cascarino for doubting he would return to the game, and a claim that his employers at Sunderland had "moved the goalposts" to prompt his departure from the Stadium of Light after 27 months in charge.

Yet the honesty with which he assessed the generation of young managers who have emerged from Sir Alex Ferguson's Double-winning side of 1994 was particularly refreshing. Asked what qualities the likes of Steve Bruce, Bryan Robson, Mark Hughes, Paul Ince and Keane himself must have possessed to have become "successful managers", the Irishman retorted: "Who are the good managers you are talking about? Sparky and Brucey have not won a trophy, have they? They have potential, but anyone can have potential. Steve Bruce has had a good season, but Steve Bruce has been manager how many years [11]?

"Sparky did a brilliant job at Blackburn, but is facing different challenges at Manchester City. We are all facing different challenges. Until an ex team-mate of mine from 1994 goes on and really achieves something, then I would not agree with what you are saying about [any of them] being a successful manager. You need a bit more than some of those managers have achieved yet. I believe I can potentially be a good football manager. I have done nothing in the game yet. I did OK at Sunderland, but I want to do better than OK. I've set my bar high by coming to Ipswich and looking to win something, but do you want me to set a low one? That's part of me. Anyone I've ever respected wants to achieve something in their lives."

Keane might have achieved more himself at Sunderland only to become disillusioned with life in the north-east following the arrival of Ellis Short as majority shareholder at the club. The 37-year-old stressed "the time had come" for him to depart, though bitterness at the fracture remains. "One of the big conditions I had when I went to Sunderland was that there would be no interference with team affairs," he said. "But when someone tries to move the goalposts ... It is nothing to do with contracts, it is about a promise with people at the club.

"I was disappointed because I had signed a three-year contract and the three-year plan was on target, despite two or three poor results. Believe it or not, the results at the end had nothing to do with it. You have got to be relaxed and have trust in the people you are working with. I must have said it when I met Niall [Quinn] and the owners of the club about 5,000 times, that I would do it my way, particularly in team affairs. You might be better asking Niall or Ellis Short the reasons why I left. You have to respect the people who run the football club, as I did at Sunderland. But when people are telling you what you should be doing with the team, where you should be living, what days you should be in, it's over."

Some questioned whether he would return to management following his tempestuous departure from the Stadium of Light. "You have to wonder who'd want him now when he has walked again," Cascarino wrote at the time, adding he would be "amazed if he got another job in football".

Keane retorted: "I would not give him the time of day. I am quite happy to comment on people's opinion in football I respect, but Tony Cascarino is a man I certainly do not respect for a lot of reasons, and if I told you, you would be shocked. So the day I worry about Tony Cascarino will be a very sad day of my life."

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Fábregas feels FA's wrath with two improper conduct charges

Cesc Fabregas

Fabregas walks away from Hull's assistant manager Brian Horton after Arsenal's FA Cup win. Photograph: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

Cesc Fábregas and Phil Brown have been charged with improper conduct by the Football Association over their actions at the end of Arsenal's FA Cup fifth-round win over Hull on 17 March.

Hull submitted evidence to the FA following allegations that the Arsenal captain Fábregas, who did not play in the match because of a knee injury, but came on to the pitch at full-time to celebrate with his team-mates, spat at their assistant manager, Brian Horton. The FA has decided to pursue matters further against Fábregas and the Hull manager, who was critical of the referee Mike Riley and his officiating crew after the game.

"Cesc Fábregas and Phil Brown have both been charged with improper conduct," read a statement released by the FA this afternoon. "Fábregas faces two charges of improper conduct relating to his conduct on the pitch following the game. One charge concerns his behaviour in coming on to the pitch after the final whistle, the second charge relates to an alleged spitting incident. The charges are based on submissions from Hull City and video evidence.

"Brown is charged with improper conduct and/or bringing the game into disrepute in relation to media comments made after the game concerning referee Mike Riley. Fábregas and Brown have until 12 May to respond."

Fábregas denied spitting at Horton when the allegations were initially made, saying: "I have never done this in my whole career," and the Arsenal manager, Arsène Wenger, defended the midfielder this afternoon. "I personally looked at the reports, at the video evidence," said Wenger. "There is nothing in there against Cesc."

Brown, who is yet to comment on the charges, had accused Riley of a "disgraceful" showing. "We've not been beaten by Arsenal, we've been beaten by the referee and the linesman," he said after the defeat at Emirates Stadium. "The game was turned on its head when the referee succumbed to local pressure. You'd better ask Mike Riley how much that will cost us. I'm sure he wouldn't have the faintest idea."

