NEWS UPDATES

New Delhi: The change of scenery at the Ferozeshah Kotla had immediate effect on the fortunes of Delhi Daredevils. As the track went from brown to green, Delhi roared back to ground the flying Kings XI Punjab by 29 runs here on Saturday.     Contrary to the belief that the pacemen would hold sway on what can be called an ‘anti-Kotla’ track, it was the batsmen who dominated the proceeding from the moment Adam Gilchrist won the toss and put the Daredevils in to bat. The faster the Kings XI bowlers bowled, the farther the ball went off the flashing willows of Virender Sehwag and David Warner. In the first hour of the game, there was massacre at Kotla by the Daredevils openers. Warner (77; 48b, 7x4, 4x6) and Sehwag (77; 35b, 8x4, 4x6) feasted on a track that had enough bounce and movement to keep all the pacemen interested.     The level of Delhi’s confidence could be judged by the fact that they went in with an all-pace attack includ...

Mohali: It was supposed to be a Shane Warne show with Liz Hurley clapping in the stands. Instead, another Aussie, Shaun Marsh, hogged the limelight with Preity Zinta cheering the left-hander.     It was carnage at the PCA stadium on Thursday night, as Marsh hammered the daylights out of the Rajasthan Royals attack after Paul Valthaty and Adam Gilchrist had given the team a solid platform. After Kings XI Punjab posted 195 for seven, it would have required some getting for a team that has struggled with the bat. In the end, the hosts won by a comfortable 48 runs.     And so it proved, as the Rajasthan Royals' batting fell apart under the pressure of the huge total. What turned out to be a masterstroke was Gilchrist's decision to bowl out Praveen Kumar. Bowling his four overs on the trot, he accounted for Swapnil Asnodkar and the dangerous Shane Watson. After the fall of the two, all that RR could do was try and make a match of it. But...

Kolkata: Kochi Tuskers continued their winning run defeating Kolkata Knight Riders by six runs at the Eden Gardens on Wednesday night. Their third successive victory helped the Mahela Jayawardene-led side share the top position (with six points) along with the Knights and Mumbai Indians.     Kochi Tuskers successfully defended a modest total of 132 runs after KKR skipper Gautam Gambhir won the toss and asked the visitors to bat first.     Even Jayawardene felt 130-140 runs would be a par score on the same track where the Royals were bowled out for 81 two days ago. Surprisingly, the the KKR management who complained about the nature of the track after their victory in the previous match, opt ed to stick to the same pitch in spite of curator Prabir Mukherjee offering them a separate rectangle which had some grass on it.     The Tuskers played the right card picking up Muttiah Muralitharan in place of Thisara Perera...