Dale Steyn and Amit Mishra struck vital blows as the Deccan Chargers completed a five-wicket win over the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League on Friday.
Steyn grabbed 2 for 16 and Mishra took 2 for 20 as the Deccan Chargers restricted Rajasthan to 126-8 after the visiting side elected to bat at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium. Akshath Reddy then top scored with 42 as Deccan reached 128-5 in 18.4 overs.
The defeat knocked Rajasthan out of contention for a berth in the playoffs, with seven wins and eight losses from 15 games. Deccan, which was led by Australian Cameron White after regular captain Kumar Sangakkara was dropped because of lack of form, remains at the bottom of the table with three wins, 11 losses and one no-result from 15.
Photo: AFP
“I enjoyed the season a lot, but it would have been better had we won more,” Steyn said. “I don’t want to discuss too many of my plans as my job is to run in, bowl fast and strike early. I’ve been used in different situations and have got to do the job assigned.”
It was an unimpressive display by Rajasthan, despite some poor fielding by Deccan.
Dravid’s 36-ball knock, which included five fours, barely helped the team stay afloat as it seemed to slide after in-form opener Ajinkya Rahane was caught in the slips off a fine outswinger from Steyn.
Wickets fell at regular intervals, with Amit Mishra impressing in his two dismissals when he bowled a fine leg-spin delivery to bowl Shane Watson and then Stuart Binny with a googly.
Steyn came back to dismiss Johan Botha, while Veer Pratap Singh accounted for Ashok Menaria and Sreevats Goswami.
Owais Shah chipped in with 28 and Menaria made 20, but no batsman managed to push on for a considerable score.
Deccan was always in control after openers Reddy and Shikhar Dhawan (26) established a 63-run partnership for the opening wicket. With Jean-Paul Duminy contributing 24 batting at No. 3, the home side did not go off course.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
The Minnesota Timberwolves, with so many promising performances spoiled by late mistakes fresh in their memory bank, sure timed this strong finish well. Jaden McDaniels scored a career playoff-high 30 points and spearheaded Minnesota’s stifling defense on an ailing Luka Doncic, and the Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-104 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday night. “Jaden never looks tired. He looks like he could play 48 minutes,” said teammate Anthony Edwards, who had 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Julius Randle added 22 points for the Wolves, who outscored
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
RSS