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Quick wickets stall Pakistan

An edgy start by Pakistan turned into a solid one, but when Younis Khan and Shoaib Malik fell in fairly quick succession, Australia held the upper hand by the half-way mark. Salman Butt held the key for Pakistan, after being involved in the run-out of the 17-year-old debutant Ahmed Shehzad.

Shehzad had hit towards square leg and set off straight away. Butt responded to the call but pulled out half-way, and both the batsmen ended up at the non-striker's end.

Nathan Bracken and ODI debutant Doug Bollinger, both left-arm seamers, went on to trouble Butt and Younis for a considerable time. Both batsmen struggled with the angle and movement both ways, and their starts were literally edgy. Both edged wide of the slips at catchable heights on one occasion each, and Butt got away with several other edges in the initial overs. By the end of the ninth over, Pakistan had crawled to 28 for 1, having faced a maiden each from both the bowlers.

With James Hopes came the change of the angle, and Younis helped himself to three boundaries in Hopes' first two overs. In the next seven overs, Pakistan doubled their score, mainly via Younis who scored 20 off 14 during that period. The sight of Ben Laughlin lit his eyes up, a short loosener first up widened them further, and an edge resulted as he went to cut the leather off the ball. An edge resulted, and Australia were right back.

Malik couldn't make much of a drop by Shane Watson off Nathan Hauritz, and got out in a freak manner off the same bowler. A cross-batted swipe took the inside edge, hit the back of his boot and lobbed up for Brad Haddin to take a diving catch and push Pakistan back further.

Butt, meanwhile, had started hitting some lovely cover-driven boundaries to get a move on from a slow start. From 16 off 33 he had moved to 42 off 85 balls, and stood between Australia and an easy target.

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Vidic: United back as team

22.4.09

Nemanja Vidic has dismissed the plaudits claiming that Manchester United's return to defensive solidity is a direct result of his renewed defensive partnership with Rio Ferdinand.

Nemanja Vidic shares credit for Manchester United's solidity
United, who can reclaim top spot in the Premier League by avoiding defeat at home to Portsmouth, have kept successive clean sheets against Porto and Everton following Ferdinand's return from a two-week groin injury lay-off.

Without Ferdinand, United shipped five goals in three games against Aston Villa, Porto and Sunderland and the defensive frailties were beginning to threaten the club's assault on a quintuple.

Everton's penalty shoot-out victory in Sunday's FA Cup semi-final has ended United hopes of a five major trophies this term, but they remain on course to retain their Premier League and Champions League titles.

But Serbian defender Vidic insists that any success United achieve between now and the end of the season will be a team effort and not merely a result of his partnership with Ferdinand.

Vidic said: "You cannot defend with two players and you cannot score goals with just two players. It is all about the group and we finally started to play again the way we had played before. We are a unit, all 11 players.

"In the games before we played in Porto, we conceded many goals, too many and we didn't play like we had been doing previously.

"But I hope our form now will signal the start again of a period where we do not concede many goals. I think we can now get back to being as solid and tight as we were before."

Liverpool's failure to beat Arsenal at Anfield has opened the door for United to take a firm grip of the title race again. The champions are level on points with Rafael Benitez's team, but have two games in hand.

Vidic insists that United's return to form is simply a result of individual players accepting the challenge of stepping up to the plate.

He said: "It wasn't about getting together and talking about where we had to improve. Sometimes you just have to look at yourself. You know what you have to do. At this stage of the season, we knew we had to perform to our best and get it right."

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IPL Aussie Wrap - Week One

Australian cricketers have already made an impression on the Indian Premier League in the first few days of competition, with Matthew Hayden leading the competition's run scorers after seven matches have been completed.

Hayden's international days may be behind him but the big Queenslander has relished his time at the Chennai Super Kings with a brutal 65 off 43 balls against Bangalore in Port Elizabeth after hitting 44 off 35 balls against Mumbai in the very first match of the new IPL season. It's been a bright start for Hayden averaging 54.50 with a strike rate of 155.71

It means Hayden is the current orange cap bearer, the award reserved for the IPL's leading run scorer. His team has won one match and lost one match.

With much of Australia's best talent either in the UAE taking on Pakistan or at home resting before the Ashes, there has not been much other Australian action in the opening week.

Brad Hodge put in a solid turn in Kolkata's opening match of the season, grafting out 31 to top score in a total of 101 against Deccan at Cape Town. The Knight Riders, who also feature young gun Moises Henriques, who made six in that match, would end up losing the game easily, but did bounce back in a rain-affected game against Kings Xi Punjab in Durban. Hodge was 10 not out when the rain came, leaving the Knight Riders at 1/79 and in front on Duckworth Lewis.

