C4
SUNDAY, MAY 15, 2016
SPORTS De Villiers, Kohli hammer Lions in RCB’s record win Batting first, RCB plundered a massive 248 for three courtesy De Villiers’s 129 not out and an equally attractive 108 by Kohli with records falling like ninepins
BENGALURU: AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli on Saturday orchestrated a mayhem by scoring magnificent centuries as Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) inflicted a crushing 144-run defeat on league leaders Gujarat Lions, recording the biggest ever victory in the history of Indian Premier League (IPL). Batting first, RCB plundered a massive 248 for three courtesy De Villiers’s 129 not out and an equally attractive 108 by Kohli with records falling like ninepins at the Chinnaswamy Stadium during the afternoon session. Having been deflated in the first session itself, Gujarat Lions capitulated to a meagre 104 all out in
CENTURIONS: AB de Villiers, left, and Virat Kohli.
18.4 overs with Chris Jordan picking up four for 11 in three overs and leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal getting three for 19 in four overs. With 10 points from 11 games and a positive net run-rate of +0.627, RCB will fancy their chances of sneaking in as the third or fourth team into the play-offs by winning all their remaining three games. While this is the second highest team score in the history of IPL behind RCB’s 263 for five against Pune Warriors, the Kohli-De Villiers combine eclipsed its own
partnership record by pummeling the Lions to add a staggering 229 runs in just 16 overs. The previous best was 215 against Mumbai Indians during the last edition. Kohli also became the first player in the history of IPL to score two centuries against the same opponents in one edition of the league. De Villiers smashed a scintillating unbeaten 129 off 52 balls with 10 fours and 12 maximums while Kohli, en route his third hundred in a single edition of IPL, hit a brilliant 109 off 55 balls with the help
of five fours and eight sixes. De Villiers, whose 43-ball century was the fifth fastest in IPL, teed off to get the maximum number of sixes in an innings by any individual batsman. In all, the duo hit an astounding 20 sixes compared to 15 fours as the square boundary of the Chinnaswamy turf looked too small at times. With the chase practically out of question, the Lions were not in the game from the beginning as they lost Dwayne Smith for seven while playing across the line off left-arm seamer Sreenath Arvind. Brendon McCullum did not last long as he walked back after having scored 11 runs. He was caught brilliantly by De Villiers off Chahal. Chris Jordan also joined the act at the other end by taking two wickets in consecutive balls. First he sent Dinesh Karthik (2) and then grabbed a return catch off Ravindra Jadeja after he had scored 21 runs off 19 balls with two boundaries and a six. With the team struggling at four for 44, the spine of the visiting team was broken completely and they lost four more wickets including the flamboyant Dwayne Bravo for 30 runs, leaving Gujarat reeling at 74 for eight in 12.5 overs. Brief scores: Royal Challengers Bangalore 248/3 in 20 overs (Virat Kohli 109, AB de Villiers 129 n.o.) bt Gujarat Lions 104 in 18.4 overs (Aaron Finch 37; Chris Jordan 4/11, Yuzvendra Chahal 3/19, Sachin Baby 2 /4). - PTI
CRICKET
Daredevils lock horns with Mumbai Indians VISAKHAPATNAM: Back in the top half of the league table after a convincing win over Sunrisers Hyderabad, Delhi Daredevils would look to build on the winning momentum when they take on defending champions Mumbai Indians in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match here on Sunday. The Daredevils were impressive in the first half of the league but inconsistency struck them in the later part as they lost back-to-back matches. Their comfortable win over Sunrisers must have brought back the confidence in the Zaheer Khan-led side. A win at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium on Sunday will help
the Delhi team put a foot into the play-offs. With 12 points, from 10 matches, the Daredevils are currently on third spot behind Sunrisers (14) and Gujarat Lions (14). For Mumbai, on the other hand, it will be a do-or-die match as a loss on Sunday will leave them on the verge of being knocked out of the race for playoffs. They now have 12 points from 12 games and are at fifth in the league table. After Sunday, they will have just one match left in the league. Against Sunrisers, the Daredevils dished out a top-class all-round show, that too without captain Zaheer who missed the game due to a niggle. Leg-spinner Amit Mishra
continued his good form in the league with two wickets and pacer Nathan Coulter-Nile chipped in with two scalps as the Sunrisers batsmen were restricted to a small total of 146 for 8. While chasing the target, the Daredevils batsmen clicked as a unit with in-form South African opener Quinton de Kock top-scoring with a 44. Promising domestic players Sanju Samson and Rishab Pant remained not out at 34 and 39 respectively to take Daredevils home with 11 balls to spare against the table toppers. Zaheer has led the Daredevils really well, marshalling his resources and leading from the
front with some impressive bowling shows. However, it remains to be seen whether Zaheer takes the field on Sunday. Mumbai, who chose Visakhapatnam as their ‘home’ venue after the Bombay High Court cancelled IPL matches in drought-hit Maharashtra, have been inconsistent this season and they have never built a winning momentum, having almost alternate win and losses in their campaign so far. They cannot slip up now as a loss on Sunday will put them in an extremely difficult situation to make it to the play-offs though there could still be a theoretical chance for them to make the cut. - PTI
CRICKET