Adam Gilchrist has played just one game for Deccan, making 13 in its win over Kolkata, caught by Henriques, while the keeper he took a catch and affected two stumpings.

Shane Warne's Rajasthan's Royals had a horrible start to their title defence, with Warne taking 2-18 before his team was dismissed for 58 with the all-rounder out for three. Warne's Royals were set to take on Mumbai on Tuesday night, but the rain ruined a clash between the legendary leg-spinner and Indian icon Sachin Tendulkar.

The only other Aussie to take a wicket in the IPL so far is Henriques, who dismissed Yuvraj Singh for 38 in Tuesday night's clash between the Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab.

Victorian paceman Dirk Nannes, who is set to represent the Netherlands in the upcoming World Twenty20, failed to get a wicket in his IPL debut for Delhi against King Punjab XI, but did take a catch.

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WIMBLEDON BOSSES HAIL NADAL

Wimbledon champion Rafael Nadal has been acclaimed for his support of the world's top tennis tournament.

The world number one will pick up �850,000, an increase of �100,000 on last year, if he successfully defends his crown in July and All England club chairman Tim Phillips insists he would be worth every penny.

Phillips believes Nadal has put to shame the players who specialise on clay but dodge the grass court season and Wimbledon, in particular, each year.


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Phillips said: "It reflects enormous credit on Rafa. One or two others have tended to cop out. They have got disproportionate points on clay and regarded grass as an inconvenience.

"He's shown if you can play on clay you can play on anything. I really take my hat off to him. The game at the moment is blessed with some of the ambassadors it has."

The Wimbledon club chairman also denied there were any plans to rip up the famous grass to fall in line with other Grand Slam surfaces, despite the new retractable roof being used for the first time this year.

Nor are there plans to hold concerts or other events on Centre Court, something which in part has been to blame for the problems with the Wembley pitch.

The fabric and steel concertina roof was unveiled in the closed position for the first time on Tuesday, revealing a light and airy arena.

Phillips said: "The game is lawn tennis. It was invented as lawn tennis. We have got the inclination, the time and the resource to prepare the grass properly.

"In this day and age when players are complaining about the wear and tear of hard courts and there are already a load of tournaments on clay it is important to continue to remember our heritage and support grass."

Phillips also defended the hike in prize money which, despite the global recession, also sees the women's singles champion pick up �850,000 and the total pot increase by 6.2% to �12.55million, with the biggest increases of 13.3% going to those who reach the last eight. Even first round singles losers, however, take home �10,750.

Phillips said: "It is the name players who drive interest in Wimbledon and in tennis.

"We have to be mindful that this time last year the exchange rate was two dollars to the pound and now it is under 1.5 to the pound."

Tennis fans, however, seem undeterred. Applications for Wimbledon's public ballot are up 20% on last year, while all 15,000 tickets sold out within five minutes for the May 17 test event when the roof will be closed and air-conditioning tested in a mini-tournament, which will be screened on BBC2, involving Tim Henman, Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf and Kim Clijsters.

Entertainment will also be provided, in what is being billed as 'A Centre Court Celebration' event, by Welsh singer Katherine Jenkins, Faryl Smith, the teenage star of Britain's Got Talent, and classic boy band Blake.

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Tendulkar's experience sets up Mumbai's win

18.4.09



Sachin Tendulkar drives powerfully, Chennai Super Kings v Mumbai Indians, IPL, 1st game, Cape Town, April 18, 2009
Sachin Tendulkar carried the Mumbai Indians with an unbeaten 59, and how crucial it proved © Getty Images

In the first match of the IPL in 2008, Brendon McCullum smashed an unbeaten 158 from just 73 balls to set up a crushing win for his side. A year later, as season two got underway across the Indian Ocean in different conditions and under grey skies, Sachin Tendulkar batted 20 overs for an unbeaten 59 from 49 balls. It was as valuable as McCullum's blitzkrieg, if utterly different in execution and appeal, for it came on a track not entirely conducive to batting and laid the platform for Mumbai Indians' victory.

Stumbling and bumbling, Mumbai managed to put together a competitive total after the core of their vaunted batting struggled to cope with the uneven bounce at Newlands. There were few fireworks from the big bats and the team owed plenty to the vast experience of Tendulkar, who absorbed the pressure superbly. Where Chennai's pacers were tidy in restricting runs during the middle stages of Mumbai's innings, it was the spinners Harbhajan Singh and Sanath Jayasuriya who derailed Chennai. They varied their pace and reined in the big hitters before Lasith Malinga kept the tail under control.

The pre-match drizzle in cloudy Cape Town influenced MS Dhoni's decision to field on a damp pitch, and though Mumbai's opening partnership yielded 39 in 5.4 overs, it wasn't convincing. Jayasuriya slashed and swiped and survived a run-out before he mowed fellow Sri Lankan Thilan Thushara to midwicket for 26. The ball didn't come on to the bat, as was evident in Tendulkar's frequent grimaces and constant shuffling to manoeuvre the bowling. Tendulkar attempted and connected with a few risky shots over the infield and was dropped on 10 by Matthew Hayden at first slip, off a leading edge induced by Andrew Flintoff.

Play was then held up for 12 minutes when a dog found its way onto the field. Failing to be enticed by whistles, calls, dives and even an inviting snack, the canine intruder got bored and finally trudged away. After the resumption Chennai's bowlers made swift inroads.

Shikhar Dhawan struggled for fluency and was undone by the slow bounce as he top-edged Manpreet Gony. Gony then held on to a sharp reflex catch to get JP Duminy with a clever bouncer in his next over and, taking the cue, Joginder Sharma dropped short and had Dwayne Bravo pulling to deep square leg. It was proof that the short-pitched ball can work well on such tracks. With Tendulkar keeping one end up, Abhishek Nayar walked out and played an invaluable cameo that provided a late push. Nayar larruped Flintoff for three sixes in a 22-run over in his 14-ball 35, while Tendulkar kept the innings alive by batting through the 20 overs. That 46-run partnership would prove decisive.

Chennai's chase was dented in the first over when Parthiv Patel steered Malinga to Tendulkar at slip. Suresh Raina caressed an impressive boundary in Zaheer Khan's first over but fell in the next, pulling Bravo to deep square leg where Rohan Raje made a difficult chance look easy. Malinga was tight, and Tendulkar showed the value of taking pace off the ball as a run-checking tactic by bringing on spinners at both ends, as Chennai's batsmen remained restless.

And as long as there is limited-overs cricket there will linger the prospect of the spinners' choking the opposition during the middle overs, especially when an Indian and a Sri Lankan are bowling. Today Harbhajan and Jayasuriya did that job. Flintoff didn't last long against Harbhajan, going for a wild swipe and popping back an easy catch.

Hayden - who bullied young medium-pacer Raje for three successive fours and drilled his old friend Harbhajan for a straight six - chased a wide one from Jayasuriya and picked out a diving Zaheer at cover. Jacob Oram then perished to an ugly slog against Jayasuriya, leaving Dhoni with plenty to do.

Dhoni swung his bat freely but the rest perished with a whimper. Malinga gave away nothing and his crafty yorkers and reverse-swinging variations netted him excellent figures of 3 for 15 from four parsimonious overs.

The crowd had filed in two hours ahead of the toss in gloomy conditions, and by the end of the first game of a double-header day they'd seen the weather clear and the ball go past the boundary several times. Mumbai celebrated the win animatedly in front of a healthy crowd - it wasn't exactly a boisterous Wankhede cauldron, but the IPL thinktank has reason to smile after the tournament opener.

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Rajasthan humbled after inept batting



Anil Kumble belts out an appeal, Bangalore Royal Challenger v Rajasthan Royals IPL, 2nd game, Cape Town, April 18, 2009
Anil Kumble took five wickets for five runs to clean up Rajasthan © AFP

A charged-up Bangalore Royal Challengers produced the sort of performance for which franchise owner Vijay Mallya splashed the big bucks to bundle out Rajasthan Royals to the second-lowest total in Twenty20 history. There may be plenty of fresh faces but it was the old hands, Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble, who were the stars in Bangalore's massive victory. Dravid was the most assured batsman on display, making a polished half-century, while Kumble took the most economic five-wicket haul in Twenty20s to clean up Rajasthan.

Rajasthan lost their last five wickets for 11 runs to slide to an embarrassing defeat. Such an abject end was in stark contrast to their start: Dimitri Mascarenhas scalping two big wickets in the very first over to rock Bangalore, before Shane Warne's bag of tricks kept them to what seemed a gettable 133.

The performance from Bangalore's bowlers was unidentifiable from the limp showing against a marauding Brendon McCullum in their season-opener last year. Rajasthan had a galaxy of savage hitters but they were stifled to such an extent that the entire innings had only two sixes and a solitary four.