Sunrisers take on Kings XI with eye on playoff berth MOHALI: Table-toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad will look to quickly bounce back from the disappointing loss against Delhi Daredevils and seal their place in the playoff when they take on a resurgent Kings XI Punjab in an Indina Premier League (IPL) clash here on Sunday. Knowing that there is scramble among top teams for the playoff berth and holding on to top position is not an easy task, SRH will have to put the loss against Delhi behind and look to put up an allround performance on Sunday. What has made Sunday’s afternoon game at the I S Bindra PCA stadium here even more important for Hyderabad is the fact that Punjab, who have struggled through the tournament, have suddenly started turning over a leaf under their new captain Murali Vijay, whose appointment was made mid-way. The Punjab outfit, which is lying at the seventh place with four wins from 11 outings, pulled off a comprehensive seven-wicket victory against Mumbai Indians at Visakhapatnam last night. The victory will surely give the struggling side a much-needed boost and the David Warner led SRH will be wary of the fact that Punjab will be a difficult opposition to tackle on their home turf. Seeing the Hyderabad side in action has been a treat to watch, with its bowlers and batsmen clicking collectively. Captain Warner is one of the highest run-getters in this edition and he single-handedly led the team to victory more than once. He is among the most successful batsmen in the league, making fifty-plus scores every three innings. The other opener Shikhar Dhawan has also been in good form steering the team in the event of his skipper’s early dismissal. Even in their last game against Delhi, Warner (46) and Dhawan (34) had made their contribution with the bat. It was their middle-order collapse which hurt the team’s chances and the Sunrisers, who have some brilliant batsmen in Kane Williamson, Deepak Hooda and wicket-keeper batsman Na-
man Ojha, will look to mend their ways. However, it will be interesting to see whom the crowds root for when Yuvraj Singh comes out to bat for SRH. The Hyderabad side’s bowling attack has also been impressive. With the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, seasoned Ashish Nehra, latest pace sensation Mustafizur Rahman and Barinder Sran, it is one of the most-feared unit in the current edition of the IPL. For Punjab, a win against Mumbai Indians yesterday has infused new energy in the team and they will be eagar to win all the remaining three matches. Punjab, which is yet to win the IPL title, restricted Mumbai to 124/9 yesterday, mainly due to all-rounder Marcus Stoinis’ career-best IPL figures of four wickets for 15 runs. Then Murali Vijay played a captain’s knock hitting an unbeaten 54 and along with top-order batsman Wriddhiman Saha (56) helped KXIP cruise home comfortably scoring 127/3, with three overs to spare. Prior to their win against Mumbai, Kings XI, which have also reportedly been hit by offfield controversy of an alleged rift in the team, had a heartbreaking one-run loss to Royal Challengers Bangalore. Handed captaincy midway into the league, Vijay has been trying his best to show the way, and would be hoping much support from the rest of the crew in the remaining games to give his team a chance. Vijay is in good form and top-scored with an accomplished 57-ball 89, while Marcus Stoinis blazed away towards the end in the game against RCB, but the others failed to show up. The form of David Miller and Glenn Maxwell has been a cause for concern. Coming back in yesterday’s match against Mumbai after being rested for a game earlier, Maxwell failed with the bat scoring a duck. As far as bowling is concerned, the likes of Sandeep Sharma and Mohit Sharma have been the pick among the bowlers while Axar Patel and Stoinis have impressed with their all-round performance. - PTI
FOOTBALL
MFA takes part in Junior World Cup with ‘Ozone’ support MUSCAT: Omantel, the Sultanate’s first integrated telecoms provider, was a proud partner of the Muscat Football Academy (MFA) youth team as they competed in the Junior Football World Cup (Mundialito) recently in Faro, Portugal. The team, competing in the Under-10 category, played alongside youth sides from dominant European clubs including FC Barcelona, Juventus, Atlético Madrid, Valencia, Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool. The team’s stellar efforts took them right through to the quarterfinal of the global competition. ‘Ozone’, Omantel’s dedicated youth mobile package, has been the principle sponsor of the Muscat Football Academy since the beginning of 2016, enabling the MFA teams to compete in a number of high profile international and national tournaments. The youth-oriented ‘Ozone’ mobile package caters specifically for customers between the ages of 18 to 25 and offers Ozone to Ozone calls for only 25Bz/min, 100MB of monthly data, one free ringtone and special deals and discounts with Ozone partners.
Commenting on Omantel’s partnership with Muscat Football Academy, Ali Saleh Al Hadeed, General Manager Consumer Marketing said: “At Omantel, the development of youth talent is an area particularly close to our heart, as it is today’s youth that will represent the Oman of tomorrow. Omantel has been a proud sponsor of the Muscat Football Academy since the beginning of this year and it is very gratifying knowing that through our support, the dreams of these young stars are coming true. Supporting organisations such
as the Muscat Football Academy demonstrates our commitment towards promoting Oman on the world stage, and encouraging the sport to youth in Oman.” “We congratulate the fantastic achievements of the MFA youth team at the Junior Football World Cup. Representing Oman at a competition of this level is an impressive accomplishment. Everyone at Omantel is very proud of these young athletes and we look forward to witnessing their many successes in the months and years to come,” continued Ali Saleh Al Hadeed
Commenting on the team’s performance, Head Coach Chuck Martini said, “It was a real honour for our academy boys to participate in an international event of such magnitude. Their performance against some of the best teams from around the world really highlights the great talent we have on offer here in Oman and validates the work of Muscat Football Academy to cultivate this talent. The boys’ performance was even more noteworthy considering it was the first time they have participated at this level of competition.” “The highlight from the tournament was the opening match where the boys defeated Club America, the current Mexican champions, 5 goals to 2 in a game that was broadcasted live across most of Europe and the USA. The team’s achievements would not have been possible without the unwavering support of parents, trainers, and our chief sponsor Omantel who have long since backed Muscat Football Academy and supported the children to fulfill their dreams,” he added.