Praveen Kumar revelled in conditions which assisted him, dislodging the openers Swapnil Asnodkar and Graeme Smith. The shot selection from Rajasthan was cringeworthy, none more so than Asnodkar's wild swing in the first over which ended up in Virat Kohli's hands at point to start the slide. Niraj Patel struggled to find any rhythm while Tyron Henderson was shackled by the short ball from Praveen and Dale Steyn.

Rajasthan were stuttering at 26 for 3 after seven overs, but it was still an even game. The match was transformed in the next over, when Henderson and Mascarenhas were dismissed off consecutive delivers in the eighth over. Henderson was tricked by a slower ball from Jesse Ryder, and Mascarenhas was run out when he refused to take no for an answer after calling Yusuf Pathan for a single.

Half the side was gone, and the run-rate was soaring into double digits. In short, Rajasthan's chase was up in smoke. Kumble was then brought into the attack and his double-strike that lured Pathan and Ravindra Jadeja into false shots extinguished any lingering hopes.

It had been so different when Mascarenhas, getting the ball to dart around, dispatched the New Zealand pair of Jesse Ryder and Ross Taylor with his first three balls. Bangalore were gasping at 17 for 3 after five overs.

Kevin Pietersen, charged by Mallya with the duty of turning around Bangalore's form, was rarely troubled during his stay and, in Dravid's company, set about reviving Bangalore. They had collected an unfussy 35 runs, aided by a lightning outfield, before Pietersen mistimed a pull to a diving Niraj at midwicket.

Dravid, in the familiar role of repairing top-order collapses, calmly picked up the singles to keep the score ticking. He needed the rest to play around him, but they were bamboozled by Warne's variations. Kohli was beaten and bowled by one that drifted and dipped, while B Akhil had no reply to a classic ripping legspinner.

Dravid remained his composed self, playing a mix of orthodox and inventive strokes, to lift Bangalore. His trademark on-drive and favoured inside-out lofted drives were on view but he also mixed in some cheeky paddle-sweeps. Dravid was dismissed in the final over, foxed by a change of pace from Munaf Patel, but his 48-ball 66 had given his side's bowlers a total to defend.

The game ended in humiliation for Rajasthan, but as Warne pointed out, they started out their previous campaign with a similarly disastrous game, before scripting the fairytale run to the title.

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IPL Players' Auction List

10.4.09



Player Team Amount Base price
Nathan Bracken Bangalore $3,25,000 $2,25,000
RP Singh Hyderabad $8,75,000 $2,00,000
Murali Kartik Kolkata $4,25,000 $2,00,000
Makhaya Ntini Chennai $2,00,000 $2,00,000
Lasith Malinga Mumbai $3,50,000 $2,00,000
Chaminda Vaas Hyderabad $2,00,000 $2,00,000
Ramesh Powar Mohali $1,70,000 $1,50,000
Umar Gul Kolkata $1,50,000 $1,50,000
Dale Steyn Bangalore $3,25,000 $1,50,000
Dilhara Fernando Mumbai $1,50,000 $1,50,000
Ishant Sharma Kolkata $9.50,000 $1,50,000
Piyush Chawla Mohali $4,00,000 $1,25,000
Munaf Patel Jaipur $2,75,000 $1,00,000
Nuwan Zoysa Hyderabad $1,10,000 $1,00,000
Gautam Gambhir Delhi $7,25,000 $2,00,000
Robin Uthappa Mumbai $8,00,000 $2,00,000
VVS Laxman Hyderabad $3,75,000 $1,50,000
Wasim Jaffer Bangalore $1,50,000 $1,50,000
Rohit Sharma Hyderabad $7,50,000 $1,50,000
Mohammad Kaif Jaipur $6,75,000 $1,25,000
Suresh Raina Chennai $6,50,000 $1,25,000
Manoj Tiwary Delhi $6,75,000 $1,00,000
Chamara Silva Hyderabad $1,00,000 $1,00,000
David Hussey Kolkata $6,25,000 $1,25,000
Albie Morkel Chennai $6,75,000 $2,00,000
Ajit Agarkar Kolkata $3,50,000 $2,00,000
Shaun Pollock Mumbai $5,50,000 $2,00,000
Irfan Pathan Mohali $9,25,000 $2,00,000
Scott Styris Hyderabad $1,75,000 $1,75,000
Farveez Maharoof Delhi $2,25,000 $1,50,000
Tillekeratne Dilshan Delhi $2,50,000 $1,50,000
Cameron White Bangalore $5,00,000 $1,00,000
Yusuf Pathan Jaipur $4,75,000 $1,00,000
Joginder Sharma Chennai $2,25,000 $1,00,000
Dinesh Karthik Delhi $5,25,000 $2,00,000
AB de Villiers Delhi $3,00,000 $2,00,000
Mark Boucher Bangalore $4,50,000 $2,00,000
Parthiv Patel Chennai $3,25,000 $1,50,000
Kamran Akmal Jaipur $1,50,000 $1,50,000
Ricky Ponting Kolkata $4,00,000 $3,25,000
Brett Lee Mohali, $9,00,000 $3,00,000
Andrew Symonds Hyderabad $1.35 million $2,50,000
Daniel Vettori Delhi $6,25,000
Matthew Hayden Chennai $3,75,000
Brendon McCullum Kolkata $7,00,000 $1,75,000
Jacob Oram Chennai $6,75,000 $2,00,000
Shane Warne Jaipur $4,50,000 $4,50,000
MS Dhoni Chennai $1.50 million $4,00,000
Adam Gilchrist Hyderabad $7,00,000 $3,00,000
Mahela Jayawardene Mohali $4,75,000 $2,50,000)
Muttiah Muralitharan Chennai $6,00,000 $2,50,000
Shoaib Akhtar Kolkata $4,25,000 $2,50,000

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Duminy at No. 4 on new IPL list




JP Duminy's outstanding performance in Australia has fetched him a base price of $300,000 at the IPL auction © Getty Images

South African batsman JP Duminy's rising stature in international cricket was reflected in the final IPL auction list of 43 cricketers. Duminy's base price has been pegged at US$300,000, the most expensive after those of Kevin Pietersen, Michael Clarke and Andrew Flintoff.

The new list has only 43 players - the original had 111 - and includes 15 from Australia, four from Bangladesh, seven from England, three from New Zealand, five from South Africa, four from Sri Lanka, and five from the West Indies.

Each franchise has a maximum of US$2m to spend on their overseas signings in the auction. The bidding for Pietersen will start at $1.35m, while that for Clarke and Flintoff will begin at $1m and $950,000 respectively.

Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, said the franchises with Pakistan players on their roster would be allowed to use money equal to the cost of the player to make purchases after the auction. Pakistan players have not been allowed by their government to participate in the league this season.

"The Pakistan players have a three-year contract with the franchises and the only reason of their unavailability could be injuries. But since that is not the case here, we will have to look at the legal aspect of the issue," Modi said. "The spots for Pakistan players will be freed up and the money they invested on these players last year would be made automatically available post auction, so that the teams can buy new replacement players."

Modi told Cricinfo that if franchises buy replacements for Pakistan players from the auction - as they are entitled to - they would have to stay within the US$ 2 million cap. "After the auction, they will be allowed to spend the equivalent of what they would have paid the Pakistan player for this year on a replacement," Modi said. "However, this replacement will have to be from our original list of players that was released last week."

The new group also includes ten players who were not on the original one: Aaron Bird, Brett Geeves, Daniel Harris, Dominic Thornley, Jon Moss, Phil Jaques, Steven Smith, Samit Patel, Chamara Kapugedera and Jerome Taylor. Geeves was with the Delhi Daredevils for the IPL's inaugural season, while Kapugedera and Thornley played for the Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians respectively.

Final list of players for auction (all figures in US$)
Australia: Aaron Bird (45,000), Brett Geeves (45,000), Bryce McGain (50,000), Daniel Harris (50,000), Dominic Thornley (50,000), George Bailey (50,000), Jon Moss (50,000), Michael Clarke (1,000,000), Michael Dighton (85,000), Michael Hill (50,000), Phil Jaques (100,000), Shane Harwood (75,000), Shaun Tait (250,000), Steven Smith (75,000), Stuart Clark (250,000).

England: Kevin Pietersen (1,350,000), Andrew Flintoff (950,000), Luke Wright (150,000), Owais Shah (150,000), Paul Collingwood (250,000), Ravi Bopara (150,000), Samit Patel (100,000).

Bangladesh: Shakib Al Hasan (75,000), Mohammad Ashraful (75,000), Mashrafe Mortaza (50,000), Tamim Iqbal (50,000).

New Zealand: James Franklin (50,000), Jesse Ryder (100,000), Kyle Mills (150,000).

South Africa: Gulam Bodi (100,000), JP Duminy (300,000), Morne van Wyk (100,000), Tyron Henderson (100,000), Yusuf Abdullah (25,000).

Sri Lanka: Thilan Thushara (100,000), Nuwan Kulasekara (100,000), Kaushalya Weeraratne (50,000), Chamara Kapugedera (150,000).

West Indies: Kieron Pollard (60,000), Fidel Edwards (150,000), Dwayne Smith (tbc), Kemar Roach (50,000), Jerome Taylor (tbc).

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South Africa win by 25 runs

Cricket-South Africa win by 25 runs to take series lead

* South Africa go 2-1 up in five-match contest

* Australia fall short in run chase

(updates at end of match)

CAPE TOWN, April 9 (Reuters) - South Africa took a 2-1 lead in the five-match series of one-day internationals when they beat Australia by 25 runs on Thursday.

Australia, chasing 290 for victory, were restricted to 264 for seven in their 50 overs.

Earlier, Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers led South Africa to 289 for six with classy half-centuries.

The pair came together with the hosts struggling on 50 for two in the 15th over on a slow pitch but took control with a stand of 114 off 131 balls.

Kallis scored 70 off 86 deliveries with five fours and immediately took the run-rate forward with a series of commanding front-foot drives.

South Africa's leading run-scorer fell to a soft dismissal, pulling a Brett Geeves long-hop straight to wide mid-on at the end of the 36th over.

LEADING EDGE

De Villiers went on to hit 80 in 87 balls and was out in the 41st over when paceman Mitchell Johnson had him caught off a leading edge, playing too early to the leg-side.

Busy innings in the last five overs by Albie Morkel (29) and Mark Boucher (28 not out) then capitalised on the fine work of the middle order.

Johnson, who used changes of pace to good effect, was difficult to get away and finished with outstanding figures of four for 34.

Australia, in reply, slumped to 114 for five before Callum Ferguson (63) and James Hopes (63 not out) gave them hope by adding 97 off 89 balls for the sixth wicket.

Slow left-armer Roelof van der Merwe, who took three for 37, had Ferguson caught at deep extra cover before the brilliant JP Duminy produced his second run-out of the innings to remove Johnson for nine.

Hopes collected five fours in a late flurry as he scored his unbeaten 63 in 60 balls.
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India's success

Cricket-Tendulkar credits coach Kirsten for India's success

CHENNAI, India, April 10 (Reuters) - Indian batting stalwart Sachin Tendulkar credits coach Gary Kirsten with helping the team become a force in world cricket again.

India won their first test series on New Zealand soil in four decades this week, their third successive test series victory since defeating top-ranked Australia in November.

"The secret to this success is the players are playing their natural game," Tendulkar told Mumbai tabloid Mid Day on Friday.

"That can only happen if the atmosphere is good and the mind is free of any kind of pressure.

"... it's the case of natural instincts taking over and that can be credited to Gary (Kirsten). The team environment is allowing players to play their natural game. That's probably the secret," Tendulkar added.

Tendulkar, the world's highest run-getter in test and one-day cricket, was second behind Gautam Gambhir in the runs tally for the team in the test series with 344 runs.

Former South African opener Kirsten took over from Greg Chappell last year and has helped the Indian team improve their performances, earning the respect of the players for his quiet approach following a turbulent period under the Australian.

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Watson excited over unexpected recall

9.4.09

MELBOURNE: Shane Watson didn't see it coming. Stationed in Johannesburg with the Rajasthan Royals, the Australian all-rounder was caught completely off-guard when Michael Brown, Cricket Australia's operations manager, phoned on Wednesday to inform him of his recall to the national squad for the one-day tour of Pakistan.

Watson had identified the IPL as the platform from which to continue his comeback from back stress fractures. From there, he hoped to steadily increase his bowling workload throughout April and May and, should all have gone to plan, to catch the attention of Australia's selectors ahead of the ICC World Twenty20 in June.

The selectors, however, have opted for a faster track. Chosen as a specialist batsman, Watson will almost certainly be restored to the top of the Australian one-day order - the position he held down throughout last year's West Indies tour - alongside the recalled Shaun Marsh in the UAE. That has resulted in a major alteration to Watson's comeback blueprint, and his immediate travel schedule.

"I wasn't counting on it at all," Watson told Cricinfo. "I only arrived in South Africa on Monday night, and was looking ahead to the couple of practice games coming up for Rajasthan in the next few days.

"Now it looks like I'll probably only be here for a week or so before I fly to Dubai.

"Things have moved faster than I expected. I have spoken with the owner and the coach (of Rajasthan) and they are disappointed that I won't be available for them for a while, but very excited for me.

"They know that to get back into the Australian side and play international cricket is my ultimate objective. I will still be available for two weeks after returning from Dubai. Hopefully Rajasthan can make it through to the finals, so I can extend my time with them for as long as I can."

Just what role, if any, Watson's bowling will play in the UAE remains unclear. His initial plan was to commence competitive bowling in May, and then only in the four-over allotments of the IPL.

Watson will meet with Alex Kountouris, the Australian team physiotherapist, in South Africa in the coming days to map out new strategy, but it seems unlikely he will be used in longer spells against Pakistan.

"That structure and schedule I had in mind is obviously going to change a bit now in terms of my bowling," he said.

"I certainly won't be pushing it in trying to get to ten overs. The plan was to slowly build up the bowling over May, but I'm not quite sure how that will work out now."

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Cong asks Tytler

Cong asks Tytler to take conscience call on candidature



New Delhi, Apr 09: With pressure mounting on the Congress for a rethink on the candidature of Jagdish Tytler for the LS polls, reports claimed on Thursday that the party has put the onus on Tytler, asking him to follow his conscience on the issue.

As per media reports, the Congress party has made up its mind that Tytler should withdraw his candidature but the line of thinking in the party is that Tytler should himself announce the withdrawal of his candidature and take a moral high ground on the issue.

The high command’s decision, as per reports, has been conveyed to Tyler in no uncertain terms. But as of now Tytler, whose name figured in connection with 1984 anti-Sikh riots, is continuing to defend himself.

Speaking to the media today, Tytler said that everybody should wait for the court to give its judgement and not jump to conclusions.

“I will comment only after the court delivers its verdict,” Tytler said.

He also dismissed the claims that he has been given a clean chit by saying that the Judge has not yet opened the sealed envelope, hence there is no question of a clean chit as being suggested by the media.

Tyrler is expected to make his stand clear at 5 pm when he will be holding a press conference at his residence.

By doing this the Congress expects to come clean on the issue as a section of the party is very worried about the implications of the Tytler issue in its poll prospects in the coming Lok Sabha polls.

Congress party president Sonia Gandhi, who has been away for electioneering, is expected to discuss the issue with senior party leaders on her return today in the wake of the shoe-throwing incident at the Union Home Minister P Chidamabarm's press conference in the AICC headquarters which has brought renewed focus on the issue.

Officially, the party said "let's wait and see" to questions whether the party would do a rethink on their candidatures.

Party Spokesperson Jayanti Natrajan said she could not add to what has already been said by other spokesmen like Janardhan Dwivedi and Ashwini Kumar that an appropriate decision would be taken at the appropriate time.

Asked whether morality or winnability was important, she said "both are important."

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United serve up late drama

5.4.09

Alex Ferguson has claimed Manchester United's readiness to take risks ''could change the season for us" after untried teenager Federico Macheda secured a dramatic 3-2 victory against Aston Villa to restore the champions to the top of the Premier League.

Federico Macheda - Manchester United serve up late drama
Wonderboy: teenager debutant Federico Macheda (right) celebrates his injury time winner against Aston Villa with team-mate Darren Fletcher Photo: GETTY IMAGES

The seventeen-year-old Italian, making his senior debut as a second-half substitute, scored a stunning goal at Old Trafford, three minutes into stoppage time, to consign Villa to their fifth defeat in six league games.

With Liverpool dislodging United from top spot with victory at Fulham on Saturday, failure to defeat Villa would have severely dented United's hopes, but Ferguson insisted that taking risks may have to swung the title race back in their favour.

Ferguson said: "Through that result, the season could change for us. At 2-2, I was thinking 'gamble', because winning is the name of the game at this club. Risks are part of football and this club is built on that. I love the thrill of it, I love the adrenalin and the way we take risks. It's a great boost for us to come from behind and score a great win."

Macheda celebrated joyously with his family in the stand following his goal, but his winner was greeted with a typically muted response from Ferguson. He said: "I just said well done to the lad. It is important that he keeps his feet on the ground because he is going to get a lot of media attention over the next few days and he will have learn to handle it."

United now stand one point clear of Liverpool with a game in hand, but Ferguson believes that the Merseysiders' Champions League tie with Chelsea could prove pivotal for their title hopes. He said: "Everyone is screaming that Liverpool are our challenge, but I think that whoever wins between Liverpool and Chelsea in the Champions League will be our biggest threat. Whoever wins that double header will be our biggest threat because of the effect it will have on them."

Villa manager Martin O'Neill claimed that referee Mike Riley's decision to play five minutes of stoppage time played into United's hands. O'Neill said: "We all need a slice of luck, even the great Sir Alex needs it. The referee played five minutes added time, but he wouldn't have done that at Villa Park."


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